And judging by this season’s cast, the template is still being used. Oh well. There’s still hope someone else will produce this series at some point down the line.

Check out the cast on CBS.com.

Ever since Joe and Dustin entered the house, there has been a lot of “negative energy” in the house. Joe has cheated on Dustin with another man and has made every attempt to ruin Dustin’s name in Chicago. In addition to that, Joe has alleged he contracted gonorrhea from Dustin. When Joe announced this in front of everyone on the first night, the house guests were obviously shocked by it. Well, Julie Chen introduced us to the man Joe apparently slept with to get back at Dustin. Judging by his version of events, I’m more apt to believe Dustin than Joe. Joe has never seemed trustworthy in the house, so I’ve always felt Dustin was more honest than Joe, so it was good to see someone else who was closer to the two confirm this.

Kail, the previous head of household, has recently gotten annoyed by Evil Dick and we got to see some of her feelings about him come out. When she told him she wouldn’t campaign against him, we quickly saw her go back on her word and worked the other house guests to send Dick packing. When Dick learned of this, he understandably became upset and wanted to call Kail out in front of everyone.

When it came time to vote, Eric was asked by America to vote out Joe. This wasn’t a problem for Eric, as he had the same plan. The final vote was 9 to 1, sending Joe packing. Kail was the only person who voted for Evil Dick.

When Joe got to speak to Julie in the studio, he admitted he wasn’t as focused on the game as he should have been. I agree with him completely. He allowed his personal history with Dustin to get under his skin and it cost him his stay in the Big Brother house. He was treated to the typical goodbye messages from the house guests, along with a revelation from Eric, who told him about his being America’s Player, and this year’s twist.

The head of household competition came up next. The house guests were quizzed about things their fellow house guests did or said while in the house. In a huge surprise, Evil Dick came away victorious in the HOH competition. If Dick intends to hold a grudge, Kail and Jen should beware.

Big Brother – S08E07
Original Air Date: July 19, 2007

Rating: 6.3

The “romance” between Nick and Daniele continued to be shown. It’s not really a “romance,” as she has a boyfriend back home, and they’re not really kissing, but there is a lot of whispering and sharing of secrets going on, so it has elements of a romance. Daniele told Nick about how she isn’t 21 yet, while Nick told her of her alliance with three other people, but he has no intentions of staying in the alliance, but he doesn’t intend to tell the alliance that anytime soon.

With Daniele and Dick nominated for eviction, it was time for the power of veto competition. The game played was curling and Daniele managed to win the veto, for the second time in a row.

Jen knew that Daniele would likely remove herself from the block, so she had to think of who to put up on the block against Dick. Eric suggested putting up Jessica, but Jen didn’t like that idea. Several others suggested Joe, but when Jen walked in to see Daniele and Nick, she told everyone she would be putting Nick on the block.

When it came for Daniele to announce her decision, she ended up making the obvious choice, removing herself from the block. Jen then put Joe on the block, not Nick. I was surprised she did this at first, but realized it was probably the smartest thing she could do to keep herself in the game next week.

Big Brother – S08E06
Original Air Date: July 17, 2007

Rating: 5.8

Evil Dick was pushed to his limits when he was asleep and Jen came in and started talking loudly, waking him up. He eventually confronted her in a fairly ugly moment. He told her to be more considerate of others. He then pledged to make her time in the house miserable if she kept up her behavior.

Jen’s personality was mocked quite a bit in episode five, by several people. In fact, at one moment during the show, some of the guys decided to make a little drinking game out of it. Each time Jen would say “I”, they would take a drink. Although I believe it was just water at the time, the fellas had a tough time keeping up with her, making for a hilarious few minutes of TV. Naturally, Jen never picked up on it, completely focusing on herself.

Eric, America’s Player, was given the task of getting Jessica nominated for eviction. He and Jen talked about it, and it seemed to go well, but in the end, Eric wasn’t successful. Jen focused on Evil Dick and Daniele. As for her reasons, Jen cited house disruption as the reasons for nominating the two of them. That’s a valid reason for Dick, but not Daniele. It’s entirely likely Jen nominated Daniele because she’s jealous of the fact Nick hangs out with Daniele all the time.

Although the show had a few dramatic moments, my favorite moment came when Nick and Mike began lifting weights and began getting mocked by Zach and Dustin. Nick and Mike received the names Magnus von Vagnusson and Kragnus von Vagnus and were constantly mocked throughout their entire workout session. I was just waiting for a Hans and Frans reference, but this worked just fine.

Big Brother – S08E05
Original Air Date: July 15, 2007

Rating: 7.0

This, the first live eviction episode of the season, gave us some insight into the problems between Evil Dick and Daniele. Were we able to see brief interviews with Dick’s mother and Dick’s son. It turns out the problem between the two is money. Daniele borrowed a large amount of money from her father and failed to pay it back. Dick apparently didn’t handle the matter very well (no details were given) and Daniele hasn’t forgiven him for it.

It is not uncommon for money to come between family members, but I can’t help but be curious as to what “Evil” Dick did that upset Daniele so much that she would stop talking to him for two years.

Eric, America’s Player, has a number of fans back home who are watching his every move. CBS interviewed some of his family and friends who were happy to see Eric accepted into the house. They were, on the other hand, very disappointed to learn that he was America’s Player. It seems Eric has watched every episode of Big Brother and had a solid game plan. They feel the America’s Player thing will completely throw off his game.

Speaking of Eric, he was given another task. America decided to ask him to vote out Carol. This is exactly what he did and Carol was evicted 10-to-1. His next task is to try and get a particular player nominated for eviction. Which person is up to America.

With Carol out, it was time to get a new head of household. The house guests were asked a number of questions, some of which were a little embarrassing, and Jen ended up coming away with the victory. This next week should be a fairly difficult one for many of the house guests. Evil Dick, in particular, will have a problem, as he cannot get along with Jen at all. If anyone has a chance of being nominated, it’s Dick.

I didn’t agree with evicting Carol this week. I would have booted Amber out simply because the fact that she’s a single mother and if she were to make it to the end, she may be awarded the $500,000 because of her story. I simply wouldn’t take the chances by keeping her in the house.

Big Brother – S08E04
Original Air Date: July 12, 2007

Rating: 5.8

In this episode, Joe and Dustin finally had a civil discussion about their differences. It was quite brief, however, and it looks like they are going to take it one day at a time. Dustin realizes their outbursts disrupt the harmony in the house and make them targets for nomination and eviction. It’s good to see he has noticed this, as there have been one or two people who have voiced the same feelings about the two former lovers.

In the previous episode, viewers were given more information on “America’s Player”. We were given the option of which house guest Eric should make up a sad story and tell it to. The voters decided on Kail, who is also the current head of household. Unfortunately, CBS edited out the majority of the story, so the details are a little sketchy, and Kail ate it up. An easy $10,000 for Eric, just as I predicted.

Big Brother – S08E03
Original Air Date: July 10, 2007

Rating: 6.0

Kail, the current head of household, has decided it was time to form an alliance. She has teamed herself up with Mike, Nick, and Zach. Nick called the alliance Mrs. Robinson and her boys, which made me chuckle. Some early alliances last a long time, and some last just a few weeks. We’ll see how long this lasts.

When time came for the food competition, everyone seemed excited. The contest involved the house guests splitting up into two groups and heading outside. Outside, there was a pump which would pump butter and you were required to run over to a bucket of popcorn. The idea was to cover your body with butter and run to the popcorn and have another house guest wipe the butter off of your body. Jen had a problem having “old” Evil Dick touching her, so she told him not to touch her. Evil Dick seemed a little offended during his diary entry, stating the obvious: he wasn’t going to grab her breasts or anything like that. The red team defeated the blue team by a fairly big margin. Much of the credit for success can be given to Amber because she used her long hair to transport the butter.

After the competition, the guests were introduced to big brother slop, a pre-mixed oatmeal. It looks a little dry for oatmeal and Jameka seemed to be happy to dig in. Her attitude changed quite fast when she tasted it. She thought the idea of serving this as food was “cruel.”

The Joe/Dustin drama continued this week as they both sat down and tried to talk about their differences. Not surprisingly, Joe took all the credit for the good things which have happened in Dustin’s life and still blames him for his positive test of gonorrhea. Joe has his mind made up on these issues and no matter what Dustin has to say, it doesn’t appear Joe will be willing to change his mind.

Speaking of drama, Evil Dick tried to talk to his daughter, Daniele a few times in this episode. Evil Dick is becoming a little frustrated with how the other house guests view him. He thinks they hate him. Daniele finally talks to him and tells him he’s coming on too strong. His constant name-dropping is turning people off to him. It also seems they may try and help one another in the house, but I have my doubts as to Daniele’s level of commitment at this moment.

Eric, America’s Player, seems to be doing well for himself in the house. His great sense of humor has made him one of the more popular guests. He seems to be able to get everyone to laugh at his jokes and chicken-wing moves. This week, Big Brother viewers and Eric are given their first task. Eric will be asked to make up a sad story and tell it to one of the house guests. It’s up to the viewers to decide who is told the story. Personally, I don’t find this a very interesting task for Eric, but it’s an easy $10,000.

When it came down to the nominations, Kail had problems deciding on nominees. She spoke to her alliance and came up with Amber and Carol. The reason she gave was they were the first out of the head of household competition. Frankly, I thought this was an easy out. Kail’s playing it safe, not trying to ruffle any feathers this early in the game.

Big Brother – S08E02
Original Air Date: July 08, 2007

Rating: 6.0

It can be difficult to see just how things will shake out this early in the season. You can only judge each of the house guests from what they show, and it’s very early. That being said, it’s clear that the house will have conflict. Joe, one of two gay men in the house, is very friendly and outgoing. That all changed when his ex-boyfriend stepped into the house. Joe’s outgoing personality will clash with others. We already saw a video clip of Kail, a 37-year-old mother of three, in the diary room, talk about how more or less she would dis-own any child of hers who would “choose” the gay lifestyle.

The other person who stood out in my eyes is Jen. She may be a brunette, but her personality and attitude reminds me of the typical neurotic Hollywood bimbos we see on TV all the time. Her personality has already clashed with one of the house guests.

The last twist we were informed of was “America’s Player”. Julie Chen, the host of the show, said we would have total control over one player in the house. Supposedly, we’re supposed to be able to tell him what to do. This includes everything from who to trust and what someone said in the dairy room to who to vote for and who to hook up with. Perhaps I’m a little wary, but I’ve got a suspicion that this won’t work out quite as well as CBS is hoping for. I’m just not so sure this little gimmick is all it’s cracked up to be.

Big Brother – BB8 Season Premiere
Original Air Date: July 05, 2007

Rating: 6.5

Big Brother – S06E01 – BB6 Season Premiere
Original Air Date: July 07, 2005

Originally Published: July 08, 2005

Rating: 6.5

I realize television has gotten more and more about ratings, which drive the amount they’ll charge for advertising, but Big Brother 6 is all about the ratings. Each year, there are a couple people over 40. This year, not a single one. You can also look at the physical appearance of the 14 men and women. All of the women are very attractive, and will be a big draw for the men watching, seeing as they’re in bikinis all season long on the show anyway. And to get women to watch, each of the guys are big and buff. The firefighter looks a bit like The Hulk.

Anyway, being the first episode of a season, not much happened. Everyone was introduced to one another, and there was a first Head of Household competition. If they wanted to make this show exciting at the beginning, it should have been 90 minutes and someone got voted out of the house.

I’m going to give the season a shot, but the casting was pretty poor.