Saturday, August 9, 2014

BB16: R.I.P. Big Brother

Networks and entertainment conglomerates have one goal - to make money. It's naive to think otherwise. For those of you who know me, know that I have been a vocal proponent of the idea that, though CBS and the producers of Big Brother have manipulated this show for ratings, they could not rig the outcome of competitions. Though competitions would suit certain people over others, they could not 100% predict who would actually win them. Rather, they would resort to Pandora's boxes and Coup d'Etats to influence the course of the game in favor of house guests that were fan favorites of that season.

Until this season.

This season, they've put in two fail-safe twists that would guarantee the producers' full ability to manipulate the outcome of this season. DR has been more strident in planting seeds but that's been always the case, caged under the excuse that they are "running scenarios" with the house guests. Team "America" and the "Battle" of the Block are the clinchers for CBS and Fly on the Wall Productions. With those, they can almost ensure that they control who will be the last 2 standing.




Team "America" is a twist that has been used to pull the wool over the viewers' eyes by camouflaging their Golden Goose and keeping him safe. How you ask? Start by throwing in the team an early favorite like Donny to toss up a smoke screen. Then cast someone who already has a following of his own coupled with his "famous" sister's following to ensure that he be on Team America. Finally, throw another person in there that the network thinks will become a fan favorite based on the success of another show Survivor - a cop. Give them "tasks" that will not jeopardize their games but will slaughter everyone else's.

These tasks are "voted on" by the public but since the voting process is not transparent, it just gives production another tool to manipulate the show. The major victims of this twist have been Amber and Zach. Amber was an easy target for TA. The house quickly turned against her as a result of Caleb's ridiculous and creepy obsession with her, but also as a result of the massive jealousy aimed at her by the idiot girls cast this season. Zach became a target because the Golden Goose decided he would be a perfect patsy because of Zach's unfettered reactions and his naive trust in Frankie.

This week's TA tasks were A- get a pawn nominated and voted out and B- get someone to start a fake side-alliance (like this season needs any more fake alliances.) I've I pointed out in my previous post that most people on social media were voting for B because they've seen the damage any other choice would do. Shockingly, not really, TA was given task A. Why not? The Golden Goose would be safe. So guess who Frankie suggests as a pawn? Yup. Zach.

Unfortunately for production, the house had a different target - Frankie. Oh no! They devise a plan that will guarantee Frankie staying on the block. Nominate someone who would volunteer to throw BoB. Zach volunteered at first, but Caleb quickly took his place, mounting his stallion of delusion to avenge "his girl". Having learned that Frankie was the diabolical mastermind of Amber's eviction, this hotheaded creepoid was on board to sabotage Frankie. Double oh no!

So now we come to the next tool, I mean twist - The "Battle" of the Block. This is the exact way that production can manipulate the outcome. It's easier to control the outcome if there are only 4 players competing. I don't think they've taken that option, until yesterday. Suddenly, there was a massive delay in the competition. So massive that it overlapped with BBAD. Miraculously, Zach and Donny lost that competition despite Caleb not participating and leaving Frankie to his own devices. Shockingly, this was a competition that better suited one player over a pair, as noted by host Derrick. Incredibly, there was a Slop Pass awarded (something bitchmodecowboy has been begging for) AND a trip to watch a football game. Instead of actively sabotaging Frankie, Caleb sat there and watched him win. Who "loves" Caleb now?

Add insult to rigging, Frankie decides that now is a good time to "reveal" his secrets that have "crippled" him in the game. He gathers Cody, Derrick, Zach and Caleb (Donny stumbles into this conversation) to tell them that he's a "social media mogul" with "millions" of followers on YouTube, and not only that, but that his sister is THE Ariana Grande, whose name only HE is allowed to utter. He tearfully explains that he was trying to protect his sister by keeping her secret (from a house full of people who will do what? TALK about her?) He throws in, for good measure, the morsel that he will be giving his winnings to a charity helping kids in countries he could not pronounce. And the cherry on this clusterfuck sundae, he explains that his game was thrown off because of his grandfather's passing. Add some fake tears and voila, Douche Funeral at its most pretentious.

When he tells the rest of the house, the girls' go all gaga and stupid. Caleb now wants to meet Justin Bieber (your "cowboy" papers are revoked). In his head, I'm sure are visions of him and Amber walking the red carpet with baby celebrities. Christine wonders if Frankie can help her husband's (yup, she finally remembered she was married) music career. Nicole starts bawling because she put a "famous person" and a charity mogul on the block, making "America" hate her which ironically they do now as a result of that ridiculous reaction.

Zach, Derrick, Cody and, surprisingly, Victoria are having none of this. The fact that this douche has access to so much money, he can afford to give it all to charity does not go unnoticed. The fact that none of them even have a chance at winning America's Favorite dawns on all of them. The fact that production orchestrated this win is blatant to all the super fans.

I don't like Frankie. He's an entitled, condescending fame whore whose sole purpose is to gain notoriety and followers. He plays to the cameras at all times with his transparent attempts to hog the spotlight, even in his grandfather's death. But let's forget about all that. I detest what Frankie represents - the prostitution of a show I have loved for 14 years (I exclude this and last season) all for the blatant sake of ratings. He represents the fact that CBS and its show cronies/employees have betrayed its longtime fans in order to bring in a clueless and vapid fan-base that could care less about the show.

Last night, Missyae dropped a little tidbit of information to me on Twitter. According to Jim Early who has his ear to behind-the-scenes happenings, Grodner and CBS are pushing for an F2 between Derrick and Frankie. Why Derrick? They both lost their grandfathers. Cue the emotional impact. Derrick, being the best player this season, represents the "good"; "Frankie", being production's Golden Goose, represents the "evil". Cue the "edge of your seat" drama. From a production standpoint, it's TV Gold. From a fan of the show, all the fun, excitement and reason for watching have been demolished, probably beyond repair.

Ride that shark bitches.