Big Brother 11: The Twist is Boredom

I can’t stand the talent shows that often dominate the summer TV line up, so Big Brother is my favorite summer reality indulgence. In the past the show has produced some good seasons and some snooze fests. The show has the distinction of having the finest all star competition ever. Their throw every twist in the book attitude has resulted in disgust (brother and sister meet for first time on TV) and brilliance (America votes back in evicted house guests). This summer I was really looking forward to Big Brother 11 as I thought it would be the perfect companion to late night feedings and sleep deprivation. Turns out it’s more of a sleep aid as this season has turned out to be intensely boring.

On paper this year looked promising. Same BB house decked out to the max, a pregnant Chen-bot carrying some kind of robot/human hybrid, and a returning competitor from seasons past. The house and Chen-bot have held up their end but the returning house guest twist was rendered stupid the minute roid rage Jessie (BB10) came back to the game. Any of the other choices would have been better even Cowboy who seems to be channeling Droopy the Dog more than ever. The execution has also been lacking on the major twist of sending the game back to high school. While separating the contestants into high school cliques sounds good, the results have been predictable. The jocks have muscled the nerds into doing what they want. The populars are aloof and out of touch (and racist). The off-beats try to latch on to whoever will have them. A far better twist would have been to find people who fell into these cliques in high school but no longer appear that way on the outside and group them together without revealing the ties that bind until a later date. Of course that doesn’t work when you cast walking stereotypes and people fresh out of high school.

As for the guests themselves I’m completely underwhelmed. Ronnie would have been my favorite but he fell into the age old reality pitfall of overplaying his hand. While he’s surviving he’s clearly lost control of the game. Jessie is an idiot who annoys me at every turn but seems to have the game in hand. Lydia was somewhat intriguing until she slept with Jessie. Kevin is too quiet in his game play. Jeff and Jordan are too slow in the head. Chima, Natalie, and Michele are accessories that are just place holding. Russell still hasn’t convinced me that he’s not just a coat tail riding bully and Casey made a stupid move that’s going to get him evicted this week. Perhaps the only player that was really captivating was the one I wrote off at first glance. Laura, evicted last week, was smart, saw how the game was being played and how to play it. Unfortunately she realized it a smidgen to late and now we’ve got to rely on CBS and the Chen-bot to shake things up.

Another twist has been promised for Thursday but I ‘m guessing that will be the dissolution of the cliques. I think the damage has already been done though and the rest of the season will just be a slow coronation to Russell or Jessie taking home the prize.