Television - Big Brother 2 (2001) Originally written 3/1/2022

 Big Brother 2 (2001)

So as you may have noticed, there just isn't enough "there" there to justify episodic or even weekly reviews for shows from 20 years ago and frankly; the age of the content doesn't lend itself to insightful commentary on an episodic basis....

 

However, commentary on cast members at the end of those seasons may be worth reading (and as such, worth writing). So, starting now I'll be posting summaries of the seasons and the contestants in order of elimination; so without further ado....

 

Justin - Expelled for being a legitimate psychopath. Justin was a meathead who went around the house intimidating everyone and generally making them uncomfortable. The last straw was when he and Krista got drunk and he held a knife to her throat while they were making out in the kitchen. Very much not a good dude.

 

Sheryl - Attractive older lady put up as a pawn by Mike Boogie to try and get Nicole out; even from the first ever HoH nominations; pawns go home.

 

Autumn - Younger single mom who spent most of her time in the house on the cross trying to play the sympathy card. Biggest impact was legitimately giving Chilltown someone to make fun of.

 

Shannon - Remember Jordan from BB1? Give her a little more personality and a much bigger cup size. Became Will's "Girlfriend" in the early game; and her departure put the ball in motion for Will's victory.

 

"Boogie" Mike - I was quite surprised to see that Boogie left as early as he did. He's been seen more than a few times since this season and has performed better on all of them. Apparently in the last few years he's kind have lost his mind which is a shame. (Bit of an understatement here. Will and his family apparently have a restraining order against Boogie after Mike went all Cape Fear stalker when Will decided not to do the Amazing Race with him. There are also a few articles about how his club in LA was a money laundering front before being shut down)

 

Kent - Textbook definition of what the world should think of a middle aged guy from East Tennessee. Based on the shots of him at home in Powell, I'm pretty sure I've been in that neighborhood. His friendship with Bunky was really good TV. He has since passed away, so hopefully he rests in peace.

 

Krista - I feel like I missed a memo here. They showed a lot of Mike REALLY being into Krista; but not so much as her being into him. Apparently, the feeling was mutual. Biggest development was her anonymous eviction as even Will voted her out despite being a Chilltown associate.

 

Bunky - Bunky is way too hairy to spend as much time in his underwear as he did this season. He literally shaved a target onto his back. Once he stopped crying and started winning; he assured his downfall and probably was the last piece to assure Will's victory.

 

Hardy - The parallels between Big Brother Season 2 and Survivor season 2 are pretty uncanny; right down to Captain America dominating challenges but not winning the game. Hardy won HoH 3 times, nominated Will all three times; and yet went home before Will did. Had a strong relationship with Nicole, and despite the revisionist history about Chilltown in season 2, Hardy and Nicole were the legit power couple all season.

 

Monica - In BB season 1, you had two African-American competitors, the angry black man in Will and the diplomatic female in Cassandra. BB2's sole person of color was an angry black female named Monica. Aside from being friends with Krista she added nothing of note; mostly stuck around because the house never saw her as a real threat to win anything and didn't feel like dealing with the mushroom cloud exit she'd drop.

 

Nicole - From being the actual target of Boogie in week 1 to second place. Nicole definitely was the biggest about face in her approach. She was loud and obnoxious in week 1, and literally went to the house mom the rest of the year. Nicole did a great job of latching on to Will and Hardy, and probably would have finished second to Hardy had she only managed to win the 2nd to last HoH. Won the final HoH and chose Will over Monica.

 

Dr. Will Kirby - There is a reason this guy still shows up at least once a season or so. He is the textbook definition of "doesn't give a fuck" and isn't at all sorry about it. Literally won the game by throwing every competition; telling everyone to their faces that he will stab them in the back as soon as he can, so they should not believe a word he says. His final appeal to the jury was basically saying "If you hate that I'm here and you're not, too bad." He was on record several times as saying he was just there to have fun and anything beyond that was just a bonus.

 

I've previously discussed the difference in tone between BB1 and BB2 (Tone); however, the one other plot point throughout this season was how the experience changes the houseguests. BB1 touched on it some with Chicken George cracking under the strain; BB2 made sure to point it out as nearly all the major players had giant swings in personality (only Will and Kent pretty much came out the same way they went in).

 

I still say this season was an over correction from the first season. I'm a few episodes in to BB3 and it FINALLY feels like a balanced cast competing for something. Still, BB2 absolutely saved the show.

See everyone for BB3 in a few weeks (And by a few weeks; I mean I'll be writing it this week, as we just finished season 4 so those two write ups both need to be done)