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Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
This is the non-spoiler thread for the weekly episode discussion!

Big Brother US airs three-times weekly, on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays on CBS.

Thursday Show - Live Show where a player is evicted, Head of Household competition held or begins
Sunday Show - Post-HOH Competition events, HOH Nominations
Wednesday Show - Veto Competition, Re-nominations if needed

The season starts August 5th! The theme for this season is All Stars! Fan favorites, runners up and past winners will all be competing this season. This season is starting later than usual due to the Covid pandemic, and extra precautions are being taken to protect the cast and crew.

What is Big Brother?

Depending upon your level of appreciation for gross filth, reality TV shenanigans and sometimes excellent strategic gameplay, Big Brother is either the bottom of the TV barrel or an entertaining way to waste the summer. The American version of the Dutch original, Big Brother crams around 16 people in a soundstage house for approximately 85-95 days. Each week the players or "House Guests" will compete in competitions to determine who has power in the house. The one who wins this power, the "Head of Household" (HOH) has the ability to nominate two people for eviction. These two players, the HOH and three other randomly drawn guests will compete in the Power of Veto competition. The winner of this power will have the ability to veto one of the nominations. If one of the nominations is vetoed, the HOH will have to replace the player who was removed. Once the final two nominees are set, the rest of the house will vote to evict one person from the game. The HOH no longer plays a part unless this vote becomes a tie, in which case they will cast a vote to break it. Once the player is evicted, all the guests save for the previous HOH will compete in a new HOH competition and the process will repeat itself.

Each week will follow this model with some minor variations. All through this process viewers are treated to "Diary Room" (DR) sessions, as the producers will privately speak with each player about their gameplay, their thoughts on other players and the game itself. This interview process also gives the DR the ability to affect the players in subtle or not so subtle ways. (Ex: So you won HOH, who will you nominate? Do you trust player X? Why? Do you believe what they say? Do you think you should make a big move? Is nominating player X really a big move?) The best part of this is that their usually comes across on the live feeds, allowing viewers to see from where plans and moves really come.

Strategy will come into play as alliances are made and broken to ensure ones safety. Unlike some shows like Survivor, this gives the chance for those low on the totem pole to gain power and strike back against majority alliances. Approximately 4-5 weeks into the game, all future evicted players will become members of the jury. Once the house reaches the final three, all three House Guests will compete in three rounds of competition for the final HOH. Once the final HOH is selected, they'll evict the final player. These final two will then go before the jury, who will then select a winner. The various competitions within the house means there are often several opportunities for people to obtain power and exploit it or fake sucking at competitions to fly under the radar. Both strategies often prove successful to various degrees. The strategy sessions among players often prove to be one of the best aspects of the show, as you get a daily running idea of who they are targeting, who they can manipulate to do certain things and ways to ensure they achieve their goals. There is also a generally reliable amount of schadenfreude, as those on the top often hit lows through luck or DR meddling.

Why should I watch?

Perhaps you're a fan or Survivor or Amazing Race or perhaps you've seen one of the other flavors of Big Brother from around the world like the U.K., Canadian or Australian edition. Big Brother U.S. takes many of the same concepts seen in reality competition while also giving one a semi-behind the scenes view of what's really going on. Because the online "live feeds" gives viewers a window into the house for 90% of the week, we can get a good idea of what's really happening with alliances and schemes, what the players are actually like, and what meddling is possibly happening by Big Brother to get certain things to happen. One can then compare that version of reality against what they see on their screens three nights a week on CBS. In past experience, this means that viewers are sometimes treated to racist, homophobic or sexist talk which never makes air. Sometimes this happens to such a degree as to force CBS to acknowledge these actions officially and on air, as was the case with Big Brother 15.

Unlike the original Dutch version and several other international versions, the viewing public generally has no part to play in removing players from the game. However they can sometimes affect certain punishments or rewards through online or phone voting. This can include the gross food choices for the Have Not selected House Guests, or possibly secret tasks assigned to them.

What should I watch?

If you're interested in looking into past seasons, I personally recommend checking out a couple of seasons to various degrees. They'll all available through CBS All Access on the cbs.com website:

Big Brother 1: Most closely followed the original Dutch premise, as viewers voted on who got evicted. The only U.S. season to follow this model.
Big Brother 2: Switched up the format to have the HOH nominate two for eviction and features one of the most highly regarded players in show history.
Big Brother 3: Introduced the Power of Veto, which gave the nominated a better chance to save themselves. BB US took on its present form with this season.
Big Brother 7: The first and only true All Stars season. Featured players from all the previous seasons, and includes one of the fan favorite alliances in show history.
Big Brother 10: General Goon consensus as one of the best seasons, featuring a memorable cast and another contestant in the running for the best in show history.
Big Brother 12: Worthy winner, with some solid gameplay. Features subsequent Survivor player Hayden Moss and unleashed Brenchel, the now married couple of Brendon and Rachel who you might have seen on The Amazing Race.
Big Brother 14: Return of four previous players who act as "Coaches" to newbies. One of the returnees being a fan favorite who displays some of the best gameplay in show history.
Big Brother 16: Solid gameplay from the eventual winner, who ran a clinic on how not to get targeted.
Big Brother 20: First half of this season is an amazing train wreck that eventually runs out of steam.

Seasons to avoid:

Big Brother 9: Slap dash writers strike spring season. The winner later went to jail for illegal oxycodone sales, the rest of the cast was all generally horrible. Possibly worthwhile as a train wreck.
Big Brother 15: The misogynist and racist season. The winner played a decent game, but they and most of the players were generally derogatory and deluded people.
Big Brother 18/19: Poor game play and winners, both seasons featured returning players which greatly hampered and negatively impacted gameplay.
Bir Brother 21: Big Brother 15 Part II

Okay, I'm down to watch

If you're interested, you can tune in several ways:

The CBS Show: Airs three nights a week: Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday. Is a compilation version of what has happened in the house with a live Thursday show.
Big Brother After Dark: Airs every night for three hours from around 11-2 on POP. Rotates between live feeds, censors language and has commercial breaks.
Live Feeds Online through CBS All Access: "24/7" access to the feeds barring ceremonies, competitions and the Thursday live show taping. Also blanks out feeds when some legal issue may arise. i.e. copyrighted song singing or players speaking about someone by name who didn't sign off and allow that.
CBS also provides clips of various memorable events through their Live Streaming Player.

So what do the Live Feeds get you? Four camera feeds from inside the house. Generally two cameras focusing on an area each. Meaning two cameras will cover the same conversation from different angles, while two other cameras cover another conversation. Which room is being covered will be at the mercy of the guys and gals in the control room. They are generally good about switching to conversations/events most at interest strategically or those the most entertaining. It should be noted that live feeds are not required to get a feel for the show or keep up, but it might be of interest to check out one of the previous seasons, then look for live feed clips online to see how it works. If you do find you enjoy a certain player, the feeds give you the ability to see them a lot more, get a better sense of their game and personality.

If you don't get the feeds, you can also still get a daily/hourly/minute by minute run down of what's happening. As several websites post updates on everything that happens on the live feeds within the house. These include:

http://www.bigbrothernetwork.com
http://www.hamsterwatch.com
http://www.jokersupdates.com
http://www.onlinebigbrother.com

If you wish to jump in the live feeds and talk spoilers, head over to the live feeds spoiler thread here.

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Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.

Teek fucked around with this message at 18:14 on Jun 23, 2021

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
Lol, man, having both women groups do the back corners. If the guys get another front one...

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.

SalTheBard posted:

Was I tripping or did David ring the bell?


He did, wrong room. I’m not even sure I saw him look in the house? Dunno.

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
She asked a few generic questions. Nothing big.

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
Hahah, Christmas escaped unscathed.

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
Alright Enzo, now pull out the win, lol.

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.

That’s a good first step. A poo poo ton of other things to address after that.

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
Robyn Kass has “moved on” and will no longer be casting Big Brother. Hopefully that means the next season will see a huge overhaul in their casting types.

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Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
Closing this thread, BB 23 threads will be coming in a week or so when the cast is revealed.

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