This just in! We finally have footage of the eviction ceremony from press day on Big Brother. Sadly, Rosanna's exit song to the evictee was edited out (rights, I'm sure), but let it be known that it was a beautiful moment (she sang "Fever"). Nevertheless, enjoy this last nugget from press day...
It's that time again! CBS has just announced the new cast for the upcoming season of Big Brother, which means we get to spend a week pondering who might be our early favorites, who might wind up sucking, and who could possibly win the whole shebang. After the jump, I've got a rundown of each contestant, as well as a nifty scale to gauge their potential douchiness or bitchiness. Take a look, and then share your thoughts on the cast too...
Ten days ago, an exciting thing happened: I was invited to spend the day in the Big Brother house along with eleven other members of the media. This was a minor dream come true: I got to taste the Big Brother experience without committing to a summer of national exposure (most of which I'm sure would be extremely embarrassing for me). While in the house, we played a week's worth of the game -- from Head of Household to Veto to eviction. Yes, we did it all, and it was, in short, awesome.
Nevertheless, I've been under a media embargo for the past week and a half -- but as of 6 AM this morning, the blackout has been lifted! The house guests are safely sequestered, which means I can now share not only my experiences but also the neat video that CBS edited together of us in the house. It's all sorts of fun (although, curiously, the eviction ceremony was not included on our DVD). Either way, the videos are highly entertaining, and if they don't get you psyched for the season, I don't know what will.
Also, be sure to check out my very thorough account of Media Day. It's up over at TV Week (and while you're there, be sure to check out a nifty profile of my college classmate Mindy Kaling). For those who don't need to read every single detail of the experience, I'm planning to write an abridged report that I'll have up on this site at some point. Plus, if you have any questions about the house or the experience, feel free to ask them in the forums on a thread conveniently titled "Big Brother House Q & A."
After the jump, parts I, II and III of the Big Brother media day video as well as some screen shots to help give you a sense of the house...
Well lookie at what I have here: footage from press day at the Big Brother house. I just watched it, and I must say — my mind is slightly blown. On the one hand, it was like I was watching a normal episode. But then right there in the middle is ME. Something seems incongruent with that pairing. Anyway, I once again can't divulge really anything about the experience; although, I can share this spoiler: in one of the two Diary Room scenes I'm featured in, I have a raging pit stain that is clearly visible, thanks to some arm flapping by yours truly. Not my proudest moment (and let's not talk about the acne. Oh, the acne... shaking fist at the heavens). I can also say there was a lot from the day that never made it into the video, but fear not, I have detailed the entire experience in what a considerably lengthy article that will first appear on TV Week's website. Chances are I'll post it again here a bit later, but I'm giving them the exclusive because without TV Week, I never would have made it into the house.
Of course, since succinct writing has never been my forte, don't be surprised when I tell you that the article is over 7,000 words long. Yes, it's a tad lengthy, but fear not — it looks like it's going to be chopped up into a multi-part series. Normally I wouldn't write so much, but this is Big Brother we're talking about. I wouldn't be a fan if I didn't relay every minute detail of the house and experience.
As for the video, I'll be hosting it here once the media embargo is lifted. Don't know if it'll appear here in exclusive form or just on my YouTube channel. Either way, check back, and be sure to follow me on Twitter where I'll be posting further updates...
Also — will be answering Q & A's to the best of my ability in my forums. Check it out here.
Hey, girl with fifty-six stars on her face — this news might be perfect for you: I just received a text from Dr. Will, famously of Big Brother and Dr. 90210. He has this news to share:
My Irvine clinic is doing FREE tattoo removal all day today (until 8:00 pm). If you know anyone who needs some ink removed, please call us at: 949-581-5334. www.DrTattoff.com
That's right, ladies. Now you can get that tramp stamp removed without spending a dime! It's only for today though, and only at the Irvine location. Sounds like a deal to me.... (and yes, this service is open to the mens also).
The Chenbot's Chelmet clearly suffering from Chenmidity.
You all should remember the date July 9, 2009. That's the day when Big Brother returns to the airwaves!
There are no other details as of yet, but you can be sure I'll be sitting in front of the TV, watching preggers Chenbot ushering the new cast into the house.
Phase 2 of Julie Chen's global domination has now been set into motion. Our favorite mechanical hostess has proven that robots can indeed reproduce, thus signaling the death knell for all human civilization. But while Skynet prepares to model an entire predatory series of machines after The Chenbot, we can take this time to congratulate Julie on her pregnancy, which she revealed on this morning's Early Show. I can only wonder how this will affect her work on Big Brother. Will she proudly reveal her bump in a series of slinky, bright orange maternity pantsuits? Or will she attempt to hide it with a variety of pillows, baggy jackets, and shopping bags à la Kelly Rutherford on Gossip Girl. And what role, pray tell, will her raging hormones play? I can already imagine her chucking porcelain mugs at her assistant, snapping, "This isn't what I asked for! Stripey, where the HELL is my Ecto Cooler!?!?!!" (her assistant is named Stripey, lest you forget, because he always wore a striped shirt each time I attended a live taping.)
I also have concern about how the pregnancy might affect Julie's ability to do her patented lean-forward, shake-hands move at the end of every Big Brother interview. Since her due date is October 4th, by the time we hit the later weeks of the BB season, she'll be quite pear-shaped. The lean-forward, shake-hands move will be rather difficult for her. I predict copious amounts of grunting, groaning and the occasional utterance of "My sciatica!" Can't wait!
Thanks to all the readers who gave me a heads up on this story...
Julie Chen turned up in quite the surprising location today: a New York Times article about self-commissioned celebrity portraits. Our favorite hostess and her husband, CBS bigwig Les Moonves, are profiled as some of the many people who've had artists recreate their visages for the sake of art. I won't get into the various details of the article, but needless to say, all that's really important is that we now have our first officially sanctioned ChenPortrait! Yay!
Next stop? THE LOUVRE. (Just putting it out there)
Sheila Kennedy, one of my favorite Big Brother contestants of all time, popped up on The Doctors recently with a very, very important question. Watch the video to find out what was on her mind. Bonus fun: she ends the clip with her trademark "Thank yew!"
I've had quite the run of exclusive experiences of late: a meet and greet with Julie Chen, a visit to The Soup, a stroll through the Gossip Girl set, and of course, back to back infiltrations of the Big Brotherfinale and wrap party. Am I bragging? Indeed. (Somebody's gotta drum up traffic around here). With all this access to the glitteratti, I'm starting to feel like Perez Hilton (except funnier, I hope); so why not add one more event to the list: the Fox Reality Channel "Really" Awards.
Avid readers may remember that I attended the first ever Really Awards two years ago at Les Deux. Back then, it was a smaller, more casual affair. The network was young, the stars didn't know what to expect, and in my studly prime I was able to actually walk the red carpet. Man, those were the days. Cut to this year and holy moly, the Really Awards have gotten big. According to the brass I spoke with, there were about 300 celebrities (or rather, "celebrities") present, which meant my anonymous ass did not get to walk the carpet again, which by the way was totally cool. I completely understood. It was a zoo, and the last thing the organizers needed was me clogging up the carpet. Honestly, I was just happy to get in. This year's ceremony was apparently a hard ticket to get. Rumor amongst the partygoers was that even recent reality stars like Jessie from Big Brother 10 were denied entry. Ouch/haha.
Nevertheless, I may not have dazzled the paps awkwardly this go-around, but I certainly had my fill of reality stars. I took pictures with as many as I could, but honestly, there's only so much one man can do. Pictures and stories after the jump.
In case you haven't seen it, last week at the Big Brotherwrap party, I was privileged enough to dance with the one and only Renny, an experience I will treasure and love for many years to come. Intern Nick of TVgasm was there to capture it all (it was he who snapped the photos of me with both my camera and his), and at one point he went so far as to videotape the excitement, for which I am forever indebted. Of course, this is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, the world can share in my special moment, and on the other hand, the world can see how truly horrific of a dancer I am. My only consolation is knowing that I was hamming it up for the cameras, but still, I can't help feeling that this is somehow representative of my dancefloor skillz, despite attempts to be silly on video. It's okay though — I own my goofy hand gestures and dance steps, and I take solace in knowing that I still have those four free dance lessons waiting for me.
Anyway, this video is about Renny and not me, and as such, I think it's great. It's already been posted in the comments section of this blog (among many other places), but I felt it important to give it the showcase that it so truly deserves. Enjoy!
The party did not disappoint. I got to totally geek out, which meant I spent an unhealthy amount of time walking up to cast members, taking their photos, and then awkwardly gushing about my love for either the show, them, or both. I swear I'm not this ridiculous in normal life, but there's something about the Big Brother wrap party that brings out my inner-idiot. I don't even try to act cool (and for me to not put on even the most perfunctory of airs is a big deal).
Sadly, I was a little bit off my wrap party game tonight. One of the thrills of talking with these cast members is knowing that for them, their reality show experience ended just forty-eight hours ago. Everything is so fresh and so intense for them that they can't help but to dish about each other, and for a fan, that's kind of the best thing ever. It's like conducting your very own diary room session. Unfortunately, I didn't really pry tonight. I didn't ask for gossip or get too much inside scoop. Why? I don't know. I blame the housing crisis and credit crunch. Seems like an easy target, right? Instead, I just got my photos, cheesed over everyone, and oh yes, danced with Renny. Best night ever? COULD BE.
UPDATED: Three new pics of me dancing with Renny, courtesy of Intern Nick!
Apologies for the lame headline. It just had to be said. Nevertheless, by now there are plenty of Big Brother interviews clogging up the internets, and of course, one of my favorites is this one from Midseason Replacements. EdHill asks this season's winner, Dan, about all sorts of things — but of course, all I really cared about were his thoughts on Ollie and April having sex (and why he always shouted in the diary room). I'm a simple man. Check it out for a good read.
And so with a burst of confetti and a rousing standing ovation, this tenth and wonderful season of Big Brother 10 came to a close tonight, and you can bet your bottom dollar that I found my way into the audience. Come hell or high water, there was no way I was gonna miss the chance to see the entire cast assembled in one place — and let's not overlook the chance to hobnob with some of the past alums (don't think that finally meeting Julie Chen fulfilled all my Big Brother stalking needs). In typical fashion, I grabbed my fellow BB enthusiast, Jash, and together we ventured into the San Fernando Valley for one last trip to the Big Brother household.
After six years of unbridled adoration, my gentle stalking of Julie Chen has reached a stunning and wonderful milestone. That's right. Tonight, I had the pleasure and joy of meeting the one and only Chenbot, thus filling the void in my Big Brother viewing experience. Julie was like the Holy Grail of Big Brother for me. I'd met all my favorite players, I'd gone to the live show, I'd freakin' tasted slop, but the one thing I had never done was meet Julie Chen, and now I can say that just short of actually going on Big Brother and winning, my BB experience is complete.
All the gory and awkward details after the jump...
Earlier this summer, I managed to find my way into twolive shows of Big Brother, and after both trips, I wrote highly detailed accounts of my experiences. Well, since then, I've actually found my way into the audience two more times, but I haven't really written anything because there's been not much else to report. I mean, how many times can I describe the surreal experience of sitting just feet from the Chenbot? Okay, I could probably write about it many, many times. Point is, I thought I had run out of material, but when I went this past Thursday with none other than brilliantmistake of Midseason Replacements, I soon discovered that there's never a dearth of inspiration when you're surrounded by awful, awful people.
Okay, I should amend that. Not everyone around me was awful. Brilliantmistake, for one, was most certainly not awful. And the girl on the other side of me was rather pleasant too. Oh, but the audience. The audience. After having gone four times, I can say without a doubt that this was the dumbest audience I'd experienced all summer. And this isn't me be snotty (yes it is). These people were dumbb with two b's. Why? Well, I think it's because they had a leader; a leader who empowered them to express their dumbness to the fullest degree. And that leader's name was SHELLY.
We're gettin' down to the wire on Big Brother, and with Jerry's Head of Household victory, the rest of the house has fallen into mild turmoil. Memphis has wisely made deals with everyone to get to the final two, which is pretty smart — assuming no one rats him out. Unfortunately for us fans of Renny, it looks like her time might be up today. After Memphis won the Power of Veto and saved Dan, the dynamo from N'Orleans had to go on the block, and given that everyone loves her, she will most likely go home. Keesha tried to play on Memphis's distrust of Dan, but ultimately, she failed to convince him that taking him off the block would be dangerous. Had it been me, I would have blatantly lied. I would have told Memphis that I had an alliance with Dan to get Memphis out. You know, something to really prey on his paranoia. I guarantee it would have worked.
Alas, Renny and Keesha instead just gave Memphis concerned glares, which really didn't do much. If Renny goes home tonight, I'll be sad, but I'll happily put all my goodwill into Dan, my #2 favorite in the house. And speaking of favorites, this week saw my most favorite-est veto comp: the traditional face mash-up. Yes, it's the time when the producers go to town with some photoshop and mix two house guests together into one face. It seemed pretty easy this go around (especially compared to the one season where the house guests had to pick three names, not two), but shockingly, Renny took over twenty minutes to get it done. C'mon now. It shouldn't have lasted more than 90 seconds. Oh well.
It gives me great honor to announce that B-Side Blog is now the top result for the Google search terms, "big brother sex." That's right: out of over one million possible options, I'm #1 in the ENTIRE WORLD, nay, GALAXY, nay, UNIVERSE! Huzzah! I always knew my blog would become famous for something, and now I know what it is. I suppose I should thank April and Ollie, whose penchant for DOING IT rocketed this site to the top of the charts. Without them, I'd just be another anonymous blogger, snickering at the world. Thank you, Aprollie. Thank you.
Yes, it's a wonderful day here at the B-Side home base, and I plan to celebrate with caviar toasts and a bottle of champagne. Or, barring the availability of those first two options, a bowl of cereal. Probably the latter.
Sunday's episode of Big Brother was fairly tame, especially now that all warring factions of the house have been excised. With just five people left, the remaining house guests seemed intent on only one goal: ousting Jerry. Unfortunately for them, he won Head of Household after physics, karma, and cosmic justice conspired to screw Dan over in a ball-rolling quiz game. I was really hoping that Jerry would be going home this week, but alas, it won't be happening. That's okay though. His victory will keep things interesting as we head into the final chapter of this great season.
That's not to say there weren't plenty of interesting things on Sunday's show. With strategy talk at a low, the producers gave us several "character" segments — those lighthearted sequences that hone in on bizarre antics, such as Keesha's hyena laugh or Jerry's propensity for telling long, boring, old-man stories. I personally was happy to have a fresh dose of new Renny-isms, most obviously with her inability to grasp the finer subtleties of time zone concepts. However, I also loved how earlier in the episode she complained about The Colonel, saying that she had nothing in "COMMON" with him (but of course the "common" was screamed in her dying-crow voice that we adore ever so much). Good times had by all.
I love slapstick, especially when it involves old people falling over. That's where Jerry from Big Brother 10 comes into play. Earlier today, he fell into the backyard pool when trying to read a banner overhead. Don't worry — he was fine. My pants after I pissed them? Not so much.
(Don't worry, I didn't really piss my pants. OR DID I?)
Nevertheless, enjoy this very funny video (and try, if you can, to imagine him saying "HOOoonnk" as he plummets into the watery depths).
And the award for Best Supporting Actress in a straight-to-DVD horror film goes to... Keesha Smith from Big Brother 10. In this clip, we see Keesha's star-making turn in the gripping feature, FEAR CHAMBER (the caps are mine, not theirs). She doesn't do much beyond scream (clearly not a stretch for her), but she does go topless throughout the duration of her scene. So it should go without saying that this clip is NSFW (nudity, some kind of gross images).
As anyone who follows the Big Brother feeds knows, Tuesday's episode was the calm before the storm. Thanks to Dan, who bizarrely tried to create chaos with his Veto Roulette (or whatever he called it), the entire house is now poised for a meltdown. Whether it works in Dan's favor may be another issue. I actually don't know how it'll play out. All I know is that after the ceremony, nearly everyone flipped out for hours. We only saw a taste of it at the end of Tuesday's show, but I'm sure we'll see plenty more tonight (crossing fingers).
And how about that Veto Roulette. It seemed kind of dumb to me, but damn, I enjoyed it. I get the strategy of divide and conquer, but this seemed a bit too blatant, even for Dan. Still, everyone seemed perfectly willing to go along with the game — which wouldn't have been so strange given his ultimatum (say someone's name or you'll be on the block). However, what WAS strange was that when Dan approached everyone beforehand and told them to say a name, they all seemed to agree without any hesitation. The only person to question the whole scheme was Renny, who immediately sniffed out Dan's strategy. However, despite figuring it all out, she still easily fell right into Dan's trap the moment he informed her that Ollie would be saying her name. WELL! Then she would say Ollie's! What was impressive was the way Dan got all these people so angry at each other for saying each other's names when they all seemed to know they were all acting as puppets. It was the epitome of manufactured drama, and they all fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
I will say that the way Dan put Michelle up on the block was fairly obnoxious. He was rather mean and assholish about it, rather than sympathetic. After all, his whole plan was to not get blood on his hands, and the best way to do that would be to play up the fact that he was cornered by the situation. By nominating her in such a harsh way, it's no surprise that he elicited such a reaction from her. That'll probably work to her own demise, but it could come back to bite Dan. In the meantime, we were left with Ollie, who takes the crown of this season's biggest rube. He knew it too — which is why he knocked over that light (among other things). Again, probably not the best strategy to explode like that, but everything could change with Big Brother Fast Forward tonight. So very excited.
As for the rest of the episode, there wasn't much else. Jerry won a sweet phone call from home, and bless his wife's heart, she seems great, but listening to the two of them speaking, I couldn't help but laugh. It was like two pigeons cooing. I was glad that America gave him the call, even though he can be absolutely ridiculous at times. I suppose that's it. On to the photocap!
Things ain't looking too good for April and Ollie. Tuesday's veto episode didn't go quite their way (despite April's awkward attempts to buy Dan off with gold bars), and now it looks like our horny platinum blonde OCD sufferer might be headed out the door. I suppose we'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, here's the photocap from Tuesday's show...
Can't get enough Jessie? Well, here he is on The Gregory Mantell Show, an internet based series about bodybuilding, bodybuilders, and the people who love them. This clip is remarkable less for the silly things that Jessie says (we're used to that by now — but they're still hilarious), but more for the way the entire interview feels culled from a long lost Saturday Night Live parody. Needless to say, Jessie is truly in his element, from toe to head.
It's Sunday night, which means after an interminable two day wait, CBS has blessed us with another episode of Big Brother. There wasn't anything particularly stunning about this latest installment, but it was fun and funny all the same — culminating in two laugh-out-loud segments focusing on first April's "pet" poodle Polly and then on Ollie's strange phobia of birds. The latter scene provided us with another golden nugget from Michelle, who noted that Ollie would have been screwed in the age of "dinosaahhs" as a pterodactyl would have most certainly swooped down and ate him. You know what else would have been terrifying? THE DINOSAURS.
Nevertheless, this first episode of Renny's reign featured all too little frantic screaming from her. In fact, the best we got was some strange wheezing, but I don't feel comfortable really making fun of that as it came in response to her seeing pictures of her deceased parents. Even Keesha kept her shrieking to a minimum, eschewing her weekly meltdown in favor of quiet googly eyes towards Memphis. Speaking of whom, Memphis has quietly positioned himself perfectly with all alliances in the house. Everyone seems to like him, but make no mistake about it: he's still on everyone's radar, especially after he won that car (whose prices seems to escalate every week) back on week one. If April goes this week, look for the target to go back on him (assuming it doesn't land on Renny and Keesha). Also, note the way Michelle has so quickly and deftly distanced herself from Jerry, Ollie, and April. Wasn't it just a week ago that they were all buddy-buddy? She may be crazy/Portuguese (much in the same way that Renny is a Babe/Mom), but she seems to know what she's doing.
Between CBS.com's slow posting schedule and my random trip to Vegas, I've been a bit behind with the Big Brother photocaps. That's not to say I'm any less entertained with the show. In fact, Big Brother 10 has been on an absolute tear the past few weeks. It's astounding how good this season has been. I'm almost sad that anyone has to even leave the house as the current configuration of characters has led to nothing but outrageous outbursts and nonsensical screaming, usually thanks to some dumb comment that's been misinterpreted ten times over.
Take, for example, the big blowout between Keesha, Libra, April, and Michelle. It all stemmed from a joke that Libra made at a "feast" that the house guests had won. Whether you love Libra or hate her, you can't deny that her joke was nothing more than just that — a joke. However, Michelle interpreted it as an attack on April and Keesha and perhaps the entire country. One thing led to another, and suddenly the lovey-dovey Feast of Dreams turned into an all out cat fight amongst the women. (Incidentally, the CBS show only showed a small portion of the silliness that transpired that night — which included, but was not limited to Michelle throwing pillows around the house and yelling at the top of her lungs.) It's honestly a shame that Libra or Keesha have to leave this week because I fear these brawls will never be the same.
Meanwhile, the ladies weren't the only ones making fools of themselves. Jerry ascended to the ranks of Sanctimonious Fool (an honor which seems to fall on at least one cast member every season). The old coot continued to go on and on about Dan hiding behind his cross, going so far as to call him "Judas" on multiple occasions. I don't think you need me to articulate why this logic is so flawed, but I will anyway. Jerry seems to have forgotten how on week one of the competition, he blatantly broke his word to Brian — so much so that he had to remove all his military garb when doing so. How was this different from Dan's actions. Jerry also noted how Dan vowed to give up his religion before betraying Jessie, but as far as I can tell, that deal was off the instance Jessie tried to get Dan nominated when Keisha was HOH. The point of this is that Jerry needs to shut his mouth (except for when he yells strange things like "BEEP BEEP!" "Hooonnnk!" or "SCREW YOU, PEOPLE!")
A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to find myself a primo spot in Julie Chen's live audience for Big Brother. It was an experience that was both massively entertaining and wildly surreal. As soon as it was over, I wanted to go back, but I soon learned that contrary to what the show's staff says and encourages, repeat visits are a no-no with the ticketing company. Well, I wasn't about to let some arbitrary, bureaucratic decision by a third party hinder my Big Brother experience. That's right, my friends and I headed straight back to the CBS Radford studio lot and plopped ourselves back in the BB audience. It wasn't easy though, and the chain of events that led to our seating verged on saga status. But we made it, and we were lucky enough to see one of the most amazingly idiotic exit interviews ever.
The full story — including Jessie's Early Show interview, the story behind that "whoop" during Libra's vote, and how I won a free t-shirt — after the jump...
Once again, I was able to get into the Big Brother live audience tonight, and what a fantastic night to go. It was great. I came even closer to meeting the Chenbot, but alas it wasn't meant to be. On the upside, I won a free t-shirt. Bet you're really intrigued now!
Like last time, I'm too tired to write up the story tonight. Look for it sometime later today...
For all of you who haven't heard, Julie Chen has been popping up on The Late Late Show every Wednesday to chat with Craig Ferguson and the Big Brother house guests. The first week this happened, it was actually fairly hilarious, but that's because Craig Ferguson was pretty much screwing with house guests the entire time. In the ensuing weeks, he's softened up, and as a result, the segment has suffered for it — just not quite as funny. However, the interaction can still be entertaining, and on last night's episode, we learned three very important things. First, Julie Chen does a mean air-snap. Second, Libra just turned twenty-nine yesterday, despite her official CBS bio indicating that she was thirty-one at the beginning of the game (a medical miracle!!). And third, the majority of the house guests believe the earthquake last week was actually fake — an elaborate hoax made by CBS. Only Michelle, Jessie, Memphis, and Dan think there was actually a seismic event. Hey, I never said they were the smartest group of people, but they sure are entertaining.
In case you missed last night's triumphant, spectacular episode of Big Brother, here's one of the hour's defining moments: Keesha's super awkward birthday celebration, which came right smack dab in the middle of the biggest blow-up of the season. My only regret about the video above is that by starting the clip with the cast singing "Happy Birthday," you really don't get any sense that just minutes prior, they were all yelling. Nevertheless, Libra's so-hostile-it-hurts question, "Anybody want cake?" remains one of the most hilarious moments of the season. And of course, it only took about 3.2 seconds for the imbroglio to start right back up again. Classic.
There are Big Brother episodes and then there are BIG BROTHER episodes, and Tuesday's installment was the latter. Ranking as one of the best ever in the series' ten season history, the latest show featured one of the most ridiculous (yet ridiculously wonderful) fights of all time. It was all so petty, and yet that's what made it so spectacular. Everything stemmed from Libra having a bruised ego over basically nothing at all. When April got nervous that her nominations might not stay the same after the veto comp, Libra took that as a personal attack on her character and ability. Why? Well, she's a bit of drama queen. From there, everything just got out of control. Libra bitched to Keesha, and Keesha, never one to be second-fiddle in the drama department, took the opportunity to go off on April. Soon everyone was yelling at everyone (including Renny, whose "It's INAPPROPRIATE!!" line has become an instant classic), and in one of the most surreal, memorable, and absolutely hilarious interludes in reality TV history, the entire drama came to a total standstill as everyone paused to sing "Happy Birthday" to Keesha. I've never seen anything like it.
This actually constituted the third time I'd seen the big fight, as I'd watched it twice before on Big Brother: After Dark. I gotta say hearing a censored Keesha sort of neutered the fun a bit, but what the telecast lacked in F-Bombs, it more than made up for with the sort of fun editing that made the whole thing feel fresh again. Unfortunately, the editors omitted one of Libra's best lines of the night — a rant about how Jessie's tactics had failed on seasons one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight... AND NINE TOO! (I'll post a video later, perhaps) — and there were some hilarious Renny noises ("WHO? WHO?") that also didn't make the cut, but again, there was so much action in this episode, I understand that the editors couldn't keep everything.
And that's the thing: beyond just the blow-up, there was still so much more. Dan, the affable America's Player, was hilarious in his fifteen second hug with Jessie. And April was amazingly flighty as she first insisted that the nominations stay the same (thus spurring on the night's drama), and then when she had the chance to steal the veto, she passed it up for some cash. So all that fighting was essentially for nothing. Oh, what a sad commentary on humanity Big Brother makes.
Then there was Michelle. Oh Michelle. I did feel bad for her when she got screwed out of her Hawaii prize, but it was worth it to see her go all Montana Moorehead on the producers, bizarrely opting to show only her back to the camera as some strange protest of all things unitard. She claimed she didn't want to be made an ass out of on national television, but I wasn't sure how showing us her backside would resolve that concern. Nevertheless, her rant was worth price of admission alone — a glorious cherry on an already overflowing sundae of an episode.
Sunday's episode of Big Brother was entertaining, but truth be told, it was nothing compared to Friday's Big Brother After Dark. Without giving too much away, the entire house pretty much devolved into an insane fight, replete with yelling, screaming, and a random birthday party in the middle. Hopefully it will all be detailed on tonight's Big Brother episode. Unfortunately, the clash will most likely be reduced down to a mere ten or twenty minutes when in actuality, it lasted over two hours. This might be a good thing though, as anyone who watched the raw footage had to contend with Libra declaring "My feelings were HURT!" over and over and over again. Seriously, I'm gonna have to make a montage. (For a good take on the Friday night events, click here)
Nevertheless, while we steel ourselves for tonight's show, let's take a look back at Sunday's calm-before-the-storm activity via a photocap!
As usual, CBS.com dragged their feet when it came to putting up screen caps from last week's live eviction episode. I was just going to skip the whole thing and move onto Sunday's show, but then I saw some of the photos, and as usual, I couldn't resist making fun. Enjoy...
(A photocap of Sunday's episode will be forthcoming.)
Seriously, what the HELL were the Big Brother 10 houseguests thinking? I'm totally confused, angry, and... well... CONFUSED. This episode completely had me scratching my head. Don't get me wrong — it was a phenomenal episode. From the amazing Jerry fight (above) to Julie's pointed questions, it was all fantastic. And let's not forget the Chenbot-Dan smackdown. That's right: she certainly is married (TO THE HEAD OF THE NETWORK), but "Mrs. Chen" is her mom, DAN.
Apologies for having a late Big Brother photocap. CBS.com has been a bit screwy with the screen caps, and while in the past they've always had the pics up about an hour after the latest episode airs here in the west, this season, they've been a bit unreliable. Plus, after all that waiting, they didn't even put up any good shots from the Memphis-Jerry fight. Speaking of which, I guess Memphis isn't so unemotional after all. Something tells me that Jerry's "womanizer" comment touched a nerve that perhaps informs us a bit about Memphis's absent-during-childhood dad. Hmmm... How very Prince of Tides.
Nevertheless, I would have liked a bit more clarity on that fight. What was this incident that Jerry referred to where Memphis was disrespectful of him? And where did their rivalry come from? I loved the way Jerry handled himself during that clash, even if he was being quite judgmental. Hey, he's an old guy. That's what they do. Memphis probably could've used a chill pill. I enjoyed how after the fight Mems warned, "Call me a womanizer again and see what happens!" I really wish Jerry had said "womanizer" again. Would Memphis have punched him? Because that would have been hilarious — a young guy punching an old man. And while I'm still on this topic, why did Memphis act like the this was the first time he'd heard the "womanizer" comment when clearly he had already learned about it earlier? I mean, Memphis brought it up. He really shouldn't have been so surprised.
Aside from the Battle of MemJer, this episode was remarkable for the desperation of poor Jessie, who gloriously fell into a paranoid haze after being nominated. The idiot tried to convince Keesha to take him off the block by a) saying everything over-dramatically, b) leaning over as if he were doing squats, and c) employing tired cliches and forced metaphors. In other words, it was hilarious. I appreciated his mangling ("toe to head"), his bizarreness ("blow a shockwave through the water") and his general lack of creativity ("I didn't come here to make friends," "It's a dog eat dog world"). Most of all, I welcomed his new signature metaphor: "I'M IN JAIL!!!" Yes, Jessie, you are in jail — a lifetime prisoner at the California Correctional Facility for IDIOTS. Too bad Keesha is too self-involved to really care about his feelings. When she unnecessarily announced to the house that she had given her word to Libra, I couldn't help rolling my eyes. I mean, it feels like every episode Keesha has to gather everyone around and proclaim something VERY important about herself ("I'm loyal!" "Don't talk behind my back!" "I miss my dog!"). ENOUGH.
MARY! ST. JOSEPH! I couldn't help but to put together this montage of some of Renny and Jerry's more explosive and bizarre sounds. Sure the Big Brother season is young, and sure there'll probably be plenty of good noises to come, but I just simply couldn't wait any longer. I'm just so locked in my ways. MARY! ST. JOSEPH! I'M LOCKED!!!
p.s. if you're not watching Big Brother 10, you should be.
Well, it's time for another Big Brother photocap. Sadly, by press time, CBS still hadn't posted pics from Wednesday's live eviction episode, which means we'll just have to move on to Sunday's show. That's okay though. There was plenty of good stuff to mock in this latest episode — specifically the HI-larious food competition, which proved to be one of the funniest ever, thanks to Renny who released her inner crow yet again. Watching her screaming and stumbling in a haze of confusion was nothing short of glorious. Add some frantic behavior from April (not to mention Michelle's New England accent and Jerry's hoarse screams), and we had a real doozy of a competition. Mind you, it wasn't exciting in the least, but man was it hilarious.
Sadly, CBS didn't really post any pictures of Renny struggling with the socks; so my mockery/love of her will be regrettably limited this week. Oh well.
Aside from the food competition, there were plenty of interesting things this episode. First, Keesha's bizarre nomination process. After spending a whole episode deciding between Libra and Memphis to go on the block she went with... Jessie? Hey, I'm all for it, and I get that maybe the producers wanted to throw us a fast one, but that really came out of left field. Whatever. Hopefully the whiney muscle man will go home — if only for the way he happily volunteered his supposed ally, Dan, to be nominated.
As for April and Ollie (Opril? Allie? Aollie? Aioli?), we learned that Ollie gets scared in relationships and equates the experience to driving headlong into a construction zone on the highway, which is apparently his biggest fear. Granted, he's not afraid of driving off the highway or even crashing. No, he just hates the orange cones. And maybe cement trucks. I don't know. It was a very complicated metaphor.
Last night, a Big Brother dream nearly came true. I came thiiiiis close to meeting the Chenbot. How? Well, I went to the Big Brother live eviction show, and needless to say, it was amazing. Not only was it super fun, but it was incredibly fascinating too. I can't describe how surreal it was to be right there as the evicted player walked out of the house and into Julie's studio. It was kind of the equivalent of watching any reality competition and having the eliminated contestant step out of the TV and into your living room. I'm telling you, it was a bit of a trip.
And speaking of trips, what a night to see the Chenbot — or should I call her the Tangbot? Julie was aflame in an orange pantsuit that at times made her look like a utility worker and at other times a prisoner. As bright as it might have seemed on TV, it was all the more iridescent in person. And thank God. If Julie had worn one of her classy black gettups, it wouldn't have been nearly as fun.
In a way, Julie's Vitamin-C wardrobe summed up the entire evening: nothing short of eye-popping.
It's been years in the making, and tonight, my dream of meeting the Chenbot came perilously close to fruition. Just how close? Well, that's me in the light blue shirt over her shoulder. That's right, I went to the live eviction show, and let me just say: it was awesome.
I'm a bit pooped now; so I'll write about it tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I just had to post this pic, graciously captured by brilliantmistake of Midseason Replacements. More screencaps and details to come...
I'm starting to feel like a smut peddler. Just days after their last erotic encounter in the Big Brother house, our favorite horny hamsters — Ollie and April — went at it again, this time with a bit more gyration, not to mention dialogue. That's right, about eight and a half minutes into the following video, April makes a very special request, and from the sounds of it, Ollie's only too happy to oblige.
After the jump, all the night vision excitement. And again, while all you see is a throbbing, pulsating duvet cover, this video might not be safe for work.
How things change in the Big Brother house. A week ago I was praising Libra for deftly taking hold of the game and putting herself into a major power position. However, seven days with nothing to eat but slop can sure turn things around. Libra's completely lost her grasp on the game, instead ranting and raving throughout the house about some stupid comment about the old folks. Granted, she did have a point in that it sucked to have two old people on her food comp team, but a) it didn't really matter actually, as it wasn't a particularly physical competition, and b) that's the way the cookie crumbles; so get over it. Nevertheless, you had to admire Jerry, and particularly Renny for taking Libra to task over her comments. Despite all the sturm und drang, Libra couldn't deny the insulting implications of her complaints, and for a moment, it looked like she might have wound up on the chopping block. That would have delighted Keesha, who seems to make it a habit to spend every episode bashing a different member of her alliance. This time, it was Libra who received (behind her back) the brunt of Keesha's "she's such a BITCH!" remarks. For someone who flips out over the slightest comment behind her back, Keesha certainly has no problem badmouthing others...
And getting back to that big blowout, I couldn't help but notice that Keesha seemed complicit in stirring up Jerry's rage, and yet when he later went off on Libra, Keesha just sat there, acting surprised — but not in a strategic, "I planned this all along" way. She's a bit slippery, isn't she? And she's looking more like Daniele Donato with each passing day...
As for Jerry, I know I'm not the only one who had to rewind the Tivo multiple, multiple times when he, as host of the Veto competition, screamed out the words "BEEP! BEEP!" The shear abruptness of the moment along with his complete inability to sound anything like a car proved to be nothing short of hilarious. And let's not forget when he croaked out the word "Honnnnk" a few minutes later. Amazing. Between him and Renny, I've never seen so many glorious senior sound effects captured on one show.
Last, but not least, there's Jessie, who continues to be totally ridiculous. I loved when he said he was "supposedly the youngest player" — as if that were somehow disputable; like maybe he might just be older than Libra. This was only topped by his assertion that he had a girlfriend — a girlfriend who was well aware that he was single. Huh? Not sure how that works. Nevertheless, watching him again lambast Steven for taking twenty-four hours to visit his room, it occurred to me that this was the second time this season that Jessie has felt disrespected over a twenty-four hour time period. After all, he complained that it took Renny twenty-four hours to apologize. I'm starting to think he may just have no concept of time. I can just imagine him waiting five minutes to use the toilet and then later complaining, "You don't realize. I had to wait TWENTY-FOUR HOURS to use the toilet. Do you know how disrespectful that is?"
Anyway, I've talked too much. Photocap after the jump...
Big Brother powered on last night with a relatively low-key episode. I thought we'd see Libra and Jerry fighting after the food competition, but maybe the producers are merely holding that off for Tuesday's show. In any case, there were still plenty of amusing moments, particularly coming from Jesse, who added new cocky dimensions to his douchiness. The producers must absolutely hate him because it's obvious they're giving him a terrible "edit," as they say, but nevertheless, he really does seem like a jerk. He talks down to people (particularly Angie and Renny), he rolls his eyes, and he says stupid things. All the more fodder for this blog.
Usually when people have sex in the Big Brother household, it happens late at night under the grainy gaze of infrared cameras. Thanks to Ollie and April, however, that visually-challening tradition has been bucked. Yes, the two lovebirds got it on earlier this morning right in the middle of the spa room, and as you can imagine, the Big Brother cameras caught it all. You can't really see much — just some general gyrations and erotic footsie — but it's all good times nonetheless.
After the break, check out the videos (while they're still up on YouTube). Again, there's nothing X-rated about the visuals, but if animal noises and blanket undulations are a bit much for you, then perhaps you should refrain.
As usual, CBS waited four days after the live eviction episode of Big Brother to post the latest screen caps from the show, which explains why this photocap is so late. Gosh, I hardly even remember what happened on Wednesday. Let's see... Brian was evicted, but not before putting on a funny puppet show; Jesse and Renny bickered on live TV; oh, and Keesha and April fought like two rabid kittens. Unfortunately, CBS highly edited the confrontation, but anyone who watched Big Brother: After Dark Tuesday night saw the whole thing unfold in all its glory. And let me tell you, it was glorious, especially since the entire thing all came down to a misunderstanding over an enema. That's right — the reason why April was so mad at Keesha was because after Keesha chatted privately with Angie, she then approached Jerry about an enema. April, however, assumed that Angie had turned Keesha, and Keesha was now going to report to Jerry that she was now pro-Brian. After all, why wouldn't Keesha come DIRECTLY to Libra and April after talking with Angie? And so the fight was born. I love this show.
This clip from Big Brother is kind of amazing. It starts off slow and mundane, but then halfway through, BAM!! However, (spoiler alert) it WILL tell you who wins the food competition. If you can deal with that, then enjoy...
I simply cannot believe we're only two episodes into Big Brother 10, and it's already this intense. Has this ever happened? My heart was racing I was so excited with all the twists and turns that took place over this second hour of the season. Renny has quickly jumped to the top of my favorites list — I love her spunk, not to mention the fact that she's not afraid to mouth off to that little punk Jessie. What a douche he's rapidly turning into. Well, we knew he was a bitch after the first episode, but man, between his eye rolling at the fairly relevant (if long winded) King Solomon story and his continued whining about being on the block (not to mention the crotch grabbing and general piss-poor attitude), he's really become quite awful.
The real villain, however, has turned out to be Brian — a snake if there ever was one. Watching him trying to arrogantly mastermind the house has been frustrating at times, but thanks to Libra (also shooting to the top of my list), it looks like his days might (but not necessarily!) be numbered. She's one smart cookie, and watching her kick into game mode was both exhilarating and scary. She whipped April into shape with the sort of stern authority that might bite her in the ass later on. And speaking of April, her burgeoning showmance with Ollie has already proven to be quite the excellent development. No, not because I care about their late night nookie sessions, but because it yielded the first major conflict of the season. Thanks to his conflicted feelings (bros before hos? Hos before bros? What's an Ollie to do?), he wound up ratting out his entire alliance, causing a massive power shift in the game.
In short, this episode was thrilling. The only thing more riveting was the ensuing episode of Big Brother After Dark. I won't give anything away, but let's just say it involved a cat fight, several variations of the phrase "Fuck that fucking barbie-ass bitch!" and an unfortunate enema misunderstanding.
Big Brother is back, and based on last night's premiere, I think I can say without over-exaggeration that we've got an awesome cast. While I liked the winter batch, this new clan of house guests are fantastic. CBS hyped up the diversity big time, and so far, it looks like this back-to-basics approach with casting has paid off. In short, I love these characters.
Then, of course, there's Michelle, who was already my pre-premiere favorite. She might turn out to be deathly annoying, but for now, I can't help but think she's the best, especially after her no-nonsense introduction, "I'M MICHELLE." I hope she lasts a few more weeks, if only so we can see just how salty her personality can get. And let's not forget, she's Portuguese, and apparently that makes her INSANE!!! I don't know why that makes her insane, but maybe she'll tell a whole bunch of off-color Ferdinand Magellan jokes (and let's face it: that would be insane).
If Michelle is my favorite (for now), I'd have to give second place to Jerry (or Renny — I love old people on reality shows). How could you not like Jerry? He's a great-grandpa! And he's jolly! On the flip side, Jesse seems to be the biggest douche so far, and Brian looks to be not too far behind (however, if he proves to be an expert schemer, I could start to like him). Memphis also seems like he's veering towards suckiness, but I'll refrain from passing full judgment on him until the week plays out.
Curiously, I thought I'd hate Ollie, but he actually seemed okay. I liked how he told us, "I don't drink. Alcoholic, that is," — as if we thought he literally didn't consume any liquids whatsoever. HE'S MAGICAL! And Dan, who I'm sure I will hate ultimately, didn't grate me quite as badly as I thought he would have (give him time though). April, meanwhile, seems annoying, but her entertainment potential is through the roof. I liked how she introduced herself by saying, "I'm April, and IIIII know how to handle MEN!" Plus, she has OCD, which is always fun times. As for everyone else, I'm gonna need another day or two to make some definitive opinions. I must admit I was amused by Steven the gay cowboy. He announced to us that he didn't want to share that he was gay just yet; however, during the nomination ceremony, his t-shirt, which featured a "Pure Gravy" logo, folded over in such a way that it actually read "Pure Gay." Nice Mad Magazine hint there.
Anyway, enough talk. Time for the first true photocap of the season!
I'm shocked that CBS refuses to embed this video because it's not only amusing, but it features probably one of Julie Chen's funniest intentional moments in ages. You have to wait 'til the end for it, but it's great and makes me love her all over again. Check out the clip here.
CHENBOT '08!
(I don't even know what that means, but I like it)
Oh glorious day! CBS has finally revealed the cast for Big Brother 10, and as expected, it's quite the diverse group. Sure, there are plenty of pretty people and bartenders, er, "mixologists," but we've also got one gay cowboy, one seventy-five year-old great grandpa, a sassy fiftysomething woman, an OCD sufferer, TWO black people (a Big Brother rarity), and a delightful mix of ardent conservatives and unabashed liberals. And best of all, they're all complete strangers. This looks promising. Very, very promising.
So in the grand tradition of making flash impressions on reality shows, I've taken every photo (and parts of their bios) and tried to assign personalities to each cast member, knowing full well that I could be completely wrong. But hey, that's part of the pre-season fun. Pics after the jump...
Can you hear that noise? It's the sound of my heart pounding like crazy as the Big Brother season fast approaches. Word on the Internets is that the cast will be revealed in all its glory tomorrow morning, but in the meantime, we have this teaser commercial, which features three of the new faces we'll either love, loathe, or forget about by the time the summer is over. Enjoy!
In less than two weeks, the tenth season of Big Brother will premiere on CBS, and I can't tell you how excited I am. Sure, we just finished season nine a scant eight weeks ago, but Big Brother is a drug like none other, and I don't care if I have to wait two months or two minutes for a new season. I want it NOW.
Of course, there were a lot of people who didn't love last season (unlike the vast majority, I enjoyed Til Death Do You Part quite a bit), but hopefully, plenty of viewers will return this summer and keep this most beloved of guilty pleasures alive and well. If you don't watch Big Brother, it's never too late to start. Why not give it a try this summer? As I like to say, it's not just a show. It's an experience. But be warned: without fail, the first three episodes are always exceedingly bland and boring to newbies. However, after three episodes, Big Brother will most certainly sink its claws into you and never let you go. That's a good thing.
So here's the good news. While the July 12th 13th premiere date is still a few days off, CBS will be revealing the new cast this Wednesday (according to Jokers Updates, which may or may not be wrong). I'll be sure to have a complete analysis right here at bsideblog.com, and of course, there will be photocaps of every show throughout the season. Tell all your friends!
Who wants to start their week off with some light insensitivity? You do? GREAT! Let's take a look at this blog entry from Amy Crews, formerly of Big Brother 3. Now, I've always liked Amy, but this story of hers is just ridiculous. It sort of plunges into awfulness so aggressively that it comes full circle and becomes oddly hilarious (in an awful sort of way). Read for yourself:
(If you don't know who she is, just imagine a Southern Belle yapping this paragraph)
I am having Jose Beltran Gomez-Aguilar deported. I feel VERY patriotic about this - like I am a real American (said like George Bush “rill Mercanâ€). It is the first time I have had someone deported, and I must admit, living in such a small town, I have been somewhat leery of eating at the Pepper’s Mexican Restaurant since the incident. Jose broke into my house, which is about the only crime that has taken place on this side of the tracks in Port St. Joe in years. He broke into my house after the Taste of the Coast event while Sugar Plum and I were sitting in the living room with all of the lights on, television blaring and dogs barking. He broke into my house not once, but 3 times that evening. Don and I are weapons people, so after we heard him in the kitchen the first time, and after we realized that is was not Little Henry the ghost, we quickly armed ourselves. Since there is no crime in Port St. Joe, the police were here in literally less than a minute. They found Jose with no shoes on out in our dog pin. He had gotten himself in there, and couldn’t figure out how to get out. I went to his first court date, and found out that he can’t speaka da English. His translator entered a plea of “not guilty†which pissed me off royally. Brian from the State’s Attorney’s office called me the next week and told me that he is illegal. Imagine that. So after he serves his 6 months for breaking in my house, he will promptly be deported back to the Mexico where he belongs. I feel good about that. In other news, I had the BEST birthday I have ever had in my life last week...
And with that, the blog entry then goes on about her birthday for another 300 words or so. If that doesn't qualify as an amazing/terrible tonal shift, I don't know what does.
When I was away in Europe, Big Brother wrapped up its season, and I just couldn't let it go to the grave without one last photocap. I know a lot of people really detested this latest go-around, but I loved it. And for the first time in four seasons, I actually was happy with the winner. Here's to three months well spent. Can't wait for July...
It'll be a while before CBS posts screen caps from last night's excellent Big Brother episode; so in the meantime, enjoy this hilariously ridiculous eviction — complete with sobs, dramatic statements, technical gaffes, and, of course, Chenbot sympathy. Bonus points for the surprise appearance of Sheila's catch phrase: "Adam didn't really owe me anything...." If Sheila had added "But he kind of does," I would have died. Died inside. DIED!!!
How delighted was I to find Julie Chen greeting us at the beginning of last night's Big Brother? The last thing I expected was to see her smiling face, but there she was. I should have realized that there'd be an eviction, what with the number of remaining guests left in the house. There was no way to maintain a normal schedule by Sunday's finale. Well, this accelerated schedule added an extra whiff of excitement to the show, and my only regret was that we didn't get more jury house action. I'm hoping that tonight's live show gives us a full update (not to mention some background on Sheila's home life. We haven't seen anything about that).
I nearly fainted when I saw that Big Brother had been preempted in New York for forty uninterrupted minutes of the Pope getting on an airplane, but luckily, CBS.com proved to be my friend again. I watched the episode online, and voila, here's the photocap!
It may have been several day ago, but Wednesday's installment of Big Brother was great. We had fights in the house, squirming on the live show, drama on the jury, a tie in the voting, and an HOH competition fraught with conspiracy theories and intrigue (and a tie breaker). I loved every ounce of it. Well, almost every ounce of it. I was truly sad to see Natalie go. I really liked her, even though she did spout off about Jesus every two seconds. She looked absolutely devastated to be going home, and I don't think I've ever felt so bad for an evictee before. I mean, two quote her, she looked D-U-N DUN. It really was one of those soul-crushing moments. When she stood there by the door one last time and had this hopeless, sobbing look on her face, I just felt terrible. Call me a softy (or call me crazy), but that's the way I felt. So sue me!
Then there was that HOH competition. Now, I'm not necessarily a Sharon fan, but when it looked like she might be winning the competition, I got kind of excited. A victory by her would turn everything upside down. Plus, it would be cosmic justice for getting rid of Natalie. However, as we all know, she did not win because on the deciding question, Julie asked if there were still any pre-exististing relationships in the house, and Sharon essentially said no. There was a huge pause, and then Julie said that Ryan was right (as he had said yes -- or "fact"). The pre-existing relationship? The guinea pigs. This was a such a cheap, trick question, and it immediately reeked of producer shenanigans -- almost as if they wanted Ryan to win (or at least push it to a tie-breaker, which is what ultimately happened). Honestly, when you've trapped these people in a house for two months and they've come this far, it's an enormously dick move to have their quest for half a million dollars hinge on such a stupid question. Nevertheless, the resultant tie-breaker led to a Ryan HOH win, which I'm fine with, but it's just not as interesting as if Sharon had won. Oh well.
It'll be a while before CBS posts their pics from last night's Big Brother, but in the meantime, here are some photos the house guests took earlier this week. Enjoy...
Big Brother was one hell of a doozy tonight. The drama was pretty much as good as it can ever get. I don't anticipate that CBS will have the screen shots up before Sunday; so it might be a while before there's a photocap. In the meantime, for fans of the show, this clip is a MUST. For over five seasons, we've waited and waited and waited for something truly exciting to happen at the sequester house, and at long last, we finally had fireworks.
As you'll see in the video above, Crazy James once again proves that he's totally incapable of not blaming others for his own mess. He immediately holds Chelsia responsible for his ouster, saying that her parting comments in the house are what did him in. That's right, it wasn't his mopey attitude or angry self-pity or sanctimonious hypocrisy or vulgar tirades or the fact that he went back on his word in a major way to the point where no one could truly ever trust him. No, it was Chelsia's snippy/hilarious/cringe-worthy rant that turned all these people against poor James.
Now I'm no Chelsia fan — despite her VERY modern haircut — but even I felt bad for her as she sat there and listened to the one guy she cared for rail on her for being his downfall. Way to be a gentleman, James. Good to see you're still championing the return of niceness to this world.
Oh, but it gets worse. After making Chelsia feel so shitty that she stomps out of the room in tears, James has the temerity to wander into her room with a big smile and ask "What's wrong?" To paraphrase Sheila, are you frickin kidding me??? You just made the girl who supported you through thick and thin feel like the lowest scum of the Earth, and now you want to play all naive about why she's sad? Awful. But again, IT GETS WORSE.
James then reassures Chelsia that "I was a homeless kid that walked into Big Brother with no money. I'm okay with leaving with no money, but knowing that I fell for a girl." Well, obviously he wasn't okay with leaving with no money; otherwise he wouldn't have bitterly cut down the girl he allegedly cares for. Aren't "nice" people supposed to let bygones be bygones? And furthermore, enough with this homeless junk. Anyone who willingly lives on the streets, especially while maintaining a corporate sponsor (ie. American Apparel), does not deserve to play the homeless card.
Still, once James was able to make Chelsia cry, he seemed to be at peace with the whole situation. But I think it will be a long time before he ever takes any responsibility for his actions. I can't even imagine the sanctimonious questions he'll be asking come jury time. Only ten days away...
The nonstop parade of Sheila-isms continued on last night's Big Brother as the reigning cougar of the house plotted the ouster of Natalie. It's sort of sad watching this once proud alliance cannibalize itself, but it was the inevitable post-James outcome. Either way, the two guys are sitting pretty. All three girls seem determined to go with them to the final three. Strategy-wise, it makes sense for Sheila to target Natalie because she does seem to be an endurance queen, but still, whenever two people are jockeying for a third spot in an alliance, the smartest thing they can do is join forces and turn the tables (Janelle and Erika against Chill Town, anyone?). That probably won't happen though.
Also, all this drama over Natalie is sort of redundant. Sheila's ultimately afraid that Natalie's gonna target her next week (something that's not entirely out of the question), and while no one likes to feel like a target, the truth is that no matter who wins HOH, Sheila will still have to lay it all out for POV. She'll need it to either take herself off the block or keep herself from the block. No matter what, if she loses, she's going up. (Although, technically, I guess if she's not nominated and the HOH wins the veto, there are better odds that she'll stay off the block despite losing). Point is that the girls are putting too much weight into the nomination process. Now, if Natalie were to cast the deciding vote between Sheila and one of the guys, well, then yeah, there might be some problems there...
If there was ever an episode of Big Brother for Sheila fans, Sunday night's was it. There was so much "SheBot" going on that my TV nearly exploded. It was one glorious moment after another, and oddly enough, some of it was actually quite heartwarming. To be honest, I thought some of the fun of the show might have left when James walked his villainous self out the door, but I'm happy to report that the show is still just as entertaining as ever. Poor Natalie, who I've liked for the past several weeks, is now getting the full antagonist treatment, which is not totally unmerited. She started playing both sides of the house too early and too unscrupulously. Oh well. I don't hate her though.
As is always the case with the Big Brother live eviction episodes, CBS didn't post the screen caps until Sunday evening, which meant I didn't get around to doing the photocap until today. Complicating matters was that my Sunday afternoon wound up a bit more booze-fueled than usual. Needless to say, if I had tried to cobble this together last night, the captions may have been mildly nonsensical.
So here's the latest photocap. I'm now gonna finish last night's episode. The newest recap will be up later this afternoon. Thanks for your patience!
With the Big Brother season entering its final stretch, I decided to check in with former winner and current Dr. 90210 star Dr. Will Kirby to find out what's been going on in his world. Brief interview after the jump.
Here's the news for those of you who haven't been keeping up with their Big Brother gossip. Nick and Jen from Big Brother 8 have been dating for a little while now. Don't know how it happened, and I don't know why it happened, but I'm sort of glad it DID happen. After all, now Jen's supposedly self-involved theories from her season about Nick liking her and Daniele being jealous might actually be true, which means the Donatos were wrong all along. Heh.
Anyway, I guess Jen stayed in Vanna White's good graces (she was her nanny, in case you forgot) because Jen and Nick popped up in the audience for Wheel of Fortune last night. This is literally a three second clip, but hey, it's infinitely more interesting than anything CBS has aired about "Evel" Dick.
Last night's episode of Big Brother was great for one and only one reason: we got to see Sheila bark, "Yew know wut, Adam? Thank yew, THANK YEW!!" And yes, that was a quote verbatim. I probably watched that line over about three times in a row. As for the rest of the show, well, that was all pretty damn good too.
Adam, Adam, Adam. What were you THINKING? Why is it always at this crucial stage of the game when someone does something absolutely idiotic and totally jeopardizes everything? Hurricane Howie season 6, anybody? Chicken George season 7, anybody? America voting Dustin off season 8, anybody? UGH.
Of course, these are just noms. Nothing is sealed until the veto happens. Actually, it already happened, and I already know the results, but I ain't saying nuthin' until Tuesday night. In the meantime, check out the photocap...
Isn't it great when the pressures of Big Brother cause people to crack? And isn't it even greater when it happens to reality stars you just can't stand?? Oh, what a sublime way to start the week.
CBS dragged its feet on posting the screen shots from Wednesday's eviction show, but at long last, they finally went up, which meant I could do the photocap. I momentarily considered simply skipping the episode and moving onto tonight's drama, but then I realized that I simply could not let Josh's awful exit go uncommented on.
After the jump, the eviction photocap, and while you read that, I'm gonna put together the latest wrap up from Sunday's nomination episode. Enjoy!
Seriously, CBS needs to post its screen caps to Wednesday's Big Brother episode pronto. I know the executives and webmasters have more important things to do like driving around in their B-M-DoubleYews, but the next installment is less than a day away! This could be a disaster!
Yew know wut, CBS? Yew don't owe me a timely resolution on this matter, but ya kinda dew!!!
The latest Big Brother episode was on Wednesday. It's been over two days, and we still don't have official screen caps, which means I can't do a photocap. Don't you understand, CBS? If you don't post the pics, I'm gonna die inside. Die. DIE.
In the meantime, y'all will have to wait a bit. Yew know wut? Yew don't owe me some patience, but ya kinda dew!! Thank yew! THANK YEW!!!
I'm sorry. I can't contain my disgust for James. I know I should be mature and just ignore him, but I simply can't. It's too easy to rant when you have a blog. In this clip, posted today on JokersUpdates, James discusses the origins of his pink mohawk, which comes not from any innate craziness but from the American Apparel marketing department. Apparently the company, which sponsored his bike trip for niceness, suggested that James wear all pink, and never one to turn down free clothes, James went along with it. Nothing wrong with that (unless, of course, you specifically chastise everyone around you for being materialistic... which is what James did).
The good news for James was that his new pink look had an added fringe benefit. To quote him:
"And people always... associate the pink with, like, breast cancer awareness and stuff like that; so they're more willing to give you, like, free shit... I don't say anything. They're like 'You're doing a good thing.' I'm like alright dude, thanks."
Taking advantage of good will and breast cancer sympathy all in the pursuit of free stuff? Not materialistic at all! And so very NICE.
Oh Big Brother. You cruel, cruel mistress. Last night was a classic Big Brother emotional roller coaster. There were highs, there were lows, and there were laughs. Oh so many laughs. Watching Joshuah sob by himself was almost worth the price of admission. Watching Joshuah make Sheilah sob too was even better. However, while there was plenty of wonderful drama and fighting and tears, it simply couldn't mask the profound sense of frustration I felt throughout the episode — an emotion that only grew stronger in me as we approached the one hour mark. This show isn't good for my mental health, people. I'm pulling out my hair, aging five years faster than I should be. And for what? Another awful person to win the whole thing? After last year's Dick Donato fiasco, I don't think I can take another sucky winner, but if this keeps up, that might just be what I'm in for...
It's Sunday, which means CBS just aired another delightful installment of Big Brother. The nomination episodes are usually the most low key of the week, but that's okay because they give us a chance to enjoy the dumb things our merry captives do to keep themselves busy — you know, like playing hide and seek, stirring up middling whirlpools, staring at photos psychotically. Typical stuff, really.
However, the shortage of activities in the compound doesn't mean there's a dearth of fun pictures from CBS. The latest photocap after the jump...
No one gets in a tizzy more than Big Brother's Sheila, and while some find her histrionics irritating, I think they're hilarious. Here's a brief clip from Wednesday's Big Brother After Dark in which she and Natalie revel in the outcome of that night's HOH contest. It gets funnier the more you watch it.
Thank God we have Sheila this season. Otherwise, I would have died. I would have DIED. DIED!!!
CBS finally put up their screen caps from Wednesday night's episode of Big Brother; so without further ado, here's a look back at the eviction show through the magic of pictures.
BTW, I've decided to start calling these posts "photocaps" because a) I like making new words, and b) it's photos + a recap. Photocap!
All season long, I've been ragging on James for not being as crazy as he says. Tonight, he finally did something truly crazy, but not in that fun, spontaneous way. More in the dark, sad, angry, I-Have-Many-Demons sort of way. The background on this clip is that Sheila had apparently told James that she had his back, and when he found out that she was lying, he lost it. I mean he lost it. The rage seemed to be bigger than the game. Like somehow, Sheila's actions really touched a deep, sensitive nerve — perhaps the source of all of James's simmering anger. Hmmm... does somebody have some mommy abandonment issues?
This clip has very loud, vulgar language, so be warned.
The screen shots from tonight's live show haven't been posted at CBS just yet; so I'll have to wait a little to do my recap thingy, but in the meantime, I just have to talk about tonight's wonderful, amazing episode. There were so many awkward, bizarre moments that I couldn't help clapping along. And I was alone. Who claps when they're alone? Not me. BUT I DID TONIGHT.
I've always wondered what Sheila from Big Brother would look like sitting on a bale of hay, frolicking through a meadow, and giggling on a swing. Now I know, thanks to this clip from the 1984 masterpiece, Ellie, which stars Sheila and... multiple Oscar winner Shelley Winters? Sadly, this scene does not feature both acclaimed actresses sharing any on screen time together, but it does feature some dazzling country music and, of course, fleeting partial nudity (so be warned).
Yew know wut? The Academy doesn't owe Sheila an Oscar, but they kinda dew.
It's Tuesday, which means we just saw another entertaining episode of Big Brother. Despite the presence of Evil Dick (I refuse to call him Evel until I get a proper justification for that self-imposed typo), the show featured plenty of neat drama, not the least of which was found in the veto competition. I won't say what happened here, but once again, if I have to hear James complain about being evicted one more time, I'm liable to march over to CBS Radford throw a croquet mallet at him. Does he not understand this? He's not the only one who's been kicked out of the house. Ryan was evicted too, and heck, Sharon actually went away to sequester! Oh well. What can you do?
Rather than recap the craziness, I decided to pull CBS's screen shots again like I did on Sunday. Fun times after the jump...
About an hour ago, I headed to CBS.com to get a picture to accompany my most recent anti-James rant. I immediately got sucked into the newest Big Brother photo gallery, and eventually I realized I just had to fashion a new post out of the pics. I wouldn't say this is a recap, per se, because I do very little in the realm of recapping. Actually, I do no recapping whatsoever. It's just a bunch of photos and captions. Nevertheless, enjoy.
As I've become a live feeds fan in my old age, the latest nominations on Big Brother weren't a total shock to me. Still, it's always great tuning into the Sunday night show just to see how it all goes down I must admit that I don't have much to rant about this week, but James still irks me. At the top of the episode, he defended his actions of the previous week by saying that he owes nothing to anyone in the house and that it was the house guests' own stupidity for bringing him back. No arguments there.
And yet, by the end of the episode, when James wound up on the chopping block with his annoyingly-coifed lover, Chelsia, he scoffed "I am disgusted with Adam!" Yes, according to James, he'd looked out for Adam through two different Head of Household terms, and because of that, Adam owed him. So while it's okay for James to betray Natalie because he claims he owes nothing to nobody, it's not okay for Adam to betray James because Adam owes James safety. Hmmm... Let me clarify: why does Adam owe anything if James owes nothing?
What's even better is that Adam totally used James's same rhetoric against him, saying that like Matt and Natalie the week before, Chelsia and James were entirely too dangerous in the game as a couple. Needless to say, James was not very pleased with this turn of events. But honestly, did he expect any different? This is why Big Brother is wonderful. The karma boomerang strikes again.
Ever since Parker lost the chance to head back into the Big Brother household two weeks ago, he's returned to TMZ, creating a minor conflict of interest for Harvey Levin and his merry band of "celebrity videographers." What to do when the paparazzi is more noteworthy than the subject? TMZ pokes fun at this little dilemma in a lighthearted video, but after watching it, one can't help but to wonder if we might be facing the sort of postmodern conundrum that would have Jean Baudrillard and Michel Foucault chomping at the bit. Think about it: a guy who watches people for a show about watching people signs up for another show where he in turn will be watched by other people. Afterwards, he returns to his original show where people (the audience) now watch other people (TMZ) watch him (Parker) watch other people (celebs). It's so meta. Who's the watcher? Who's the watchee? Parker? TMZ? Big Brother? Us? It's simulacra and simulation all over again. THE COPY HAS REPLACED THE ORIGINAL! OBSERVATION IS CONTROL!! THE PANOPTICON IS REAL!!! AGGGHHHHH!!!
Aaaaand my brain is dead.
To get your mind grapes going, or if you just want to see an amusing clip, feel free to watch the video here
What can I say about James from Big Brother that hasn't already been articulated two days ago? I guess a lot. After tonight's veto ceremony episode, his hypocrisy and sanctimoniousness continued to frustrate me to no end. For a guy who talks about keeping his word, he sure knows how to be self-serving.
I'm not loving Eric from Big Brother 8 as much as I used to ever since he published a nasty rant on his myspace page about, among other things, us fans from the Internet, but nevertheless, he's pretty spot-on with his analysis of recent events in the Big Brother house. Here he talks to the lovely Kennedy about James's rise to power in the house. MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY (although, unlike Eric, I've liked this season since the beginning).
One of the masochistic joys of Big Brother is watching players season after season become deluded with sanctimonious hypocrisy to such a degree that you just want to pull your hair out and kick over your TV. Last year, we had Evel Dick to fuel our frustrations. This time around, we have Crazy James, who in tonight's episode proved to be so unabashedly ridiculous in his victimization that it's hard to remember that it was only a week ago that he was pushing for Chelsia's nomination, all under the guise of "It's just a game!"
Apparently James forgot that "it's just a game" because when he became the latest target of that phrase, he wouldn't have any part of it. In fact, after he returned to the house, his position shifted from ardent defender of cold-hearted strategy to incessant woe-is-me self-aggrandizer as he repeatedly reminded every living organism within earshot that he'd been voted out of the house 5-to-1. OH THE HORRORS! He seems to have forgotten that two other houseguests, Ryan and Sharon, have similarly been ejected from the premises, but I guess since they didn't endure the harrowing experience of a Julie Chen interview, they just don't understand.
How frustrated was I with last night's live eviction episode of Big Brother? Everything seemed to be so perfect about it at first. There were scads of technical flaws -- scratchy mics, incorrect audio feeds, the sudden appearance of a guinea pig -- and the Chenbot seemed like she might just lose it at times, such as when she full-on scolded the house guests with a stern, my-husband-is-Leslie-Moonves reprimand of "LISTEN UP!" Yes, it was shaping up to be a glorious live episode if there ever was one, and it was all topped with the cherry of divine justice that was James's unceremonious eviction from the house. I'm sorry, I meant to say CRAAAZY JAMES. Because he's just so damn crazy! You know, what with his sitting around and curling up and being quiet all the time. To be fair, his gay porn past matched with his sanctimonious world view IS pretty crazy, but more like sad-crazy, not wacky-and-fun-crazy.
This week, Big Brother is allowing the viewers to vote one cast member back into the house, and based on the drama that it will stir up, I am officially endorsing Allison as America's Choice. The reasons are simple: she's smart, she's manipulative, and she can stir up trouble like none other. Plus, wouldn't you just love the look on Josh's face when she walks back in the door? C'mon, now. You can't overlook that.
Now, I know certain other websites are pushing for Parker, but that's just a total waste. Parker proved to be nothing but a dour, quiet, grumpy house guest, whose only moment of excitement happened waaay back on episode two. I've been watching After Dark fairly regularly, and I can assure you that Parker simply does not offer the same drama potential as Allison. Please, people. A vote for Allison is a vote for excitement.
DO IT.
Or as she might say, "I really don't know why you're acting like this. I just don't get it. Was it something I did that made you be so immature and not vote for me?"