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Wait! It’s over? It’s done? Yes, my Big Brother friends, the season has come to an end. Phooey. Granted, I’ve got some stuff going on (Baby ChenTot is on his way…well, soon!), but it’s always a bit sad when I say the final goodnight at the end of each season. Sigh…what a season it was!
BUT FIRST… (Chenbot lives on!) (Read full post)
So, we are down to the final three! And of course, that means another summer of Big Brother is coming to a close. This is always a bittersweet time for me because you have the excitement of the winner being named and the realization that another season is just about over. This has been a fun and unpredictable group of Houseguests…to say the least. As we get to the finale tonight (9:00-11:00 PM ET/delayed PT), I thought I’d take a look back at some game-changing moments of this summer’s Big Brother. Oh, and these are in no particular order, folks!
• THE CLIQUES
We’ve always said Big Brother was like high school, and I think this season we proved it. There has always been at least two distinctive alliances in the Big Brother house. All we did this season was up the ante a little and let social politics take its course. As we saw when Jeff was quickly ostracized from his own “Athletes” clique, you can’t always force people to play nice with each other. That was probably the most interesting thing about our “clique” experiment. Some just didn’t click with each other, no matter how much they seemingly had in common. As mentioned, the Athletes basically fell apart from the word go, despite always winning challenges. The Brains never really bonded, and the Popular clique was targeted too fast to even strategize! In fact, the Off-Beats were probably the only clique that really ever had a chance to succeed and they did…for a bit, anyway. Although, here’s what I love about the twist and here is why it worked. When it came down to the end, each group had one member represented in the Final Four. No matter how much bickering and backstabbing occurred, no group was completely eliminated, because the Houseguests did what a lot of people do when in an unfamiliar situation — they adapted! (Read full post)
Okay, it’s late…this blog is going to be turned in late. I can’t stop watching Sho2 and this CRAZY endurance competition. These three are troopers, to say the least. Natalie’s almost fallen twice (as of 10:00 PM PT), but they’re all still hanging in. Okay, by the time you read this, we’ll all know the end result…but, I’m dying to know how this turns out!
Okay, as I watch, I’ll try to focus.
First off, CONGRATULATIONS to Natalie and Jason on their engagement. At the end of the day, Big Brother is just a game, but this was huge. Natalie, whatever happens in the Big Brother house this week, all of us at Big Brother wish you both all the joy and happiness that life has to offer. Don’t be haters, viewers, this is real life and we should all embrace this event. Big Brother is a game, their engagement is real…best, again, to both of them.
Natalie on Jason’s proposal: “He gets on one knee and he proposes. I had envisioned when I’d get proposed…I would cry, I would yell, I would scream…kicking and screaming like “Hooray!” And…I was quiet. I was in shock. I’ve been in this house for over two months and haven’t even heard his voice….now he’s proposing on one knee? Is this even happening??? I couldn’t believe it.”
Having said that, back to game play…it’s true, Natalie could have chosen not to walk through the door. Be honest, would you have resisted? The fact that she gave up the ability to compete in the Power Of Veto…that’s a big OOPS! Kevin was none too pleased.
Right…back to the HOH Competition… (Read full post)
The sigh heard around the Big Brother Universe…Jeff got duped and was sent packing last night. Personally, I have no agenda as to who goes each week, but I’m not going to lie…I’ve had so many people come up to me this summer wanting to talk about Jeff. Folks love The Underdog and let’s face it…he was targeted week one (despite the fact he was on the winning clique!) and managed to make it to the Final Five. I’m sorry to see him go, though. After today, it’s just going to be “Unintentionally Funny Comments from Jordan”…although Michele, Natalie, and Kevin had some zingers this week as well (granted, they have all season, but Jeff and Jordan’s random interactions were just priceless. Those to come at the end of this blog!).
Michele on the Buddha statue in the house: “I don’t need Buddha’s power…I have my own power.”
Kevin: “If I get evicted, I’m taking Buddha with me.” (Read full post)
Well, for those who may have thought things would get boring in the Big Brother House after Lydia was evicted…not so much. Granted, the weekend was fairly mellow, although the wheeling and dealing was in full swing. Jeff made his play to backdoor Russell, believing Natalie and Kevin were being true to their word when they guaranteed Jeff they wouldn’t nominate him if he put Russell up. Again, not so much.
Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. Backtracking…
Jeff won the Head-of-Household Competition, and we were all treated to a glimpse of his life outside the house. Say what you will about the bowl haircuts he sported as a child, but I loved how he defended it by saying, “My mother was rocking that look for me back then.” Or something like that. No apologies. And, BTW…I had the SAME hairstyle at that age. My Mom was rockin’ it, too! Go, Momma Chen!!!
HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD COMPETITION: “CAN DO” (Winner: Jeff) (Read full post)
So, folks have many opinions and ideas about Chima’s expulsion from the show, but I, for one, was sad that we had to remove her from the game. We all know Chima is opinionated, outspoken, and stubborn…but she was also fun to watch and brought a certain energy to the game, although we certainly don’t condone some of the comments she made to Russell while in the house. You can actually read the apology she sent two websites that have employed her in the past (she’s a freelance journalist) by going to either www.hollyscoop.com or www.the360mag.com. Unfortunately, destruction of property (throwing a $4,000 microphone in the hot tub) was an act of defiance that clearly broke the rules of the Big Brother house and we were forced to send her home.
Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. As we saw, Michele won last Thursday’s Head-of-Household Competition (the self-proclaimed nerdy neuroscientist has been kickin’ butt in the competitions!) and was able to see pictures of her family and friends and enjoy the luxury of the HOH room…for all of 48 hours…but more on that in a sec… (Read full post)
Well, Jeff made Big Brother history last night when he used the coup d’etat power that America awarded him (as a reminder, America voted to give Jeff the ability to replace one or both of the House Guests who were up for nomination at either last week’s eviction or this week’s). Although we introduced the coup d’etat power during Big Brother All-Stars, it was not used. I have to say it’s been fun to experience the amount of energy and anticipation that built up to last night’s eviction. How does everyone feel about last night’s results?
HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD COMPETITION – “Say What?!”
Winner: Chima (Read full post)
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! (Read full post)
Well, if Casey had to go, he sure went out with guns a’blazin’! But first…
After Jessie won HOH again last week, I couldn’t help but laugh when he started pulling the House Guests into his HOH Room, one at a time, to interrogate…uh, I mean, question each one about their motives and game play. Although many viewers have their issues with Jessie, you have to admit this is good stuff and the boards keep talking about him, so there’s something to be said about that! Speaking of…Jessie, Natalie, and Lydia? Talk amongst yourselves… I’m not even going to begin to speculate on that!
CHIMA on RELATIONSHIPS: "Never leave a relationship without a handbag."
What can I say…that statement is so off the charts that it made me laugh. Okay, overall, let’s face it…the clock was ticking on the amount of time it was going to take for Ronnie’s House of Cards to fall apart.
It was nice to see Big Brother 10 winner, Dan, back again to host the “Have/Have Not” Competition. I’m told he’s still living in Michigan and has been very responsible with his winnings. He’s looking at possible real estate opportunities, hoping to support their local economy…good for him! Regarding the competition, when Casey and Chima won the opportunity to screen the upcoming feature film, “The Ugly Truth,” I think the baby kicked when I saw all those sweets and could only imagine the sugar high those two must have been on! Personally, I haven't had any unusual cravings during my current pregnancy, but I think that's because I've always had a healthy appetite, and now is no different. Seeing those sweets, however, DID make me want a jumbo pack of red Twizzlers and a giant box of Milk Duds with an ice cold glass of skim milk.
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