Big Brother Shenanigans: BB14: Chum Baths and Chump Moves

Sunday, August 26, 2012

BB14: Chum Baths and Chump Moves

Here's the situation in the game right now. Jenn has won PoV (maybe they should have put her on the block earlier in the season) and, as of now, is not planning on using it. The target for eviction is still Dan who is stuck in Raver's Solitary for the rest of the day today. His so-called allies, meanwhile, have given up on him, cutting their ties (on a game level) and accepting his demise. In order for Dan to have any hope of staying this week, he has to drastically change his game, and shank his alliance. He has the ammunition: Ian's betrayal of Mike and Frank, Britney's pushing for Frank's eviction and Shane's targeting Frank in both his HoHs. The only way Dan can make it in this game is to somewhat change his game play and get out of chill-mode and into full-blown Ninja Warrior mode.

Though AGP put in place some safety nets for the vets this season and last, the vest face an uphill battle because their game play is known, has been discussed and can be used against them. In order to override that, they need to change it and go against the flow of expectation. This is why Rachel was able to not only stay in the game, against all odds and despite her lingering reputation, but to win it. Last year was not only a year of personal redemption for Rachel; it was a redemption of her as a BB player. She kept her fierceness in competitions but also learned from her past mistakes and changed her social game as well.

This is something that Britney is doing this year. Despite the fact that she is a vet, the target on her back has not been as great. She's been able to use her mad social skills to forge relationships with everyone in the house, allowing her to somewhat shake off the vet stigma. If she can throw a couple of competition wins under her belt, she has a chance at redemption too this season. She's gotten close in a couple of competitions and stands a great chance in winning an Endurance competition. If she can ride the males' tendency to go after one another and keep the other two girls in the game close, she has a chance of making it to the end.

On a human level, it's really rough to witness such a lack of loyalty and gratitude in the house. Dan completely took the heat for the Quack Pack, especially Ian, last week thus making himself a huge target this week. Frank is under the misapprehension that Dan is solely responsible not only for Mike's eviction but in forcing Ian to nominate Frank and Ashley during the D.E. last Thursday. Ian, at least, owes Dan a fighting chance by working on Jenn to use the veto. Instead he along with the rest of the Quack Pack have accepted that Dan will be the first casualty, not even trying to put up a fight. That's quite the chump move. It's what's best for their game for sure, but it makes me sour towards them, just a little bit.

Here's some chum bath, just for the hell of it.. (The list of punishments are in the previous post.) Dan is expected to be released from solitary around 6 pm PST. I'm looking forward to his conversation with Frank. The rest is moot. Everyone in the house, sadly, eagerly or thankfully, expects that Dan will be evicted Thursday. Hey, AGP? How about a FF this week? Just sayin'

4:24 PM: Dan is free! Now watching for his talk with Frank... A little later he goes to the Arcade Room and lies down with a towel on his head... He's pretending to be sick. He lifts the towel, smiles and winks at the camera.

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.