Julie Chen's Blog

Subject: Julie Chen's Blog Fri Jul 17, 2009 1:30 pm

Julie Chen blogs 'Big Brother': Season 11's first elimination
Jul 17, 2009, 01:42 AM | by Julie Chen

I can't believe we are in our 11th season and 10th year! Over the years, Big Brother has almost become synonymous with summer at CBS. We have a saying now: "If it's summer...it's Big Brother!" It has become like a familiar friend you look forward to seeing every summer. A guilty pleasure where you're allowed to love, hate, and judge total strangers being real and human. I think we all see a bit of either ourselves or people we know (love ‘em or hate ‘em!) in all of the Houseguests.

EW asked if I would start my weekly Big Brother blog with an overview of random topics encompassing my perspective on many things Big Brother. So, here goes…

But first (wink), let’s talk about the elephant in the EW blog room…The Chenbot! I was horrified when my best friend from college first told me about my Big Brother nickname. But, there was a side of me that kind of also got it right away. When I played dumb and asked her to explain it...it was exactly what I expected to hear. Then I was kind of embarrassed and yet unsure how to feel or react. (Chenbot was hurt...does this mean the Chenbot has emotions!?!?!). But, when I told my agent to get some sympathy, he made a funny remark in a robot-like voice and said something like...”Oh-yeah-you-did-not-know?” And he e-mailed me a link where someone edited together all my "But firsts…" (You know who you are, Ben Mandelker!) from the live shows and I laughed my head off. I WAS the Chenbot. Each delivery was EXACTLY the same -- different hairdos, different outfits...same damn robotic delivery with precision and zero emotion. That's when I said to myself, "Can I blame em? I AM the Chenbot!" The Beatles' lyrics of "I am the Walrus" went through my head but I substituted in Chenbot.

Folks have also expressed interest in my wardrobe. For Big Brother, I try for something more "primetime" looking...and not so business suit-like... which is what I tend to wear in the mornings for “The Early Show.” Big Brother is my chance to wear some sleeveless things since it's summer time and a primetime show. I also try to have fun with some more glamorous outfits...and things that are fashion-forward. Hosting while pregnant has been fine so far but, with the season coinciding with my last trimester, finding the right clothes has been a challenge. I’m due October 4 (which is about 2 weeks after our finale). I have a beautiful tent dress ready for that show! I'm not trying to hide it. I told Allison Grodner (one of the EP’s) and the director, Jim Tanker, that I am more than fine with them shooting the show the same way they always have been, which has plenty of wide and full body shots, and it's up to them if they want to make any changes.

I’m often asked how I stay informed of the Houseguests and the events in the BB House. Well, thanks to our handy, dandy daily show hightlights, watching ALL the shows (which I LOVE), watching Big Brother After Dark on Showtime Too when I can (although, I probably should be sleeping) and talking to the producers in our weekly script meetings, I really try to make the effort. The show hightlights are really key, though. They are daily logs of what is going on in the house. One person each summer is designated to watch the Houseguests and log all the highlights of what's currently happening. These are my Big Brother cliff notes that hit all the major points and events. I’m usually on a plane every three or four days during the summer to do both jobs (Big Brother and The Early Show), so that’s perfect catch-up time. But, now with the pregnancy, I've had to slow it down and will have to stop traveling completely sometime in August due to doctor's orders!

What do you think of the new twist? Personally, I’m a huge fan of it because that's what Big Brother always boils down to in the end...behaving like you did in high school. There are cliques, there are fights, there are romances, and there is often betrayal. Big Brother tests how mature or immature some of us can be...it's not always pretty, but it's pretty fun to watch.

Which brings us to Jessie from Season 10 and the fact that he’s back. This has certainly caused quite a stir both inside and outside the house…and I love that! A lot of people have e-mailed or commented to me saying "Oh no, Jessie's back?!?!?" To me, that's a great response because it shows he was memorable and interesting to watch. If people said "Who's back??? I don't remember him/her…" -- that would be disastrous. The most interesting people to watch are the ones who are not beloved by all. People have also asked about the reactions of the former Houseguests who were vying to get back in the BB House. During last week’s premiere, we also brought back Brian from Season 10, Jessica from Season 8 and Cowboy from Season 5. As we now know, Jessie made it back in the house (and turned red with excitement when he realized he was going back in... I thought his muscles were going to explode). Cowboy seemed pretty sad that he didn't get his chance at redemption...I felt bad for him. Especially since he made it to the final two but didn't win BB 5. Brian and Jessica seemed to take it well and were good sports.

So, last night was our first live eviction and Braden was sent packing. Despite all the drama in the house, he did make an impressive effort to turn things around and almost pulled it off. But, Ronnie’s last minute flip back to his original alliance with the Athletes created a tie vote which resulted in Jessie, the current HOH, making the final decision. Each week, we usually decide by committee what topics to discuss with each evictee. It's usually the same questions people are asking at home of the Houseguests...like "What made you do this...and what made you do that????" And, "What were you thinking???" But we have to be careful, if they are jury members, not to give anything away that they shouldn't be privy to. This season, I asked my executive producers to please tell the Houseguests that I am expecting so they’re not surprised when they get evicted and see my big belly. They typically only see my head and shoulders on their monitor in the living room when I speak to them. I didn't want the evicted Houseguests to come out of the BB House and be caught off guard and make my pregnancy a talking point...like "What???" Or, "Congratulations!!!" I want the live shows to stay focused on them and their experience in the house.

A few thoughts on some of this season’s Big Brother Houseguests…but first...I don't think there have been this many fights and outbursts so early in our BB history! Yikes! Russell vs. Jeff. Natalie vs. Jeff. Braden vs. Kevin. Jordan vs. Lydia. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few. So far, I think Lydia is playing it well...almost too well there for awhile, in that people were catching on that she is a serious threat. She needed to be a little disruptive...just enough so people could start to see her as having flaws and not as a threat...and, she certainly delivered after being saved by Russell at the POV Ceremony. (Side note: How gross was the POV Competition, “Pop Goes The Veto” – gotta hand it to production…ICK!). She obviously took a page from Evil Dick's gameplay book or Will from Chilltown. Give ‘em just a little of herself to hate on and she'll be safer. (Although, I’m not sure she planned her outburst. There seemed to be a lot of genuine emotion behind it and Jordan didn’t know what hit her!) Casey is playing it well, too, although a lot of the other Houseguests commented early on that he came on a bit strong trying to play the “Don’t vote off the old guy!” card. He’s 41, for Pete’s sake…hardly about to claim senior citizen status! But, he finally got away from that and is playing it right and saving the juicy comments for the Diary Room instead of his housemates' faces. Then again, this season is changing by the hour, so who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow?! Who are your favorites? Who’s proving the most shocking and unexpected?

So, that’s it for my first ever Big Brother blog. Looking forward to reading your thoughts. (Who knows -- could end up being another useful means to keep current with the Houseguests and events this season!) Leave questions on the comment boards and I’ll do my best to answer what I can each week!

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Subject: Re: Julie Chen's Blog Fri Jul 24, 2009 1:24 pm

Julie Chen blogs 'Big Brother': Season 11, Elimination #2
Jul 24, 2009, 08:46 AM | by Julie Chen

WOW! I don’t know about you, but I have mental whiplash trying to keep up with all of this week’s events in the Big Brother house. I thought about a monster recap, but so many websites already do that (thank you, BB viewers and fans!), so I’ll go in a different direction. More observations and some recaps, but I'm also including actual quotes said by the Houseguests over the past week...example:

CHIMA on RELATIONSHIPS: "Never leave a relationship without a handbag."

What can I say...that statement is so off the charts that it made me laugh. Okay, overall, let’s face it...the clock was ticking on the amount of time it was going to take for Ronnie’s House of Cards to fall apart.

It was nice to see Big Brother 10 winner, Dan, back again to host the “Have/Have Not” Competition. I’m told he’s still living in Michigan and has been very responsible with his winnings. He’s looking at possible real estate opportunities, hoping to support their local economy...good for him! Regarding the competition, when Casey and Chima won the opportunity to screen the upcoming feature film, “The Ugly Truth,” I think the baby kicked when I saw all those sweets and could only imagine the sugar high those two must have been on! Personally, I haven't had any unusual cravings during my current pregnancy, but I think that's because I've always had a healthy appetite, and now is no different. Seeing those sweets, however, DID make me want a jumbo pack of red Twizzlers and a giant box of Milk Duds with an ice cold glass of skim milk.

Ronnie certainly laid the majority of his cards down after nominating Laura and Jeff for eviction. But, it didn’t take long for two members of Ronnie’s current alliance, Lydia and Russell, to have their own screaming match, which then caused some to petition to backdoor Russell. (PING!) But, Natalie and Jessie appealed to Ronnie and Casey became the new replacement target (PONG!) That is, until Jordan jumped in and went after Ronnie for playing both sides of the house. Ronnie considered her “dead to me,” and decided she’d be the replacement nomination, if necessary (PING!). Just before the Veto Competition, Ronnie’s back to being excited about back-dooring Russell (PONG!). Meantime, after it’s determined who will play for the POV, Jessie, Natalie, and Jeff (yes, you read that right!) briefly met in the red room where they reached an understanding that Casey and Laura must not win...HUH? Jeff was conspiring with Jessie and Natalie? I guess it makes sense since they are still the Athletes’ Clique, but that was unexpected, to say the least! Anyhow, Jeff won and took himself off the block. Despite Ronnie’s desire to backdoor Russell, he apparently hadn’t gotten over the blowout with Jordan, so she ended up on the block (PING!).

JEFF to JORDAN: “I’m trying to carry you. You are getting heavy.”

JORDAN on RONNIE: “He is a rat.”

JORDAN on naming the Great Lakes: “Is there a bay or something?”

It’s hardly far from over, but, first...for those who are wondering about Lydia’s sudden change of appearance (no makeup and sports shorts/T-shirts)...she lost a bet with Natalie after a game of pool and had to dress in Natalie’s clothes and go without make-up for a day or so. Lydia, a professional makeup artist, was unhappy about it, to say the least! This, too, did not go without its own drama. Natalie was upset that the other girls were in her face about not being “girlie” enough, which caused certain tension amongst themselves.

LYDIA: “C’mon, Shrimpy Shrimp, we’re gonna get you in skirts and heels by the end of this!”

NATALIE: “Uh...no.”

Back to the game, the biggest blowout came when Russell and Laura confronted Ronnie for being a liar. After another dizzying round of confrontations, a light bulb went off within the entire house and everyone finally realized the extent of Ronnie’s lies. All of a sudden, the Houseguests, sans Ronnie, became sunshine and smiles when they realized that Ronnie was the source of all their problems (PONG!)...everything from misunderstandings, shortage of food, clogged toilets and the brief power outage in the house...it’s all Ronnie’s fault!!

Ronnie then spent the better part of two days barricaded in his palatial HOH room...alone (well, unless he had to come out to go to the Diary Room and Russell was there to follow him around as he berated him until Ronnie could once again hide behind closed doors...but was that just an act? (Lydia’s the first to think so!!!).

Oh, then there’s Jessie, who snuck up to Ronnie’s HOH room at one point and told him to lay low...they have his back...but, do they??? (PING!)

CASEY on RONNIE: “I’m a hustler and he hustled me.”

MICHELE: “I’m seriously scared for my sanity. I have no idea what’s real anymore.”

As the hours unfold, Ronnie’s clearly The Plague of the BB House. Or is he??? Some of the Houseguests have begun to lick the wounds inflicted by the master gamer, Ronnie, and have started to rethink their strategy (PONG!).

Jessie winning the Head of Household competition is going to make for one heckuva week in the BIG BROTHER House. If he doesn't nominate Ronnie he'll have a lot of explaining to do to the others and will risk putting a target on his own back. Jessie still seems to want to work in secret with Ronnie...but now that he's HOH, he's got to play this hand carefully. Can’t wait to see what unfolds this week!!!

The live HOH competitions are always a challenge. We always have to "expect the unexpected" and plan for all the "what ifs"...from technical difficulties to an electronic game breaking down/malfunctioning...to freak accidents...all while watching the clock and realizing we MUST be fair AND have a winner before the clock strikes 9. Yikes.

READER QUESTIONS:
When will you be back on Iron Chef: America?
I don't think I'll be on Iron Chef America for a little while. They tape in September typically and always in NY...and I'll be in LA finishing up Big Brother and be getting ready to deliver baby! Plus I think with my food restrictions due to my pregnancy, I probably would be a tough judge to have on the show. But once I've delivered...I'll be ready to try it all!

Do you and Allison condone cheating on this show?
One reader was "really disturbed by hearing Jessie and them plan on cheating in the next HOH competition." We certainly do NOT condone cheating on the show. That's why we're Big Brother. We're always watching.

How come you didn’t take down Braden for calling you a derogatory name?
First, I didn't know at the time if it was true. Second, even if it was, it's not relevant to the game. The interview should be about how that houseguest played the game and how he/she played with others in the house. But when I did a 12 minute interview with Braden for the CBS website, I did ask him who is the most important woman in his life and what would she say about his behavior in the house? His response was very telling. He said his mother was the most important woman in his life but that he also doesn't speak to her much. That was enough to satisfy my curiosity on IF he had used a derogatory word against women to refer to me and the WHY part? It didn't even matter. His response made me feel sadness for him.

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Subject: Re: Julie Chen's Blog Fri Jul 31, 2009 6:02 pm

Julie Chen blogs 'Big Brother': Season 11, elimination #3
by Julie Chen

Well, if Casey had to go, he sure went out with guns a’blazin’! But first…

After Jessie won HOH again last week, I couldn’t help but laugh when he started pulling the House Guests into his HOH Room, one at a time, to interrogate…uh, I mean, question each one about their motives and game play. Although many viewers have their issues with Jessie, you have to admit this is good stuff and the boards keep talking about him, so there’s something to be said about that! Speaking of…Jessie, Natalie, and Lydia? Talk amongst yourselves… I’m not even going to begin to speculate on that!

Lydia: “When I’m watching Jessie sleeping sometimes, he moves or smiles or his face has expressions – maybe he’s dreaming of unicorns…maybe he’s thinking about me. That would be nice.”

FUN FACT:
HAVE/HAVE NOT COMPETITION: “Keg Racer”
We used 75 gallons of suds.
There were 75 hanging foam ice cubes.

How many of you caught the complete “Truth or Dare” game play on the live feeds? Well, for those of you who missed it, here’s the breakdown of pranks. The House Guests, obviously looking to pass the time, started challenging each other. Natalie was dared to moon Lydia as she exited the Diary Room. When Lydia emerged, she was less than thrilled to be greeted by Natalie’s derriere. Ronnie was then dared to hug Casey (personally, this one made me a little nervous knowing how upset Casey is with him…but Casey, visibly annoyed by the whole thing, kept his cool, although he did let others know he did not want to be part of anything Ronnie ever again). Back to the game, Kevin was dared to slip into bed with Jessie, who was napping in the HOH suite. Kevin gingerly crawled into bed and cuddled with him. Natalie then woke Jessie up and he became irritated that his slumber was interrupted. The game continued as Russell licked whipped cream off of Chima’s neck, while Chima licked honey off of Russell’s finger. Hmm…yet another budding romance or mere game play? Talk amongst yourselves!

Chima: “I can’t believe you said I’m pretentious. I don’t try to pretend to be somebody I’m not.”

FUN FACT:
POWER OF VETO COMPETITION: “When Pigs Fly”
There were 7,000 gallons of mud in the pit.
There were three 10-point truffles in the mud pit.

Huge props to Casey for being a good sport. At the Power of Veto Competition, he thinks he’s won a trip to the Bahamas as Natalie pulls out the card, only to realize he’s won the privilege of wearing a banana suit for a week.

Russell to Casey (as he’s eating a banana while wearing his banana suit): “Don’t you feel bad eating your own kind?”

Casey: “It’s cana-banana-lism.”

A couple of days later, Casey the Banana Man then finds out he’s the actual target for eviction. At that point, he could have thrown in the towel and refused to wear the banana suit, but he didn’t and that makes him ultra-cool in my book. And it was hilarious to see him moping around the house in that thing.

Casey on his fate in the Big Brother House: “Dead banana walking, man.”

Kudos to Casey for keeping his sense of humor.

As I announced in tonight’s live eviction show, the cliques are now official dissolved and the House Guests are on their own. In addition, it is time for YOU to vote on which House Guest will receive the “Power of the Coup d’Etat.” The winning House Guest can only use this power once during a two week period, and only the person that receives the power will know it until they choose to reveal it themselves. The winner of the “Coup d’Etat” will have the ability to overthrow the Head-of-Household and replace the nominations right before one of the two live show votes that will take place between now and August 13. You can vote via www.CBS.com/BigBrother or text the number of their selection to 81818. Votes will be accepted until 11:59 pm PT Tuesday, August 4, 2009.

That’s it for this week…I need to go lay down…the Head of Household Competition made me dizzy!

VIEWER QUESTIONS:

Do you have to monitor the outdoors 24/7 to prevent people from throwing items into the backyard? It certainly doesn’t look like it would be very difficult to sneak up on the east side and throwing something over the wall.

The House Guests are in a secure area and guarded 24/7!!

Don’t you think there should be restrictions on how many people can be in the HOH room and for how long? I think it would be much more interesting if HOH could only have 1 guest at a time, and an overnight guest if they choose but force the HOH to mingle with EVERYONE in the house instead of hiding.

No, I don’t think we should put restrictions on how many people can be in the HOH room and for how long…this is how and where some of the best strategizing gets done. The HOH earns the right to hold court up there in whatever manner he or she wants. If the HOH chooses NOT to mingle with the others in the rest of the house…hopefully, the others will remember this behavior and act accordingly when the time is right.

HOH Posts : 4575 Join date : 2008-09-06

Good blog by JC! I'm glad she made note of what a good sport Casey was and the comedy he supplied us live feeders!! Love that banana man!!

BB Lover Posts : 197 Join date : 2009-08-01

We're into the eleventh season and Julie Chen is at her best, and her blogs prove it. She seems like a pretty genuine person (as much as a TV personality can be, I guess) who is really interested in BB not just doing this to collect a paycheck. I think she enjoys it and it shows and can even be a little bit contagious on the live shows. She's also finally willing to stray from her cards and ask tougher questions and get engaged with the HGs instead of just asking softball questions. I love the way she embraces her Chenbot persona and has a good sense of humor about it, but I think she has learned something from that half-friendly ribbing about her robotic presentation by fans. She's really improved and I can't picture BB without her, so it's great to have these blogs to see what she thinks of the season.

HOH Posts : 4575 Join date : 2008-09-06

No doubt about it, BB wouldnt be the same without the Chenbot. I loved her pressing Jessie for answers about his love triangle on Thursdays show and then calling him lame when he wouldnt answer! high 5

to the forum Mechanical Bliss!!!!!

Subject: Re: Julie Chen's Blog Sat Aug 01, 2009 4:21 pm

Mechanical Bliss wrote:: We're into the eleventh season and Julie Chen is at her best, and her blogs prove it. She seems like a pretty genuine person (as much as a TV personality can be, I guess) who is really interested in BB not just doing this to collect a paycheck. I think she enjoys it and it shows and can even be a little bit contagious on the live shows. She's also finally willing to stray from her cards and ask tougher questions and get engaged with the HGs instead of just asking softball questions. I love the way she embraces her Chenbot persona and has a good sense of humor about it, but I think she has learned something from that half-friendly ribbing about her robotic presentation by fans. She's really improved and I can't picture BB without her, so it's great to have these blogs to see what she thinks of the season.

I agree Chenbot has embraced her Chenbot persona and I think that is what helped make the fans embrace her. I look forward to reading her blogs.

And welcome to the forum Mechanical Bliss! welcome

BB Lover Posts : 197 Join date : 2009-08-01

Erika wrote:: And welcome to the forum Mechanical Bliss!

Thanks! And of course I love your show, ladies, which is why I decided to check this place out.

Subject: Re: Julie Chen's Blog Fri Aug 07, 2009 1:56 pm

Julie Chen blogs 'Big Brother': Season 11, elimination #4
by Julie Chen

I began writing this blog on Wednesday when I realized so much had already happened this week that it was going to be hard to cram everything in. So, I’ll say in advance that there is just too much that happened to cover in this blog, but I’ll do my best to hit some of the highlights!!

FUN FACTS (HOH Competition – Winner: Russell)

Title: “Graduation Day”

* Jeff and Russell lasted more than 3 and half hours on the rig before Russell won.
* The graduation diploma that served as an obstacle as they spun around on the graduation wheel was over 12 feet long.
* The graduation wheel spun the houseguests at approximately 15 revolutions per minute. This means that a House Guest did a full revolution in 4 seconds!

Russell has assumed the role of a covert eavesdropping spy made infamous by Alison Irwin during Big Brother All-Stars (remember how she used to physically hide in that oversized vase for hours to hear other people’s conversations?). Russell’s obviously too big of a guy to pull that off, but he’s proving that sneaking up to closed door conversations is just as effective (and, I’m assuming, more comfortable), although his intel is not always accurate (he mistakenly thought Ronnie and Michele were conspiring behind closed doors when it was actually Ronnie and Chima, which began seeding doubts about Michele in Russell’s head). Well, can’t blame a guy for trying!

Speaking of paranoia, its presence in the Big Brother house was magnified this week by their obsession with the “magical wizard mystery power,” formally known as The Coup d’etat. Well, America voted and Jeff was awarded the ability to replace one or both houseguests put up for eviction at either last night’s live eviction show or next week’s live show. Looks like Jeff made the right decision to hold off since Chima, who is not currently in his alliance, is now the new Head of Household. I’ll leave the post-mortem discussions about Ronnie’s comments to Michele to you guys.

Ronnie may well have been the most ostracized Big Brother Houseguest in the show’s history. Poor guy redefined the term “alone time” in the Big Brother house. Having spent the better part of two days hiding in the HOH room two weeks ago and then in the “Blue Room” (which the House Guests call the “Splash Room”) this week, things looked incredibly bleak for Ronnie.

Russell (while Head of Household): “Ronnie has made his bed and now he can lie in it and I would be more than happy to put the tombstone on his grave.”

Michele: “Ronnie definitely gets under my skin. I can’t take him anymore. I just seriously want to throw stuff.”

Apparently, Ronnie didn’t get the memo that his days were numbered (he said it over and over but I don’t think he ever completely believed it). Hats off to him for managing to bounce back and continue to play the game against huge odds. Jessie and Natalie were basically washing their hands of their alliance with him on Tuesday. By Wednesday, Ronnie had gained enough sympathy to make it hard to say if it was Ronnie or Lydia who was heading out the door.

BTW, for those who didn’t know, Ronnie entered the Big Brother house with various T-shirts that he found amusing to wear that dropped clues at to how he intended to play the game. Russell called him out on one shirt that said “Of course, I’M in Love with You, darlING” where certain highlighted letters spelled “I’m Lying” on it. Ronnie also brought in a shirt that said “Live In Your World, Get Pwnded In Mine!” Pwnded is not a typo…it’s part of L33T Speak (elite gamer vocabulary) meaning completely dominated or crushed. Impressed? Okay…this is Ronnie’s direct explanation…I can’t take credit for coming up with that off the top of my head!).

Jeff on Ronnie: “Why doesn’t he fake cry to me? I wanna get brainwashed.”

Blink or you’ll miss it! I’m talking about Russell and Chima’s short-lived budding romance. Sunday’s live feed showed them cuddling and flirting, but by Monday’s night, the two were in a jaw-dropping screaming match when Russell began to suspect that Chima was playing him (it became so escalated, I think their neighbors in the Hollywood Hills could hear it!).

Russell on Chima: “I don’t like you, and I guess it sucks when a guy doesn’t like you.”

To be honest, I almost got out a pad and pen to create a flow chart to keep track of who was fighting with whom at any given moment Monday night. In addition to Russell vs. Chima, there was Kevin vs. Ronnie. Michele got in the mix. At one point, Jeff was just wandering from room to room and said, “There’s no where to go…everyone’s fighting everywhere!” In hindsight, he could have gone to the Have-Have Not Room and hung out with Jessie (who instigated all the lies that started the fights and then conveniently hid as it all went down).

Moving on, I enjoyed the Roman names given to the houseguests for the Power of Veto Competition titled “Vini, Vidi, Veto”. Jessephus! Russicus! Chimacus! Michelicus!

FUN FACTS – POV Competition (Winner: Michele)

Title: Vini Vidi Veto”

* The prop head of David used to display a laurel wreath was approximately 42 inches tall.
* The original statue of David in Florence is more than 17 feet tall!
* The Roman Gladiator in the backyard for “Vini Vidi Veto” was 6 foot 4 inches tall.

Michele is turning into a POV powerhouse, having won again this week! She’s certainly representing for neuroscientists everywhere!

Jordan on the name of the Power of Veto Competition: “Veni Vidi? Is that a person?”

Russell’s been spun in so many directions, that guy doesn’t know which end is up at this point! This led to Russell throwing Michele under the bus on Wednesday (thanks to a completely fabricated story by Jessie and Natalie that causes him to go after Michele)…paranoia strikes again. Michele finally had a meltdown on Wednesday night. It was nice to see Jordan, Jeff, and Kevin rally around her to give her a sincere pep talk.

Well, the Natalie/Jessie/Lydia triangle finally came to a head on Wednesday night when Natalie told Chima she is no longer talking to Jessie because he continues to hang out with Lydia after she specifically told him not to. Jessie then tried to explain himself to Natalie who wasn’t really buying it, although she did tell Jessie she would never put him up for eviction…talk amongst yourselves on that one!

Casual banter between Jeff and Jordan is proving to be unintentionally funny at times. Here’s a couple of examples:

Jordan lying in bed with Jeff: “I’m gassy.”

Jeff: “Don’t fart in the fort.”

*If this isn’t a testament to how close people can get in such a short amount of time in the Big Brother house, I don’t know what is! Side note: Leave it to Ronnie to break up their first attempt at an intimate moment with…flatulence. Jeff just can’t…ahem… cut a break when it comes to romancing Jordan.

Jeff to Jordan: “Come here, you sexy goddess.”

Jordan: “Ew, don’t say that.”

Jeff to Jordan: “I WISH we were making out.”

The vote last night was 4 to 3 in favor of evicting Ronnie. The fact that it was so close shows just how divided the house really is. Ronnie was the last evicted houseguest to not make the jury this year. The good news for him means he’ll get to watch the daily actions of his former housemates from the comfort of his own home. The bad news for him is he’ll have no say in who wins. He was a serious gamer who lived and breathed Big Brother and I’m happy to report he said if we ever have an All-Stars season again, he’d be more than up for it.

Chima won the HOH which means she, Jessie and Natalie think they are safe this week. But the truth is, with Jeff being the Coup d’etat winner…anything can happen. The only people who will truly be safe this week are Chima and whoever wins the POV.

Well, we’re officially at the point where those left in the game will become part of the final jury to select the winner of this summer’s Big Brother. With all the fighting, backstabbing, lies, and manipulation so far, it will be interesting to see who may change their strategy knowing they now must court each one left in the house to potentially secure a vote, should they make it to the final two. Should be fascinating to watch!

READER QUESTIONS FOR JULIE:

Question: Often, while watching BB on Showtime, I’ll hear this ‘voice of God’ guy tell the hamsters that they “are not allowed to talk about production.” Well, why not? If people are obsessive enough to watch the live feed, is it really that big a deal if they talk about the mechanics of the show? I’d appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks, and love the blog!

Julie: We strongly feel that elements of production are not topics of conversation that keep in the spirit of Big Brother. The spirit of Big Brother is about the interaction between the House Guests and events that occur between them. Given the unprecedented amount of access our viewers have to Big Brother, we don’t think talk of production is relevant to the game.

Question: Do the houseguests speak to or see ANYONE while in the house? Like, how are they asked questions in the diary room?

Julie: House Guests do not see anyone while in the house unless it’s part of a Competition. Any visual contact with an individual who is not a House Guest is only in the context of giving clues (we’ve seen that happen in a few seasons) but there is no personal interaction with any of the House Guests. While in the Diary Room, House Guests hear questions via a speaker, but never see who they are speaking with.

Question: Julie, I like you more each show. I notice that you’re a little warmer… is that to shake the Chenbot nickname? And, no more “but first”?

Julie: Never! I love the Chenbot nickname…it makes me laugh! And Big Brother would not be the same without any “but firsts” in the live eviction shows. We always need at least one “but first” in the show…it just makes sense in the way we tell and tease stories. There’s no limit to how many times I may say it during a live show. In fact, I say the more the merrier. Thanks for the compliment…I do appreciate it… and so does the Chenbot (on those rare occassions when she has feelings!)