A Colossal Waste of Time...

I don't know very many fans of a show that I'm addicted to each summer, but I gotta say this: If you're looking for a "no-brainer" of a show to watch during the doldrums of "lack of TV", Big Brother is one for the books!

This summer is the 11th season - it airs three 1-hour episodes each week
from now until September (the week before the networks release their new fall shows).

I've been a fan for the past 4-5 years. Before that, I knew absolutely nothing about this show. Why in the world would I want to watch something like this? A bunch of strangers constantly arguing? Goofy competitions? A bunch of weirdos?

However, once you understand the premise, it actually is an interesting take on human relations. If you don't get along with someone at work, you can always go home at the end of the day. These people are stuck!

This isn't an American concept, either. It originates from London and has been going strong longer than the U.S. version. The house, which is actually more of a building on a Hollywood lot, has tons of cameras and microphones hidden everywhere. There are rooms that are nice, and there are ones that aren't. Whatever bed you choose, you are in that one until another one opens up. There are only 2 bathrooms, too! They have a workout room, a pool, jacuzzi, backyard (which is turf), and a pool table.

They aren't allowed to bring anything into the house that might occupy their time - books, games, writing utensils, paper, etc. They have no idea what is going on outside of the house, and the only human contact is typically through video feeds (and it's heavily scripted!) Simply put, they are forced to talk!

OK, so here is the show: 13 people (one person isn't shown above) are locked in a house until either they are evicted (voted out) or they win $500,000. The week begins on Thursdays, when they vote to evict one of the two people who have been nominated by the "Head of Household," also known as the "HoH."

Once the person leaves the house, the housemates have to compete in the new HoH competition... usually it's a quiz or an endurance competition. HoH gets their own private room for the week, letters from home, gifts from home, and pictures. The person who was HoH the previous week cannot compete.

On Sundays, the show tells what has been happening since Thursday. Usually people lobby for certain people to be "put on the block." They also have a "house" competition - which it could be a luxury competition (win trips, cash, items for the house, etc), or it could be a food competition (they earn what they'll eat/not eat for the next week). Sometimes the food competitions are pretty negative, where one group wins the right to eat anything while the other group must eat "Slop" (it's like a bad tasting oatmeal mix).

The last part of the Sunday show is when you find out who the HoH nominates to be put on the block. Usually they're nominated because they have irked the HoH. Sometimes they are on the block because they are a threat to the HoH (or their alliance). And sometimes they are nominated because they are a "pawn," meaning the HoH really wants someone else to go up after the Veto competition.

Well, whatever the case, it usually riles the house up. People get really offended and angry... it's greatness! So on Tuesday's episode, they show all of the fights/arguments/"secret conversations" that people have been having to either save themselves or lobby for votes to oust someone! Tuesday is when they have the "Power of Veto" competition - which allows the 2 nominated players to compete against the HoH and 3 others to win the Veto. Whoever wins has the power to "veto" one of the HoH's nominees... so that is a huge competition, and you usually have a good idea who will be sent packing on Thursday.

Now we're back to Thursday, which is a "live" show. It recaps what has been happening throughout the week, and Julie Chen visits with them via video feed throughout the show. About halfway through the show, they have the vote/eviction, and then head into the new HoH competition.

A LOT happens throughout the week that really isn't covered. People buy subscriptions to online feeds where they can watch 24-7 what is going on. I wouldn't do that, but I do monitor a blog where someone posts what is going on: BBDish It's quite addicting!

The nutty thing that I do (yeah, I'm shameless!) is record "Big Brother After Dark" on Showtime each night. For 3 hours they flip the cameras on - man oh man, is it crazy! You really get to see what people are really like. And you know how people say on reality shows that "production" portrays them poorly or others in a good way? Totally true... you can see it while watching these live "feeds."

OK, so that is my guilty pleasure each summer. If you're bored with nothing to watch, and you're not really sure about this show, give it a shot. You'll either love it or hate it... let me know if you find it interesting, though. I don't have many to talk with about it! Ha!