Big Brother
EXPECT THE
UNEXPECTED
"Who flipped?"
-- Faysal “Fessy” Shafaat, BB20
Man, I love this show!
It follows a group of 16 strangers, called Houseguests, for three months. They live in a house with zero outside contact or information — totally isolated — and fight each week for power or safety to avoid eviction. It’s like a modern day Lord of the Flies. Minus the murder.
I think season 20 really broke the mold, I’ve never enjoyed a season and a cast so much, and I’m not sure I will again. But in 26 seasons, over 850 episodes have aired (since it’s on 3x a week), and if that wasn’t enough, 90 cameras and 114 microphones pick up ALL the action and broadcast them 24/7 via live feeds. Big Brother is most definitely watching.
I’ve watched at least 17 of the regular seasons that have aired, plus 3 celeb seasons and now the Reindeer Games. I didn’t watch Over the Top, which was only online, but whatever. In every season, the personalities that get cast are awesomely extreme, the competitions are exciting to watch, the punishments are pretty funny and all the scheming in between is so great to witness. But you know what I tune in for?
Showmances & alliances. Oh, and Julie Chen’s outfits, too.
(Note: The only season where the showmances — and the majority of the cast — made me barf was season 21. They were just gross. If you watched, you know.)
Anyway, a showmance (a term coined by Big Brother mastermind, Dr Will) is a romance that blossoms during the show. What else is there to do when you’re locked up for 100 days? And I have a whole new respect for those that take it slow because they realize they’re on TV. Many couples fizzle as soon as the cameras stop rolling, but a few actually last!
And an alliance is a pact made between Houseguests that they’ll work together in the game and vote the same, not put each other up for eviction, or vote each other out. No one can play BB solo. The stronger and more loyal that your alliance is (I’m talking to you, Cookout!), the closer you get to the $500K (now $750K!) grand prize.
But it turns out, you can win the game without actually winning the game… and while just two of these couples are still together (still sad about Fayleigh) the odds are are about as good as The Bachelor!
MY FAVE SHOWMANCES
