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Pic./Tweet of the 14th houseguest.
a pic of the 14th houseguest paolo you haven't seen beforehttp://dogdave.com/bb.html
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
14th Houseguest
a pic of the 14th houseguest paolo you haven't seen beforehttp://dogdave.com/bb.html
TV Guide BB12 article
From TV Guide.
by: Michael Logan
It's getting pretty damn hard to fluster the contestants on Big Brother, so look for a huge, sneaky twist when the CBS reality hit starts its 12th season — a twist that's intended to shake up the game and create chaos and suspicion among the players. "I don't think we've ever had so many BB superfans in the house at one time," says exec producer Allison Grodner. "They have an encyclopedic knowledge of the program and know it better than we do. To throw them off, we're going to make the game harder to play than ever before."
Here's how she'll do it: On premiere night (Thursday, July 8, 8/9c) the houseguests will be told that producers have slipped a mole into the group. America will learn the impostor's identity on July 15 during the first live episode and, through an interactive online process, fans will be able to suggest ways for the impostor to sabotage the players and disrupt the game. (Visit cbs.com/bbtwist for more information.) The longer the impostor maintains anonymity, the more money he or she will take home.
So how does the Season 12 cast stack up? TV Guide Magazine interviewed each of the players right before they went into the BB house. (Paolo Aviles, a 30-year-old out-of-work real estate agent, later got cold feet and quit the show, dropping the head count to 13.) We found no shortage of Type-A show-offs and high-maintenance personalities among this year's group, but they were virtually unanimous in their dislike of Season 11 prima donna Chima Simone, who was ejected from the show when she disobeyed Grodner's repeated requests to go to the diary room and threw her pricey body mike into the swimming pool.
But opinions were split over last year's surprise champ, sweetheart waitress Jordan Lloyd, who won the $500,000 grand prize without stabbing even one back. Many in the BB12 cast admire how Jordan reinvented the game by playing it with honesty and decency, while others find her to be naïve and clueless and feel she didn't deserve the dough because she didn't really earn it.
"There will be a lot of anti-Jordan strategy coming into the house, which may or may not be wise," notes Grodner. "As we saw, the winner isn't necessarily the one who plays the best game. It could be the one who pissed off the jury the least!"
Tweet from Allison Grodner about Have/Have Not comp.
Tweet from AG.
@agrodner22 Tonight"s Have or Have Not Competition is a classic! Watch it play out starting July 8
Monday, July 5, 2010
House Secrets Fridays
Eviction Fridays House Secrets with Missy Z.Friday, July 9 at 6pm ET Missy goes online with a new webchat hour for Big Brother fans. Join her in the Big Brother chat room to dish about House happenings.
Attention BB lovers
Post from Real Player Super Pass:
Start your BB addiction a day early Happy Hour Pre-season Special July 7 at 6pm ET Jordan and Janelle join Chelsia and Missy in a special edition Happy Hour. They're taking your phone calls in a live video chat! Call 877-448-6639.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Post from CBS2 KCAL about media day.
Inside the Diary Room...I admitted to things I haven't told my best friends.
Any good reality show cast has the angry black person, the crazy nut, the compulsive liar, the hottie, the girl who looks awesome in a bikini, the gay guy, the whiner, the nerd, and the old guy everyone tries to avoid.
The good news: I got to spend twelve hours in the "Big Brother" house with 9 other journalists/bloggers for "BB's" annual media day!
The bad news: half way through the exercise, I realized I was ALL those people.
OK, maybe not the hottie.
Or the girl who looked awesome in the bikini. And maybe (hopefully) not even the nerd!
But still, I had the other roles handled. Maybe too well handled.
On the plus side, I wasn't evicted, or put on slop (and yes, it tastes worse than you've heard). And I wasn't backstabbed.
That much.
I came in with no strategy -- just enjoy being locked up in the house for 12 hours, to experience just what a real houseguest goes through, I told myself. Food competitions, the Head of Household challenge, evictions, diary room, the Power of Veto competiton. Slop!
Hopefully, even a bromance. (Hey, we had to kill 12 hours! And some of the boys were cute.)
Truth be told, my REAL interest was in seeing, up close, the "BB" house I've enjoyed seeing on TV for 11 seasons. I'd been in the back yard a bunch of times (to interview houseguests for the finales) but never inside.
This season, the house has a beach-Florida-flamingos-palm trees-tropical-fish-cabana-feel. Some thought the house conjured up "Golden Girls"...maybe that's why I was constantly channeling my inner Sophia. I said whatever came to my mind.
Big mistake!
I just felt really cool -- and maybe a little too relaxed -- walking around in the house...standing where Evil Dick dumped iced tea on Jenn's head in season 8. It hit me. He won $500,000 being a complete weasel...perhaps I should employ that strategy. Make them hate you, but love you!
Big mistake!
Twelve hours sometimes felt like an eternity. It was fun, but weeks? Three months in the house as the show's real winner would have to endure?
I can't imagine three months in the house -- no privacy, no magazines, no TV, no books, radio, no news from the outside world. People watching your EVERY move, 24/7, including showering and...well, you know the rest. (Complete props to my friend/co-worker cbs2.com Web producer Diane Henry who was, before joining us, on "BB5" and "All-Stars" for weeks. Twelve hours made me a little nutso...admittedly. And she did...weeks! Mad props.)
So, I'm in it for the fun. And the experience. But then the producers announced to us that there was a $500 prize at stake for the player who played the best game, as voted on by his/her fellow cast mates. $500?
The idea of winning $500 made me a LOT nutso. I need new tires, hello!
Seriously, the box of Krispy Kremes they put out was enough for me! For $500...it was time ... to... strategize.
That's where Alan "The Complete Suck-up" Carter reared his very ugly head. I should have been nicknamed Hoover I did so much sucking up. I annoyed everyone telling them how funny, smart, hot, enjoyable, talented, bright and nice they were.
I even annoyed...myself! But I couldn't stop.
Big mistake!
After announcing to my fellow housemates that "I'll do pretty much anything to win the $500", they gave me some nicknames -- I find out later.
Many of my house guests took my innocent -- "I'll do anything!" comment to a slutty extreme. In fact, my two nicknames...can't be repeated on this family friendly Web site. But one rhymes with "door" -- the other "looker." (Hey, no one said my fellow journalists were all in this to make friends.)
Brian Gianelli from Fancast...Matthew Whitfield from Yahoo...both super nice guys. But, again, $500 is at stake. And can ...I... trust them? Clair Barthelemy of CBS.com tells everyone she has never seen "BB"...Hmmm. I know I cannot trust her!
It wasn't my only slip of the tongue during the day. Over the course of 12 hours, with strangers, one is likely to put his or her foot in their mouth. A lot.
Reminder for the future: when meeting strangers stay away from discussing age, sex, jobs and relationships. I'm trying to bond with Derrik Lang, from the Associated Press, after Andrea Reiher from Zap2it revealed to him that I hated his green sneakers (Thanks, Andrea!).
I say "trying to bond." I tell Derrik that "my good friend Jeff Weingrad also works at AP...you must know him."
Actually, says, Derrik, "your good friend hasn't worked there for about three years."
Ouch!
Alrighty then! Don't drop names!
Big mistake!
I made a bunch of other dumb blunders. Some too humiliating to remember, or repeat. But calling four house guests in for dinner, four times, when they are on slop was a strategic blunder...but I wasn't being malicious. Or trying to rub it in. I was ... tired! Stoopid!
The Head of Household competition was won by my so-called bud Reagan Alexander of People.com (yeah, he's straight, but he was my intended "bromance" and if you're going to suck up to someone, the hot HOH is the way to go.)
We had to explain to Reagan why we shouldn't be put on slop for the day. My excuse -- that I'm diabetic (true) seemed to work (although no one seemed to notice I had literally just polished off a jelly donut before making this pronouncement. Oh, and a half a chocolate chip muffin.) Telling Reagan he was hot didn't hurt. I avoided the slop curse.
An aside, I find straight boys love when you compliment them. (Score!) Well, not literally. But I wasn't put on slop. Job #1...a win. (Finally, no Big Mistake from me! This was a good, solid strategic move. Weird...but it worked!)
Megan Tevrizian of TV Guide Net explained that she shouldn't be put on slop because -- she was willing to wash all the dishes! Did I have to call out "But we're using paper plates!" Really. Did I have to do that? Dumb. It might have been my high blood sugar. The jelly donut...small mistake.
Calling Megan out?
Big mistake! Lost her vote!
Then I started asking people...if I've lost their vote!
Big mistake! (See above -- annoying old guy everyone tries to avoid.)
The POV (Power of Veto) competition involved one teammate hurling raw eggs at the other...to spell out words. (Did the producer who came up with this idea graduate from Gitmo University?)
My first clue we were going to be subjected to something filthy and crazy was the e-mail that warned us "wear clothes you won't mind getting dirty."
Dirty? Two days later, after many showers, I still had egg yolk and pieces of egg shell in places you don't wanna find egg shell. Ever! I lost count after the 50th or so raw egg broke in my face or hands.
I love eggs and it's been two weeks since the competition...and I still can't hold one. Or look at one. Or go past one in the grocery store. My teammate Matt Maynard from We Love Big Brother.com was a trouper. He actually flew in from Ohio for the day. But he got to throw the eggs. He got the glam assignment.
And even though we lost as a team, I'm thinking perhaps by now, with a little team bonding, he got over the "The boy from Ohio should be the first one we evict" joke "because the guy from Ohio always dies first in war movies."
Clever! Funny but...I think I lost his vote!
Big mistake! Why did you insult the boy from Ohio?!
It was now time for the nominations for eviction. In the diary room, they asked me if I trusted Reagan. Of course I do! He's my bro. Hello!
Uh, shouldn't I trust him? Is there a reason I shouldn't trust him?
They can make you very paranoid, very quickly in the "BB" house.
In life, if someone tells you, "You look great!" it's a compliment. In the "BB" house...you're convinced it's a slam. It's ... just...how ...the game...works. You mean I look great now? Or for my age? Or I didn't look great before?! Mind games! And I come to find out, I'm not that good at them.
Come to also find out, I WAS being targeted. Didn't see that one coming at all. I thought I could trust Reagan. But HE was in a secret alliance with Ben Mandelker from B Side Blog. All day long they're just pretending to hate each other. They'd both competed in "BB" media day before. Aha! Backstabbed and I didn't even see the knife coming!
Some 11th-hour sucking up got me a reprieve from being nominated. Job #2 ...handled. (I think I told Reagan he was hot, or something like that. And by now, he is either enjoying my compliments a little too much or surely signing up for a restraining order.)
A few of us decided (OK, I decided) Derrik had to go...cause he wore green sneakers. No one said the reasons for wanting someone out had to make sense. And it seemed like a good a reason as any. Sorry, Derrik! Besides, he doesn't know my "good friend Jeff" so...he was expendable as far as I'm concerned.
Reagan also plotted against Andrea...cause she wore a St. Louis Cardinals t-shirt and he's a Cubs fan. (Hey, I was also on board with her eviction being a Dodgers/Mets fan myself. And she did kinda out me to the house on the "Alan hates Derrik's green sneakers thing.")
I'm a Scorpio. I hold a grudge. So sue me.
So, OK, Andrea and Derrik had to go...and I'm on board with either of them going.
Although, if memory serves -- I do believe I told Andrea she was very pretty and she had my vote to stay and it was Derrik who had to go! See, I told you I sucked up a lot. Not pretty.
Competing for $500 made me a bastard! I lied and cheated and, yeah, I backstabbed a few people myself. But, hey, I DO need new tires!
Did I win the $500? Well, no. And I still need new tires...not that I'm sucking up, but if the "BB" producers are reading this, I had a blast.
So...there's always next year! Watch your backs, fellow journalists! And I don't mean that in the slutty way!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Tweet your saboteur ideas to BigBrother Watch
Tweet from CBS twitter about the Big Brother fans suggesting sabotage ideas to the SABOTEUR.
Big Brother 12 Houseguests answer fan questions
Videos from CBS.com.
Andrew:
Annie:
Brendon:
Britney:
Enzo:
Hayden:
Kathy:
Kristen:
Lane:
Matt:
Monet:
Rachel:
Ragan:
Michelle BB11 got a gig reporting on Big Brother 12
Tweet from Neurodork.
I am reporting on BB12 at geekweek.com and will release video soon.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Chelsia's Super Pass Interviews are up
If you have bought the feeds from Real, you can go to THIS link to see the preseason interviews with Chelsia Hart. You must have a subscription to view. Buy the feeds before July 7th, to get the discount.
B-side Blog
Post from B-side Blog about their BB house experience.
My Day In The Big Brother House
Jun 30th, 2010 by B-Side.
Last year, I got to live the dream. I spent a day in the Big Brother house and loved every single second of it. The entire experience was like a reality TV fanboy fantasy come to life. At last I could realize what it felt to walk through that famous front door. I could gaze upon the living room (and its surprisingly high ceiling) with my very own eyes; I could roam about the backyard (despite its shockingly small confines); and I could imagine life around the giant kitchen table, what with its pleasantly comfy chairs and annoyingly obstinate Lazy Susan.
Yes, it was all a dream to me, but I spent much of that day in my own head. This was the moment I had dreamed of — the chance to not only exist in the Big Brother house, but play the game too. For years I had pontificated on my blog about the best strategies and methods to win the game, and now I had this one shot to put it to the test. As a result, I played a quiet game. I stayed under the radar and subtly turned people against each other (or so I thought). It was totally fun, but I somehow became a neurotic mess over the course of the day. After all, I couldn’t wind up on the nomination block. That would prove my strategic theories wrong, nullifying years of pompous know-it-all moments. No, I had to survive the day, and ultimately, I did. However, as I returned to normal life, I had to ask myself a question: who cared if I got nominated? Who cared if I even got evicted? Why was I so scared of these fates? Nothing was ever on the line. It was just a one day experience. Even worse, when the media was sent a DVD of the day, my presence had been whittled down to a mere cameo. How appalling! I’m too much of a fame-whore to be stuck in the background. This was no good.
And so when I received the invite to return to the house this year, I knew I was going to play differently. I wasn’t going to play the way I would had I been cast on the actual show. I had already done that. Instead, I was going to play for fun, even if that meant backstabbing, lying, and throwing myself in harm’s way. And yes, all three happened.
First, let me introduce you to all the players. We had a varied bunch:
■Derrik, AP
■Andrea, Zap2It
■Alan, local CBS affiliate online correspondent (or perhaps producer?)
■Matt, welovebigbrother.com
■Matthew, Yahoo! / OMG!
■Reagan, People
■Claire, CBS.com
■Brian, Fancast
■Megan, Hollywood 411 (TV Guide Network)
■Me, here.
As it turns out, Reagan was also in the Big Brother house the last year, and since then we’d struck up a friendship (he was actually the one who put me in contact with CBS so I could return this time around). This was very significant for me because Reagan is much cooler than I am, and as we all know, I rarely co-exist with such people before they realize how awkward I am. Furthermore, I am something of a goody-two-shoes, despite my best efforts otherwise, and Reagan, well, he’s sort of gained this reputation over the past two years of being the “Bad Boy” of Media Day. He’s the guy who shows up in the Big Brother house with a motorcycle helmet and swagger to spare, sort of like the second coming of Kenickie — as much as one can be Kenickie during a press junket at CBS. Nevertheless, in many ways Reagan and I are different, but we do share one thing: a desire to win, and on Media Day, there’s $500 up for grabs for whomever the “cast” votes to be the best player of the day. Reagan won last year, and this time around, it was my turn. So what to do?
It was obvious, really. Reagan and I decided to secretly team up and manipulate the house into giving me the money (which the two of us would then split, natch). The whole scheme was hatched on the drive over to CBS. I picked Reagan up at 7:30 in the morning, and as we motored over towards Studio City, we decided on a plan of action. Reagan was going to be a total asshole. He was going to make the house hate him. I, meanwhile, was going to champion a revolution against him, clearly earning the loyalty and love of my fellow members of the media. Oh, and along the way, I was going to win Head of Household and control every single element of the game. Easy, right?
We finally arrived at CBS, and our subterfuge commenced. Reagan hopped out of my car while I parked so that no one would see us arrive together. Very crafty. Very crafty indeed. The assorted members of the media then convened in a small green room where we all engaged in genial conversation (as opposed to last year when we were ordered to be silent). It was hard to gauge people’s personalities; although, there did seem to be one standout chatterbox: Alan.
Let me just get this out of the way. Alan was a remarkably nice man. Truly, he was lovely. He also would not shut up. And he prefaced every sentence with one of the three following phrases: “As a black man,” or “As a gay man,” or “As the only man here in his fifties.” It was a bit… how do you say… intense? Let me remind you that the game hadn’t even started yet.
Also in the group was Matthew Whitfield (who normally goes by “Matt” but couldn’t because of the other Matt). I actually am friends with Matthew outside of the house, and upon seeing each other, we exchanged subtle, silent nods, not sure if we should reveal our friendship to any of the other house guests. Already I was sensing complications. Should I let my friend in on my secret alliance with my other friend? I kind of wanted to, especially because at that moment it seemed like Matthew and I had our own secret thing going, but I decided I would keep my cards close to my chest. After all, loose lips sink ships, and we’ve seen it happen a million times on Big Brother. I remained silent.
Soon, our group was taken into the little corridors where the cameramen live and record the house guests. The front of the “house” (which is really a soundstage) was still under construction; so we didn’t get to walk in grandiosely from Julie’s studio like we did last year, but that’s okay because the effect was still the same. We stepped inside, and immediately, I was overwhelmed by the surreal-ness of it all, or at least the tackiness.
This year’s theme is — for lack of a better word — Florida. Everything looked like excavated remains of the Golden Girls set — pastels, palm trees, sea-themes. It was very 1980s Boca Raton chic. And I kind of loved it. The whole thing was campy and chintzy (with a few CB2 and Ikea flourishes for good measure). Outside in the backyard, the Florida theme continued, but with a decidedly more South Beach bent. The back wall featured a giant mural of a Miami-style hotel pool scene, and I gotta admit: I dug it. The look continued upstairs in the Head of Household room, which opened up a few hours into the day. Much like last year, the space featured faux-windows, but instead of a fabricated view of the Hollywood Hills, we had another South Beach scene. Gone this time, however, was the neat water feature behind the bed’s headboard. Alas.
Nevertheless, as we all settled in around the kitchen nook, the gabbing quickly turned to gameplay. Reagan fulfilled his role of being abrasive, and I happily fanned the flames by privately rolling my eyes at him to the other players and informing them that he was just like this last year. It was amazing how quickly people started turning against him. Matthew gave me his patented “Well OBVIOUSLY” look (as in “Well OBVIOUSLY we’re voting him out”), and Brian, well, turns out he’d been in the house with Reagan two years ago, and he was ready to get some sort of revenge (Brian had been voted out).
Yes, this was a cakewalk so far, and I was already playing much more aggressively than I had been the year prior. But then things took an interesting turn. I was talking to Derrik, and it turned out he had some dirt on Megan of all people. He didn’t want to talk about it in front of everyone; so I implored him to come with me upstairs to the balcony, all under the auspices of touring the house. I should have known better. I’ve studied the game way too much to know that such moves can be dangerous so early on, but what can I say? My desire to hear gossip trumped all.
Well, Derrik didn’t want to separate from the group, but I really wanted to hear the dirt on Megan (which was really a big nothing actually). We went upstairs, he told me that he had once had a tense interaction with her on a red carpet, and then I told him that Reagan was an ass. The two of us then headed back downstairs about two minutes later, and immediately we were met with jeers, led by BRIAN of all people. He announced that we were now the two biggest targets because we had been scheming. Even worse, Brian had now totally cozied up to Reagan — as had several others. What the? Had everything gone crazy in the two minutes we were upstairs? Apparently so. I felt bad for Derrik because he hadn’t even wanted to go upstairs, and now because of me he had a giant target.
As for my new target, I didn’t really care. I was out to have fun this year and make a splash. If that meant getting kicked out of the house, so be it.
Not too long after, the producers implored us to sit around the couches and introduce ourselves. We all shared a little bit about who we are, and when it got to Reagan, he announced that his goal was to take me out. I happily shot back that my goal was to take Reagan out, and from that point on, our war was on. All I had to do was win Head of Household.
Yeah, that didn’t work out so well.
I managed to get eliminated in the second round of the game, which sucked quite a bit, but hey, all the questions required estimating, and I’m a terrible estimator. As it turned out, the Head of Household turned out to be… Reagan. This angered the anti-Reagan camp, particularly Andrea, who had quietly proven herself to be very smart and very competitive. In fact, when Reagan won the HoH, she made a little remark, which I can’t remember now but was something along the lines of “Shut up.” Nevertheless, Andrea wound up with a big target on her back from that alone, which was too bad because I was hoping to ally with her and Matthew to target the likes of Brian (sorry, Brian).
Meanwhile, I should note that my gameplan to lead a revolution against Reagan had suffered a significant blow with him winning Head of Household. How was I supposed to sweep him out of the house if he was now immune? It made things tricky, but I’d have to just improvise. After all, that’s what makes Big Brother great: the constant need to shift strategies on the fly.
Well, after the HoH competition, Reagan needed to assign people to slop for the day, and I can assure you this was one serious drawback to our fake rivalry. I indeed was placed on slop, as were Andrea, Derrik, and Matthew. Last year I avoided this dreaded fate, but this time around, I was clearly not so lucky. That was okay though. I kind of liked the idea of experiencing the hardships of the game, and the truth was that Andrea, Matthew and I were such big fans of the show that we were on board. Plus, we wanted to prove that it was possible to go on slop and not complain about it.
And so while the rest of the house lunched on what looked to be the tastiest food platters of all time, we got to work hot rodding some slop for consumption. The flavor really wasn’t that bad. It had notes of peanut butter hidden in the blandness. However, I could easily see how eating it for an entire week could become tiresome. Nevertheless, we decided to make slop cookies. Couldn’t be much different than oatmeal cookies, right? We added butter and sugar to a bowl of slop, and honestly, I swear to God, it tasted really good. So good that people kept coming over to try it. As for the cookies, they wound up looking more like parmesan crisps, but again, they were surprisingly tasty.
Nevertheless, we slop eaters formed a certain brotherhood, and soon we became Team Slop (which was part of the new plan — Reagan and I could only strategize in brief, thirty-second encounters, and he told me he put us on slop so that I could have an alliance of people who would vote for me later on). I was actually a big fan of Team Slop, but before I could really decide how to mobilize the alliance, a strange development occurred. The Head of Household room had opened up, and everyone was up there hanging out. After about ten minutes, the girls found some nail polish, and all three of them stepped out of the room to do some mani-pedi action out on the balcony. All the guys were alone (except for Alan, who had been called to the Diary Room), and somehow or another, a strange little plan emerged. We decided we would shake things up. The plan was to put Andrea up (because she was a threat) and then have a pawn go against her. We all know what they say about pawns: they always go home. Naturally I volunteered.
I didn’t want to get evicted, but I didn’t want to spend this day on the sidelines either. The plan was therefore that I would go up as a pawn, and whoever paired up with Andrea in the veto competition would throw it. Then I would win the veto (or have it used on me), and then we’d put up either Alan (who was driving everyone bonkers, especially Matt, who Alan seemed to have a small obsession with) or Megan (who didn’t seem to care about being in the house and had already spent an hour napping). Yes, it was all a delicious plan. And my head was totally spinning.
To recap:
I was in a secret alliance with Reagan.
I was in an overt alliance with Matthew, Andrea, and Derrik.
But Matthew, Derrik, and I were in a secret alliance with Reagan, Brian, and Matt (but a secret alliance that wasn’t as secret as my deeper alliance with Reagan).
Plus, I had an implicit loyalty with Matthew because we were friends.
This was getting tricky.
Scheming / confusion.
Sure enough, Reagan nominated me and Andrea, and I had to feign disgust with Andrea, even though I knew she was a target in all this. And yet, I didn’t want her to go home. I wanted my replacement nominee to not be Alan or Megan but instead someone else. Why not blindside someone? That’s the most fun. Clearly I had Brian in my sights because he put the target on me in the beginning. However, I was also thinking it might be fun to go after Matt. Why? Well, here’s the thing with Matt. He was flying totally under the radar, which was fine, but furthermore, if he had been put on the block, I suspected that he might have flipped out (which is ultimately all we wanted to see). You see, in the morning, Matt had been composed and polite and utterly demure. Sort of like a local anchorman. However, as the day went on, he got kind of crabby. He even admitted it. First he started to get snappy with Alan (who had evidently spotted Matt at a McDonalds that morning and wouldn’t stop talking about it), and then at one point, we were ordered to stay in a room and be silent for an hour, during which time Matt went stir-crazy, sighing and moaning about this boring interlude. It was hilarious. Clearly he would have been hilarious on the block. If I could save myself, and then if Reagan blindsides the whole big alliance, thus revealing that the two of us had been working together, that would be the sort of gameplay that anyone in their right mind would reward. Clearly. All I had to do was save myself.
Well, the Veto Competition arrived, and I immediately paired up with Matthew, who was not only my fellow Team Slop cohort, but a previous game partner of mine (we played Super Pyramid at a party once and destroyed the competition). I knew we could kick everyone ass at the Veto. Or so I thought.
This year’s game was a tricky sumbitch that required me to throw eggs through “jail bars” to Matthew. Each egg had a letter on it, and Matthew would then use those letters to spell a word. The team with the longest
Too bad I couldn’t throw the eggs for the life of me. I swear that every other egg hit those bars, and poor Matthew was covered in yolk in no time. Making matters worse was that it was damn near impossible to find the letters I needed, and when I did find one, either Matthew or I would break it (usually me). And did I tell you how fast the time flew by? Soon I was just chucking letters over, hoping for the best. When the clock did ultimately expire, we were left with the pitiful entry of “BREAKS,” and ironically, as Matthew covered the word up with a cloth — as per the instructions — one of the eggs fell from its spot, and indeed broke. This also caused us to have a misspelled word, and alas, we were disqualified.
The good news was that Derrik, who’d been paired with Andrea, had successfully thrown the challenge. Sort of. Considering he was supposed to be sabotaging her, they certainly had quite the long letter spelled out. But it didn’t matter. In the end, the duo of Clair and Megan won the round, and then they had to decide between themselves who would get the Veto (the other girl would have to spend the rest of the day in an egg costume). Amusingly enough, Megan volunteered to be the egg (this after she had complained earlier about always being made to look like an idiot on TV), which meant that Claire now had the power of veto. One problem: Claire wasn’t in our big alliance, and thus she was a question mark.
I immediately did a big sell on Claire, saying that she had to take me off the block because it would be such a great blindside to Reagan, especially if she told him that she was going to take Andrea off. I told her that this was personal — I had to get retribution from last year. I couldn’t let Reagan “get his way and have me voted out of the house.”
Luckily, Claire and Matthew had grown close, and he also put in a good word for me. Heck, all the guys did. Except, apparently, Matt, who I later heard was plotting against me. Hmmm. Either way, it looked like everything was still going according to plan. I just needed to get off the block, reveal my hidden alliance, and collect the moooolah. Another problem though: somehow through this all, Matthew had become the leading contender to win the money. I’m not sure how or why, but everyone liked him (he is a nice guy, after all), and I think people appreciated how he was working Claire and helping the guy alliance. This clearly put a complicated wrinkle in my plans because, ahem, the whole plan was for me and Reagan to win the money and split it. But now Matthew was talking about winning the money and spending it all on a fancy dinner for the group. I chimed in that I would do the same; although, clearly this meant that if I did win the money, I would be stuck between screwing the group out of dinner or Reagan out of his share. OY.
Fear not though. Reagan and I decided that if either of us won the cash, we’d use it to buy the group dinner. Dilemma avoided; however, for a few minutes there, I definitely tasted the very real personal conflict that people on these shows experience when money’s on the line. It wasn’t pleasant.
Nevertheless, as the evening wound down, it was time for the Veto Ceremony. This was when things were going to get crazy. I felt pretty secure, but then again, I really hadn’t campaigned too hard for myself beyond one convo with Claire. I suppose that was laziness on my part. Perhaps hubris too. Either way, I didn’t follow my cardinal rule, which is to make the person in power always feel like they have no choice but to save you.
Sure enough, Claire used the veto, but not on me. She took Andrea off the block, and thus I was robbed of my “Ah-ha! I’ve had a secret alliance!” moment. How was I going to convince the house that I deserved the money now? I mean, I was on the BLOCK. That’s not good gameplay. That’s AWFUL gameplay. Even worse, Reagan then nominated Derrik to replace Andrea (as opposed to one of the players I had been angling for in our secret meetings — one of which included me feigning having to go #2 in his Head of Household bathroom so that I could get a minute of game talk in with him upstairs).
Now it was Derrick and I pitted against each other. He wasn’t particularly happy about this, especially since the entire reason why he even had a target on him was because of me in the first ten minutes of the day. Time was running out, and I needed to make a big move. When it came time for me to make my final speech, I decided I would focus less on why I should stay and more on why I should earn the money. I revealed that I had been in a secret alliance all day with Reagan, and that the two of us had been playing the entire house (to what end? Eh, not so sure. But I didn’t focus on that), and therefore, the group should reward my great gameplay by keeping me around.
There was certainly shock around the living room, but no one seemed more flabbergasted than Matthew, who leveled this look at me that was just one slap away from an angry Heather Locklear, Melrose Place era. Derrik then made some speech about how keeping me in the house was the equivalent of rewarding duplicity and villainy, and to be honest, he had a point. I didn’t really know what was going to happen, but I sensed it would be a landslide eviction for me.
Well, we all voted, and then… by a vote… of four… to three…
(omg this was exciting)
Derrik… was evicted!
I had somehow survived by the smallest of margins. How small? Well, apparently when everyone was voting, Megan asked Brian who she should evict, and he told her Derrik. So in an ironic twist, the guy who I thought had been coming after me was actually instrumental in my survival. Who would have thunk it?
Meanwhile, as we all sat around during the voting process, Claire decided to share why she saved Andrea. She revealed proudly that she smelled a rat between me and Reagan, and she decided she was going to shake things up by throwing a wrench into the plans. Everyone was massively impressed. Quiet, sweet Claire had suddenly emerged as a major power player. It was one of those great twists, and honestly, if I hadn’t been in an alliance with Reagan, I would have voted that she get the money.
Luckily for Claire, she didn’t need my vote. After a day of angling and posturing for the money, the $500 didn’t go to me or Reagan or Matthew. It went to Claire! In a way, it was absolutely perfect. She had just gotten married, she was far and away the sweetest of the bunch, and honestly, we all really liked her. Plus, she totally deserved it. The entire household erupted in applause, and Reagan and I were left to do nothing but laugh: we had spent all this time and energy on the most useless secret alliance of all time.
However, just because our little schemes failed at every juncture didn’t mean they were worthless. The fun I had playing aggressively this year (as opposed to quietly in my head last year) has totally been a high point for 2010. Sure, it may not be the smartest way to make it to the end, but it’s a hell of a lot more enjoyable.
The only question left is this: how much fun will CBS have making us look like idiots when they edit the footage together? My DVD is forthcoming (a messenger tried to deliver it today when I wasn’t home. Doh!).
Thank you again, CBS and everyone on the Big Brother staff. I had a blast!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Chima BB11 houseguest review
Click HERE to read Chima's post about the BB12 houseguests, she writes for The Wrap.
Ross Matthews blog
Ross's latest post, to check out his blog click HERE
You know I love Big Brother, right?!? Well, the new season starts on July 8th and they just announced the new house guests! Click HERE to check them out!
I'm always a little hesitant when they cast too many people who look like they could be models or actors. Call me crazy, but I wouldn't mind a big-boned gal, a beer-bellied fella and/or anyone with a lil' ethnic flava being thrown into the mix. That being said, I trust the Big Brother producers to know much better than I do and I cannot wait for the new season to start!
What are YOUR thoughts?!?
:)
Ross
Media day video
Below is WLBB media day videos and an article about the house.
WLBB media day part 1
WLBB media day part 2.
WLBB media day part 3.
WLBB media day part 4.
Posted by Brian Scheffler
Front Entrance
On the wall across from the front door, two palm tree trunks run up both sides of the wall. The top of the trees (which may have had coconuts) branch out across from the second-floor chess area. I must say though, when I first ran into the house, I totally missed these.
Living Room
The living room didn’t stick out much to me this year. One large purple wallpaper wall is noticeable when you first walk into the room (with a light, shiny pattern). The nomination chairs were white Florida beach house-like chairs with basket material-like arm rests. The main couches didn’t stick out either—they were long with short arm rests complete with plenty of pillows. Large white shells and other décor sat on a table for decoration.
Bedrooms
There were three main bedrooms—we were only given access to two. My room (the bedroom without a door) had three little beds with dark wallpaper that had a busy tropical tree design. If I remember correctly, each bed was a different bright color.
The other bedroom (which we sat in for nearly an hour without talking—explaining why I remember it so clearly) was nicknamed the “rainbow room.” It had bright, vertically-stripped wallpaper (with a main color of red) with three beds and foe glass block walls that showcased bright rainbow colors. The room also had large IKEA-like circle lights hanging from the ceiling. Side note: While I sat in the bed looking at this light, I realized for the first time that many of the rooms in the Big Brother house had waffle ceilings… I found that funny.
The third bedroom remained locked and, according to producers, would again be a “have not” bedroom. It’s hard to say what’s behind that door—but, for my super BB fans, they even covered the hole for the camera that can pan between both bedrooms—so there was definitely no peaking!
Kitchen/Dining Room
TV Guide gave you the first look inside these areas—the teal kitchen cabinet doors definitely catch your attention when you walk into this area. Beyond the flamingos waiting at the bottom of the stairs, there was not a lot that drew my attention.
One fun story: When we were cooking dinner in the kitchen, we went to use the microwave and learned that it wasn’t plugged in or even near an outlet. After asking the Big Brother gods why they would have a microwave nowhere near an outlet, I carried it (somewhat clumsily) to the other counter and set it in between the stove and sink. Needless to say, I found it enjoyable that it still sits there in the picture published in TV Guide. And to think, I thought I had no career in interior design…
“Cabana Room”
Well… contrary to what some fansites have posted, there are no coffins and spiders in this room—so let me be the first to “kill off” those rumors.
In the past we’ve seen this room as an exercise room and a spa room—it looks like this year it will mainly be used for games and naps. Before entering, an awning sticks out over the outside of the door. A large “sitting area” with tons of pillows takes up a majority of the room. Directly to the left of the door sits a fish tank.
Speaking of the fish tank, I imagine our “competition/nomination view” on the live feeds will again be a fish tank—and I bet this is the command center for it.
Bathroom
Unfortunately, this is the room I remember least about (it may have to do with the fact that I consider the bathroom like an office conference room—it’s only a place for business). I do remember while washing my hands the countertop was white with a rectangular sink. Also, per normal, a small seating area sat right behind the sink.
One interesting note: It was very odd to use the bathroom in the Big Brother house. First, it goes without saying that it’s somewhat uncomfortable to be wearing a microphone while you’re “taking care of business.” Secondly, it’s also very weird to use the bathroom when the door doesn’t lock—I never thought about it while I was there, but I never knocked before entering!
HOH Room
When you travel up the yellow staircase, the second floor again has a wallpaper collage-like scene on it (I don’t quite remember what it was of). In the sitting area, a rounded purple sitting area again allows players to play chess—which at the time, was missing a chess piece (let’s hope they found it).
The HOH room did not seem a lot different to me this year. Similar to last season, a collage-like scene of a crowd at the beach filled one wall, with the same clever paneling in front of it. A few drape-like cloths hung out from this, which I thought was very weird (and apparently very hard to describe). A big white shag rug took up a lot of the floor, and a desk for a computer sat in the corner. Interestingly enough, our inquisitive group opened it to find a whole manicure/pedicure set inside of it—and being the shy bunch that we were… we used it.
Again, I don’t remember a lot about the HOH bathroom either, but together, both the room and bathroom definitely were elegant and something worth fighting for in the game.
Backyard
The backyard looked very similar to last season. It had a mural that ran against the back wall—a summer, beach-like theme. The pool and hot tub were still there (and let me just say, the hot tub is A LOT smaller in person). The weight area was in its normal place, as were the washer, dryer, and pool table. The sitting area looked the same, with the same flower/ivy-like set-up on the wall behind the chairs.
Diary Room
The diary room was the coolest part of the house for me as a fan. My favorite part was… [Matt, you are not allowed to talk your about diary room sessions with other houseguests]. Well, it was worth a try… Needless to say, the area doesn’t look a whole lot different than last year. And I can tell you that I thought it got really toasty in there with all the lights!
One houseguest left while in sequester
Post from Zap2it about one less BB houseguest.
By Andrea Reiher
Summer is officially in full swing with the start of "Big Brother 12." Now you can meet the house guests! Check out the full photo gallery here.
It has been reported around the web that there are 14 house guests. That is no longer correct. CBS has told Zap2it that one contestant got out to the Los Angeles area in the pre-show sequester and got cold feet, so she chose not to participate in the show. They were sad to lose her, but there are 13 exciting "Big Brother" contestants to meet!
Big Brother 12 House Tour with Julie
Video of Julie showing us the BB12 house on the Early Show today. Courtesty of We Love Big Brother.
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