TV Review: Big Brother 15: "Season Premiere"

DA- Finally it is summer and that means a few things; popsicles, sunburn, a possibility of sudden downpours all day, and of course BIG BROTHER! This summer should be longer and hotter than ever. No, not because of climate change but because we have a big young cast of “hotties” trapped on a soundstage in a house for a longer 90 days.

As most premieres start, we get to see all the contestants in their natural habitats before they had any clue they were about to be a part of a reality show (good thing a camera crew just happened to be there to catch their reactions!) This season we have three miscellaneous brunettes, Jeff Spicoli, a pizza delivery boy, and the bombshell? A train conductor! Talk about some all-stars!

In groups of four the houseguests entered and ran around the house looking for the bedrooms. For “super fans” many of these contestants cannot remember where the bedrooms have been located for the last decade. After some mingling (and a lot of horny houseguests using every synonym for “hot” and “banging” you could imagine describing each other) it was time for the Head of Household competition. 

Usually premiere night HOH competitions involve various sexual undertones and tonight was no different. Tonight houseguests had to straddle and hold on to floating popsicles that were sprayed and squirted with various substances from a giant mouth whose tongue would “bump” them and their popsicle.

Now for me I would not work so hard in getting HOH especially on the first night. Sure it guarantees immunity but you create a lot of enemies and in a 90-day game creating them on night one is very early. Not to mention with the new twist this season of three nominees (and the old veto still in play) there is a great chance neither of your two nominees will go home! Then next week you have two people to worry about coming after you when you cannot compete for HOH yourself!

Anyways in the end McCrae, the pizza delivery boy, wins while Jeremy wins a never-not pass for the season. Before McCrae can celebrate his win host Julie Chen reveals the twists of not only three nominees but also of the MVP award. Now this title, chosen by America, will be given each week to a houseguest who is playing the best game. 

While this is supposedly being done to eliminate floaters, originally I hated this idea. At first I thought the houseguests would know who the MVP is each week and begin to target America’s favorite. They may wonder how someone like quiet “Bob” is playing a great game when he is loyal and with their alliance. They may wonder if “Bob” is secretly pulling the strings and realize they need to get him out! While this does not seem like the case and the MVP will be anonymous for the houseguests, it will be interesting to see if America will really choose the best player or just their favorite. I still am not a big fan of this twist especially if it eliminates people being frank and truthful in the diary room. Will houseguests be open to insulting or backstabbing others when they know America may hate them and punish them in the process by choosing their enemy as the MVP? Only time will tell if this twist will enhance the game and thankfully with 90 days we sure have a lot of time to waste.

In and Out Points:

- I feel as though it should be mentioned since it was kind of glossed over during the show that GinaMarie is from Staten Island…or so I have heard a few thousand times.

- I love how everyone always thinks his or her career is a target for them. Helen is worried that her politics background will hurt her against the 20-somethings on a summer reality show where they have to hang on to giant popsicles in a competition. Meanwhile McCrae tells the truth and every single person in the house calls him a liar because of his “genius vibe.” Sometimes you just can’t win.

- While nobody really has stuck out yet to me (Andy and Nick are at least ones I am not completely annoyed with and am watching right now) I am already counting down the days for Jeremy. Between him yelling in the diary room like Dan Gheesling or Chef Joe and him being involved in at least two secret alliances within the first hour, I can’t wait to see it all come crashing down for him so soon.

- Also I don’t understand why Big Brother: After Dark will be on the TV Guide Network instead of Showtime this year. Sure viewership is probably going down but the words “after dark” alone promises it to be an uncensored look into the Big Brother house. However, all the cursing, nudity, and crazy shenanigans will be censored on a cable channel like TV Guide. While I am excited I have the chance to finally watch it, I feel as though it is a downgrade overall.

- Speaking of extra footage all of these recaps will for the most part be live feeds-free. Also instead of doing three recaps a week I will try and keep some sort of life this summer and just do a weekly recap summarizing the week. Look for them on Friday afternoons.

That is all for day one in the Big Brother house. But first, why don’t you tell me who is impressing you already and what you think of the two big twists either below in the comments or @eastwoodmcfly.

TV Review: Big Brother 14x11: Bouncing Checks

ML- Boogie called it last week, as we were reminded at the end of the "Previously on Big Brother" segment- this is Big Brother, you can bounce checks. When the nominations were revealed, one person was upset his key wasn't pulled, and another was upset that his was. Pretty crazy result to one of the craziest twists in BB history.

The endurance challenge (which I live-updated in last Thursday's blog) was a doozy, as they contestants not only had to hold onto bars and stand on planks at an angle, but they had to do so with freezing cold water pouring down on them and seagull poop splattering on their faces.

Historically, women and smaller guys have faired better in this type of challenge, and that proved the same tonight. The order of dropping out went: Boogie (strategic to appear weak), Jenn (too cold for her Puerto Rican blood), Joe, Ashley, Dan (also to appear weak, which Wil didn't buy), Frank, Wil (who made a deal with Danielle for safety), Shane and Janelle. I was surprised Janie didn't hold out longer, but I guess the 8 years since her original season have taken their toll on her.

The last three standing were Britney, Danielle and Ian. Thanks to a coach session from Dan and Britney and Ian's willingness to jump for safety, Danielle outlasted the others, giving us our first female HoH of the summer. Not only did she get a hug from Dan, she also got a big kiss from Shane. Somebody is finally realizing how much it pays to be in a BB showmance.

The targets started popping up quickly, with Boogie, Frank and even Janelle's named being thrown around. Danielle thinks Janelle is threatened by her- I doubt that's true, I think Janelle just has a harder time pretending to like Danielle than the rest of the house (Britney included) who bashed her non-stop on the feeds a few weeks ago.

Boogie and Frank tried stirring things up after Dan, in the heat of the Reset button action, told them Frank was the target in order to gain some favor of Boogie's. This basically backfired, as Boogie didn't trust Dan for not telling him when it would have mattered. Though Britney and tried to deny it, Dan admits to them he messed up and told Boogie the plan.

Dan used his allegiance with Danielle to veer her off the path of nominating coaches and instead thought she should nominate Wil and Frank. She agreed, until Wil reminded her that she promised him he wouldn't go home this week.

So what was she to do? Stick with the plan and get Frank and Wil up? Or honor the deal and send Janelle or Boogie up instead? She bounced her check and nominated Wil as a pawn against Frank, who has narrowly escaped too many evictions this summer already. Can he do it again?

Boogie, meanwhile, was insulted that she didn't nominate him when she had the chance. Don't get too cocky, buddy, there's still a veto to be played for!

If you want to know the veto competition results, keep reading below! If not, go check out some of our other articles.

Episode Grade: B
Episode MVP: Danielle Murphree
Original Airdate: 8/5/2012





LIVE FEED SPOILERS
The Veto was the yankee swap one done in seasons past, where whoever places higher in a competition can open a box and either keep the prize or trade it for an opened prize.
The prizes went as follows:
Frank got stuck in a "Spirit-tard", a unitard with pom-poms. He hates wearing it and has been lax keeping it on. Could he get a penalty vote?
Wil got $5,000 cash
Jenn got a vacation, which Ian traded away
Ian got a punishment of being dressed like a dog for 24 hours. He has to sleep in a doghouse and have someone holding his leash if he ever goes anywhere.
Shane got a Veto pass, allowing him to play in a future veto
Danielle got the Veto this week

There has been much discussion of backdooring Janelle. Danielle hates her, Brit is sick of her, Boogie and Frank are all for it. However, Dan is still adamant about keeping the target off of the coaches, so as of right now, the veto probably won't be used and Frank will go home. The veto ceremony is tomorrow so things can still change by then!

TV Review: Big Brother 14x10: Tears of Ploy

ML- I didn't expect to be shocked by the decision tonight, but boy, am I surprised.

It all started off with Shane making either the biggest or the stupidest move of the game in nominating Frank. Britney said it was the only move that would keep Frank from winning the half-a-million bucks. It was smart of him, no doubt, and he was even smarter to play it as if he had no intention of eliminating Frank.

Boogie had a great line after Ian justified not committing to Britney- "This is Big Brother. You can bounce checks." Actually, all the coaches (minus Britney, who barely counted in the first place) had some good advice to future Big Brother contestants everywhere- don't let your emotions get in the way of your game.

Janelle was shown to be an amazing gamebot, never sad, never happy, always in game mode. She shed that to deal with the Wil situation- as she gave him some advice for the endurance competition, Wil took it as her condescending him. Basically, he came off as totally bitchy and ungrateful for her giving him safety this week. She should have traded him to Dan and been done with it.

Wil talked to Joe who talked to Ashley who talked to Janelle who talked to Wil about it, and cried some fake tears to get Wil to trust her again. He followed suit, calling her bluff but telling the camera he still didn't trust her. She's going to have to watch her back if she wants to make it by unscathed.

Dan, too, told his player Danielle to be cutthroat and leave all things Shane out of the picture. I don't think she's going to be able to do that, which makes it good for Dan that this twist came about when it did. I also have to applaud Dan for lying so low in the grass these past few weeks. There truly are some great, diversified players among the coaches.

The segment spent on Frank's daddy issues with who appeared to be Mickey Rourke's inspiration for The Ram in The Wrestler didn't offer much insight, but set the stage for a Celebrity Big Brother if they ever come calling. Imagine the fight between Sid Vicious and Russell Hantz? Ratings gold.

Finally, twist time. We all knew "America" would be inviting the coaches to enter the game, and obviously at least one of them would press the "Reset" button. But the rest of the ramifications came out like a ton of bricks. If nobody pressed reset, some sequestered houseguests would be given the opportunity to return to the game. If anybody did, there would be no vote, and Joe, Frank, Shane, all the coaches and the rest of the bunch could play in the endurance HoH.

America was in. Britney was in. Dan and Janie were in. It didn't matter that Boogie passed it up, he knew at least one of the others would subscribe. And just like that, Frank was spared another week.

Now we're left with 12 players in the beginning of Week 4, and I couldn't be more excited. All the coaches are in it to win it, as are Frank, Shane and Ian. Wil has potential, but after his diva-like antics tonight, he's not making any friends. Danielle is trying, but she can only pull a Jordan-like win, and she's nowhere near as likable as Jordan. Jenn is a non-entity.

Was this whole coach scenario an excuse to give some of the favorites a few weeks of safety before entering the house? Absolutely. Do I care? Not one bit. It turned the game way more strategic, and will make things even more complicated now that coaches and players are all in the same league. I can't wait to see how it all plays out!

Winner Prediction: Janelle (she's got a huge target, but if anyone can overcome it, it's my Jedi Janie)
Next Evicted Prediction: Mike Boogie

I'll update the Live Feed section for a little while longer tonight then post the endurance winner tomorrow. As of 11:30, only three people have dropped off. This could be a long night, folks.

Episode Grade: B+
Episode MVP: Janelle Pierzina
Original Airdate: 08/02/2012


LIVE FEED SPOILERS



By 11:00 PM, Jenn, Boogie and Joe were all out of the competition. Everyone else is still hanging in there. I'll update until I fall asleep!
11:42PM Ashley falls out
11:44PM Dan gives up and leaps off
12:07AM Frank falls off after much struggling
12:36AM Shane and Wil jump off together. How cute.
12:40AM Janelle is out
1:08AM Ian drops, guaranteed safety from Danielle and Brit
1:09AM Britney drops, guaranteed safety from Danielle
HOH GOES TO DANIELLE

TV Review: Big Brother 14x02: Willie or Won't He?

ML- It's ironic that one of the most talked-about people in the Big Brother house this season isn't actually in the house, but rather is the Big Brother of someone playing! HoH Willie Hantz opened up to his alliance about his lineage to Survivor's Russell, a smart move given they look exactly alike and lying about it would paint him in a bad light.

Appearances and accents aside, Willie doesn't remind me anything of Russell. He's not cocky at all, and actually shows some vulnerability. He understands it's a social game, something Russell never gathered. Most of all, he's likable, and doesn't proclaim how wonderful he is or speak in the third person.

ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? No? No.

Speaking of wonderful, did you know Jenn played in an all-female heavy metal band? Because she hasn't mentioned that at all to anyone or the camera.

We got a lot of Ian being a creeper tonight, something I frankly don't understand. I'm not saying I haven't fantasized about crawling under the couches in the BB house, or spanking myself with spatulas and passing gas in pink underwear, but given the opportunity I wouldn't actually do any of those things. I'd rock a green banana hammock like Wil, obviously. Big Brother is a social game, and Ian seems to have no social awareness whatsoever. I think he and Russell would be a

The coaches took sides, with Boogie offering a chance to "Will it up" to Dan, referring to his infamous partner from seasons past Dr. Will, and not Willie or Wil, the people actually in the house. Can we at least cast some people with different names next year? Either that have a house full of Mikes- myself included. Dan warily agreed to the pact.

Janelle and Britney, however, were onto the boys' plan and quickly formed their own mega-alliance. They actually included their contestants in this plan, something Dan and Boogie didn't seem to do. I give props to Janie and Brit for organizing this so quickly, as it appears to have a strong backbone.

Willie did some strategizing with the house, and his encounter with Frank had a lasting impression on him, at least enough to merit a confessional. He found him threatening, but also trustworthy. Frank felt the same, as he told Boogie he felt his chances of being nominated were 1 out of 10.

Julie introduced a brand new competition to the house- Coach's Comp, which gives the winning coach the power to save one of their house guests from being nominated or backdoored that week. This is a great twist, in my opinion, that really integrates the coaches with the house guests.

The competition was a derby-style horserace that borrowed from a classic Survivor challenge done in Seasons 10, 13, 17 and probably others: Two contestants run in the same direction around a track until one catches the other and "tags" them, or in this scenario, pulls the tail off of their horse. Big Brother may be the most strategic game in the world, but it's competitions sure are the stupidest.

Boogie won his heat against Britney "Strength of a 6-Month Old" Haynes, and Dan threw his race against Janelle to keep the heat off of Danielle and Kara. The BB: All-Stars rivalry came to a head in the final round, which Boogie dominated, giving him the power to grant someone safety.

He chose Ian, who spends all of his time bouncing on a ball in the pool rather than actually talking to people. Is it a smart move? Perhaps, as it grants someone on his team safety, but it puts pressure on Frank and ROCKSTAR Jenn by the HoH. Good for Ian, though. Maybe he can learn not to creep on the girls in the shower and start talking to them at dinner? One can only hope.

Each coach also had to pick 1 Have Not from their team, and Shane, Danielle, Ashley and Ian were chosen to eat slop and sleep on the terribly uncomfortable-looking beds. I don't think the Coaches Comp winner should have had to pick a Have Not, but regardless, it's a good way to put people from different groups in a room together.

Britney, Janelle and Willie had a pow-wow and determined Boogie and Dan's MVPs are Frank and Kara and it might be smart to attack them at the jugular early on. Boogie suggested Willie nominate JOE, WHO HAS STOLEN DAN'S STATUS AS DIARY ROOM SCREAMER AND COOKS TOO MUCH DAMN FOOD.

In the end, Willie stuck by his alliance and put up Kara and Frank. Both of these players look like great players and threats down the road, so it's huge for Willie to have targeted them so soon. Will it bite Willie in the butt if Frank manages to save himself and gets revenge for their broken agreement? Anything can happen in the Big Brother house!

Episode MVP: Willie Hantz
Episode Grade: B
Original Airdate: 7/15/2012


SPOILERS AHEAD: LIVE FEED RECAP!
It's hard to believe but it's Day 9 in the house, and the PoV ceremony has already been concluded! Here's what's been going down:
-Shane won PoV, in a competition that had to do with sliding around (Shane and Frank scuffed themselves up) and collecting exact change and throwing it into something. The players chosen by draw were Wil, Shane and Danielle.
-Shane planned not to use the Veto, as it would put his alliance in a bad position and he wants either Kara or Frank out anyway.
-Ian has weirded everyone out in the house, from quacking like a duck to kicking himself in the face. Many on Britney and Janelle's teams are convinced he's America's Player.
-The Have-Not room has been brutal for those sleeping in it. Ashley and Shane both hurt their backs.
-Britney and Janelle have had private discussions about the possibility of entering the game at some point. It doesn't seem like they know this for sure, but they surely expect it as a possibility.
-Wil, Britney and Janelle are all very close and are planning a "girls alliance" with Ashley and JoJo.
-The gameplay has been harder than ever thanks to the coaches' presence. Dan has been telling Kara and Danielle what to do and who to talk to, as they can't even think for themselves. Britney has surprised me by how good of a coach she has been, constantly playing the game for her people. Boogie seems disappointed with his people, as Ian needs coaching in basic social skills and Jenn is a creep. Janelle has given good advice to Wil and Ashley, but not so much Joe that I've seen. Joe's plan is to stick by Wil.
-Boogie has alienated everyone in the house, and even Frank is telling people he wants no part in listening to Boogie. Boog did have a point today when he called out the messy girls on not cleaning, as now they've got tons of ants.
-Danielle is super into Shane and apparently is here for a showmance. Shane is going to use her but has no feelings for her (or so he says to his alliance).
-Kara has been super paranoid and trying to talk to people, while Frank has been quietly trying to make alliances.
-As of right now, it's still unclear who is going home. Jenn and Ian will vote for Kara and Danielle will vote for Frank, but the rest of the house plans on voting together. They're torn between booting Kara in order to systematically get rid of Danielle next week so that Dan is gone for good from the game, and kicking out Frank, who knows the game very well, is a major threat (he nearly won the PoV) and has been making the same deals to Britney and Janelle. At this point, it could still go either way, but HoH Willie wants Kara out because he feels if she wins HoH she'll only come after him and Shane, whereas Frank would also target Wil. Britney wants Frank out, as he isn't keeping his word.