Oh, (Big) Brother!

[Timewalker]

Well, the 2-hour premiere of the 2016 season of Big Brother was on tonight, and I have already picked out at least 3 people I wouldn't mind to see win, although of course that could change at any time. I've also picked out several people who are obnoxious, annoying, irritating, and several other adjectives. They can leave any time.

The house this year is bizarre, at least to my senses. It seems to be on a 'summer vacation/travel' theme, so the rooms have a kind of travel decor. The British one isn't so bad to look at. Some of the others are really eye-hurting.

There are, of course, several twists.

1. Four of the 16 houseguests are veterans of past seasons. Nobody knew about this until they literally popped out of trunks in the living room. Even the four of them didn't know about the other three.

2. Two houseguests are siblings of past houseguests.

3. Right now they're playing in teams of four, with the veteran houseguests split up among these teams. The new players have, of course, decided to gang up on the veterans at the first opportunity.

I've no idea if anyone else here is watching this, or if I'll end up talking to myself. But I just thought it would be nice to have a place to cheer on favorites and mock the ones we don't like.

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

Things I remember about the returning four:

Da'Vonne - shrewd observer, terrible social game. Doesn't seem like she learned much from her first season on the show.

James - great social game, decent at challenges. Likable. Gullible.

Frank - Boogie's henchman. Really good at challenges but I remember not liking him for a reason I can't recall just yet.

Nicole - turns conjunctions into five-syllable words. "Buuuuuuuuuuuuut." "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand." I'm drawing a blank on who her showmance was with.

I was a big fan of Derrick and Cody, so I'm going to root for Paulie right out of the gate. Also, state law requires me to cheer on the nutritionist from Michigan, regardless of how flighty she appeared in her intro package. I don't think anyone will accuse her of being related to Coach Dan.

On the flip side, Paul is all sorts of annoying and his two newbie cohorts are equally off-putting. Their "Big Sister" team should be imploding any second now.

Prediction for the first eviction tonight: the dog groomer.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

So far seems equal potential to be a good season or a terrible season. I don't mind the team thing as it's basically tribes and will clearly get reset in four or five weeks.

Michelle and what's her name who wants to be a mathematician seem like they could get aggravating real fast.

I remember the reason I rooted against Frank was that I don't like it when players get through by winning competitions every week even though they have no social or strategic game. May not apply this year, he seems like a good guy.

Did they really have to crouch in those boxes for hours? Holy crap. I can't imagine how uncomfortable that was.

 

[Timewalker]

Things I remember about the returning four:

Da'Vonne - shrewd observer, terrible social game. Doesn't seem like she learned much from her first season on the show.

I want her gone ASAP. I can't stand her selfish, nasty attitude and all that "thankyoujesus" nonsense.

James - great social game, decent at challenges. Likable. Gullible.

I didn't really care for him much before, but he wasn't horrible. And he does know how to make things fun. So I'm actually looking forward to seeing what happens now that he's with a different group of people.

Frank - Boogie's henchman. Really good at challenges but I remember not liking him for a reason I can't recall just yet.

He's okay on his own. But the combination of him and Mike Boogie became unwatchable.

Nicole - turns conjunctions into five-syllable words. "Buuuuuuuuuuuuut." "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand." I'm drawing a blank on who her showmance was with.

I don't remember either. I don't like her voice or narcissism, but she's still better than a lot of the others there.

Also, state law requires me to cheer on the nutritionist from Michigan, regardless of how flighty she appeared in her intro package.

Is that the one who's afraid of North Korea? Honestly, even before the litany of fears (someone should teach her the Litany Against Fear (from Dune), she lost me with all that judgmental stuff about overweight people. It's not always from poor nutrition. Sometimes there are medical reasons for which the person has no control.

On the flip side, Paul is all sorts of annoying and his two newbie cohorts are equally off-putting. Their "Big Sister" team should be imploding any second now.

Paul is one of the people I was thinking about when I wrote the OP. He's obnoxious.

Prediction for the first eviction tonight: the dog groomer.

Unless he wins the competition (unlikely, unless it's one of those non-physical multiple choice ones), you're probably right.

So far seems equal potential to be a good season or a terrible season. I don't mind the team thing as it's basically tribes and will clearly get reset in four or five weeks.

Michelle and what's her name who wants to be a mathematician seem like they could get aggravating real fast.

The mathematician's name is Bronte. When she introduced herself, she said "Like the brontosaurus"... and made me realize that while she may be good at math, she likely never went beyond high school English. Of course she would have been named for one of the Bronte sisters, not a dinosaur!

She hadn't said three words before I wanted her to shut up. She has one of the most irritating, high-pitched, squeaky voices I've ever heard.

Did they really have to crouch in those boxes for hours? Holy crap. I can't imagine how uncomfortable that was.

I wonder if there wasn't a removable section of floor under those trunks and they have false bottoms. Keep the four apart and send them up one by one... that's how it works with stage magicians, so it would be simple for Big Brother to do it, and then make sure the houseguests would never know of the space underneath. Technically they would have been in the house "all along"... but just in the basement we never get to see.

Otherwise, if the four of them were in the trunks for hours, they'd have had trouble breathing and wouldn't have been able to leap up like they did.

A few other things I wanted to mention: I hope Victor has a social game. He's cute. I don't mind Bridget. As for Vanessa's sister, she had best come clean sooner rather than later. Her facial expressions, voice, and way of speaking make it obvious that she and Vanessa are sisters. That said, I'm curious to see how far she'll get. Vanessa's downfall was her paranoia and narcissism (and that endless mantra of "blood on my hands"). Hopefully her sister isn't like that.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Victor is fun, he won me over early with the telenovela joke.

Bronte has probably had experiences mentioning the Bronte sisters and getting blank or annoyed stares.

Michelle reminds me just a little of Cecily Strong's 'Female character in a male driven comedy' character. She has kind of a Zooey Deschanel vibe.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I just watched the episode of Orange is the New Black with Lolly's flashbacks, and Bronte looks exactly like young Lolly.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I don't think they were in the trunk for long, it was actually the same trunk that they all popped out of, which tells me they were probably under the stage (the whole "house" is really a sound stage) and just came through the trunk one-by-one for the reveal.

Nicole was one of my favorites, so I'm glad to see her back. James, I don't care either way. Da'Vonne clearly doesn't know how to handle not getting her way in BB, but I'm still glad she's back because she is smart and pretty funny in the DR. I feel like she had a lot of potential last year and was sad she was one of the early evictees. I never liked Frank on his season, not just because of his bromance with Boogie but because he was whiny, hypocritical, and openly admitted to cheating in a couple of comps and while picking POV players. He does seem a little better so far this year, so maybe he's matured.

Of the new people, I already can't stand Jozea and Paul. The feeds, which started after last night's show, have only solidified those feelings. Jozea needs to leave. Bronte's voice doesn't actually annoy me that much, it's cute. I both like and dislike Michelle at the same time. Victor seems like an okay guy, but a little too into himself and his belief that the ladies all love him. His conversation with Nicole on last night's episode also showed him to be a lousy player so far.

Spoiler: Feeds spoiler about forming alliances

It looks like the returnees have teamed up with Michelle, Tiffany, Corey and Zakiyah, with Paulie included as well but seemingly on the edge of the alliance. I guess I'm most surprised about Zakiyah, who hung out with Day, Nicole, and James quite a bit last night but spent hardly any time with her supposed best buds Jozea and Paul. Maybe she got tired of them quickly too. Within this larger alliance, smaller groups seem to already be forming. The girls have banded together into the Fatal Five.

All of the rest of the new people are in another loose alliance to get out the returnees.

Bronte, Natalie, and Bridgette seem to be in a three person alliance.

 

[Timewalker]

Yeah, I couldn't believe how two of them just up and told the veteran players what their alliance's plans were.

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

Yeah, I couldn't believe how two of them just up and told the veteran players what their alliance's plans were.

Those were the funniest moments of last night's episode; Nicole and Da'Vonne just listening to the newbies spill the beans on not only their friends' plans but their own personal agendas as well.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Oh, I forgot to mention in my last post that the guy Nicole had a showmance with in her first season was named Hayden. He was the goofy messy-haired "chill" guy.

 

[Bluewhale]

Well, the 2-hour premiere of the 2016 season of Big Brother was on tonight, and I have already picked out at least 3 people I wouldn't mind to see win, although of course that could change at any time. I've also picked out several people who are obnoxious, annoying, irritating, and several other adjectives. They can leave any time.

The house this year is bizarre, at least to my senses. It seems to be on a 'summer vacation/travel' theme, so the rooms have a kind of travel decor. The British one isn't so bad to look at. Some of the others are really eye-hurting.

There are, of course, several twists.

1. Four of the 16 houseguests are veterans of past seasons. Nobody knew about this until they literally popped out of trunks in the living room. Even the four of them didn't know about the other three.

2. Two houseguests are siblings of past houseguests.

3. Right now they're playing in teams of four, with the veteran houseguests split up among these teams. The new players have, of course, decided to gang up on the veterans at the first opportunity.

I've no idea if anyone else here is watching this, or if I'll end up talking to myself. But I just thought it would be nice to have a place to cheer on favorites and mock the ones we don't like.

I was wondering how they recruited people. Thanks for explaining how 6 came to be part of this season. I wonder how they choose the rest. I think they must be mischievous and deliberately choose polar opposites as everyone loves a spat. Very noisy and self centred people against more grounded people? Some on looks and figure? Natural victims? Bullies, sloths, slobs, sophisticated vs bogans? I'd love to know!

 

[Bluewhale]

Things I remember about the returning four:

Da'Vonne - shrewd observer, terrible social game. Doesn't seem like she learned much from her first season on the show.

James - great social game, decent at challenges. Likable. Gullible.

Frank - Boogie's henchman. Really good at challenges but I remember not liking him for a reason I can't recall just yet.

Nicole - turns conjunctions into five-syllable words. "Buuuuuuuuuuuuut." "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand." I'm drawing a blank on who her showmance was with.

I was a big fan of Derrick and Cody, so I'm going to root for Paulie right out of the gate. Also, state law requires me to cheer on the nutritionist from Michigan, regardless of how flighty she appeared in her intro package. I don't think anyone will accuse her of being related to Coach Dan.

On the flip side, Paul is all sorts of annoying and his two newbie cohorts are equally off-putting. Their "Big Sister" team should be imploding any second now.

Prediction for the first eviction tonight: the dog groomer.

I'm sure the reason you didn't like Frank will make itself known in no time at all! I'm guessing 'root' in this context means you support them? Rooting in Australia means sexual intercourse!

 

[JirinPanthosa]

So you're saying, if I ever meet an Australian athlete I'm fond of, I should *not* tell them that I am rooting for them?

Yes, 'root for' means 'cheer for'. I had no idea that wasn't global to all English speakers.

 

[Timewalker]

Apparently "bonk" carries a similar misunderstanding, as actress Renee O'Connor (who played Gabrielle in Xena: Warrior Princess) found out. She accidentally caused confusion on the set one day when they were rehearsing a fight scene with some of the male guest cast: She was thinking through the fight choreography out loud, and said (paraphrased), "So I bonk you here, and then later on we end up over there and you bonk me..." By that time the Australians on the set were having hysterics, and the American actress didn't realize why. The North American definition of "bonk" means "to hit."

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

I'm sure the reason you didn't like Frank will make itself known in no time at all! I'm guessing 'root' in this context means you support them? Rooting in Australia means sexual intercourse!

Yikes!

Yeah, I meant root as in "cheer on" like in the song "Take Me Out to the Ballgame":

Let me root, root, root for the home team.

 

[Timewalker]

Wow. The "Big Brother Road Kill" twist is different. It definitely means the houseguests can't get too comfortable with their usual strategy of "one person you really want to go, one pawn, and one for back-dooring."

 

[Spot's Meow]

Yes, it's an interesting twist. I especially like that the winner is anonymous. Frank isn't my favorite, but I'm glad he won because I'm looking forward to the vets sticking around.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I like the new twist. It's like the MBP twist only with a comp instead of silly vote.

I hope Jozei goes. Somewhere Kanye West is watching thinking his self-congratulations is just a bit much.

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

I'm great with either Jozea or Paul leaving this week.

 

[Timewalker]

One question has been nagging me for awhile, about the show in general. I've been wondering if the back yard is really outside, or if they just simulate sunlight with lights and a retractable roof. The grass never needs cutting, and it never rains. Nobody goes outside at night. It doesn't look like the wind blows.

But one of the women referred to being sunburned... so is it just that the grass is fake, and it never rains in California?