7/9/04  Alrighty - here is my sure to be rambling thoughts on the first week of Big Brother 5 as of Friday, July 9th.  Its always so complicated this early on - so many faces, so little time to get to know them all.  Just to start things off - the HGs entered the house on Thursday, June 30th so today is their 9th day of captivity.
 

The first ones to go

Face it - if you don't get some quick alliances in the house your days will be numbered.  Based on the chatter in the house it seems there are roughly four people that the rest could toss out any old time.  Those four in my mind are Mike ('The Don'), Jennifer, Marvin and Holly (perhaps Diane). 

Shown on TV last night (recap here) was a part of a conversation between Mike and Diane where Mike talks about not really having a strong alliance yet.  That conversation actually occured about 3 or 4 hours before nominations - and that was Day 7 in the house.  Dude - you who claim to be a big fan of the show should have known most initial alliances happen the first or second day.  Needless to say it was not a huge shock for most of us to see him nominated.  Jennifer is, in my opinion, the most naive person in the house, and maybe the most immature (no offense Jenn).  She seems to considers herself a social outcast in real life so why should it be a surprise that in the house she is in the same position? 
 

The Alliances:

The obvious one, and apparently the strogest (for now) would be the four guys - Jase, Scott, Drew and Michael (aka 'Cowboy').  These guys feel like they have it all locked up and seem to think they are invincible.  Hold it fellas - not every HoH competition is going to be one of endurance or athletic skill - a lot of dumb luck plays into the HoH competitions so don't assume anything.  If Drew, Michael or Scott win next Thursdays competition these guys will be looking much stronger - but don't be shocked if someone else wins it.  Diane was shown on the first episode and being a part of this group but since then I have seen little indication she is included in anything.

The lesser alliance - Will, Lori, and Karen.  These three need to add to their forces - and they just might if they latch on to Adria (which may have already happened I think) or one of the "outcasts."   Its too early to say how they will do - they are all probably safe for the next few weeks provided BB doesn't toss in any other "twists."
 

The Romance?

There is a rumor that 2 of the HGs are romantically involved - as in they know each other outside the house.  I haven't a clue if that is fact or fiction but assuming it is true you then have to wonder who it is of course.  My guess would be Lori and perhaps Jase or Scott but thats might be too obvious.  We know Will is gay - and I have seen a guess tosed out there that HE might have a boyfriend in the house - who knows?  I sure don't at the moment.
 

Other than that - there seems little chance for much romance this year.  Karen is married, as is Adria.  Jennifer isn't going to get involved with anyone, and while Holly has been sleeping in the HoH room with Jase every night there doesn't seem to be one ounce of romance going on there.  That leaves Lori (in a "very commited relationship" outside the house) and Diane.  I have seen Diane leaning on guys but at least for now there doesn't seem to be any heat between her and any particular guy.

The Twins:

As many of you might already know there is a 3rd "twin" in the house.  On the first episode it was revealed that Diane and Drew had twin siblings.  What was not revealed was that Adria also is a twin.  This has led MANY MANY people (including myself) to speculate that the twin that will be switching in and out will be - or is - Adria.  I witnessed Adria just yesterday talking about how there are so many people and it has gotten confusing a few times with all the names.  The question in any case is, if any twin has swapped places so far, what does his/her sibling do outside the house?  Are they on a PB & J diet too?  Can they see all the cameras in the house or just the ones thir sibling is in?  Without these questions answered many folks feel that this year the show is rather unfair and slanted towards certain HGs.

By the way for those who wonder how they could make the switch - this would be easy to do since there is a door to the outside world in both the Storage Room and the Diary Room.  We (the net viewers) assume it will take place - or has already - in the Diary room.
 

The Other Twists:

With more yet to be revealed we can be sure there are a few things we don't know about yet.  For example the first veto contest does not occur until Sunday (to air Tuesday) - and Julie has promised it will be different. 

The plasma screen in the HoH room is an interesting change but how long can that remain a secret?  A bit of an unfair advantage has been given to the first HoH (Jase) and in turn his three alliance member.  While they can't hear what is being said they can check up and see who is talking alone and where.  Of course one has to wonder what happens next week if say Will gets HoH and discovers the plasma screen and realizes Jase knew about it and kept it a secret - will that be reason enough to nominate him?  Hard to tell.

Is there a couple in the house?  Will it be revealed?  Could a member from each main alliance be involved with each other and we don't know it?  Two years ago BB managed to keep the internet viewers in the dark about the alliance between Danielle and Jason for weeks - they could be at it again by not showing us a camera angle where they two people are together.
 

And for the net viewers... The Fish Cam:

For those of us that watch the live internet feeds, we occasionally are blocked from seeing things going on in the house.  Be it certain scheduled happenings (Veto competition, Veto meeting, Nominations, the Live Show) or because things are being discussed about people outside the house, we get "blocked" from the feeds.

The first year of Big Brother we were usually treated to a view of the chicken coop (yes the first year the HGs had chickens whose eggs they were supposed to use as a suppliment to their budjeted diet).  This was ok....  and actually sometimes we could still hear the chatter betwen the HGs.  Once Arnold Shapiro and Allison Grodner took over for season two we have usually gotten a live picture of the front door ("Front of the House" aka FOTH) with the BB theme playing over and over and over.... (as a matter of fact I still have a BB FOTH simulator I created for Big Brother 3 on my Big Brother 3 page).  It was boring but some times we did get to see former HGs out in front of the house being interviewed, the newly evicted HG walking out to talk to Julie, or even a gardner sprucing up the house.

So far with Big Brother 5 all we get is the "Fish Cam" - initially we were all saying "cool" and "nice change" - but now, at least for me, the boredom has set in.  Not only do I wonder if its even a live cam or an endless pre-recorded video loop, I have to listen to what I am sure is a recording of bubbles - endless bubble - and they are by no means soothing.  Dump the fish cam - bring us back our FOTH !!

ILoveReality News Archives