Big Brother Shenanigans: BB14: Dissension in the Ranks

Saturday, July 14, 2012

BB14: Dissension in the Ranks

Just for fun. Here is a pic of the coach's room (formerly known as Pandora's Box, so now will it be called Coach's Box?) as posted by Hamsterwatch on twitter last night.

The state of the house is still in flux, making it harder for the newbies to play their game the way they want with the artificial sub-frame of the coaches/mentors restricting their movements. At about 8:45 PM BBT, Janelle and Britney were talking in the HoH about the possibility that the mentors will be entering the game (twist) and be competing along side the newbies.

This is their theory, but it seems to make sense with more players than weeks left in the game. If this is true, it further tips the balance against the newbies. In which game do the coaches replace their jerseys with players' jerseys and compete against those they were coaching? Can the players even trust that their mentorship and advice is geared toward helping the players not themselves?

It seems some of the houseguests are asking themselves that very question at least on the subconscious level creating some dissension in the ranks.

Here's what you missed after the PoV competition yesterday:

Game Strategy

Shane seems to be waffling in his attachment to Willie in the game. This doesn't mean that he will use the PoV, but it might mean that he would vote against Willie's current wishes to oust Kara. I'm not sure why Willie finds Kara so threatening, but we've already seen that he has some sort of understanding with Frank, from their discussion yesterday (see yesterday's post).

Frank on the other hand, while talking with Kara on the hammock last night around 9:30 PM BBT, said that he didn't feel that he and Willie meshed, floating the idea that maybe they could get Shane to use the veto and have someone else nominated. Two problems with this are 1) Willie needs to be on board with this plan and 2) Willie needs to be on board with this plan.

Joe, meanwhile, is fuming after hearing from Britney that Boogie was pushing to make him a replacement nominee. He said as much to Kara and Shane, telling Kara that he wasn't married to the plan to oust her. He reached out to her, saying they need to talk more.

Later, around 12:40 AM BBT, Kara, in an attempt to save her hide this week, promised Willie that she would put up Joe and Ian if she were to win HoH next week. Doh! Hope that's just smoke she's blowing in his general direction, because I like the idea of the newbies not falling in line with the coaches' game plans.

Squeaks and Squabbles

Boogie gave Ian a pep talk, early in the evening, around 7 pm BBT, coaching him about his behavior in the house and how to play the game right. Unfortunately, a couple of hours later, while in the backyard, around 10 PM BBT, Ian literally started kicking himself in the head. Double doh! Clearly, someone's personality cannot change overnight. Ian, despite being a clear fan favorite, is not so popular in the house. In one day alone, he was shooed from at least 5 different rooms when he walked in. It's the case of the nerd being the outcast, yet again, He is young and socially awkward especially around girls. Janelle and Britney have latched on to the fact, not leaving any opportunity to paint this awkwardness as him spying or being cagey; even putting the idea out there that Ian might be America's Player.

Around the same time, Wil was complaining to Britney and Janelle about Dan "jumping down his throat" over a religious discussion they had. I don't claim to know Dan personally, but I did spend an entire season observing him and have followed him in a non-stalkerish way through social media since. Dan is not the kind of person to jump down anyone's throat. Period. Even when he disagrees, he does it in an agreeable manner. Remember Jerry's Judas comments? Nuff said. Wil seems to be the kind of person who overdramatizes any disagreements he has had with people. The night before he went on and on about JoJo taking what turned out to be a sip from his beer. What's next? Jenn will accidentally brush his arm trying to reach into the fridge; and he'll go around whining that she tried to beat him up? Eyeroll.

Willie has clearly told Britney and Janelle that he's a Hantz, but doesn't seem to have said anything to the others, as Dan is still trying to out him by playing the name game. On the other hand, Boogie "magically" figured out that Danielle isn't a kindergarten teacher, lending credence (not that credence is needed) to Jim Early's suggestion that Mike had access to the players' bios before the show began...

That's it for now! Stay tuned! :)

Big Brother Lexicon

There are certain terms that have been used in the course of this show that should be clarified. Here is a list:

Team America: Yet Another tool for production to manipulate the game. Three players will be placed in alliance by "America" and will be given tasks that apparently will change the game. So far, it didn't change Joey's game, first member of Team America slated to be evicted first.

Battle of the Block: The 2 nominees of each of the 2 HoHs will battle each other. The winner duo save themselves and dethrone the HoH who nominated them, throwing them back out of power at risk of being a renom.

AGP: Allison Grodner of Fly on the Wall Productions which is the company that has been hired by CBS to produce the show.

PoV: Power of Veto. This allows the holder to save one of the nominations for eviction. The last PoV of the game is the most powerful, as it determines who will be evicted.

HoH: Head of Household. Along with getting a primo suite, a letter from home, pictures and treats, this person decides who will be nominated and renominated should the veto be used.

Floater: This term is often misused. A "floaters" strategy is legitimate way to get through and win the game. A prime example of this is Jun Song (BB4). This strategy allows the player to switch alliances when necessary, win when necessary, but always work under the wire. It doesn't mean just going with the power in the house (let's call those floppers). It means manipulating the house, ergo having the power. In later years, the term has been misused for players who do not make any moves in the game but work for whoever has the power.

Backdoor: This strategy is used when the true target for eviction is not initially nominated, does not get a chance to play PoV, is subsequently nominated and evicted.

Blindside: When a player is evicted without even suspecting that he/she is the target.

Pawn: This is a person who is nominated but is part of the HoH's alliance and is used as a decoy, to ensure that the other person nominated gets evicted. It has often happened that the pawn has been blindsided.

America's Player: This is a player in the game, chosen by the viewing public, who is told how to act and vote in the house. They do this for a separate monetary reward.

Fast Forward: When there are two evictions in one week. Typically they tape an eviction on Tuesday followed by a quickie HoH. They have nominations later that night, followed by a PoV competition and PoV ceremony the next day. The second eviction and HoH comp for that week happens live on Thursday.

Double Eviction: On the live show on Thursday, there is an eviction (sometimes pre-taped), followed by a quick HoH comp, immediate nominations, a PoV competition, PoV Ceremony, followed by another Eviction, culminating in the second HoH comp which is usually a physical skill or Endurance.