Big Brother – the show we hate to love, and the show we love to hate. Every summer begins with hope that this will be the best season ever. We get so excited waiting for Julie to reveal the new design of the house, find out what the twists are gonna be, meet the cast & read / watch the preseason interviews – all leading up to the Superbowl of Reality TV – OPENING NIGHT!!! We make our picks for who we are going to root for – scour the web to find out more about these people – see how many degrees of separation between us and the new houseguests.
Then the show starts and we find ourselves staying up way too late watching the live feeds, reading recaps & previews on Big Brother Network – refreshing our browsers every 10 minutes to find out the results of the competitions / nominations. Our non-BB loving friends & family start to get sick of us talking & posting about it non-stop. Somewhere along the way – we find new HGs to root for, HGs to root against – comparing players to previous HG’s- complaining about how this season does not live up to our preseason expectations. We continue on this roller coaster for 3 months until Julie Chen finally pulls out the keys and declares a winner.
It’s our summer obsession and when it’s over – despite all the other shows on TV – we start looking forward to the next season. Now that CBS has announced instead of the usual renewal for one season, it has been renewed for 2 – and the rumors are starting that one of those seasons will be an All-Star season. I wonder how many times we will hear someone say “If (insert our favorite HGs name here) is not on All-Stars, I am not watching!” Yet, we all know the truth… YOU WILL WATCH!!!! Why? Because we are addicted to this show like no other show on TV.
BUT FIRST – lets take a look back at Season 16 – which I called “The Season of the Safe Moves.” These are just a few things about this season that I loved, and that I hated…
LOVED – the Have Not Room. We saw the effects of the ice cold room & slop week 2 when Zach had a major meltdown. Big Brother is not Survivor, the HGs get a pantry full of food, beds, shelter, etc… so when they are forced to limit what they can eat, and probably the worst sleeping conditions yet, it takes a toll pn their psyche.
HATED – the fact that they did not have to fight in a competition to see who would still have these luxuries, and who would be forced to suffer. Big Brother made such a big deal about the FitBit activity bracelets that they all had to wear, but only once was that used to determine who would be a have not. I get it – with the Battle of the Block taking up time on the show there was not enough time to do another competition, but feed watchers always complain about the HGs sleeping all day. If they knew that being lazy would force them to become Have Nots – we could have had more excitement during the day. (Especially for us East Coast viewers).
LOVED – the 2 HoH twist. Similar to the MVP twist from last summer, the potential for shenanigans and scheming could have made this season pretty exciting. Knowing that just cause you were HoH, you could still go home this week – would force the players into altering their preseason strategies.
HATED – that only once did someone go from HoH to evicted. Again, similar to the MVP twist – it was a bit of a letdown when the HoH’s all wanted to work together to protect themselves. I guess that’s because we never saw a clear house divide. The 2 night move in would have been a perfect opportunity to split the house in half from the start – forcing them into 2 tribes (a la Survivor) – and each week – you get one HG from each side to be HoH. This would have had them nominating strong players instead of weak ones.
LOVED – even though a big alliance formed the first week – they never seemed to really trust each other. Each week the remaining HoH would have a grand plan to turn on one of their own – citing different reasons.
HATED – that no one ever did. How much different would the season have been if Cody replaced Victoria week 4 with Caleb instead of Donny?
LOVED – Caleb threatening to throw the BotB to keep Frankie on the block.
HATED – Caleb not waiting to see what the challenge was before sitting out – he basically helped Frankie win the BotB by himself. We saw the same challenge in BB14 – and once Frank got over the learning curve he killed it to win HoH.
LOVED – Donny! As I mentioned in the opening – we always get excited to meet the new cast each season. Donny is the type of player that I like to see. He is not a model / actor type – trying to use BB as a springboard to fame & fortune. He was just a normal guy, who loved the show, and appreciated the opportunity. It looks like I was not the only one who loved this guy – as he took home America’s Favorite by a landslide.
HATED – how everyone ganged up on Donny & wanted him out each week. Yes, it’s because he was a bit different & quirky, and they couldn’t figure him out. That’s because there was nothing to figure out – he was who he said he was, but paranoia in that house takes over.
LOVED – Derrick! We have not seen a HGs manipulate the rest of the house as good as Derrick did since BB10 Dan. Derrick was not a preseason pick for me. But as the game played on – watching him say the right things to each person at the right time was a thing of beauty.
HATED – Derrick! His mind manipulation got so many people to second guess their own actions – and they would end up making a safe move that they thought was good for their games, but as we saw, it was only good for his game. As a fan, this is not what we want to see, as an ex-player it was genius.
LOVED – the punishments given out this season. Watching Cody kick himself in the ass for 24 hours, Brittany kicking the soccer ball 2400 times, Nicole having to wear not 1 but 2 outfits for the week, Cody in the Dinosaur suit, Caleb & Victoria as Adam & Eve – these types of things are what makes Big Brother better than the rest of the reality shows. There is so much downtime during the week – you need some stupidity to break up the monotony.
HATED – that Frankie, Caleb, & Christine got to go to the Dallas Cowboys training camp. As a 30+ year fan of the Dallas Cowboys that was so awesome, and ok, I didn’t hate it – I was just jealous… until someone reminded me, I got to meet Tori Spelling on the show. But still….
LOVED – Devin & Zach’s unpredictability, this made for some fun moments on both the feeds & the CBS show. We now have new lingo because of this #DevinHasADaughter & #FruitLoopDingus
HATED – the unanimous (or near unanimous) votes every week. Despite the edit each week – we all pretty much knew who would be going home after the Monday Veto meeting. Furthermore – week 3 Nicole & Christine had talked about throwing hinky votes to keep Devin & evict Caleb. That would have been so great as Beast Mode Cowboy would have been thrown into a tizzy! Only 6 votes the entire season were cast for the person that stayed. 10 unanimous votes. Which again, proves my case that BB16 was the Season of the Safe Moves!
LOVED – writing 2 columns each week for Big Brother Network. As a fan of the show I love reading the content on this site, as an ex-player I am glad I got the opportunity to share some of my insights from a players perspective. I also loved getting into it with some of the commentators. The passion we all have for this show is unheralded, and we all think our opinion is the best opinion. I never took anything personally, and I hope you didn’t either.
HATED – that this is my last column for the season. But hopefully you all enjoyed reading my weekly previews, as well as my Bacon/Tofu rankings each week.
So, there ya have it! BB16 is done – BB17 is 9 months away. Hopefully the time will go fast, so we can go back to loving & hating our favorite TV show!
Let me know what some of your favorite moments of the season were in the comment section below.
From outside the Big Brother Network house, I’m Adam Poch… Goodnight!
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Thanks, Adam! Yours was always a fun column to read!
Adam, thank you so much for entertaining and informing us this year. It was definitely “The Season of the Safe Moves”, which drove me crazy. My love/hates are very difficult for me to figure out yet. The season was too white bread and I wanted some rye or ciabatta! Just not enough drama between the HG’s – they mostly liked each other too darned much. I wanted a little of the drama of a Rachel Reilly, the amazing cockiness of a Dr. Will, players like you! Caleb – funny when he wasn’t being 100% delusional; Frankie – amazing gifts which were overshadowed by his “I have no filters” personality and his predatory horniness; Victoria – dull as dishwater for far too much of the game then irritating in her belief that she’s a great player; Cody – words fail me; Derrick – brilliant liar who ended up being the only person who deserved to win; the rest blended into the background for me after a while. There were a lot of players who didn’t begin to realize their potential and who probably wish they could do it over – Joey, Nicole, Brittany, Amber, Zach. Donny was a gentleman, a salt-of-the-earth type of guy, who didn’t fit in with this year’s mostly immature bunch at all. Loved him and hope to see more of him. Hopefully, next year will have a more varied cast, age-wise, and some of your love/hate comments will be taken into consideration. We can only hope. Good job. Much love to all the other posters who gave such intelligent, humorous, insightful and even spiritual input. Looking forward to next year. GMaG, over and out. HOLLA!
What she said! It really was an amazing season, with your summaries that were pretty spot on, Matt’s spoilers and even J U Double D’s opinion was entertaining as well. This season the BB Network helped us viewers in more ways than one to vent our frustrations of the players or praise them when we thought they did what we either hoped for or even didn’t but still entertained at the same time. I have to say some of the regular posters made me laugh unlike some of the house guests. They kept this season sane for me! Hats off to all those that contributed in making BB16 tolerable! :-) See you next summer!
Same to you, Joni. BB17!!!!
HA HA HA … H O L L A GMaG, over and out!
Adam, I have truly enjoyed your insightful comments each week. They were spot on and very well written. I enjoy reading this site in general and you were a wonderful addition this year. Your Bacon/Tofu rankings had me rolling each week. I certainly hope you return next year and in the future to provide commentary here. THANK YOU!!!!
Yes, it was “boring” as far as entertainment value … but that happens. We have bad Super Bowls, boxing fights, NCAA tournaments, etc. I know it is a TV show but it a televised game and sometimes someone dominated. That doesn’t take away the great play of Derrick.
I agree in the 2 HOHs was a good twist. Yes, the two winners would work together … but the fact the winners of the BoB would be safe made replacement noms a bit tougher. Hell, I’d love a twist that the block survivor from one week is safe the next. That would make for some interesting strategy.
LOVED that these house guests were much better than BB15’s. Yeah, people hated Frankie and Christine and others got on their nerves but they wouldn’t even register in last season’s house with all the bad HGs that inhabited it. I’ll take Frankie’s preening and self promotion over the bullies, racists, mysoginsts of a year ago.
Thank you Adam for your Tofu and Bacon! Really enjoyed reading your take on the season! Hope to follow you again next season! Big Thank You to Matt for providing a super place for info and comments!
Great review of the season. I shared many of your loves and hated. Now we have to wait till next year =(
Thank you Adam. I love hearing your opinion as you are not only a fan but a former player. Those first few paragraphs describe me to a T. I feel like a freak sometimes. So glad it’s not just me. My husband is constantly nagging me about watching live feeds or BBAD. I have to sneak around to watch. lol. When the show is on everyone knows I won’t be answering my phone and there should be no questions asked of me. My husband knows he is on bedtime duty with the kids. I have an antenna on standby in case my dish goes out for some reason. My sister is the only person that understands somewhat. We usually watch live shows together with my mother and I tell them all about what’s really going on. Being able to talk with fans that share my passion for the show is amazing! I love hearing thoughts of other super fans and being able to put my input out there too. Most of my friends only watch CBS show. I feel like that’s a completely different show than what we experience here and on the feeds. Everyone here has been great this summer. I love sharing the show with you all. & being able to feel normal here. haha. Thanks everyone!!!
First thing I ask people when talking about BB, “You follow the feeds, or CBS only” – this way I know how to talk to them. It is 2 different games!
You do whatever you have to do, girl! I’m addicted too. It’s going to be hard for all of us to give this site up. BB16 left some big shoes for Survivor to fill, but it seems really enjoyable so far.
Adam, I’m a big fan of yours both as a former player and a commentator. Thanks for keeping us enlightened and amused this season. Were they to do an All Stars next year, do you think they’d go back to the beginning for players or just to BB7 and either way, who would you like to see play (assuming you’re on the roster of course:-)?
Did anyone every find out about the picture Derrick got in his HOH basket and freaked out about and ran to the Diary Room to hide? I’d like to know what that picture was that caused him to panic!
Check out his interview with Matt Boyer..Derrick explains it there.
thanks!
Was he telling the truth, though? The whole story was suspect.
He was a terrific liar during the game, but I think in this case, it’s true. I mean, he wouldn’t have any reason to lie about it once the season is over.
There could be a million reasons. I wouldn’t believe a word out of his mouth, except for his love for his wife and daughter. However, at this point I guess it doesn’t matter.
Not sure if I accept his explanation, it doesn’t make sense. His reaction was a bit extreme for the only problem being the quality of the photo. He looked almost panicky and wouldn’t let anyone see it. Well, if it was a bad photo, he has plenty of $$$ now to get that it copied and enhanced!!
Thanks Adam! I hope you do this again next season!
Agree whole heartedly with everything you said. Thanks Adam! ;)
Thanks Adam. Definitely 5 strips of Bacon for you! I hope you’ll be doing this again next year.
As for my favorite moment of the season… that moment that Frankie realized he wasn’t America’s Favorite Houseguest.
LMAO! I TOTALLY forgot how much you loved Tori!
You forgot to mention the crazy, weird and sad obsession caleb had with amber! It helped to ruin amber’s game (she – no doubt – help move the train along) and sent her home.
I neither loved or hated that – I think the obsession was a little creepy – but CBS played it up even worse. They were looking for early storylines – and america loves showmances – no matter how 1 sided they are.
You are correct we love our showmances – Nicody, Zankie and Haycole are examples from this season.
Additonally, I think the amber/caleb “situation” led to the early demise of the bombsquad as it broke up the bond between caleb and devin. Moreover, caleb started out as a strong player in the house but his star quickly faded as the houseguest had a chance to observe cray-cray caleb.
Good post. Cray-cray Caleb was a real eye opener!
Thanks Adam! I looked forward to you tofu and bacon every time. Hope u do them again. Right Matt? The more posts from Adam, Judd, maybe Derrick??, the better!
Adam, thanks for your unique insights into the game. Your point about Cody having met Derrick just 90 days ago was a true cut to the chase explanation for why Cody could have or should have taken Victoria to the F2. Given the length of the season and the focus on the week to week, its easy for us fans to forget such things.
Loved-your columns Adam
Looked forward to you insight all season.. great job! ps. i picked derrick to win on week 1.
Nostradomus, your crystal ball was working well this season. I checked all your predictions and your were always right , amazing.
12 strips of bacon to Adam Poch for all you did to make this season more tolerable. Thanx Adam!
More luxury comps would have great. Have-Not comps would have helped as well.
Derrick’s masterful gameplay made this season for me.
As for everyone “ganging up” on Donny, he wasn’t the only one that the whole house wanted out at various times. Devin, for instance, was the target of all the others from an early point. Later in the game, everyone wanted Frankie out week after week as well. Plus Donny kind of brought his own isolation on himself by going to bed early instead of making a real attempt to bond with the others.
I very much liked the two HOHs and hope this happens again next season. It could use a little tweaking, but the basic concept is excellent.
There needs to be some benefit to voting against the house. Otherwise, why should anyone bother to do it?
All in all, I liked this season’s HGs very much and enjoyed the show a lot.
You were the highlight of my week, Adam. Great job this season!
Thank you Adam for your contribution. Looking forward to reading you next year. Maybe you should talk to Matt about joining us in watching and commenting on BB Can 3 next spring.