The feeds are back on after the Big Brother 8 houseguests finished the food competition — a rousing round of slop pong, a take off on the houseguests’ late-night beer-pong battles.
I do believe I heard Zach say that it was ironic that the people who normally played beer pong did not fare well in the slop version, which was contradicted by Zach eating two giant ham and cheese sandwiches, alongside a grilled cheese sandwich, washed down by a big, frosty Diet Coke.
Ahhh, the product placement. I’m hungry.
Zach did say that Eric hit the winning shot, so maybe I misheard.
Jen and Jameka are in the gym talking about nominations. Jen asks her who she think new HoH Daniele will nominate, and the 28-year-old school counselor from Maryland said she had no idea.
Really?
Just minutes before, in the storage room, Jameka told Amber that she had a feeling that this was going to be a good week. If you’re asking me, I’d say it’s cut and dry that Dani’s going to nominate Amber and Jameka and then try to backdoor Jen.
However, what has made BB great is its sheer unpredictability. One argument, one slip-up, one banner, one secret can turn this game on its head. It looks like nominations will be forthcoming in the next couple of hours with a PoV competition slated for early Saturday afternoon as usual.
In weeks past, I’ve posted my houseguest rankings, an effort I abandoned last week given the volatility of the house. However, here’s how I see things shaping up in terms of odds to win the whole thing:
Daniele: - She’s not the best player mentally, but relative to competitions, she’s the best. The absolute best. We have to remember that if she can survive to the Final 4, the game depends pretty much solely on competitions. Plus, she’s aligned with a great strategic player.
Her chances? Excellent.
Dick: - He was part of the biggest coup in Big Brother history, and I really think he’s gained some game-respect among his competitors. However, with Amber, Jameka or Jen gone next week, there is still a chance that Zach or Amber or Jen (whoever’s left) can win an HoH. Dick’s problem is that he’ll be THE target in that case.
Nevertheless, he’s a good, good player strategically. A great player, and seriously, the comparisons to Dr. Will we scoffed at earlier should be considered very seriously right now.
His chances? Very good.
Eric: - He executed this great coup, and he’ll take all the heat eventually. However, he’s a brilliant strategist and short-term alliance builder. But if he were to make it to the Final 4, I don’t like his chances in the competitions, and he’ll lose a final vote to anyone given that I do not believe the jury house will know of the twist. I write this because Dustin’s exit interviews with various Web sites do NOT acknowledge “America’s Player,” which they did with everyone else.
Nevertheless, Eric’s as good as Dick strategically.
His chances? Moderate.
Jessica: - She’s tied at the hip with Eric, but she came out of Thursday’s Dustin eviction clean as a whistle. She’s virtually a shoo-in for the Final 4, and at that point, it’s all about competitions.
Her chances? Very good.
Zach: - Opinion on the 30-year-old Florida State grad has changed in terms of game strategy. He was integral in Dick’s survival, but everybody in the house still overlooks him. Nevertheless, he sucks at competitions but would be a viable candidate to win in the finale given that he hasn’t alienated too many people, meaning the other houseguests will look to target him sooner rather than later.
His chances? Moderate.
Jen: - She’s goofy. She’s not very well liked. She gave up half the prize winnings, virtually ensuring a loss in the finale. However, she’s good at the competitions, meaning she could survive for a while. Long term though, she’s got no chance given the prize-money surrender.
Her chances? Poor.
Jameka: - Eric said it better than I could when he noted that she’ll beat anybody in a finale. She’s right, but only because she’s stayed true to herself even in the face of house criticism. Jameka is like Dick in a lot of ways in that, with her, what you see is what you get. In fact, a finale with Jameka and Dick would be very, very hard to call.
However, her decision to forfeit HoH opportunities was a killer. If she doesn’t go this week, she will absolutely go in the next three weeks. If not, it will be truly a great survival story, like her or not.
Amber: - When we had a survey asking all of you who was the best player so far, the Las Vegas cocktail waitress got all of one vote. While I hate criticizing women for being “emotional” given that it’s a criticism men often make of women unfairly, Amber takes it to a whole new level.
I’ve literally never seen anybody cry so much. Ever. In fact, she is so down in the dumps right now, I hope the producers have hidden all overdosable pills.
If she were to win this show, I would be stunned beyond belief. In fact, she’s the one houseguest I think stands no chance. None.
Her chances? I just told you.
Now for some questions that have come up in the comments:
1. Eric and the money. He has to complete FIVE tasks to get $10,000. It’s not $2,000 per task; it’s $10,000 for five. He has to complete five to get anything, and at this point, I suspect he is close to earning $20,000 or is starting the next five toward $30,000.
Now, for those of you who don’t know, these houseguests are paid. It’s nominal, but if you’re in the jury house, I think you get about $2,500 per week. Not chump change at all. Eric will walk away with a good amount, probably equivalent to what the runner-up gets, regardless.
2. Big Brother does it all for the ratings. OK, I’ve seen a lot of these comments, and knowing something about the television industry, I wanted to clarify a couple of things.
First, summer television shows do not rack up big ratings, no matter what. However, in the industry, these shows can be cash cows. They’re cheap to produce, and frankly, if they make anything, it’s a win.
Right now, NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” is the biggest summer show on television. Normally, it will pull a 2.8 to 3.2 rating on Tuesday nights, and Big Brother will do a 2.6 on the same night with a 2.0 on Sundays and a 2.6 to 2.8 on Thursdays. All of this numbers mumbo-jumbo relates to how many millions of TVs are tuned to this show.
OK, before I bore you to death with numbers, here’s the kicker. Big Brother’s ratings have climbed into that 3.0 to 3.2 range, a significant climb from last season. Our show is doing so well right now relative to network expectation that it’s almost assured of returning for the next couple of years, and we (the online community) are among the reasons why.
Sure, CBS probably wanted Dick to stay in the house, but I’m telling you that even more than Mr. Donato’s survival, they noticed us arguing about it. Being passionate about it. Blogging about it. In fact, the YouTube era of online video sharing has only served to make this game even more popular.
Does that mean CBS would try to compete with the big boys of the fall or winter seasons? No. The network isn’t trying to produce American Idol like numbers. They want a small but dedicated and insanely loyal group of viewers during the summer months, when television watching is traditionally down.
In other words, while the producers certainly didn’t weep at Dustin’s demise, they aren’t doing anything out of the ordinary to “rig” a show that’s only getting a 3 rating.
If you have comments or questions about the show itself you’d like answered, I’ll be “America’s Researcher” for you and do my best to get the info and post it here. So, ask away!
