I began writing this blog on Wednesday when I realized so much had already happened this week that it was going to be hard to cram everything in. So, I’ll say in advance that there is just too much that happened to cover in this blog, but I’ll do my best to hit some of the highlights!!
FUN FACTS (HOH Competition – Winner: Russell)
Title: “Graduation Day”
* Jeff and Russell lasted more than 3 and half hours on the rig before Russell won.
* The graduation diploma that served as an obstacle as they spun around on the graduation wheel was over 12 feet long.
* The graduation wheel spun the houseguests at approximately 15 revolutions per minute. This means that a House Guest did a full revolution in 4 seconds!
Russell has assumed the role of a covert eavesdropping spy made infamous by Alison Irwin during Big Brother All-Stars (remember how she used to physically hide in that oversized vase for hours to hear other people’s conversations?). Russell’s obviously too big of a guy to pull that off, but he’s proving that sneaking up to closed door conversations is just as effective (and, I’m assuming, more comfortable), although his intel is not always accurate (he mistakenly thought Ronnie and Michele were conspiring behind closed doors when it was actually Ronnie and Chima, which began seeding doubts about Michele in Russell’s head). Well, can’t blame a guy for trying!
Speaking of paranoia, its presence in the Big Brother house was magnified this week by their obsession with the “magical wizard mystery power,” formally known as The Coup d’etat. Well, America voted and Jeff was awarded the ability to replace one or both houseguests put up for eviction at either last night’s live eviction show or next week’s live show. Looks like Jeff made the right decision to hold off since Chima, who is not currently in his alliance, is now the new Head of Household. I’ll leave the post-mortem discussions about Ronnie’s comments to Michele to you guys.
Ronnie may well have been the most ostracized Big Brother Houseguest in the show’s history. Poor guy redefined the term “alone time” in the Big Brother house. Having spent the better part of two days hiding in the HOH room two weeks ago and then in the “Blue Room” (which the House Guests call the “Splash Room”) this week, things looked incredibly bleak for Ronnie.
Russell (while Head of Household): “Ronnie has made his bed and now he can lie in it and I would be more than happy to put the tombstone on his grave.”
Michele: “Ronnie definitely gets under my skin. I can’t take him anymore. I just seriously want to throw stuff.”
Apparently, Ronnie didn’t get the memo that his days were numbered (he said it over and over but I don’t think he ever completely believed it). Hats off to him for managing to bounce back and continue to play the game against huge odds. Jessie and Natalie were basically washing their hands of their alliance with him on Tuesday. By Wednesday, Ronnie had gained enough sympathy to make it hard to say if it was Ronnie or Lydia who was heading out the door.
BTW, for those who didn’t know, Ronnie entered the Big Brother house with various T-shirts that he found amusing to wear that dropped clues at to how he intended to play the game. Russell called him out on one shirt that said “Of course, I’M in Love with You, darlING” where certain highlighted letters spelled “I’m Lying” on it. Ronnie also brought in a shirt that said “Live In Your World, Get Pwnded In Mine!” Pwnded is not a typo…it’s part of L33T Speak (elite gamer vocabulary) meaning completely dominated or crushed. Impressed? Okay…this is Ronnie’s direct explanation…I can’t take credit for coming up with that off the top of my head!).
Jeff on Ronnie: “Why doesn’t he fake cry to me? I wanna get brainwashed.”
Blink or you’ll miss it! I’m talking about Russell and Chima’s short-lived budding romance. Sunday’s live feed showed them cuddling and flirting, but by Monday’s night, the two were in a jaw-dropping screaming match when Russell began to suspect that Chima was playing him (it became so escalated, I think their neighbors in the Hollywood Hills could hear it!).
Russell on Chima: “I don’t like you, and I guess it sucks when a guy doesn’t like you.”
To be honest, I almost got out a pad and pen to create a flow chart to keep track of who was fighting with whom at any given moment Monday night. In addition to Russell vs. Chima, there was Kevin vs. Ronnie. Michele got in the mix. At one point, Jeff was just wandering from room to room and said, “There’s no where to go…everyone’s fighting everywhere!” In hindsight, he could have gone to the Have-Have Not Room and hung out with Jessie (who instigated all the lies that started the fights and then conveniently hid as it all went down).
Moving on, I enjoyed the Roman names given to the houseguests for the Power of Veto Competition titled “Vini, Vidi, Veto”. Jessephus! Russicus! Chimacus! Michelicus!
FUN FACTS – POV Competition (Winner: Michele)
Title: Vini Vidi Veto”
* The prop head of David used to display a laurel wreath was approximately 42 inches tall.
* The original statue of David in Florence is more than 17 feet tall!
* The Roman Gladiator in the backyard for “Vini Vidi Veto” was 6 foot 4 inches tall.
Michele is turning into a POV powerhouse, having won again this week! She’s certainly representing for neuroscientists everywhere!
Jordan on the name of the Power of Veto Competition: “Veni Vidi? Is that a person?”
Russell’s been spun in so many directions, that guy doesn’t know which end is up at this point! This led to Russell throwing Michele under the bus on Wednesday (thanks to a completely fabricated story by Jessie and Natalie that causes him to go after Michele)…paranoia strikes again. Michele finally had a meltdown on Wednesday night. It was nice to see Jordan, Jeff, and Kevin rally around her to give her a sincere pep talk.
Well, the Natalie/Jessie/Lydia triangle finally came to a head on Wednesday night when Natalie told Chima she is no longer talking to Jessie because he continues to hang out with Lydia after she specifically told him not to. Jessie then tried to explain himself to Natalie who wasn’t really buying it, although she did tell Jessie she would never put him up for eviction…talk amongst yourselves on that one!
Casual banter between Jeff and Jordan is proving to be unintentionally funny at times. Here’s a couple of examples:
Jordan lying in bed with Jeff: “I’m gassy.”
Jeff: “Don’t fart in the fort.”
*If this isn’t a testament to how close people can get in such a short amount of time in the Big Brother house, I don’t know what is! Side note: Leave it to Ronnie to break up their first attempt at an intimate moment with…flatulence. Jeff just can’t…ahem… cut a break when it comes to romancing Jordan.
Jeff to Jordan: “Come here, you sexy goddess.”
Jordan: “Ew, don’t say that.”
Jeff to Jordan: “I WISH we were making out.”
The vote last night was 4 to 3 in favor of evicting Ronnie. The fact that it was so close shows just how divided the house really is. Ronnie was the last evicted houseguest to not make the jury this year. The good news for him means he’ll get to watch the daily actions of his former housemates from the comfort of his own home. The bad news for him is he’ll have no say in who wins. He was a serious gamer who lived and breathed Big Brother and I’m happy to report he said if we ever have an All-Stars season again, he’d be more than up for it.
Chima won the HOH which means she, Jessie and Natalie think they are safe this week. But the truth is, with Jeff being the Coup d’etat winner…anything can happen. The only people who will truly be safe this week are Chima and whoever wins the POV.
Well, we’re officially at the point where those left in the game will become part of the final jury to select the winner of this summer’s Big Brother. With all the fighting, backstabbing, lies, and manipulation so far, it will be interesting to see who may change their strategy knowing they now must court each one left in the house to potentially secure a vote, should they make it to the final two. Should be fascinating to watch!
READER QUESTIONS FOR JULIE:
Question: Often, while watching BB on Showtime, I’ll hear this ‘voice of God’ guy tell the hamsters that they “are not allowed to talk about production.” Well, why not? If people are obsessive enough to watch the live feed, is it really that big a deal if they talk about the mechanics of the show? I’d appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks, and love the blog!
Julie: We strongly feel that elements of production are not topics of conversation that keep in the spirit of Big Brother. The spirit of Big Brother is about the interaction between the House Guests and events that occur between them. Given the unprecedented amount of access our viewers have to Big Brother, we don’t think talk of production is relevant to the game.
Question: Do the houseguests speak to or see ANYONE while in the house? Like, how are they asked questions in the diary room?
Julie: House Guests do not see anyone while in the house unless it’s part of a Competition. Any visual contact with an individual who is not a House Guest is only in the context of giving clues (we’ve seen that happen in a few seasons) but there is no personal interaction with any of the House Guests. While in the Diary Room, House Guests hear questions via a speaker, but never see who they are speaking with.
Question: Julie, I like you more each show. I notice that you’re a little warmer… is that to shake the Chenbot nickname? And, no more “but first”?
Julie: Never! I love the Chenbot nickname…it makes me laugh! And Big Brother would not be the same without any “but firsts” in the live eviction shows. We always need at least one “but first” in the show…it just makes sense in the way we tell and tease stories. There’s no limit to how many times I may say it during a live show. In fact, I say the more the merrier. Thanks for the compliment…I do appreciate it… and so does the Chenbot (on those rare occassions when she has feelings!)
More Big Brother:
Big Brother recap: Master Mind Games
Big Brother executive producer addresses Jesses's roughhousing with Lydia, Natalie
Julie,
I always thought that the location of the house was typically meant to be kept secret. So, that being the case, who exactly gets to be in the live audience on the live Thursday eviction shows?
What’s to keep those people from spreading the word about where the house it? Or, is it no longer a big deal to have people know the location of the house?
It’s not a real house, it’s a set built to look like a house at the CBS studio. The audience is coming to a studio.
And it’s always been that way? I kinda thought that it was actually a house at some point. Maybe in earlier seasons?
But what about the backyard? I remember one of the seasons had a skywriter leaving a message for the hamsters, telling them not to trust a particular house guest. Wasn’t that sent by a viewer? And you definitely can’t fly a plane in a studio!
The BB House is on a studio LOT which is outside, the house is a set and the backyard is a set, and if you know where CBS studios are (and it is no secret) easy to fly a plane over with messages. I was born and raised there and know the area very well.
Where the BB house is located is no secret. It’s a set built on the CBS lot in Studio City.
It is not a secret where the house is. It is basically two doublewide trailers put together on a CBS studio lot. That is where it has always been.
Hey you and Susan should write a blog! Seriously. Non-Californians just don’t have this kind of knowledge. Thanks!
Actually, the original house (BB1-BB5) was basically a bunch of trailers, but the new house (starting in S6) was built inside one of the actual studios. So it’s a “building within a building”, basically.
They demolished the old house to make room for the combined Channel 2/Channel 9 news area when Ch. 9 was bought out. (local TV stations)
Hey Julie, I just wanted to say that I love reading your blogs! It’s nice to have facts about the competitions and to read about some of the live feeds that unlucky people like I cannot get!
Can’t wait to see what will happen with Jeff having the power! I’m SOOOO happy he’s the one who got it!
I think the problem Ronnie had with Michelle is that he had this mentality that he was going to be the smartest, greatest player on Big Brother and outsmart everyone with his “award winning persuasion skills”. But Michelle, an actual smart person with common sense and rational thought, clearly became the superior player in all of this and completely outsmarted Ronnie and got him evicted. The way she played the POV competition this week was just beautiful. She completely outsmarted those lug heads. I say so long Ronnie, enjoy the ride home on the waaaahhhhmbulance.
I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m glad I’m not the only one who sees the beauty in Michele. She’s a superb player, while Ronnie is a rat and should’ve gone home a long time ago. Ronnie’s speech to Michele was probably the biggest contradiction ever spoken in the BB house.
I think its awesome the way that people think she is just this girl who was on the Brain clique, but don’t really give a darn on how much she actually is smart! I just LOVE her when she says that she has a phd! I’m 100% certain that she will be going farther than most of the guests right now, unless she royally gets screwed, but unlike Ronnie she doesnt brag about her smartness to the others!
Julie (or Chenbot, whichever you answer to these days) i honestly love the blog. I look forward to it as much as i do with evictions. It’s just extremely fun to read.
In all your time at Big Brother, did you secretly root for anyone or do you try your best to remian neutral?
I can’t believe Russ turning on Michele and Ronnie saying she’s the liar! She did absolutely nothing wrong! Wait til they’re all out of the house & can watch the tapes – they’ll see who the liars are – Chima, i’m talking bout you!
I agree wholeheartedly about Ronnie NOT being on an All-Stars edition….if it occurs I will boycott the season!
Hi Julie! Love your blogs!!
First – I am so happy that Jeff won the coup d’etat!! Hopefully we’ll be seeing either Jessie or Natalie go home next week!
As for Ronnie, please do NOT bring him back for an All-Stars edition!!! This delusional man thinks that he is beloved by America, but he is reviled out here as much as he was in the house! He is not one of those hate ‘em/love ‘em people. Just hate ‘em. Did he so conveniently forget that at the first eviction he said “I’m going to hell” because he voted against one alliance to get in good with his other secret alliance? He betrayed Michele first. Apparently that was OK. Good riddance!
Love seeing Jeff & Jordan together!!
I agree, I would hate to see him return for an All-Stars, and I don’t think he would last long anyway. He has the reputation of a sniveling two-faced weasel. Unlike Will, he doesn’t have the charisma or chutpaz to overcome his largely derided persona. That impression was reinforced by Julie’s exit interview. I thought that he might have been edited by BB to make him appear as more of a villain. But his self-deluded comments reveal that he really is a narcissic, nasty jerk. Why he even contradicted himself to Julie. Two min. after telling her that he still had a loyalty to Russell, he tells her he would have tried to get him kicked out the following week. Not because Russ nominated him, but because Russ made it clear that he wanted Ronnie to go. And Russ was polite about it I thought, telling him it was strategy and wasn’t personal. Ronnie appears to be incredibly immature and unable to communicate with other people honestly and intelligently. I’m not surprised that he spends most of his time at home alone, playing video games. I am surprised that he is married. His wife Michelle must have very low standards.
Forgot to add, that Ronnie’s 90 degree change towards Russell came from watching his goodbye message. I don’t think BB likes Ronnie either, since they included Michelle’s passionate good riddance speech to him. They don’t usually include longer messages from angry house guests.
I understand that many a villian is a great player, as much as you root against them (Will, Evel Dick, crazy Alison) — but they also PLAYED THE GAME WELL. Hence, they are all stars. Ronnie is none of the above. As Sassy’s pointed out, he doesn’t even know his own strategy. He’s loyal to Russell, but “he was dead to me this week.” Ronnie thought he was going to be so clever…as folks have learned, being a super fan does not a great player make necessarily.
I was VERY happy to see that rat Ronnie go out the door!What a geek!Now it’s time to line up Jessie,Natalie and Chima and send them packing too. Long live Russell!!!!
Long live Russell? Why? Why do you like him….I go back and forth on that guy.
I believe Ronnie actually said he would be “insulted” if he wasn’t invited back for an All-Stars edition. I’ve been a loyal viewer all 11 seasons, and I do NOT want to see him ever again. Please do NOT bring him back if you do all-stars again!
Julie- Do you ever watch the lives feeds? If so, why don’t you call out some of the evicted players on some of their actions. Like with Ronnie you did ask if what he said about Michele could be applied to him, whihc was a little soft or do you firmly take the stance of “only can talk about what’s actually shown on TV”? Maybe there needs to be anothe companion show where ongoings from the live feeds need to be talked about. Love the blog, and keep up the great job!
I say if there’s ever another BB All-Stars,bring back the best houseguest of all time… EVEL DICK! He knows how to really shake up the house!
I wish there was a way to make the houseguest watch their filthy mouths on Showtime. I never heard the “F” word so much as i have from Jessie and Russell. Makes me dislike them immediately. Hope they both go home soon.
Loosen up a little. Yes the swearing may get to be a bit much but they have no other distractions or things to do. They are being monitored 24/7 everywhere, all the time. I know I would find it impossible to be polite and follow all of the rules that my mother taught be in the same circumstances.
I, too, wish that they would clean it up. Perhaps, there could be points awarded every time they say the “F” word during the week and the top 3 with the most points would be the “have nots” for the next week. Seriously, don’t bring Ronnie back!
Fantastic idea! I,too, am turned off by the language jessie uses. It is so distracting. shows his immaturity
No one uses the f word more than Jeff. He is the worst.
I agree with what Russell told Julie – she looks absolutely beautiful and does all pregnant woman proud! Good luck with the remaining pregnancy Julie.
Hi, Julie! I know that presenting yourself as a neutral spectator is part of your job on the show (and even on this blog). I, however, was wondering if, in off-the-record situations, you are actually more biased in your feelings towards the show and its contestants—i.e., there are certain houseguests you secretly cannot stand, others you are rooting to make it to the end, and so forth.
thanks for clearing up some things. I was BBAD and I thought it was Jessie/Nat that started all the fights but it was very hard to follow. I feel so sorry for Michelle who really got thrown under the bus completely. I glad J/J and Kevin stuck by her. That would be a great final 4!
Will POV have the opportunity to switch eviction nominees before or after Jeff? If Jeff tells Jordan or anyone his secret power will he be eliminated or lose the power?
I believe it will be after the POV meeting – Jeff has the opportunity to use his power just before the votes for evicatin which makes it very exciting as people will have to make up their minds who to evict in the blink of an eye! My dream is Shima will put up Russell & Michelle or Keven & Lydia and then Jeff will stand up, take them off the block and put Natalie and Jessie up. Oh happy days
I can’t believe I mis-typed eviction. Sorry about that. Also I think Jeff would lose the power if he told anybody about it. I don’t think he would be evicted though. That seems a little harsh.