Last night on the Big Brother 17 premiere host Julie Chen announced that there’d be not one, not two, but three adventurous twists awaiting the new Big Brother cast this summer. Fans old and new are likely to recognize what we’ve seen so far, but more is around the corner.
Only two of the season’s three twists were truly revealed as the third, a “BB Takeover,” will be an ongoing mystery all summer, but what about the other two? Both the Twin Twist and Battle of the Block are recycled ideas in a season that’s going to have a lot going on.
The Big Brother Twin Twist comes to us from Big Brother 5 when Natalie Carroll and Adria Klein took turns playing the game one at a time while switching off in the Diary Room. They’d have just a few moments to swap clothing and share the latest updates on what was going on in the house. The entering twin was playing practically blind on events and conversations over the past few days. Luckily for them they pulled it off and both entered the game as individual players later on in the season.
Big Brother 17 has yet to confirm, but I strongly believe this season’s twins will be Liz Nolan and her sister Julia. We’ve put together some pics and a poll where you can share your thoughts on their chances, but right now this doesn’t look like it could be as easy for these two. During Big Brother 5 no one had ever heard of this idea, but now in BB17 we’ve got super fans who will know this has been done and could be on to them quickly.
The second twist is the return of the Battle of the Block which the show described as a “fan favorite.” Hmm. Sure, the twist added another level of complexity and gave us something fun to discuss on Fridays, but come on, this twist makes it overly difficult for players to navigate and holds them back for typical strategy. I highly doubt we’ll get the butting Heads of Household (combo’d phrase there) the production thought we might last season.
Two HGs will win HoH then they’ll each nominate two players giving us four total noms. Those four noms will face off as paired competitors with the winning duo dethroning their nominator. The dethroned HoH is eligible for renom following the Veto comp. This twist didn’t last all season last year, but close to it so we could have this one for awhile.
The third twist is the yet to be disclosed “BB Takeover” where a new random twist will be thrown in each week. HGs don’t know if it’s just one week in duration for that twist or if they’ll start to stack up, but I’m guessing it’s the former.
A special guest will arrive each week with that news and Grodner has promised it’ll be either a celebrity or a familiar face. We were also promised two special guests for premiere week and didn’t get any last night so watch for those two during the second night of the premiere.
What do you think of all these Big Brother twists? This is about as far away from “just play the game” as we can get, but is that a good thing? Could so many twists keep viewers and players on their toes or is it just too much? Share your thoughts!
One of the thing that happen with BoB is that no Have-HaveNot competition will be played until the twist is over. If I remember from last year, that was a big complain from the viewers.
Yeah, they’ll have to just assign HNs this season again. Or it’d be great if they just did away with HNs all together. That’d be a “twist” I’d welcome.
Amen!
So would I Matt, as I don’t really enjoy seeing the HG’s suffer as the lack of food makes them listless and weak in competitions.
But I have long suspected that this is a way for CBS to cut corners and save money on the grocery bills. Young kids at that age sure can eat a lot.
Matt, there was a special guest last night. I just can’t remember his name or why he’s a celebrity. He interviewed some of the HGs right before the HoH comp.
Kevin Frazier from The Insider. :)
Thank you, James! I should have known that you would know the answer! I’m not a fan of that show.
i thought he was from e.t. (entertainment tonight)
He was but whoever was running the powers that be that produces both shows have been shuffling the their respective hosts back and forth for quite sometime now. Rob Marciano started out on The Insider before he and Kevin from ET swapped places.
ah ok.
Well, I don’t think that’s the kind of special guest involved in a twist that they were talking about. He was there for the HoH comp.
Maybe, a comp host was the kind of guest they meant, but I’d be surprised.
I was kind of put off by his remarks to James…I mean, they WERE funny, but poor James was clueless. He’s going to be fun to watch.
If it’s any comfort, I think Mr.Frazier doesn’t really have any superior ”look at you” quality over James… I mean… look at HIM… No really.. look at HIM. ;)
Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-HA!!!!! Too funny! Good to hear from you, Matt.
OK, the first 8 are in. Only a couple of them impressed me. I hope Audrey goes far. I think she’s a contender and impressive.
James cracked me up. He’s got to be a recruit, since he didn’t know where the bedrooms are. They kept showing him looking like a deer in headlights. But, I’m renaming him Thomas, because he reminds me of “the little engine that could.”
Shelli and Clay, the heart murmur duo, as a couple? IDK, I think John, the quirky dentist, is going to fall in love with Shelli’s huge pearly whites.
Da’Vonne strikes me as someone who has game. Too bad her sass is going to leave her in the dust.
Austin is going to be one to watch. Love his body artwork. He knows this game well, but I think he’s going to play dumb.
Meg and Jace hooking up would crack me up! She loves his energy. LOL
I’m rooting for the 3-girl alliance. Maybe this year …. sigh
James applied actually. He has an audition video out there on Youtube.
However, applicants don’t necessarily have to be prior fans of the show. Jocasta applied for last year but she doesn’t know a zit about playing the game, except speaking in tongues and kissing girls. :D
and answering the phone! LOL
You just gotta be good television… And though I wasn’t a huge fan of hers, she did make for good tv. ;)
Oh yes, I do enjoy seeing a few “nice” people cast for BB as well, otherwise it could become unbearable at times.
Yup… I’d rather it be like the original mindset for casting where it was ”normal” people on the show and only a couple ”made for tv” characters to liven things up…
Thanks for the laughs redroses :D
I love James and he’s definitely the little engine that could. Does anyone know how tall he is?
His adoptive parents certainly did a great job as James seems to be a chip off the old block.
.
I believe Clay can do better than Shelli but we shall see.
I agree about Austen, he should be a lot of fun to watch this season.
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*sigh, does Meg have an off button? Once the initial excitement wears off I hope she will tone it down a little.
Last year was the “most twisted season ever.” “Twist after twisted, twist, twist.” So, what are they calling this season? Old and new twists? 3 twists announced the first night, with one of them being a new twist every week. Let’s do the twist. Come on everybody and twist like this.
Sing it, redroses!!!
I’m wondering if the 3rd twist will be a reset of the nominations or HOH? This MIGHT prevent this season from being as boring as the last 2 seasons hopefully.
AHH! That would put a kink in things!
Wouldn’t it though? Say 2 of the fans favorites are on the block and fans are going nuts. Enter the person with the 3rd twist and voila! they’re safe and 2 unlikable people go on the block instead.
If we need to jump through all these hoops to keep fan favorites in the house, just cut the crap and go back to BBUK/BBUSA Season 1 rules: HGs nominate, 2 with most nominations go on the block, and the viewers evict.
I don’t know what you want in your BB, Foxfire, but spending money on the feeds to watch a week of gameplay unfold, only for the producers to say, “Guess what? IT MEANT NOTHING! We’re going to throw out your nominations because the viewers don’t like you!” doesn’t entertain me. It just makes me feel cheated.
Yay, couldn’t agree more… If memory serves correct I was anticipating: ”The Biggest, Most Twisted, Season Ever!” (well until next season when they have so many twists on their twists that they end up with no twists at all…. How twisted is that?!!
WB, Matt S!
:::raising my hand::: Chubby Checker ~~ right?
Ding, ding, ding, ding!
Let’s just hope they don’t twist again like they did last summer…
LMAO, Foxfire!!!
Hey redroses ~ your dings made my day! LOL!
I’m excited for the next 6 HGs. I want to see John and Steve align. They are both musicians. John’s ELO cover of “Mr. Blue Sky” blew me away and Steve can play bass!
youtube dot com/watch?v=8WAsFS647nQ for Steve
youtube dot com/watch?v=4OZIxSxMuAo for John
Loved, loved, loved the compilation by John. Will try to find time to watch the other one later. Thanks, redroses.
Seriously? Get rid of the battle of the block. What I do not want repeated is that huge alliance of last year. Nobody wants to play when that happens and you already know they are just going to vote out the outsiders and stragglers. Do not know if this takeover is going to make any difference. What would work and make it more interesting is say, one question in the HOH competition if answered correctly, a diamond power is given to the house guest to put on the block another house guest to replace one of those two on the block. However, with the power, the person should not be allowed to tell anyone else that they have that power for that week. That nomination should stick unless, they win POV. That would make it more interesting. Do that every week for every competition and you have more excitement. When there are no questions, say if there are puzzle pieces, a puzzle piece should be designed as having that same diamond power to replace one of the nominess of the HOH.
Since when was the battle of the block a “fan favorite”? Everyone I talked to absolutely hated it!
I guess CBS has that prerogative, if they wanted it back, which obviously, they did. Hard for me to believe, also.
They thought that Frankie was a fan favorite, too! ROFL
He was, of the big shots at CBS, it seemed. UGH!
He’s my idol. *sigh*
I’m convinced. Did Austin fulfill your every dreamy expectation last night, Sharona? hehe He has it all, it seems. Hope he doesn’t disappoint.
Alas and alack, he did not. I couldn’t dig the image of his beard in a pony tail. Am I shallow? Besides, since he’s a wrestler, I have a feeling he wouldn’t approve of my weekly Ben & Jerry’s habit.
I’m anxious to see how he will play the game.That beard ponytail has never been a favorite of mine on anyone. Shallow? No way! Ben and Jerry’s is more important. You definitely have your priorities in the correct order.
You’re so funny! I think he’ll do pretty well. although, his size may work against him in comps. Remember Howard from season 15? He was big and strong, but I don’t recall him winning many comps. I could be wrong on that (probably am), but strength isn’t always an asset. I think he will have a strong mental game. Doggone beard pony tail!
Cherry Garcia Rocks!
SO good! Right now I’m into Salted Caramel Core; however, Cherry Garcia was my first fav.
I actually enjoyed the concept (of the nomination by the dominant HoH not being the ”end” of somebody) – but they they kinda fumbled it in the sense that it left too many people ”safe” in the end.
Meg left me with the ditsy blonde impression.
DaVonne appeared a little catty.
Audrey seems controlling and manipulative.
James may lack strategy.
Shelli looks at Jake like she is a hungry cougar.
Jake looks at Shelli like she’s a hungry cougar….and he likes it.
Austin seems level-headed.
What’s the boarders name, I want to call him Hayden.
Who is Jake?
Yeah, I already corrected that. My mistake.
Did you? :P
nah, nah, nah, nah, boo, boo..:)
Ok, Crutman, I owe you one. LOL
Haha yay you found it!
I had to refresh. I learned something thanks to you and redroses. :)
Um, I still see “Jake”, instead of “Clay.”
SERIOUSLY! Thanks. I just refreshed. Did that fix it?
No its still not fixed haha
But we get it
You are messin’ with me, right?
No haha, one of the times you wrote Jake changed, the other hasnt.
Dad blame it! If this doesn’t work, Shelli can have Jake!
LOL! It’s fixed now!
I’m still seeing Shelli looks at Jake …
You nailed it on that Hayden comment!
It’s Jace ~ as in Jace is a Jerk! Wowser K, I’m in sync with you on your initial impressions. I needed to put my sunglasses on every time Shelli showed off her sparkling white teeth.
I keep posting all over Facebook, but I hate that the Battle of Block is back. My excitement level was through the roof just like any BB opening night, but when Julie said BOB was back, I was completely let down. I am praying that it is the first twist of BB Takeover. I do really like that the twin twist is back, it was entertaining during BB5. However, unless this rumored houseguest’s twin understands the game better, I do not think she will survive 5 weeks, especially if BOB is active the whole time.
I strongly dislike both BotB and 2 HOH’s. I don’t know how those are fan favorites. Get back to the basics of one HOH. I want to see more twists like DPOV, (really like that one) Pandora’s Box, the twist that Jeff had where he could undo noms, stuff like that..why can’t they do those again? I don’t like the have-have not stuff..it think it’s ridiculous. Get rid of it..just having the HOH make you one is not fair.
We’re still one episode into the season, perhaps, they have what you suggested lined up in succeeding weeks. We just have to wait and see.
I don’t know, James. We’ll see. As a superfan..those were really fun twists to watch unfold..especially when Jeff put up Natalie and muscle man!
Wasn’t his name Russell? He’s the one that told Jordan she was fat so what else could Jeff do but get rid of him?
Congratulations on your win last night. What is your strategy going forward? hehe
Let’s hope that James of BB is as astute as the James that made the above comment.
Be friends and sing kumbaya with the house as I devise my plans for world domination. :D
That southern accent ought to throw everyone off :D
Great interview, James. Now go put more camo on your roly poly self. :)
Hey James, are you a James fan? He’s my favorite so far.
I really want them to follow the BBAU format, its so much better! Big brothers voice over, funny punishments, tasks for food reward, alcohol!, music, new house every year, a dog all season, just so much more going on besides talking and more talking and more talking and a few competitions.
I knew it. I knew it. I KNEW IT.
The very moment Chenbot announced that the “Fan Favorite” BotB twist was coming back, I changed the channel. Any semblance of strategy and long-term planning in this game is buried, and this stupid Takeover twist is only pouring more dirt on the grave.
Get ready for the same song and dance this year. A supermajority alliance of 6+ HGs that would have splintered before BB16 will dominate the house. There will be no drama in the twist. Every week will play out like last year:
“Do you want to stay HoH this week?”
“I don’t care. Do you?”
“Sure, I’ll do it.”
“Cool, go and nominate Victoria/Jocasta this time then.”
And if a minority HOH can take power, they’ll be too scared to make the big move, because since BotB winners get safety for the week, the majority alliance can still protect themselves through it and the Veto, forcing the minority HOH to put one of their allies up because there are no other options. Just look at Nicole and Donny’s miserable reign last year.
Which means that the only thing stopping another Detonators is more production rigging via the Takeover, which is going to be taking a page from BB Canada’s moronic Twistos Titty Twisting AUNTIE EM IT’S A TWISTER Twist. No gameplay will be built naturally this season from the HGs. We won’t see moves and countermoves build on top of each other over the course of several weeks. It will just be wiped clean every week by another dumb twist that gives a “fan favorite” a gamebreaking advantage he or she didn’t earn.
I keep hoping that this show gets better, but they keep going to the bottom of the barrel. Four of the last five seasons have been garbage (BB14 the exception), and I expect this one to be no different. It’s going to take a really interesting HG to keep me hooked, like how I enjoyed watching Derrick school the rest of his idiotic Detonators. Maybe Austin will be intriguing. I don’t know, but it’s clear that the days of intelligent gameplay are no more.
Any twists they throw in is welcome, they know that the more the better after last year…it was the most boring season ever
Hopefully the upcoming 3rd twist will prevent this from happening.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
I did not like the BOB last year but did like Team America.