“BIG BROTHER 11”
Face it. All reality shows, whether they are competition based or not, boil down to cliques. Let’s see, there’s the Blondetourage from “Rock of Love,” the alliances on “Survivor” and, of course, the assigned labels on (best show ever!) “High School Reunion”: the Nerd, the Outcast ... the Wannabe Reality Star.
“Big Brother” has combined two of my favorite things this year -- high-school insecurities and gossip -- to make a whole new show revolving around cliques.
The 12 contestants were divvied up into four groups: the Athletes, the Populars, the Brains and the Offbeats. Also, a “BB” alum from Season 10, Jessie, joined the cast as the first Head of Household as well as one of the Athletes, giving them an edge in numbers. Each week, not only is the HOH safe from eviction, but so is his or her entire clique.
Due to the overall theme of the season (and probably the fact that the challenges have involved things like pimples and wedgies), the contestants routinely refer to their high-school experiences. Me likey. For instance, Brain Ronnie bemoaned how he was picked on in high school but it probably doesn’t help that he constantly sports a T-shirt emblazoned with the word “dork.”
Likewise, tatted up Lydia sobbed when she became one of the first contestants to be put up for eviction. It reminded her of high school, she said. Awesome. Who’s got the pig’s blood?
Another new twist affects the losers of the food challenges. Not only do they have to eat slop for a week, but their showers are cold and they must sleep in a room that looks like a stainless steel psych ward with a truck bed for a, well, BED.
The first food challenge was like a “BB” foam party. Let’s just say there were a lot of things glowing, including the shirtless contestants. The Brains had clearly never been invited to a rave and ended up losing.
The biggest alliance so far is the one between the Athletes and, well, almost everyone. Ronnie has taken over as leader for the Brains and aligned with Athletes Jessie and Russell right away, securing his team’s safety for the week. The only catch? They wanted to put up a Brain as a pawn for eviction.
Princessy Brain Chima ended up being the chosen one, along with Offbeat Lydia, whom the Athletes saw as a threat.
But -- twist! -- Athlete Russell won the Power of Veto in a challenge that involved spelling and popping pimples. (It was gross, ya’ll!) Who would he choose to save?
Lydia had “put it out into the universe” that she wanted to stay … or, um, did she just simply “Put out?” That’s right. The real “BB” drama does not end up on our television screens; it’s on the live feeds. Let’s just say there is some very interesting footage involving HOH Jessie, Lydia, a blanket and some slurping noises.
Need more drama? How about racial slurs? Obviously after her fine performance, Lydia was taken off the block.
