Big Bother

Between the two, I always figured I'd prefer to participate in the Big Brother show rather than Survivor because on BB you can smoke and drink. I don't do a lot of either but, I like having the option. Survivor is like a 37 day commitment(?) if you hang around long enough to make the jury- or win- and BB is nearly three months. Yikes.

I've noticed in watching both shows that the contestants tend to be very knowledgeable students of the game. They frequently talk about past players and moves they made or should have made, as they plot their own moves. This is interesting because I remember the train wreck that was the first season. No one knew how to play the game and towards the end the remaining players threatened to walk out unless the producers told them what the heck was going on. It was pretty funny but, pathetic at the Network level. After a couple of months, the remaining players must have wondered if this thing was ever going to end. I remember a guy with one leg won. That's how unusual the game was. Most games, two-legged people win. They have a leg up, it seems....

Anyway, the players today know the ins and outs far better than a casual viewer like me. I watch every season but, I have little room in my head for but a handful of players. I can't picture most of the people they talk about unless they were over-the-top obnoxious and even then, I don't really know the names. I think most of these people- though they want to win the $500,000- are trying to become actors. The players tend to be attractive and/or very personable. And young. Both shows have dabbled in middle-aged contestants but, chicks in bikinis and handsome dudes are better for ratings. A couple of people from Survivor have gone on to other TV exposure, to different degrees, but, Big Brother seems to be the red-headed step-child as far as an avenue to fame. No one has wound up hosting a cable show like Colby from Survivor or been a sliver of tea party fluff  on "The View" like Elizabeth Hasslebeck was.  Some on BB may just be looking for something to do on their summer vacation.

This season I discovered that there is extra coverage on TVGN (the TV Guide Network) that scrolls your cable listings (um, check your local listings for that...) and it's fairly interesting. It made me change my mind about secretly wanting to be on the show. The 'live' feed shows how fucking boring the experience can be as the players seem to spend most of their time lying around in bed.  But, it also gives you behind the scenes info that doesn't make it to the 'official' show.

For example, the cute little blonde who had been portrayed as a racist, turns out to be a tramp as well. Twenty two years old and evidently the little spank has been with 23 fellas. She's tied with the young dude who had won at everything in life....until he got evicted from the show...not even making the jury. That fucking loser probably has banged a few more chicks since getting bounced from the show because the line; "I've been on TV!" can now be used in his repertoire. Oh- I think number 23, BTW, was the hot bartender gal from Minnesota. That's what he claimed.  Everything these people do is filmed so, it must be on tape somewhere. His winning her was a claim he made to the boys and can be taken with a grain of salt but, they were an item- what they call a showmance. My guess is she blew him under the covers. I don't know if  they let the people take off their microphones while sleeping or not. The idea is that every moment of their lives is filmed and recorded but, they draw the line at pooping and showering. Not sure if they draw the line at sleeping and undercover activities. Would the producers want to listen to people snoring? Slurping, maybe.

Anyway, the cute blonde bragging about her conquests, I actually missed. This was brought to my attention by a fan of the show on the Offbeat Forum. I thought Aaryn- the blonde in question- was simply relaying Jeremy's track record of winning. Who knew she was such a stud? She must be quite the stud to get so many men to sleep with her. She's probably got a huge- oops- make that a really tight vagina. Sheesh. All things being equal in life, we don't have to complain that sexually active women are called "sluts" while sexually active men are called "studs". They're both sluts. How 'bout that? Sexual parity in this post-sexual revolution world. Yay. Get tested kids. One of these people is back out on the streets and the other one will be in a few weeks.

It's things like that though that make the show more interesting if not also more real in it's fakeness. I can't say that the show isn't faked and scripted. I heard one of the players say that they are told before the show starts that "it's not a level playing field..." and I'm not sure what that means. It certainly sounds in the diary room interviews like the replies are scripted. Most all reality shows are like that. Most of these shows, the people are not actors so, much of what they say has to sound forced and faked because we're not trained or experienced actors. If the winner is predetermined, it's a long way to go to give someone half a million dollars. I think things are guided and maybe nudged a little a bit along the way. The second a player starts to talk about his or her diary room sessions or anything regarding production, a Big Brother producer gets on the house speaker and yells at them to stop. They really are listening. It's annoying to my old ears when they whisper but, I think that is to keep their enemies from hearing rather than the producers or fans.

And the drinking? It's not a party every night. Apparently it's up to the producers if and how much they drink.  They must not want the people getting wasted because when they do give them alcohol, it's in extremely odd and sad amounts. Like- FOUR cans of beer and TWO bottles of wine for eight or more people! I can appreciate that they don't want drunken brawls every night even though that might be a ratings bonanza but, sheesh- the blonde tramp would probably call that amount of booze her Monday night back home. Come on, let these people live a little! THAT is real life. I guess I'll stay on Topix. No half million in prize money there but, I can play in my boxers. However, the producers are always yelling at me...FERRERMAN! QUIT PICKING ON THE TARDS! And there's really no chance of winning.