BB is Back

For the third time in four years, at the end of the Big Brother season last fall I swore that I would Never.Watch.Again. The show starts back up again tonight. I'll be watching. I am so weak.

I first got sucked into this show 5 long years ago, Season 3. I'd heard of it the previous two seasons, thought it sounded a little sick and twisted, and wasn't interested. But that summer, I just happened to have Entertainment Tonight or Extra or one of those 6:30 shows on the night of the premiere, and they introduced a few of the contestants. The only one I remember from that was Lisa, who went on to win, but she piqued my interest and so I decided to watch, to see what would happen to her. It helped that the show was starting later that night so I didn't have time to forget about it. It also helped that TV used to be pretty boring in the summer.
I really enjoyed Season 3. I loved Jason, and wanted his secret alliance with Danielle to pay off. I wanted Danielle to win. I got caught up in Lisa and Eric's showmance, and actually cared whether or not they stayed together after the show ended. (they didn't.) I adored Amy and Marcellas. I hated Roddy with a white hot passion. I was happy enough with the outcome. My girl Dani didn't get it, but at least she got the second place money. So I watched again the next year.

Season 4 was fun. The twist was interesting. I liked Jack the former FBI guy. I liked Erika. I even came to like Robert, mostly because of his love for his daughter. This was the year that I discovered internet recaps of the live feed. I found a guy, close to the end of the season, because I was looking for a recap of an episode I had missed. I still don't know who he was or where to find him again, but he provided me with my first glimpse of the difference between what CBS chooses to show you and what's really going on in the house. He showed me that Allison and Jun were pretty nasty mean girls, and neither of them deserved the money. I was sorely disappointed when they ousted Robert and ended up in the final two. I didn't want either of them to win, but I didn't want Allison to win more. Thankfully, Jun took home the big money, but I still swore off future seasons of the show.

Season 5, I conveniently forgot my vow, and I perked up when I started seeing ads for the coming season. The Vansome and I watched the first night, and when Cowboy started to speak, I knew it was hopeless. No way the Vansome could listen to him. He is very sensitive to voices. Cowboy's voice was hard for me to hear, and I'm not nearly as particular. So I decided to wait it out. I figured, he looks and sounds an awful lot like an idiot, he doesn't look like he's going to be fitting in with anyone else there, I don't see anyone being able to stand being stuck in a house with that voice for very long. He'll be out the first week. Then I'll start watching. I checked the official website every week, and every week Cowboy was still there. Finally, it was time for the finale. Final two? Cowboy and some other guy. I watched them award the prize to the other guy, but that damn Cowboy caused me to miss the entire season.

Season 6. I watched, but I didn't care. Then one day one of the peas posted a link to a fight from the night before. Someone, or more acurately several someones, who subscribe to the live feeds, had recorded a fight between Michael and Eric. It was very very funny. I was hooked again. This time, I found a couple sites with live feed recaps. (I'll add them to my sidebar later) Dingo's Hamster Watch just gives a really good summary of what he observes each day. Hamster Time is a message board where an assortment of clever feedsters document, complete with comments, literally every thing that they see on the live feeds. It's beyond addictive. Did I mention that this was the first summer after I quit my job?
Things got ugly fast. The battle lines had never been so definitively drawn before. This was one entertaining show, but the best stuff didn't make it to television. After a particularly brutal but hilarious rant from Howie, the infamous "Busto" rant, in which he made April cry, the Vansome and I broke down and subscribed to the live feed. We Loved It! We fell head over heels for Jedi Janey, Huricane Howie, King Kayser, and sweet Rachel. We despised the FriendSith. They were evil, I tell ya. When Maggie (known to feedsters as Haggie or Maggot) won, I was devastated. Not quite to the same degree as the presidential elections the previous fall, but close. I vowed to never watch again. This time I meant it.

Season 7 rolled around, accompanied by talk of an All-Star version. My Jedi Janey was returning! And Kayser was getting the second (third) chance he deserved. Plus Howie would be back, along with Erika from 4, Dani and Marcellas from 3, and I would finally get to watch the Evil Dr.Will from season 2 in action. We didn't get the feeds this time because we had some problems cancelling our subscription from the previous summer. I was okay with that, though, because it's actually more entertaining to read the feedsters from Hamster Time than to watch the feeds myself. And the really good stuff ends up on youtube anyways.
I enjoyed the season immensely. Except for my burning hatred for Mike Boogie. When Janey didn't make it to the final two again, I knew what was coming, and I couldn't stomach it. I turned off the TV after she had her chat with Julie, deleted Dingo and Hamster Time from my favorites, and swore that I would never watch again. I knew that Boogie was going to win, but I didn't even bother to verify it after it happened. I just couldn't stand it.

Season 8 starts tonight. I'll miss my Janey Doll, but at least there's no more Boogie. I'm such a sucker.