Televison: Big Brother 3

 Big Brother 3 (2002)

So last spring, my wife and I decided to start watching every season of Big Brother in order. As someone who always enjoyed BB, and furthermore writing about BB, I decided it was a worthwhile cause to do write ups of each season in progress. The 70 episode slog that was BB1 shut that down in a hurry, so I decided to just do a single analysis of each season by examining each contestant in order of elimination. Season 2 being full of scumbags kind of took the taste out of my mouth for that. So, the end result is us now in the process of watching BB9 (Til Death Do Us Part) and I'm finally exploring BB3 after over a year away from writing. That's actually a shame because BB3 was baby bear's porridge and showed there could be a nice middle ground between Full House: The Reality Experience and Beyond Thunderdome
 
Key Rule Changes: 
 
The Power of Veto - Once nominations have been declared; all houseguests are eligible to compete in the Power of Veto competition.The original POV was white in color and the individual who won it could not use it on themselves. It has since been retconned into the Silver Power of Veto.

The Golden Power of Veto - The Power of Veto; but the veto holder could use the power on themselves if they happened to be nominated. The Golden POV became standard in BB4 and remains the default POV in use today.
 
House-Guest Re-Entry - Exactly what it sounds like. An evicted house-guest can return under certain circumstances.
 
The House-guests (in Order of Elimination):
 
Lori -I remember absolutely nothing about Lori. According to her contestant page on CBS she got on everyone's bad side by winning a $3,000 cash prize with Jason in week one. She also had a heated discussion with Danielle which painted her as a shit disturber. It was a 5-4 eviction so... okay then.
 
Tonya - For the second year in a row; an attractive woman is put up as a pawn in week two and PAWNS GO HOME. I remember nothing about her either.
 
Amy - Younger southern girl who was portrayed as an immature drunk. She also loved cheese. She would be the house-guest who returned at the midway point in the game where her relationship with Marcellas became the focal point throughout the remainder of her stay.
 
Eric -Lisa's showmance who deserves better than this write up is giving him. His alliance fell out of power and he was blindsided. I remember him being somewhat interesting; but obviously not very memorable.
 
Josh - Apparently he founded the Cartel Alliance. He has a hat. He played too hard and people got mad at him. I'm beginning to think that the endgame was so good because all the boring people got evicted early, except for Amy who got to come back.
 
Chiara -Played a really good social game; but was easily manipulated. Another boring; unmemorable house-guest sent home.
 
Gerry -History teacher with very poor hygiene. First ever POV winner and first ever POV user as he pulled Marcellas down from the block in week 1. Given how important Marcellas has gone on to become in BB fandom; the significance of that decision cannot be overstated.
 
Roddy- The guy who kept avoiding eviction by winning when he needed to. He's a pretty underrated player in the grand scheme of things but at the end of the day; just a guy.
 
Marcellas- Where to begin with Marcellas? Homosexuals and persons of color have always been interesting in the little social experiment that doubles as annual reality television; so for the first homosexual person of color in the Big Brother house; it's quite the spotlight. Of course, Marcellas LOVES the spotlight. My biggest complaint with Marcellas is that he is the BB equivalent of Rupert from Survivor; he likes to play a fun game called "I win and fuck you" Nobody can do anything against him in any possible way or all drama will rain down. His bitter personal relationship with Danielle for YEARS after season 3 for reasons that were 100% his own fault speaks to that. Being among the first to have the opportunity to use the Golden Power of Veto on yourself and NOT doing it will forever be his legacy. In my opinion, he's an extremely overrated player that used his relationship with Amy and rode the coat tails of Danielle and Jason to get as far as he did.
 
Jason- Hey look, a christian virgin who also is a dreamboat hunk? Where does BB keep finding these dudes? Jason was probably the best player of the season and would have won had he not trusted Danielle as much as he did. Nobody on that jury was going to not vote for Jason (well, Marcellas if the other option was Danielle). Much like Hardy the year before; Jason probably should have won but the final HoH is always a crapshoot when you put your trust in being taken rather than winning it outright.
 
Danielle - Much like Dr. Will in BB2; was not afraid to tell America that she was playing a very manipulative and dirty game. Her housemates on the other hand; that was a horse of an entirely different color. Danielle played everyone like a fiddle. She was the first real puppet master in BB history; and if the jury was not allowed to view the diary room videos prior to the final vote (as it has been ever since, because of this) Danielle is your first female, person of color, winner.
 
Lisa - The original floater. Lisa gave America the first glimpse at how to read the power dynamics in the house and move with them as needed. When she was out of power, she kept her head down, when she was in power, she socialized the authority. Her victory over Danielle shows that BB is not a meritocracy; but I still say if the jury is not poisoned by seeing Danielle's arrogance and manipulative approach in the diary room video, she's 2nd place all day, every day.

Final Thoughts: BB1 was too long, too slow the rules were too stupid, and the people were too boring. BB2 was a drastic over-correction with entirely too much personality and villainy in that house. BB3 was the first BB season that felt just right. Yes, there were plenty of boring and unmemorable people; but those made the ones we do remember that much more interesting. BB2 was too hard, BB1 was WAY too soft, BB3 was just right.

Season Rankings (From Best to Worst):

1) Big Brother 3

2) Big Brother 2

3) Big Brother 1

 

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