Televison: Big Brother (2000) - Originally Written 1/24/2022

Big Brother (2000)

In January of 2022, my wife and I decided to begin watching the reality television series "Big Brother." In recent seasons I had been providing real time commentary on my Facebook page. After submitting the question to my followers if they would want commentary on the older seasons; I decided to do write ups and post them....

Only problem was the first season of Big Brother was a DAILY show. 70 episodes later I learned there was just not enough worth discussing in real time; especially when the content was old enough to drink. So I eventually decided about halfway through season 2 that the only way to generate content worth reading was to do so in the form of complete season recaps.

Below is the recap from season 1.

70 episodes is way too much content. I don't care how much you love something; doing it every day for 10 consecutive weeks isn't entertainment; hell it's not even a hobby, it's literally a chore. BBS2 (and beyond) is much more digestible because every few episodes the narrative is moving along.

 

The biggest difference between season 1 and all other seasons is quite simply the TONE. BB1's tone very much is Full House; the reality show experience. The theme song is hokey and cheesy, the graphics are bubbly and cheerful. It couldn't be more Americana if it had a wacky next door neighbor who'd come in and break stuff every so often by accident. Season 2 is borderline aggressive with it's presentation; and the graphic is the all seeing eye of Big Brother that is still in use to this day.

 

As stated early on; these rules were doomed.(In season 1, every 2 weeks every person in the house would nominate two others for eviction; the top vote recipients were voted on by America. That's it. No HOH, no PoV, just good old fashioned mob rule. These rules changed because they sucked and Mrs. George mobilized pretty much the entire state against the other interesting people 1-by-1)

 

So; as a final cherry on top of this shit sundae, I thought I'd revisit my original thoughts about these houseguests and see how close I came to correct:

 

Will (Mega): "Uh, one: Poochie needs to be louder, angrier and have access to a time machine. ... on screen, all the other characters should be asking, "Where's Poochie?" - The Simpsons"

 

Nailed it. Mega did not have any interest in playing a game; he went on TV to become a social activist. Sadly; he did far more harm to his cause than good because he was portrayed as literally just a big scary angry black man.

 

Jordan: "Some are cursed with RBF, Jordan is cursed with soulless husk face. She looks incredibly confused at all times. So far most of her screen time is just her walking around like she just woke up and has forgotten who she is for a minute."

 

I was a little unfair here; as Jordan SHOULD have been one of the better characters on the show; and would absolutely CRUSH it if she had played under S2 and beyond rules. Her problem was for all her talk of not caring at all what people think of her; she absolutely cared very much what people think of her; and that was her downfall.

 

Karen: "I'm fairly certain this is the origin of the Karen complainer phenomenon. I'm sure if I was a middle aged woman who had completely transformed her identity into being a wife and mom and was now completely lost not having either role for 3 months, I'd relate more. But I'm not, so I don't."

 

I think I nailed this; except for being completely wrong. Karen airing her dirty laundry to America was not okay. What I mistook for not knowing how to cope with a loss of identity was more in line with concern for her situation at home; magnified by her spilling her guts. Her husband was made to sound emotionally and mentally abusive; I don't think it's true, it just seems like they were two different people who wanted two different things at this point in their lives.

 

Brittany: "Oh look, a weirdo with piercings and colored hair. I'm sure she has more than that to her...."

 

Dead wrong. Brittany was very much the bright spot of this season; and if they played under current rules; Brittany is probably your Season 1 winner. The show literally became unwatchable the second she left.

 

Cassandra: "Strong female person of color, who so far just exists to call Mecha Will out on his toxic masculinity. After that I really don't know what she will add to this mix."

 

Pretty much. Cassandra conducted herself beautifully but very much was lost at sea for most of this game. Playing under current rules she'd get to jury, but not have any real chance of winning.

 

George: "The only contestant I know from this season as a result of his time on BB All-Stars 1. He is every bit as charismatic and charming here as he was there. Positivity and charisma are a super lethal combination."

 

Unfortunately; as documented, the chickenman LOST HIS DAMN MIND! When I say he was going stir crazy; he legit went stir crazy. There is a reason he was much more enjoyable on BB All-Stars; but there is also a reason he's the only member of this cast to appear on BB All-Stars.

 

Jamie: "Miss Washington 2000 has about as much depth as a bathtub; and less charisma."

 

Yup. BB tried very hard to make her seem two faced; and thus, interesting, with no success on my end. Fun fact: She currently is the CEO for IT Cosmetics; which my wife tells me is kind of a big deal.

 

Curtis: "I'm fairly certain most of his screen time is lost because it looks like his sole purpose is to give his houseguests someone to be casually racist towards."

 

Nothing even that interesting involving Curtis took place. He only finished where he did because Mrs. George knew he was not any threat to win at all.

 

Josh: "Token boring white guy. I think he just got in because they needed a friend for Eddie for the summer."

 

Pretty much. Josh was being portrayed as a young frat boy type who just wanted to have fun and keep things mellow in the house. He did exactly that. He too probably would have won under current rules.

 

Eddie: "So let me see if I got this right, you bring in an amputee, a cancer survivor, and an aspiring actor to a contest where America decides the winner? Stevie Wonder can see how this is gonna play out."

 

Nailed it; but Eddie also had the bonus of being the most relatable person in the house. He had the game won the second George endorsed him during the exit interview with Chen-bot.

 

At some point I'll do the houseguest breakdown for Season 2; but it's so hard because it's going so much faster. (These recaps actually are the houseguests breakdown from season two and beyond)

 

If for some reason; you decide to watch BB Season 1; watch the 1 hour "recap" shows and the live nomination/evictions. Anything worth seeing is shown; and you can cut a 70 episode slog down to probably 26 or so.

 

Onward to Chilltown