While the current, tenth installment of CBS’s "Big Brother" is a welcome step in the right direction after the show’s last two abysmal seasons, it could still be significantly improved, especially if the producers borrow some ideas from other countries’ versions of the show.

1. Better balance the competitive aspects with the social ones.

A major difference between the U.S. version of "Big Brother" and its counterparts around the world is the amount of strategy and competition in the U.S. version.

Whereas housemates in the U.K. are thrown in "jail" and housemates in Australia receive "strikes" for discussing gameplay elements such as nominations, the U.S. version is built almost solely on strategy, alliances, and other competitive aspects that are unsurprisingly similar to "Survivor."

Because of this, fans who only watch the show and do not watch the Internet feeds or "Big Brother: After Dark" miss out on most of the social interactions of the houseguests.

An easy solution to this is to air the show more often. In the U.S., the show only airs three times a week, one show for evictions, one for nominations, and one for the Power of Veto. A fourth show, or an extra hour on eviction nights, would significantly increase the visibility of the social interactions between the houseguests.

2. Increase the diversity of the houseguests.

Fortunately, this isn’t nearly as glaring of an issue as it used to be. "Big Brother 10" is taking the show back to its roots, according to the producers, and I’m inclined to agree. The houseguests actually seem to be ‘real people’ for the first time since the show’s All-Star season (#7).

Still, there’s room for improvement. The producers seem to think that diversity only applies to one’s physical characteristics and sexual orientation.

Diversity is so much more than that. Go find the interesting personalities, the ones that make you think long and hard, and challenge the way you look at other people. That’s true diversity.

3. Have one episode a week follow the "Big Mouth" format.

The U.K. and Australian versions of "Big Brother" air a show called "Big Mouth," which is somewhat along the lines of the "House Calls" webcast here in the U.S.

With a panel of hosts, consisting of comedians and former houseguests, the show would highlight recent events in the house with the panel discussing the houseguests. Additionally, the most recent evictee could make a prominent guest appearance, providing a much more in-depth interview for the "Big Brother" audience than the always-brief post-eviction interview by Julie Chen.

The show could incorporate a live audience by allowing them to ask the most recent evictee questions, similar to the U.K. version of "Big Mouth."

4. Make Big Brother a prominent character.

It seems that on every "Big Brother" besides the U.S. version, Big Brother himself is actually a character on the show, interacting with the houseguests and, in some cases, playing the role of the house villain.

In the U.S., it is almost as if Big Brother doesn’t exist. All you’ll ever hear of Big Brother is a "[name], please go to the diary room" or "stop that!"

You never hear Big Brother speak directly to the houseguests, not even in the diary room, unlike in other countries’ versions where these interactions with Big Brother are highlighted.

The U.S. version is missing a prime opportunity by not expanding on the Big Brother concept fully.

5. Give the power back to the people.

Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of the U.S. version of "Big Brother" is the minimal audience interaction.

The first season of "Big Brother" followed the traditional format of the houseguests nominating and the public doing the evicting, but in every subsequent season, the format has been closed-off to involve only the houseguests.

This makes the show more like "Survivor" than what the "Big Brother" concept was meant to be.

A compromise between the two systems would truly be a welcome twist.

For example, retaining the current Head-of-Household and Power of Veto system while forcing the nominated houseguests to face a public vote. Under that, however, it would be wise to require at least three nominees to add extra unpredictability to the results.

Overall, though, "Big Brother 10" is a welcome return to much of what has made the "Big Brother" series fun to watch. Hopefully the show will continue its improvement and will be around for many seasons to come.