Dynamic Duos — The Twisted Twist!

Big Brother producers have outdone themselves in the twist department. So twisted is the twist that its got BB fans literally chasing their collective tails trying to determine what is fact and fiction.

The first sign that all was not as it should be in the world of Big Brother was the cast reveal on Thursday, which showed eight shiny new faces ready to push their way to reality super stardom (cough cough). Next, the never changing Julie Chen revealed the "twist" — which in the BB world is the equivalent of giving everyone the finger. Dynamic Duos from the past would be brought back to play the game.

Afterward, CBS unveiled the website with the option to "Vote on the Twist" giving BB fans the false sense that they were actually affecting the outcome.

If this were a challenge, the thousands of people who cast their votes in hope of choosing who was to go into the house would be on slop this week. It's nothing more than an opinion poll that does nothing more than monitors the opinions of those taking the poll. Nowhere on the website does it say, "Attention, your vote will be used to determine which past duos re-enter the house." Instead, it states, "Who do you THINK …" A vast difference.

As if to rub the fans faces in it, Allison Grodner, the producer of this debacle, tweeted that she was in the process of picking out the photos of the cast, assuring everyone that the cast had already been selected. and the votes were meaningless.

Fans began stalking the twitter accounts of the 12 potential candidates on the CBS website to determine where they were and what they were doing.

Red Herrings

Several people began to catch on that at least half the photos of duos were "red herrings" and would never re-enter the house.

Dr. Will and Mike "Boogie" - Seasons 2 and 7. They formed the alliance known as Chilltown during season 2 which resulted in a win for Dr. Will. That same alliance came back during the All Stars season and took on the house eliminating everyone until Mike "Boogie" finally reigned victorious. Would they re-enter the house for a third time? Hardly! Dr. Will is a popular television spokesperson and new father. Mike owns a restaurant and Big Brother is part of their pasts not futures.

Next red herring is the duo of Jessie and Natalie, Season 11. Jessie has become the perennial favorite of the show appearing seasons 10 and 11 with a cameo in 12; however, would Grodner reinsert him in the house for an unprecedented third time? No way. Especially not with the partner of Natalie who became one of the most hated runners up in the history of the show and not one which would create a ratings revolution. So are they likely to make a return visit? NO!

The final easily identifiable red herring duo is Hayden and Enzo. Why? Very simply, there is nothing dynamic about this duo. They were part of the larger group known as the Bragade, and together provided very little entertainment.

The Potentials

That brings us to the final three duos.

Jeff and Jordan are by far the sentimental favorite for return. Their appearance as a potential duo caught the BB world off guard and caused forums to do back flips at the possibility. Would they return? Quite possibly. In fact, if they don't return, the BB fandom is likely to lash out in a big way against the powers that be within Big Brother.

The other "power couple" is Brendon and Rachel. The fans are divided with some looking forward to the return of Rachel (not her laugh) but would prefer she arrived sans the once-shamed Brendon. I'm almost certain Brenchel would make a return.

Finally, there's season 8's super duo of Daniele Donato and her father Evel Dick. Assisted partly by Daniele's uncanny competitive skills and partly by America's Player, this team managed to make it to the final two. The pair entered the house nursing a long-standing feud only to reconcile before the season ended. Now, it's rumored the two are once again not speaking to one another.

Their appearance among the candidates is difficult to gauge. Red herring or realistic BB13 potentials? Both Donatos have confirmed they would love to play the game again, but the biggest question is, would they play again together?

Daniele especially has been elusive when discussing her father. Co-hosting a Real Player pre-show, Daniele has been asked more than once about the welfare of her father, and each time her reply is evasive suggesting the callers ask him themselves. Daniele is slated for one more appearance on the RP show "Rumor Control" and it seems that it's anyone's guess as to will she or won't she?

So the larger question is, would they re-enter the house as a duo? Tough call. Individually, yes without a doubt. Together? Who knows?

Not Sequestered?

Here's the even bigger question though? How did the returning duos manage to escape the dreaded week long sequester? All of them were happily posting pictures, appearing at events and generally going about their business earlier in the week when all the rest of the house guests were locked behind closed doors.

In fact, Daniele Donato's "Rumor Control" evaluated the various rooms in the house, an unprecedented glimpse into the house for a potential house guest.

Suddenly it seems that there's a potential that none of the duos on the website might actually appear. Maybe they are all red herrings. Why else would Grodner, a control freak, allow future house guests to run around unmonitored catching glimpses of the house and hearing rumors about the season?

Enter Grodner, who today confirmed that other duos not on the website would in fact be entering the house. So, are some on the CBS website returning or none. That is the question. There seems to be no easy answer.

Some or all have disappeared recently leaving behind twitter accounts with mysterious updates that have fans in a dither. Maybe the larger question is, how far will the producers go to keep their twist a secret?

Experience vs. Inexperience

In the weeks and months to come, it will either be considered extremely inspired casting or the worst debacle in the history of "Survivor."

Old vs. Young, or as I like to think of it, "Experience vs. Inexperience."

"Survivor" is the powerhouse of reality TV series. Other shows attempt to emulate it, but Mark Burnett's ability to periodically reinvent the show is what makes it among the most entertaining on television.

After 20 seasons, it was time for a change, and that change came in many forms. Lulled into a sense of pre-storm calm, the players arrived to meet Jeff in what they assumed would be their teams. On Jeff's go, they scattered in search of the game changing power. Working together with who they assumed were teammates, the power was quickly found and returned to Jeff, who in turn dropped the bombshell. The teams were split by age with more than a 10 year gap between the oldest of the young and the youngest of the old.

The disappointment of the older team was apparent. The younger group celebrated as they looked across at the older team they expected to roll through on their way to the merge.

As the teams made their way to the camp, personalities started to emerge, jealousies and other emotions were evident. On the older tribe, Jimmy Johnson, former NFL coach and present day commentator, made a splash but was not nearly the welcome character I assumed he would be. Jimmy T. and Marty took immediate offense at his presence, and began plotting his demise.

On the younger team, Jud, nicknamed Fabio, provided some much needed comic relief; however, his teammates were not as amused. Kelly B. has an artificial leg which her teammates reveal is a reason to get rid of her early on — not because of her physical disadvantage but because she's a threat later in the game based on pity. NaOnka is the most confrontational, taking on pretty much everyone in camp.

A benefit of having Jimmy Johnson on your team is that he's accustomed to motivating teams. He maintained that he would not be a threat at the end game, but I kind of think he would be if he made it to the end. His speech to his fellow teammates was awesome!

The older team blew the first Immunity/Reward Challenge by choosing not to use their power, but they may not have been able to sustain in the puzzle phase either.

Back at camp, Jimmy J. uses an interesting strategy while discussing who should be eliminated. The weakest team member should go: either Wendy or himself. What? Jimmy J. being among the weakest? He is the oldest, and he was the sickest, but weakest? His words.

During Tribal Council, the seemingly quiet Wendy took the opportunity to speak out and seal her own fate by talking too much. She also turned her husband's words about being the first voted out into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

This season has potential to be among the most interesting based on the first impressions of the personalities in the tribe.

And the Winner Is ..

Color me surprised that the final segment of the HOH competition went to a tie-breaker!

Frankly, I was sure that Hayden would blow Lane out of the water during this comp, and was kind of surprised that he did not. I also think that the tie-breaker question was ridiculously stupid and lacked imagination on the part of the producers and the show's creative team. Keep the questions coming until one of them misses.

Was it really that hard to come up with question ideas for the jury? How about asking Britney what was more annoying: the pranks of the saboteur or Brendon falling for Rachel? Or, Ragan's second round could have been his most disappointing moment in the house: his eviction or Matt throwing him under the bus?

Come on, time to switch things up and make the show interesting again.

It was no surprise that Hayden chose to face Lane in the final two, but it was a bit surprising to learn that the jury was fairly evenly split. To be honest, though, Brendon's rationale about the social game kind of smacked of sour grapes. Maybe he was still bitter that Hayden had a hand in evicting him.

In the Hands of the Jury ...

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The jury house once again stole the show as Britney made her entrance wearing her "Bra-Gade" shirt. I mentally noted the spelling and wondered if Enzo truly meant his "history-making alliance" to have a meaningless misspelled name. Brigade, now that I understand, Bragade, not so much.

Poor Ragan was shocked again that Matt lied to him about the "boy alliance." Heads-up Ragan, Matt took lying to an art form in the BB house, complete with his gender re-identification for his "showmance." Why do you think he would have told you about the Brigade?

During the jury discussion, Britney lectured the rest of the house guests about why each one deserved the vote. It really seemed like her opinion was the only opinion that counted, and maybe it was because she considered herself the "uber fan" and BB goddess.

But really, two others made a lot of sense. First, Rachel was right that the Brigade did not control the entire game. Hayden was manipulated to put Annie up first week and keep Rachel, which was a dumb game move. Annie was essentially a non-player at that point. Rachel's HOH ended with the nomination of Monet and Matt but it was hardly a game changing move to save Matt that week when no one really cared whether Monet stayed or left. And so on ...

The second person who made sense during the deliberation was Ragan. Yes, the game is a social one, but one must also consider the competitive skills as well. To base a vote purely on the social game is ludicrous!

Enzo's Strategy!

But back to the house, where Enzo intended to "brainwash" his alliance members into taking him to the finals. It was a given that Lane would take Enzo to the final two, but Hayden was less pliable. Enzo did have a great social game but his competitive skills were lacking. Still, his ability to talk would be an asset in the final two.

The problem with Enzo is that he relied on his alliance to win. Time and again, he was first one out. His fate was definitely in his own hands during the final HOH, and he should have clung to that rope like a monkey. Instead, he dropped after only 19 minutes. Competitions were his achilles heel, or was it his strategy? Did he hope to get to the end of the game and say, "Yo, none of yous are there cuz I put you out. I loved you all and by the way, I started this alliance day two. Day two. Amazing"?

Jury Question Turn into a Formality!

The jurors questions were lame, and I think they need to return to the old format that was blocked from viewers and did not include canned questions. Lane's answers lacked any defining quality and in the end, no one, not even Lane, knew for sure what he had said.

Hayden did a pretty good job campaigning in the end, but he had a bit of a problem with his math. He did not win three back-to-back HOH comps, but only two as the final HOH included three separate parts, but is only credited as a single win. Altogether, Hayden won four HOH comps and a pov, and conveniently avoided crediting Lane with his part 2 win. If he's going to count his as two separate HOH wins, he should have at least credited Lane with his win.

Sour Grapes for the Jury!

Little surprise that the jury had a bit of bitterness. I would guess it's not a pleasant task to award a half-million dollars to someone whose game you might not have respected. Matt, however, was surprising laid back and seemed as if he had gotten his meds and was feeling no pain! He was casual and funny, and even managed to put Hayden on the spot a bit about his loyalty.

In contrast, Monet came across as brittle and unbending. What's up with that? Did she really think her game would allow her to make it to the end? She should be happy she won $10,000 for her two week stint! I thought it a bit tacky to include her Rachel comments in her flashback. Not a fan of Rachel, but imagine seeing those clips of Monet bashing her and calling her a skank during the finale. Then, the followup by Julie made me embarrassed for Rachel, and feel a little sorry for her. "I don't think I'm a skank. ..."

Another embarrassing moment was during Kristen's segment. The jury was shocked at Kristen and Hayden's relationship, and it seemed like even Hayden squirmed a bit. Julie followed up with a question about Kristen's bf before the show, and Kristen basically regressed into "Dating Game" mode to sell herself to a seemingly under-impressed Hayden who said he might take her out to pizza.

It's understandable on Hayden's part that he might be a bit leary of a relationship that escalated in four weeks. He might also have been forward thinking enough to consider the implications of being too enthusiastic in the face of what he considered a certain win.

The saboteur had to be mentioned of course, and of course, they had to replay Ragan's one and only in-house task. I can imagine what Rachel must have thought since she only took home $5,000!

But the stunner of the night was Britney who shook her head in disgust at Rachel's declaration about moving to LA to be close to Brendon. Britney labors under the delusion that her opinion is the only one that counts, and it's time she realizes that, while Brendon and Rachel may not be her cup of tea, her opinion doesn't count. I liked Britney better before she became so full of herself.

Hayden Wins By a Hair!

Counting the votes provided just a bit of tension as it came down to a three-three tie, and Enzo casting the deciding vote. Fitting perhaps, that Enzo cast the vote and based his decision on who needed a haircut and who needed a shave. Congratulations, Hayden! Who knew your hair would be the deciding factor?

Hayden for the Win!

The "Big Brother" finale is just hours away, and if everything goes as it should, Hayden will walk out as the winner of BB12.

But things rarely goes as they should ... at least not in the Big Brother house.

Of the three remaining house guests, Hayden deserves to win. He took home three HOHs, a POV, and played a great social game. And that's what it's all about! A great social game.

But for Hayden to win the season, he needs to complete the task, which is to win the final part of the HOH competition. He needs to control his own destiny because if Lane wins, he will probably not take Hayden to the end with him. Why would he? It would be stupid strategy to take someone like Hayden to final two when he knows that Hayden is both well liked by the jury, and is considered a competitor as well. Who would take an obvious double whammy to the final two?

If Lane wins, he will most likely take Enzo to the final two where at least he would have a better shot at winning the $500,000 prize. What Lane does not realize is that he is probably playing for second place no matter what! The vote breakdown of a Lane/Enzo finish might look something like this: Rachel - Enzo, Kathy - Enzo, Matt - ?, Brendon - Enzo, Ragan - Enzo, Britney - Lane, Hayden - Enzo.

The only vote that is in question is Matt's simply because he might view Enzo as the reason he left the game early. Some of the votes depend on how much credit Enzo takes for the Brigade (which will be a lot, knowing Enzo). Rachel and Brendon will appreciate his game play. Hayden will probably be too upset over his eviction to vote for Lane, and Kathy will probably give it to Enzo because of his underdog qualities.

On the other hand, if Hayden pulls out a win, which he should but who knows, he will more than likely take Lane to the end of the game with him. Why? Because Lane is such an easy target. No wife or family, no competitive drive in the game, and his family is wealthy. Add them up, and Lane is the best patsy of the group no matter who he sits beside.

But so much hinges on the final HOH. If ... Hayden does not win, then game over for him.

There's a growing sentiment that Hayden does not deserve to win. Maybe there's a feeling that he does not deserve to win since he's not a longtime fan of the show. Whatever! Bottom line is Hayden did play an outstanding game and does deserve it. Hope the producers see it the same way!

Bring On the Jury!

The best part of the recent "Big Brother" live shows is not the live evictions or the competitions, it's the jury house!

Arts and Crafts, Pajamas and Competitors!

The jury house segment opens with Brendon, Rachel, Kathy and Matt painting. Painting? Yes, the four are doing some sort of arts and crafts project. Now obviously, the camera crew was on hand, and they must have know they were filming for the show, but Matt is sitting in his pajamas. Really, his pajamas? Is he that depressed?

The four discuss who might be entering the house next and think it will be one of the competitors left in the house. For reasons, I can't fathom, Kathy immediately deduces that Ragan will be next if they are going after competitors. Ragan, a competitor, really?

Moments later, Ragan enters the house with his exclamation that another showmance has entered the house. Showmance? Really? Okay, so the jury house lacks some sense of reality but it is fun to watch the interaction of these former players.

First up on the agenda, the DVD which Ragan introduces with a flourish. The jury members take some satisfaction in the fact that Ragan's CD bounces off OTEV and hits Enzo in the head. During the eviction section, Ragan announces how difficult it is to watch. Pretty typical stuff.

The Lie or the Truth ...

Until ... Matt asks for a word alone with Ragan. The other house guests caution Ragan to bring his drink and then proceed to spy on the pair who have moved to the patio. Cutting directly to the chase, Matt informs Ragan of his lie about his wife's illness. Now, you would think that Matt would be smart enough to have learned from his previous exposure of his lie that he needs to proceed more delicately.

Ragan digests the information and then asks to be left alone. It's hard to say why the reaction of the jury members has been so bitter. Maybe it's because he's openly admitting to a lie when everyone else is still covering their tracks. Maybe it's Matt's approach to revealing his lie? Maybe it's the fact that Matt involved his wife in a ploy to gain sympathy. I understand Kathy's reaction because she's recovering from breast cancer albeit she continues to smoke but whatever. I also understand Ragan's reaction because he felt he was Matt's bff. But I still don't understand why Brendon and Rachel are so bent.

The only possible explanation is that Rachel just enjoys the fact that she can be upset with Matt for something other than her eviction. As for Brendon, his explanation that he's going into the medical field is lame. He's likely just siding with Rachel.

The problem I have with Matt's lie is that it was totally unnecessary. If he wanted to make up a story, he could have done so with his own life but he effectively set himself up to take the title of "Most Hated Player of BB12".

But back to Ragan, who has been joined by the other members of the jury, and Matt. Ragan decides to reveal his lie that he is actually a communication professor. Within minutes, the conversation descends into an another Rachel/Ragan confrontation. Ragan accuses Rachel of being at the heart of every argument in the house which is only partially true. That, of course, causes Rachel to react. Since he's a communication professor, I can't help but wonder why Ragan insists on pushing Rachel's buttons. Best line of the night belongs to Ragan when he calmly tells Rachel that the two of them do not share a common reality!

All this being said, Matt's lie has got me thinking about whether or not he really wanted to reveal it or if he bowed to pressure from the producers to expose it. My feelings are that Matt likely was pressured to reveal it because he does not seem like the kind of guy who is too interested in his fellow house guests getting to know the "real Matt." Of course, it was bound to create some drama for the weekly shows which is a commodity seriously lacking this season.

Personally, I would rather have a choice of watching the live feeds in the house or in the jury house. As the numbers in the house dwindle, the jury house has got to be a more exciting place, and feed viewers should be given the option.

Whatever Happened to Real Endurance?

The recap of the first round of the HOH lacked the drama that usually accompanies this round of the competition. After a mere 19 minutes of swinging back and forth, Enzo is the first out. Shocked? Not really. He's hardly shown any competitive skills. Maybe it was surprising that he lasted 19 minutes?

Probably the most significant thing to come out of this competition was the fact that none of the Brigade trusts each other. Hayden looks at Lane. Lane looks at Hayden, and both decide that neither can be trusted.

As they ride back and forth under the cold water, Hayden and Lane begin to wonder where Enzo has disappeared. Turns out, Enzo is in the kitchen making soup and pizza because he "deserves it." Deserves it? Ummm .... okay. Enzo then proceeds outside to eat in front of his freezing alliance members. Great move if you are hoping to make it to the final two.

Lane's leg is numb but he's a football player who can block out pain. He says something stupid about his testicles during his diary room but assures that he's going to push through the pain. Meanwhile, my money's on Hayden, who is a football player himself, but has shown more intestinal fortitude than his Brigade partner.

Finally, after a little more than two hours, Lane drops leaving Hayden the winner of round one. Hayden calls it luck but in truth, he showed more personal strength than either Lane or Enzo. Lane, for his part, recognizes that falling off after two hours is really no different than falling off after 19 minutes.

Morph as HOH Comp?

The second part of the HOH competition features a morph competition which has traditionally been a veto comp. The unfortunate thing about this comp is that it was so easy most of the portraits were identifiable as soon as they were revealed. Lane, though, had the best strategy as he revealed all the portraits at the start of the competition. He correctly identified all five morphs in just 1:13. Enzo took the stage and spent a lot of time talking to himself managing to guess all five correct but in a longer amount of time.

Tuesday's show will include the face-off between Hayden and Lane, the final eviction, and the jury questions. Once again, the finale will be a two hour show which is an improvement over the one hour finales which always seemed rushed. In addition to the winner, the $25,000 prize is up for grabs. My vote is a little up in the air, but I think Brendon might be the deserving player this year.

Three Stooges Make the Final Three!

After more than two months, the "Brigade" finally outed themselves, and the fallout could be rather interesting as Britney heads to the jury house.

It's Time for the POV!

Once again this season, "Big Brother" hosted an all-to-easy POV comp with cards that featured the faces of two players. Their task was to match the right card with the two clues. Whatever happened to difficult competitions like they used to have during the final four? One season featured a competition of choosing the right house guest photo to match a clue. The photo also included a number which was used to determine the total number of seconds they had been in the house! Now that was a competition!

The two-faced cards were dead give-away clues to the right answers. Who wore a wiener suit? Ummm... that's pretty tough. At that point they only had to place all of the photos with Andrew in them in a pile and then narrow down the other clue.


I fully expected Britney to pull out the win on this one simply because of her constant bragging on the feeds about how much she knew about BB. Instead, Hayden took the victory. No surprise that Enzo and Lane failed to even make a good showing in this comp.

It does seem that the producers have been angling for a Brigade win for some time now with their choices of competitions that have required less and less skill.

"Bra-Gade" Revealed

As a result of Hayden's win, Enzo decided to "out" the alliance to her. He's been wanting to do it for awhile because he wanted the credit for forming what he considers to be the best alliance in BB history. For obvious reasons, Lane did not want the alliance disclosed and Hayden was a bit more non-committal but leave it to Enzo to get the ball rolling. While sitting with Lane and Britney in the HOH room, Enzo began by discussing alliances in the house and whether or not he was in one. In a half-teasing way, he narrowed his alliance to Lane, Hayden and Matt.

Initially, Brit's reaction was calm and she hardly reacted to the news. In fairness, it should not have been a huge surprise to her because Ragan figured it out weeks before, as did Kristen. The fact that she managed to stay in the house until the final four, and considering that she viewed herself as one of the shrewdest players in the history of the game, Britney should have been aware of the undercurrents between the three remaining men.

Once Hayden arrived, the discussion took a downward spiral. Hayden seemed disappointed that Enzo and Lane took it upon themselves to tell Brit without him present. As for Brit, the lights finally came on and she realized as Hayden told her he did not plan to use the veto, that she was, in fact, going home.

Eleven previous times, someone has gotten as far as the final four and realized that their game was over. It's a sucky position but again, did Brit really think she had broken the "boy code" in the house? Brit's reaction was predictable dissolving into a fit of tears and complaining that her entire summer was wasted. Unfortunately, the summer is wasted from about the fifth person through the 11th person evicted.

Personally, I think Britney enjoyed the fact that she was the last woman standing. It was kind of a point of honor with her. Had Enzo won HOH instead of Lane, she would probably have left before Ragan, so at least she had another week.

Enzo, who prides himself in taking over the role of the "Brains" of the "Brigade" may have altered the final outcome based on the spin Brit puts on it when she reveals it to the jury. Will the jury feel it was great game play? Or will they feel betrayed and vote personal? Really hard to predict with this group.

Enter Dumb and Dumber!

"Big Brother" is one of the few shows that can get by with airing footage totally random and out of sequence. The entire point of airing these clips is to provide insight into the "characters." So, the viewers are transitioned to the back yard where Lane is seen attempting to light the grill. Britney mistakenly assumed that the clicking of the ignition switch is allowing more gas into the grill; however, Lane had already taken care of the gas situation by turning the burners on.

After several failed attempts, Dumb is joined by Dumber and the two put their heads together to figure out why the grill won't light. Lane adjusts the burners and closes the lid presumably to keep the wind from hitting the flame. Closes the lid? Dumb move! The gas builds up under the hood and a mini-explosion follows the lighting of the grill. Lane exclaims that the fire singed the front of his pants, ignoring the fact that a little more force would have probably assured the no "little Lanes" would grace the future.

The message to viewers: These boys are not the sharpest tools in the shed!

Psuedo Live Eviction

In a turn of events, the POV was held during the fake live show. Lane and Britney give their speeches and both gush about the great experience and getting to know everyone. Each gives a shout out to their families (not sure, but I think this is the first year they have been able to give shout outs). Predictably, Hayden chooses not to use the use the veto, and Enzo votes to evict Britney, adding what a great girl she is.


No surprise that Britney did some Rachel bashing during her interview with Julie. She also said she forgave the Brigade and even deemed it great game play. It's probably hard to admit that you were played by this threesome, but to call it great game play?

As Britney left, the three remaining embarked on the final HOH. Unless they were sitting on replicas of their keys, this competition was a departure from past final three comps where the key factored into the challenge. Instead, the guys sat on swings which swung between two walls causing them to hit both walls. It was a variation of a season 10 comp when Dan won his first HOH.

As the show ended, the three were careening across the back yard. Would this be the first true endurance competition with all the house guests putting in their greatest effort? Or, would they fall in a pre-determined order?

Best Alliance in the History of Big Brother?

I can't remember another season of "Big Brother" where the players talked more about their greatness — individually or in alliances — than BB12.

What's up with these people? Enzo has gone on and on about the Brigade, and its greatness in relation to alliances from other seasons.

Past Season Alliance Standouts!

I know a lot of people might say that season two's Chilltown alliance was great, but only Will made it far in the game. Boogie and Shannon were eliminated early, and their inclusion on the jury helped to solidify his win. During All Stars, the most consistent rumor was that Will only agreed to do the show if his friend and business partner, Boogie, was included. During that season, Will openly dared people to vote him out which effectively took the fun out of voting him out. Eventually, he made it to final four and Boogie went on to win, so kudos to the maturation of that alliance.

Looking back, there have been some really great alliances. Any true fan of the show will tell you that one of the best alliances in the early years was Jason and Danielle during season three. No one even suspected they were working together, which made their alliance so effective. Together, they made it all the way to the final three.

Season four saw a number of alliances including Jun and her ex, Jee. She used him to navigate her way to the end of the game and $500,000.

The "Four Horseman" rode into season five and was effectively taken down by Nakomis and her six finger plan. Jase and Scott both fell victim to better game play, but Cowboy and Drew survived to the final two, with Drew the eventual winner.

Season six gave us the "Nerd Herd" which was hardly among the most liked alliance in the history of the game but it was one that sustained to the very end to crown Maggie as the winner. Both final two players were members of the "Nerd Herd."

"Team Christ" lead the pack in Season 9. Natalie, Ryan, Shelia and Adam survived far into the game, until they, like the Brigade, cannibalized their own team. Still, the final three was Ryan, Shelia and Adam.

Who can forget the "Renegades," Dan and Memphis, from season 10? Dan has been hailed as one of the best players and on par Dr. Will, who some believe is the best player of all time.

Best Alliance in the History of BB!

In my opinion, however, the best alliance in the history of the game, was between father/daughter team, Dick and Daniele during season 8. A day one alliance, the pair was openly targeted from early in the game. Together, they made three appearances on the block, each time winning when they needed to remove one or the other. Daniele earned five POVs and two HOHs, while Dick won three HOHs and one POV.

To date, Daniele is tied with Janelle for the most POVs in a single season. Great accomplishment. The pair dominated their season!

Get Their Heads Out of the Clouds!

Enzo, of course, labors under the delusion that the "Brigade" is the best alliance in the history of the game. Julie Chen seems to be feeding that theory with her words about Brigade having a hand in every departure. More like having a vote and going with the house. They stayed under the radar because of their poor competitive skills, and it was not until the field was considerably narrowed that they began to win consistently.

To make matters worse, the three assume that BB is going to bring them instant fame, but if the past is any indication, they will likely return to their previous lives soon after the show ends. True, Jeff and Jordan attained some continued fame with their appearance on "The Amazing Race" but for the most part turning BB into a larger gig takes a lot of work.

There is also an assumption that the three of them will be asked to return for All Stars, but as things stand, I think the only member of the Brigade likely to return for AS will be Hayden.

I really have to wonder what past house guests feel about the ego of these players!