One Episode Closer to the End!

Which "Show" is the Real Show?

Every season, there's at least three versions of "Big Brother." There is, of course, the network show which pretty much every BB fan watches. Then there are the live feeds which are more like delayed feeds but they offer another perspective. Finally, there's the live feed updates which give a view of the house filtered by whoever is doing the reporting.

The network shows rarely parallel what is happening on the live feeds. Oh sure, there's the obvious story lines: the showmances, the alliances, and so forth but many times events are taken out of sequence and edited in a way that completely alters the original event.

Several weeks ago, when Matt was on the block against Monet, there was a house meeting. On the feeds, Matt talked circles around the others, but on televised show, it seemed like Matt was backed into a corner. Creative editing!

It is their prerogative but it does change the "reality" of the show. So where is all this leading?

Same Old, Same Old!

Every live show is the same. There's a recap of the previous few shows, followed by the in-house scrambling which leads to the "suspense" of: will the obvious evictee somehow pull off a miracle and stay in the house? Then the prearranged order of votes as Julie informs the viewers of their alliances, friendships and animosities. It makes for a good show if you merely watch the shows.

However, a good many fans are also feed viewers, or at least live feed update readers and are already aware of who's voting for whom. As a result, the live evictions offer little suspense.

All that being said, Ragan actually did make some compelling arguments to stay over Hayden. If Lane really listened, he would have heard and understood the underlying statements Ragan was making. He basically pointed out to Lane that, in his opinion, had done nothing to deserve the win and he would not vote for someone whose game play he did not respect. Lane should have heard that he was about to send a very disgruntled person to the jury. Ragan was also right that he is about the only person Lane stands a chance of winning against.

No surprise though, that Enzo and Brit voted Ragan out. The focus of the remaining four players is so narrow that it's not even registering with them yet that there will be only one winner. They will have to turn on each other, and they will have to look out for their own game. Brit is not facing an up hill battle to reach the final two. She needs to win the HOH or the POV to stay in the game!

Ragan's eviction speech could have been so much more. Instead, he chose to give a "what a great group of people" speech. He could have at least "outed" the "boys" in the house, even if they denied it to Brit, it might have really made her think about the pecking order a little more. Of course, Ragan did tell Brit about the alliance but Brit still thinks her relationship with Lane will save her. It's kind of like a "redoux" of season 5 when Diane was pretty sure Drew would take her to the final two.

Jury House: Where the Game is Still Being Played!

The real story during the live show was the jury house. The synopsis of their activities gave some insight into how these people view the game. The cameras rolled as Rachel is joined by Kathy, and then by Matt. The threesome watched the DVD and to the chagrin of Matt, Rachel of all people points out his arrogance at throwing the HOH. Matt took a moment to call Brit evil, but at the same time, forgot that he threw his best friend in the house under the bus on a few occasions.

Best part of the show, though, was when Matt revealed his lie about his wife's supposed debilitating disease. It's all in the approach. Since Matt wanted to come clean, it probably would have been better to be a bit more contrite when questioned. Kathy, of course, took it the hardest because of her battle with cancer. Matt's refusal to back down and simply admit he was wrong, and apologize without reservation made me question his reasoning for the lie.

A lot of people lie during reality show for a variety of reasons, most of them to get ahead. Both Ragan and Andrew misled their house mates about their true professions. Choosing to make your spouse the object of the lie is not necessarily new, just a variation. Johnny Fairplay theoretically killed off his grandma to further himself in "Survivor." Still, both Matt and his wife maintained and furthered the lie in the house.

So what was the big deal? Matt would have been better off waiting until the show ended before he actually revealed it was the lie. Or maybe he could have simply quit talking about it and let it dissipate before he revealed the truth. The problem is, and this is something for future contestants to consider, the lie actually worried his fellow Brigade members that he would win the sympathy vote.

In the long run, Matt's lie to turned out to be an unnecessary fabrication. He did not get him ahead and has presumably turned him into an outcast in the jury house. Matt's treading dangerously close to be the least liked member of the cast because of it.

Final Four HOH Comp?

Another non-skill comp for the HOH? If this season of BB makes history for any reason, it's going to be for the "simple" comps that have been held to determine the winner of the HOH. There were more "endurance" comps this year than previously, but decorating the Christmas tree takes the cake. Something similar was done last year for veto using eggs, but this competition was so frivolous.

Each house guest was given glass ornaments to manipulate up a mesh of chicken wire to a small cup to decorate their tree. Early in the game, Britney was breaking or dropping more bulbs than the other two players. Hayden was in the lead and appeared destined to win.

Whatever happened to questions that tested the players knowledge of the game? Or looking at photos of various comps and being asked questions about them? Why not make a variation of the "Before and After" comp using photos from the house? How about arranging the house guest photos in order by age or placement in the first HOH comp?

If the producers are tired of coming up with new ideas, ask viewers to send comp ideas to them via email. They also need to bring back the food comps where they play for various food items rather than the "Have Not" room that is a tired plot line two or three weeks into the season.

"Big Brother" definitely needs to hit the "refresh" button!