Really good reality TV hosts are the exception, not the rule.  It's no easy job, and it's simply not enough to shepherd a series along without messing up on live TV.  A good reality host brings something to the table.  Take my man Jeff Probst from Survivor – he is an invaluable resource.  He exposes the subtext within the game via pointed interrogations at every tribal council.  He's amiable without being a push-over, and he makes real bonds with the contestants.  He doesn't allow for nonsense to go unquestioned.  But, then you have someone like Julie Chen on Big Brother.  She is married to the CBS head honcho Les Moonves.  It's not a coincidence that she is the host of Big Brother, which happens to air on CBS.  This wouldn't be an issue if Chen were good at her job.  But, alas, she is not.
 

There's a moral conundrum I often face when watching a season of reality television.  Whether it's Big Brother or Survivor or The Amazing Race, your first inclination is to root for whoever you like the best.  You don't root for who you respect.  You want those to succeed who you feel some sort of connection with, a person you might want to get a beer with.  But, a quandary will occasionally arise: what if the person your rooting for doesn't need the money, and their competitors do.  A million dollars (or, in Big Brother's case, $500,000) means different things to different people.  For most reality participants, that amount of money is unequivocally life-changing.  For a rare few, it's padding.  It won't affect their already successful lifestyle.  Do we, as an audience, have a moral obligation to root for the person who would most benefit from the prize money?  This question once again came to mind when I read a story on TMZ today: former Big Brother winner Mike “Boogie” Malin won around $150,000 in a gambling spree in Las Vegas. 

Our first How to Improve Big Brother article turned into a war of words.  I'm OK with that.  These articles are meant to inspire discussion.  You never like it to get personal, but Big Brother fans are nothing if not passionate.  While No More Slop was a consensus recommendation from the masses as how to make Big Brother a better show, the other ideas were varied and far less communal.  The idea with the most amount of votes aside from the slop request involves the jury house.  You Big Brother fans want to see more of the jury house.  In this regard, I am fully with you.  The jury house has always seemed like a wasted opportunity for interesting and game-important coverage.  So, let's take a solid gander at the merits and potential perils of more jury house involvement on Big Brother.

Last week, we asked BuddyTV readers what one change they would make for Big Brother 11, and the responses came fast and furious.  Over the coming weeks and months, we here at BuddyTV will analyze most of your suggestions, and discuss the positives and negatives of each worthy idea.  While your opinions were diverse, there was one overwhelming sentiment that arose in the comments section: Big Brother should get rid of slop.  It seems that almost no one likes slop.  CBS and Big Brother, despite constant fan outcry, haven't made many changes to the slop policy in recent seasons.  Why not?  Laziness, maybe.  Perhaps CBS secretly loves to torture their contestants.  Regardless, you readers have had enough.

Big Brother 10 is over and done, and now begins the long death march across a normal TV season until the show returns.  Big Brother fans are as rabid and tunnel-visioned as any fan base out there.  For a significant number of Big Brother fans, it is THE show, the one they obsess over and look forward to, even when its premiere is more than half of a year away.  Speculation about another winter edition of Big Brother ended last week when CBS announced that Big Brother 11 would premiere next summer.  This is all but etched in stone, barring another catastrophic TV event, like last year's writers' strike that forced Big Brother into the winter.  Unfortunately, this means that we have months and months to fill before Big Brother returns.  We can't just have zero Big Brother coverage at BuddyTV, correct?  So, this is one of the things we're going to do - Let's all have a long-term discussion about what should be changed for Big Brother 11. 

If I were a reality show contestant (though I never will be), I would be eminently concerned with my legacy.  What would I be remembered for in one year?  Five years?  The general public is going to forget about the small things.  The big things, the overall persona (if it's memorable), the major events – those are what reality contestants are remembered for.  Big Brother 10 is only recently in our past, but now that we've had at least a little bit of time to process and gain perspective on Big Brother 10, we can consider the various legacies of the houseguests.  Not all legacies are fair, and oftentimes we think of past contestants in ways we really shouldn't.  Minor squabbles become vibrant memories, but smaller personal moments are forgotten as time goes by.  So – what will the legacies of the Big Brother 10 houseguests be?

With casting already underway for Big Brother 11, we thought that maybe CBS would bring fans another Winter edition of the network's prolific reality series.  Earlier this week, I speculated that, although it might be difficult finding time slots for Big Brother 11 this Winter, that there was a distinct possibility that Big Brother 11 could return at mid-season.  Well, CBS has nipped that notion in the bud.  Big Brother 11 will air in the Summer of 2009.  CBS released this information via a press release.  Although this should end speculation for the time being, it should be acknowledged that TV is a transitory business, and anything is still possible.  However, in all likelihood, Big Brother 11 won't be appearing on your television screens for at least nine months.

There are rumblings that Big Brother 11 may in fact be a winter edition.  Speculation has been fueled by the mere fact that casting has already begun for Big Brother 11, some fans saying that casting now for a show scheduled nearly a year from now doesn't make any sense.  While there is some validity to this line of thinking, Big Brother executive producer Allison Grodner has denied that Big Brother 11 will air in the winter.  While Big Brother 9 did become the first season of the series to air in the winter months (where it was a mild success), the only reason CBS ran it was because of the writers' strike and CBS was desperate for new content.  There will be no such strike in the coming months, and nothing there to necessitate bring Big Brother back before next summer.  Nevertheless, let's examine this all a little bit further.

Yesterday's feature, The 5 Worst Moments of Big Brother 10, set off something of a firestorm in the comments section.  I suppose that was to be expected.  Big Brother fans can get fierce in their loyalties.  That's the beauty of the series.  As opposed to most reality shows, in which how the show is edited greatly influences how characters are portrayed, Big Brother lets its audience spend so much time with the contestants that we all can get a good feel for who they actually are as people.  Stronger opinions are formed, and we are all thusly more passionate about defending or smearing their character.  No one likes to read something negative about a person they legitimately like.   Conversely, it can be personally baffling to read good things about someone you can't stand.  I get it.  Which is why a lot of you will surely disagree with what I've come up with in my five best Big Brother 10 moments. 

Big Brother 10 was a joint effort.  Everyone has been so quick to call Dan the sole mastermind of the season, but he really couldn't have done it without Memphis's steady hand there at all times.  Dan might have used Memphis, in a way, as an means to and end, but it's not like Memphis was a puppet either.  He put forth a great effort and almost won.  I wonder what would have happened had Memphis attempted to turn on Dan near the end of the game and tried to take either Keesha or Renny or Jerry to the final two with him.  In the second part of our interview, this was one of the many questions I asked Memphis about the Big Brother season.

Below you will find the written transcript as well as the full mp3 of the interview.

Exclusive Interview: Memphis, 'Big Brother 10' Runner-Up, Part 1

In downtown Seattle today, I witnessed a line around one full city block, hundreds and hundreds of seemingly normal human beings waiting to be let in somewhere.  I had no idea what they were in line for – I assumed someone important was speaking somewhere (Sarah Palin?  Flavor Flav?).  Only later did I discover that there was no celebrity, no important speaker – these people were waiting in line for the opening of a brand new clothing store.  Some Sweden-born establishment that apparently sells reasonably affordable apparel; I presume it's basically an Ikea for clothes.  Point being – I will never understand people.  The behavior of usually normal men and women never ceases to baffle and amaze.  Why would a person wait in line for hours to enter a new clothing store?  Why would a reality TV show contestant go ballistic over what they know is a game?  

BuddyTV interviews Dan Gheesling, winner of Big Brother 10.

Dan cut his $500,000 check during the Big Brother 10 jury questions.  He was poised and quick on his feet, while Memphis stammered and hurt his cause.  My favorite answer of Dan's was when he discussed how he purposely wanted to get Michelle and Ollie mad at him so he would ensure that Memphis would want to take him to the final two.  Great answer, but was it the truth?  W.s that really his Big Brother strategy?  That's one of the many questions I asked Dan, the Big Brother 10 champion, in the second part of our extended interview, which you can find below. 

Below you will find the written transcript and full mp3 audio of our interview.

Exclusive Interview: Dan, Winner of 'Big Brother 10', Part 1

Memphis was Memphis.  You have to give him that.  He might not have been the friendliest guy in the world to the people he didn't like, and he might not have played the most intellectual game of anyone in Big Brother history.  What he did do was play a steady, calculating, relatively mistake-free season of Big Brother.  And, you know, he's a Renegade.  You can never take that away from him.  Big Brother 10's legacy will likely be the dominance of The Renegades, and for good reason.  Memphis was an equal, if not quieter, partner of Dan in their season-long thrashing.  We had the pleasure of speaking with Memphis earlier today, and you can find the first part of our interview below.

Below you will find the full written transcript of the interview, along with the full mp3 audio.

Exclusive Interview: Memphis, 'Big Brother 10' Runner-Up, Part 2

BuddyTV interviews Dan Gheesling, the winner of Big Brother 10.

Dan Gheesling (did you know that was his last name? I didn't) ran away with $500,000 last night on the Big Brother 10 finale.  You'll have a hard time finding anyone who thinks that he didn't deserve it.  He was perhaps the greatest Big Brother mastermind the series has seen since the great Will Kirby.  In fact, Dan discusses the fact that he consciously emulated the good doctor as he prepared for Big Brother, one of the many tidbits of knowledge you will learn in the below interview.  W. got the chance to speak with Dan earlier today at length about his time on Big Brother 10.  Part one of our interview can be found below.

Below you will find the full written transcript of the interview, along with the full mp3 audio.

Exclusive Interview: Dan, Winner of 'Big Brother 10', Part 2

Big Brother 10 concluded proving that no matter what you do throughout the season, in the end good game play really is the best way to win the jury's heart.  And so it wrapped up just as it should have, with Dan, the best player in the house, taking home the $500,000 prize.

Big Brother 10 had more to offer than just Dan. Looking back on the season, we came across some colorful personalities, including Jerry, who joined Big Brother as his "last hurrah."  The old man wasn't really a great social player but he entertained us with quite a few of his antics and was able to reach the final 3.  Sneeze and booger, anyone?  There's also Ollie and April, who added a whole new level to the word “showmance,” Renny, who humored viewers by showing off her impersonation skills, and Libra, who smothered the house with her motherly instinct.  These are just a few of the 13 houseguests that entered the Big Brother house this season.  But since season 10 has been tagged as the season of the Renegades, I'd like to focus this review on Dan.

So how did Dan become one of the great all-time players of Big Brother?

Big Brother 10 ended last night with the most deserving player taking home the large cash prize.  Fans seem to be pleased with the season as a whole.  I can honestly say that I haven't enjoyed a season this much since Big Brother: All-Stars, and I only liked that season because of Dr. Will Kirby's presence.  Similarly, Dan was what made Big Brother 10 enjoyable.  Without him, I'm not sure what would have happened.  Memphis certainly wouldn't have made it as far as he did.  It might have turned into the Renny and Keesha show.  After a night to mull everything over, I have some lingering thoughts about the finale, which can be found below in ramble form. 

Big Brother 10's finale was worth it just for the bitter jury members.  They never fail to disappoint.  Overall, the Big Brother 10 finale was satisfying.  I gave CBS crap for their unnecessary clip show that aired on Sunday, but I have to give them big ups for the production of tonight's finale.  It was fast-paced, and contained a fair amount of entertaining moments.  They even threw the live feeders a bone or two by allowing Jerry, Ollie and Michelle to get their comeuppance over some of their poor behavior they displayed over the course of the season.  In the end, Big Brother 10 concluded just as it should have, with the best player taking home the $500,000. 

Cue the bright lights, the triumphant music, an extra helping of RoboChen emotion; the Big Brother 10 finale is here!  It's been a trek.  I think I've written about nine novels' worth of content on Big Brother this season, most of which has been shamelessly silly.  But, let's be honest, Big Brother, as a franchise, deals in abject silliness.  Big Brother, as much as it was originally touted as an Orwell-ian social experiment, is simply a purer and better produced version of Joe Reality Show, the likes of which poison VH-1 on a daily basis.  Big Brother has endured nearly a decade of tenuous life thanks to a preternaturally faithful audience.  W.y?  Big Brother attracts a special kind of person.  Do you know anyone who would want to be on Big Brother?  It requires an ego that doesn't quit, a type of confidence that should be studied by sociologists, and the results have been more interesting than they should be.  Big Brother 10 has been one of the better Big Brother seasons and that can be chalked up to the inexact science of casting.  Allison Grodner, as much as fans might like to hate on her, has the unenviable task of acting as a mad alchemist prior to every Big Brother season.  This season it more or less worked out, which is nice, because casting for this show is a crapshoot.  You don't always find a Dan or a Memphis.  W.o will win?  I'll be here all episode (starting at 9pm ET/6pm PT), monkeying around, flinging thought poo in the internet's general direction. 

The final day of Big Brother 10 is here.  How does it feel, fans?  One of the myriad ways reality TV is different than scripted TV is that reality finales are rarely the highlight of the season, while scripted season finales are typically a culmination of the entire season.  For reality television, the journey is more fun than the ultimate destination.  Tonight's Big Brother 10 finale will no doubt be entertaining (the jury questions alone are worth tuning in), but when it comes to who actually ends up winning the $500,000, I find myself rather indifferent.  Perhaps you are different, and currently find yourself on pins and needles as the jury's verdict hangs in the balance.  However, I'd wager that this is more the exception than the rule when it comes to Big Brother fans.

It goes without saying that making pre-season predictions for a reality show is a recipe for disaster.  The predictions will be incorrect, and looking back at the predictions after the fact will only make the futility of the exercise that much clearer.  But, friends, that is not the point.  The Big Brother 10: Arbitrary Pre-Season Predictions are for fun, a way to judge and label people with only the slightest amount of background information.  Totally fun, right?  Prior to the beginning of Big Brother 10, I predicted how far each houseguest would make it in the game.  I'm proud to say that my predictions were abysmal.  Putrid.  Horrifyingly bad.  Let's take a looksie: 

Jury votes tend to surprise.  Not always, but certain people can be loose cannons.  The Survivor juries are the ones that always baffle me.  When I think it'll be a landslide, it's close, when I think it'll be close, it's a landslide.  For Big Brother 10, I”m holding out hope that it will be a close vote.  For one, a lot of the jury members hate each other, and if they're open about who they might vote for, then the vote could be split fairly evenly.  I thought Jerry was full of crap when he said that he'd be the deciding vote, but after crunching the numbers, the old coot might be right.  Below you will find my Big Brother 10 jury vote predictions.  This is an inexact science, of course, but I wouldn't be surprised to get the votes 100% correct. 

If you have a forum to bitch and moan, you might as well use it, right?  Yesterday's episode of Big Brother 10 was a monumental waste of airspace, a glove-slap to the face of true Big Brother fans, and as pointless a late season episode of television as one could possibly imagine.  I thought we were past this, television.  The clip show revolution has come and gone, with the understanding that we, as viewers, have become too smart to go along with a “new” episode containing nearly zero original footage.  It's not just the content, either, it's the timing.  Are you telling me, CBS, that you couldn't have figured out a better way to fill the penultimate episode of your biggest summer series?  Why not forget the Sunday episode and go straight to the finale on Tuesday?  Why not time the season better so the finale occurs in the episode following the final eviction?  Would that be so hard?

The Great Big Brother Clip Show of 2008 is over and done, leaving the Big Brother fan collective completely and utterly indifferent.  There was very little in the way of new footage, and the new footage there was lacked any semblance of controversy.  Nor was it interesting.  If you've seen most episodes of Big Brother 10, tuning in to tonight's episode was probably a mistake.  I feel gypped.  In a perfect world, Les Moonves would have hired Joel McHale from The Soup to provide an hour-long Big Brother 10 version of The Soup.  How freaking entertaining would that have been?  Also – why can't I be a television executive?  So, if you have any interest in reading a recap of a television show that was essentially a recap in and of itself, proceed and prepare to have your mind blown, for I know not the perils of recapping a recap.  After I write this, a tear might open up in the space-time continuum (eat my dust, Large Hadron Collider). 

Guess what?  It's football season, and the Denver Broncos-San Diego Chargers game lasted nearly four hours, which means that Big Brother will be delayed for nearly an hour on this beautiful Sunday evening.  Given the weird and seemingly arbitrary zoning rules for the NFL, there may be some of you there on the east coast tonight who will get to watch Big Brother live tonight.  However, for all those who had the Broncos game on your CBS affiliate can expect Big Brother to get underway around 8:45ET.  Until then, hold on to your butts and ready yourselves for an AWESOME CLIP SHOW!!!  That's right - CBS is once again dipping into the 80's Sitcom Playbook and bestowing upon us a Big Brother highlight show. 

Memphis, the unsung mastermind of Big Brother 10.  Memphis, now on the precipice of victory, this close to $500,000, can look back on his time in the Big Brother house and be proud of what he did.  In a way, it's hard to separate Dan and Memphis when it comes to what they accomplished inside the Big Brother house.  They were a great compliment to one another.  In a way, Dan was the Bad Cop, Memphis the Good Cop (though, they traded these labels when it came to Keesha).  They hid their alliance for a long time, and Memphis was able to sit back and let Dan do much of the dirty work.  You might argue that Dan deserves to win because of this, but wasn't Memphis just being smart?  If you have a partner in crime willing to go through with all the risky moves, why do any of them yourself? If you don't piss anybody off, all the better for you if your plans fall apart.  Memphis did exactly what he had to do.  

Dan has received a lot of Will Kirby comparisons for his work on Big Brother 10.  They might be partly apt, but the differences between the two men are vast.  Will Kirby's whole game was about being overtly shameless, toying with his fellow houseguests after telling them he would toy with them.  Dan was far more under-handed, perhaps more clever, in how he went about manipulating those around him.  Will's whole persona was an act, while Dan kept his own persona, mostly, but spent a lot of time acting to sway the perspective of the houseguests.  Dan was the most active player on Big Brother 10 and, thanks in part to luck and a string of competition victories, it all worked out for the Catholic school teacher.  Why does he deserve to win $500,000?