Big Brother Shenanigans: BB14: Who's HoH?

Sunday, July 22, 2012

BB14: Who's HoH?

So two days after Boogie, I mean Frank, became HoH, the targets have shifted in the game. Danielle will more than likely be the replacement nominee, and was the intended target for eviction to knock out Dan. Things changed after the PoV competition, however. Boogie and Frank saw how well JoJo competed, deciding that she is more of a threat to them than Danielle. At the same time, Janelle, Ashley and Wil have decided that Danielle is better to keep than JoJo because the latter cannot be trusted to work with them.

At around 11:15 PM BBT last night, Mike and Frank pulled Shane into HoH to talk strategy. The new carrot dangled in front of Shane is the offer to work with them long term. In spite of the fact that they not only put Shane on the block but were training their sights on him, Shane is more than amenable to working with them, going as far as proposing a final 2 deal with Frank and voting JoJo off. This is further established in Shane's meeting with Britney and JoJo, right after the HoH pow wow. He told them nothing of any significance, as per Mike's wishes.

Meanwhile, Mike and Frank congratulate themselves that they've managed to rope Shane in and use him as a shield for Frank. They also think they can work with Wil. Mike is most impressed with his ability to vote out his friend in the game. Frank suggests that he might even organically get a final 2 deal with Wil. At this point, Mike tells him that it's dangerous to have those kinds of conversations with people. Multiple final 2 deals will out and tank his game.

Interesting to note, during Shane's meeting with Mike and Frank, Mike did all the talking. While Frank did a lot of nodding and agreeing, it's clear who's running this show. Mike is setting up a lot of structures to keep his thoroughbred safe. First step, ensure Shane's alliance. Second step, keep the others in the dark. Third step, place another coat of safety by trying to woo Wil to their side. Secret contingency step, keep Dan in the game should the coaches be made players, so that he will have another ally to work with. Mike's target wish list as stated to Shane is: Wil, Joe, Ashley.

Speaking of coaches, it will be interesting to see how AGP will deal with this latest turn of events. If they weren't originally planning on dumping the coaches into the game, will they now do so because they are seriously short players with a surplus of weeks? Jodi is clearly not in sequester, however Kara's absence has been noted. All her non-CBS scheduled interviews have been cancelled and during her interview with Jeff, he wouldn't tell her any information about the game including who Wil voted to evict. This lends credence to her being in sequester, however that too might not mean anything.

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.