Big Brother: Busted – Degradation and Delectable Delusions
A Weekly Opinion Column Containing Some Feed Spoilers
By: Lin Sbordone
What a week in the Big Brother house! After James Rhine won HOH, tensions mounted and his nominations were criticized and feared by the other houseguests. James, holding his ground, struggled not only with the rest of the house but with his own alliance as well. What faces the “hamsters” tucked away inside the house? Why in the world does CBS refuse to stop with the humiliating of their own all-star cast? How are others feeling and playing the game? Are viewers starting to lose interest and faith in the beloved “America’s team”, Janelle’s name for the season 6ers this year? Oh, and a small matter of who holds the power of veto…
Instead of nominating both Chill Town members, James nominated Dr. Will as a pawn and Chicken George as the one going home. Incase anyone has been watching, the person the Sea Sick usually want gone only at this point have 50/50 odds of staying. (1-1: Saved Dani, Lost Nakomis.) This serves as curse number one for Will, yet it seemed it didn’t matter to Will if he won veto. Chicken George on the other hand, practically dying in order to win the veto, does and will of course save his own hide for a week. James, who lost the competition, whined for hours on end how the game was fixed since BB knew that “I couldn’t compete in HOH, so had I agreed to not play in veto, I’d be going home next week.” (No other contestant mention competitions seeming rigged for the Sea Sick, even with them considering the long odds of 3 out of 4 of them winning the first 3 HOHs?.) Not to mention, if anyone other than a 6er wins, he would probably be going anyhow, but oftentimes these contestants strategize regarding more remote possibilities and angles well, but still can’t see the proverbial “forest for the trees”. Now since George is coming off of the block and James must replace him, the strategically and obvious move to make now would be to put Mike Boogie against his alliance, business partner, and friend Mike Boogie. Looking at strategies, Dani and Erika have been lying low and are the ones currently off everyone’s true radar for nominations in the near future, so kudos to these ladies for likely securing their positions for several more weeks. Marcellas and Janelle seem to be truly bonding. It seems rather apparent in fact that often Marcellas likely dreams of being Janelle. Ummm…Good luck with that one Marcellas. It is now obvious to all that Jase is playing both sides, and Howie and Janelle want him gone instead of either Will or Boogie, but since James is still so sore from having been back-doored last season, he refuses to nominate Jase in Chicken George’s place. Besides, James declares to the other alliance members, “I gave him my word.” Ummm…Is anyone else thinking of a Bible incident and a long word starting with an h and ending with an e?
Infighting amongst the Season 6 alliance is only getting worse. Not shown on any episodes last week but in great detail on the feeds, Janelle confronts and Kaysar and tells him how stupid his nominations are amongst other harsh words for many hours. This week, it is James that is ignoring any input given to him by his fellow players. Kaysar has also argued with James for long periods of time. Were it not for Janelle, it would probably still be transpiring. Howie’s in the background of these fights, but he seems to be seething for someone to go “HowieCane” on at the next possible chance. What is hard for anyone with two working brain cells to fathom is that these four are bonded for any reason other than circumstance mixed with their compatible psychological insecurities. While certainly they care for each other, some of them usually more than the others for every individual, we are still far from seeing any stellar examples of glorious individuals that are so charismatic they are unforgettable. In fact, we’re getting quite the opposite. This is to be the Four Seasons, not the Super 8, of Big Brother USA. Whatever spell had many full-heartedly adoring them last season is dissipating quickly. If the old Sovereign don’t look within and fix them quickly, they will be this year’s new Nerd Herd. (It is likely Janie knows this, another factor that works out well for Marcellas the pretty boy aligning with the pretty and sly girl.) But really, what is the audience going to think when they sling one another under the bus the first chance they can get? Never say you weren’t warned that this day is approaching, and quickly. If Boogie is put up on the block next to Will, that day will be sooner than later. But remember, innocent wonderful James can’t put up the one that’s been lying to and misleading his alliance trying to take them to the slaughter. He called Kaysar a pansy last week, and now he’s doing the same by not nominating Jase. Did these people have to check their brains along with their luggage at the door? A 30 page article couldn’t outline the amount of projection these four uses to cope. Heroes? If you’re looking for someone to idolize, holding out is highly recommended.
Then, to put the Big Brother slop icing on the case, there is CBS with their seemingly cruel production antics. Kaysar is the latest victim of their seeming attempts to put these cast members in their relative places, suffering massive ear pain that left him whimpering, agitated, and literally moaning in pain. Though not shown on the show as of yet, the Big Brother Slop did more to these people and the dynamics of the game than making those eating it crave Pb&j: It had them irritable, whiny, and truly seemed to shock the system entirely too much to be fair. The upcoming veto competition seems as if it is going to be one of the best, and also one of the most morally pathetic, competitions ever on reality TV. From what can be gathered from the feeds, the competitors were forced to give up or be the victim of several humiliating acts and decisions before they were allowed to win the veto. Anyone who said stop and would not do what was requested, with the demeaning factor rising as quickly as the stakes, lost. George had to run around in yet another crazy suit after being dunked in some type of paint or dye, giving away veto opportunities for next week, and agreeing to eat the BB Slop diet for 60 days. one thing that cannot be said against this man is that he lacks the will to put up a good fight. So for the record, CBS has knocked them off their pedestals, trashed and dumped on them, used the analogy of pigs, troughs, and rats, and now has practically seen how far they would humiliate themselves in order to secure a shot at remaining and winning the huge prize money. There seems to be some genuine animosity between some of the houseguests and CBS as there is much talk of contracts, agents, etc. on the live feeds. Even though ratings initially rose, it is likely that the producers want the game “amped” up. Face it CBS, the producers and casting department must have failed to account for the fact that with the passage of time, some of the evil people might just not be so evil. Just as with the beloved ones, there is no where to go in the eyes of the public but down. Everyone loves the underdog, and the public is fickle and can be downright cruel. If James does nominate Boogie and Will, then he goes against the word Kaysar gave to Chill Town. Wouldn’t the alliance then expose that they are no better than those to whom they think they are morally superior should they resort to lying and scheming just as they have? Oh wait, they’ve already done that. My prediction: Perhaps this is precisely what CBS was counting on to make All-Stars a sure sell; a change in both the players personas as well as in audience perceptions. What really comprises good? What really comprises evil? Think of that and remind yourself, “Game is awwwnnn”!
What do you think? Be sure to stop by and sound off about any BBAS topic in our Big Brother forum. Be sure to check after every show for recaps, and on Sunday’s for future editions of Big Brother: Busted!!!
Lin Sbordone owned her own technical writing company from 1988-2002. Since that time, she has been working as an entertainment and political writer as well as an entertainment publicist. The author can be reached at writeaway@rogers.com
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