Hey, gang. BBBlogger has been holding up the fort, but I’ve returned tanned, rested and ready for a new season of Big Brother 9. And, we now know it will be a full season.
There will be 14 houseguests, and BB9 will last into May. This won’t be a truncated season.
What we know about this season is that the house has been redesigned a bit to reflect the fact that it’s a winter season. Part of the house looks a tad like a log cabin, and the pool is heated.
It’s been rumored that both Dick Donato and Janelle Pierzina will have roles on BB9, but at this point it doesn’t appear that it will be as houseguests. But they could host House Calls together.
I’ve heard whispers of celebrities participating (Joey Buttafuoco) and rumblings of firsts (a transsexual). However, there is no firm feeling that BB9 will be anything but a traditional, kick-ass season.
The craziest thing happened during the off-season, by the way. Nick and Danielle broke up, and the Minnesota hunk is now dating Jen Johnson. No kidding.
I’m a 37-year-old straight man, and I feel like a chatty schoolgirl.
Should it really surprise us? Heck, no, because life does not reflect the Big Brother house. The house is a venue in which reality is tuned on its heels, where its guests expect the unexpected and live by fatalistic credos like “it is what it is.”
While CBS is promoting Big Brother 9 with Oklahoma’s own All-American Rejects singing “Dirty Little Secret,” and host Julie Chen saying, “Now, that’s good television,” those of us die-hards know that Big Brother is not merely a television show.
It’s pretty much the greatest pop-culture game in modern times.
Be honest. How many of you would give an unnecessary body part to be able to be in the house for the summer (or winter)? How many of you would admit that the money wouldn’t even be that big of a motivator; it would be the chance to participate in this circus that would attract you?
Well, many of us — including several readers of big-brother-blog.com — have mastered the process of enjoying Big Brother to the point that it’s almost like being there. So, to kick off my portion of the BB9 season, I want to give you guys a master class in how to get the most out of your Big Brother season.
Starting tonight, by the way, I’ll start counting down the Top 8 moments from Big Brother 8. Oh, and set your DVRs for CBS’ The Early Show on Feb. 6, when Julie Chen will be on to introduce the Big Brother 9 cast.
How To Get The Most Out Of BB9
First and foremost, either get a DVR or plan to be in front of the TV on Sunday nights, Tuesday nights and especially Thursday nights. Fans of the show know this, but it helps to remind you. And if you have vacation days to kill during the first two quarters of the business year, make them Thursdays so you can stay up all night watching the live feeds after Head of Household.
And that brings me to the live feeds. Yes, we would love it if you signed up for a live feed through big-brother-blog.com. But I can verify to you independent of any ulterior motivation that having access to a live feed is the single most important thing you can do to enjoy Big Brother.
During BB8, I kept my live feed open most of the time when I was home. Now, I didn’t always pay attention to it, but it was pretty much always on — just in case. The best times to watch were typically between 4 and 6 p.m. PST and after 11 p.m. PST. While Showtime’s After Dark purports to give Big Brother fans an uncensored look at the goings-on inside the house, houseguests typically kept it pretty boring during Showtime’s live hours.
Of course, you’ll want to visit big-brother-blog.com, but if you can only surf at home or work or have some serious time limitations (or have a life), I’ll give you the skinny. Bookmark us, and make it a point to check back often between Wednesday night and Sunday morning.
We’ll keep you apprised of the house happenings leading up to eviction nights, and — believe me — things can change at the last minute, providing a depth of coverage just watching the television show can never provide. Plus, you’ll want to know who wins PoV before TV night, and you’ll only get that online.
Besides, much of the drama goes down on Wednesday or Thursday, particularly after the eviction. The most beautiful thing about Big Brother, to me, is that it’s a moving, dynamic game. Its favorites one week can be pawns the next. It’s ever-changing, and the HoH contest itself — something that lasts all of five minutes usually — sets in motion the Big Brother world for the next seven days and often rewrites pop culture history.
Take for example, my absolute favorite HoH competition from Big Brother 8. This clip encompassed so much about the season, from Jameka’s questionably brilliant decision to sit out five competitions (seemed stupid at the time) to the insanity of the bunny suits to Jen’s ditziness to one of several questionable HoH moves made by the show itself (in this case, Julie calling Eric, “Nick”) and most of all to how Jessica’s victory not only made her a player but also saved Eric’s ass — the night after a week in which he was just emotionally beaten up by most of the other houseguests, all unknowing that he was America’s Player.
Here’s how crazy this show is to its most loyal fans. There is a war happening on this planet. There is poverty in the world, and small children go hungry at night. And I was thrilled beyond thrilled for 36 hours beyond anything going on in my life that Jessica had just won HoH.
Booyah!
To get the most out of Big Brother, you really should become a student of the game. I would submit there is a ton about this show we can take away into real life. Learning how to read people. Learning how to play nicer. Learning how to coexist with people in close proximity for long periods of time.
Not that we’re paying attention to anything like that while we watch, but oddly enough, I absolutely think I’m a better student of human behavior because of this show. It’s also possible that my ticket to Hell is punched because I revel in the hatefulness so much.
By the end of a season, you’ll be ready for it to be over, only to get super excited for it months down the line. That’s no different than what sports fans go through each season. And if you really want to experience Big Brother, getting that DVR ready and accessing a live feed are the most practical ways to stay attuned to the action.
But if you try to watch this by yourself, without somebody you can talk to about the house and its daily developments, you’ll find the Big Brother experience to be frustrating. Like a singer who has a song but no vocal chords.
That’s where the community comes in. Us. Hop onto our comments section and post away. Defend a houseguest. Crucify another. To be perfectly honest, depending on the day, I vacillated about Evel Dick about 4,500 times last season.
But we all did about some things or another last season. Heck, if you’re like me, you can’t just walk away from your job to go live in a house with strangers, even if it’s for a chance at $500,000.
However, I’d be totally lying to you if I didn’t stress how fun this show can be even from afar … well, like I said, with the right tools and the right community.
Remember. Tonight starts our Top 8 of Season 8. In the meantime, tell us how YOU get the most out of your Big Brother season.
