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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! We'll keep this same thread going for each season

Big Brother US airs three-times weekly, on Sundays, Wednesdays (moving to Tuesdays when Survivor and Amazing Race start) 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/Tuesday Show - Veto Competition, Re-nominations if needed

The season starts August 2nd!

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 the Paramount+ app:

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 better 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.
Big Brother 24: Garbage behavior from some cast members early on is overcome by one of the most heart-warming winners.
Big Brother Canada 10: Solid winner and gameplay. Closely follows format of the US show. Past season episodes watchable for U.S. Paramount+ users.

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.
Big 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.
Live Feeds Online through Paramount+: "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.

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.onlinebigbrother.com

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

Teek fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Aug 2, 2023

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Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.


Season 25 Houseguests

America Lopez, 27 Medical Receptionist - Brooklyn, New York
Blue Kim, 25 Brand Strategist - New York City, New York
Bowie Jane, 45 Barrister/DJ - Los Angeles, California
Cameron Hardin, 34 Stay-at-Home Dad - Eastman, Georgia
Cirie Fields, 53 Nurse & TV personality - Walterboro, South Carolina
Cory Wurtenberger, 21 College Student - Weston, Florida
Felicia Cannon, 63 Real Estate Agent - Kennesaw, Georgia
Hisam Goueli, 45 Geriatric Physician - Seattle, Washington
Izzy Gleicher, 32 Professional Flutist - New York City, New York
Jag Bains, 25 Truck Company Owner - Omak, Washington
Jared Fields, 25 Exterminator - Norwalk, Connecticutt
Kirsten Elwin, 25 Molecular Biologist - Houston, Texas
Luke Valentine, 30 Illustrator - Coral Springs, Florida
Matt Klotz, 27 Deaflympics Gold Medalist - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Mecole Hayes, 30 Political Consultant - Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Red Utley, 37 Sales - Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Reilly Smedley, 24 Bartender - Nashville, Tennessee

Teek fucked around with this message at 17:41 on Aug 4, 2023

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
Yeah, she was really out there the last few days. Running on fumes.

Yay for Taylor staying in.

Looks like they lucked out on being able to reuse the comp. Seems like they can still head to head the competitors.

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
So I’m guessing the HOH part one comp was going to be the head to head comp for eviction. Taylor was up against Alyssa in her heat and beat her. I have a feeling she would have smoked Paloma too. So ultimately Taylor would still be here even if Paloma didn’t leave.

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
CBS is postponing the Thursday eviction one day to Friday due to January 6th hearings. Not sure if it'll still be live that day, or if they'll film on Thursday and just air on Friday.

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
Looks like CBS changed the schedule again. They've moving the Thursday episode to Sunday and doing a two hour episode that day. Not sure what that means for feeds. That'll be really lovely if we get a good HOH winner like Taylor with no feeds.

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
Because we didn't get many episode discussion posts last year, we can just re-purpose this one for each season now. I've asked for the thread title to be updated.

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
25th Anniversary special on right now. Pretty much fluff, with a lot of past season highlights and interview soundbites from previous houseguests.

Also apparently a season 25 preview of some kind at the end.

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
Hahah, thankfully no more Paloma.

Tonight is the night! Tune in for the 90 minute premiere at 7 PM CST. Feeds should start up after, looks like around 11:30 PM CST.

Also for anyone with PlutoTV, the live feeds will now be streamed with ads on that service since it is owned by Paramount. So it'll be a free way to keep somewhat up to date without having to pay.

Teek fucked around with this message at 19:22 on Aug 2, 2023

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
BB is now hyping a mystery 17th Houseguest. Unclear if it’s a returner, newb or a joke.

Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
Can’t say I’m fan of night one noms, at least it’s not night one eviction.

Edit: Big meh to Cirie playing. Do not like (reality) returnee/newb mix seasons.

Teek fucked around with this message at 02:31 on Aug 3, 2023

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Teek
Aug 7, 2006

I can't wait to entertain you.
The n word. He dropped in casual conversation, then tried to play it off as not a big deal. Luke’s time in the house was very strange, he always seemed a bit out of it. The joke theory was that he was a twin twist, to account for his clueless personality not really knowing what was happening.

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