BB21: TV Show Scheduling & Live Feeds Start

Hopefully they don't announce this scheduling then change it like they did last season!

Tonight - Tuesday June 25 8pm ET/PT 
Tomorrow - Wednesday June 26 - 8pm ET/PT

Next week --
Sunday - June 30 - 8pm ETPT
Tuesday - July 2 - 8pm ET/PT
Wednesday - July 3 - 8pm ET/PT

After next week --
Sundays -- 8pm ET/PT
Wednesdays - 9pm ET/PT
Thursdays (live eviction) - 9pm ET/PT

Mind you, those are subject to change on a whim! 

Regarding the live feeds -

By the time we get to tonight's first part of the season premiere, they've been in the house for about a week with no live feeds on. We miss the whole dtart of alliances, perhaps we even miss a kerfuffle or brouhaha! Rumors are that we might have missed an eviction. It's happened before.

Anyway, the feeds go live after the second premiere night airs on the West Coast. So, we're talking midnight on Wednesday night/Thursday morning )dependent on your point of view). I might post something in the wee hours or might just wait until Thursday morning to post a full live feeds report. Wednesday evening is going to be a bit rough with live blogging the BB21 premiere and the two-hour season finale of TAR. 

As for my live feeds reports scheduling, I have no really set schedule. I plan on posting a morning post and an evening one. I might pstt more if there's a lot of action going on, veto comp winner, etc. I always link the posts on my Facebook page for the show and Twitter -- both links on sidebar. So, if you follow them, you'll see that I posted. 

Expect the Expected with Blog Big Brother Coverage

While the BB motto is "Expect the Unexpected," this blog runs pretty much as expected each season. Here's what you can expect"

• Bullet points. Expect them. A lot.
• Blog parties during aired shows East Coast Time. During those posts, I live blog the show, constantly updating the entry with major happenings. In the comments area, there's a party going on -- sometimes discussing the show, sometimes discussing snacks. I only ask that long, heated debates (politics, for example) are not discussed. 
• I ask that spoilers are not posted on the show posts as some people who follow them do not follow the live feeds.
• Expect spoilers in every post that is not show post.
• I post two, sometimes more, rarely less live feeds reports daily. Since the live feeds are live not taped like most of the shows, expect spoilers.
• I'm only one person, so I don't post every breath they take in the house.
• I post things which catch my interest, news about comp wins and more in the live feed reports. Often blog readers may also chime in with something they saw.
• Each live feed report will have some screen caps from the live feeds.
• Since there aren't dozens (hundreds?) of people updating this blog, wins and such can be taken as fact. I don't post rumors and if I see false information in a comment, that comment gets removed.
• Although I hang a bit in Twitter, I don't post much content there. I do immediately post all blog entry links on both my Twitter and my Big Brother related Facebook page which are both under STUFF in the right sidebar.

 What I expect from YOU:

• You can like or dislike any hamster this season, but please don't treat the fellow commenters poorly.
• A post about a hamster is much different than a post about fans of said hamster.
• Please use actual names or widely-accepted names for the hamsters in comments so people (like me) know to whom you're referring. For example, calling someone Vincent because you think he's a cool cat would just confuse everybody. 
• While mocking behavior of the hamsters is one thing -- after all, they agreed to be in the public eye -- I ask that posts about things they can't control like weight, height, etc. that are out of their control not be made. Such comments might be deleted.
• Any hate speech is deleted.
• Do NOT respond to trolls. During shows, I might not get to read comments until commercials or the end of the show. When a troll comes in and posts mocking us all, it's more work to delete a gazillion protests from blog defenders. I appreciate the support, but …! Trust me, I catch the troll posts and any identity cloning people and delete the posts.
• I ask that comments be kept to a PG level. Just because the hamsters have potty-mouths, we don't need to do so. I have this blog set with Google for all ages and not adult content. I want to keep that setting.

Last, but not least …

For those of you who have asked, my health still is an issue. I'm out on long term disability from my workplace with back surgery issues, leg nerve and muscle damage, vision issues and a whole whiny list that I won't depress you by listing.

That said, I do appreciate any donations you can make to the blog if you enjoy the coverage and community provided here. Unlike many sites who receive money from CBS All Access subscriptions and such, I only get a smidgen from advertising revenue. I do put a lot of effort into the blog and it gives me warm fuzzies to see donations! (Plus it helps with the bills!) Now that I've hit you up for that -- if you do not have CBS All Access and want to sign up for it, go to my ol' buddy Dingo at hamsterwatch.com and get them through her. 

May the best hamster win!

BB21: The Ika ET Canada Interviews - Part 4

The last of the series. (Yay!) You can find Part 1 HERE, Part 2 HERE and Part 3 HERE. 

If you haven't signed up for the blog pool yet, the cut-off is 3pm ET (noon PT) TODAY! Get yourself to THIS LINKED POST to join in on the fun! Please don't sign up on any other post other than the blog pool entry one!



I hereby predict that Sam will win the MOST LIKELY TO SHOUT IN THE DIARY ROOM award. Personally, really loud people make me cringe. In the BB house, it can be good or bad. At least he's not shrilly and loud. He's a fan, his wife more of fan. I like that he admires Derrick's game, but Derrick played things very low key. I don't think Sam can do that. He does have a lot on the ball about strategy and the way things work in the BB house. I believe he might even be entertaining on the live feeds. He looks like he might even do okay in comps. But, will he win it all? I think of he can just calm down a bit, he might get near the end. I didn't like that he mentioned wanting to last at least to jury. On the other hand, I like (for the game) that he thinks he's ruthless. 




She's a HUGE fan who went and contradicted herself by focusing on BB20. She talks a lot. I get the feeling that she's often the center of attention. Now, she commented about Tyler's great BB20 game. Her own self seems to not jibe with how he played the game. Tyler was much more low-key. Oh, my gosh … does she even stop talking to breathe? She's the one who has been rumor-linked to being Facebook friends with Holly, another one I'm not too keen on. I think she might have quick trouble in the house. Just in this interview, I've toned her out to like an ongoing Charlie Brown adult wah-wah noise -- not whining, mind you. Just noise. I swear she would be the person yapping on the cell phone in the quiet car on NJ Transit commuter trains.


Hmm … the Southern manners bit is ingrained. I can always tell that and the similar military "Ma'am" or "Sir" as coming out naturally, not fake. It becomes automatic and is certainly better than potty-mouth automatic. He seems to be a show fan, admiring Paul, Derrick and more. But I don't think for sure that he's going to pattern his own game after any of them. I get the feeling that he will be purely himself. My jury is out on him. He will either do extremely well or crash and burn early on. He should do well in comps, but his social game will make him or break him.




I do like Jessica. And, I find it personally refreshing that, while she's a model, she's not one of the bikini ilk that we so often see. She's the only hamster I can remember who hasn't released her actual age -- she claims to be 30ish. I don't know what's up with that. I genuinely hope that the internet is kind about her size. I think it is a more natural state, but I also think it may hinder her in some of the more physical comps. She claims to run marathons, though. More power to her! She is a fan of the show. Even so, I don't think she's going to be overly strategic. For some reason I think she is going to skate through mainly on a social game. We'll see.

Any thoughts on this group?

BB21: The Ika ET Canada Interviews - Part 3

Yes, I'm finally getting on with these -- you can find Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE.



Hmm … Holly. She seems to be a fan, perhaps a recruited one. But she did mention Jeff and Derrick from (for them) quite a few seasons back. She's a hamster with internet rumors that she's Facebook friends with Kathryn. I don't know. I just report this stuff. She certainly didn't make any mention of HUGE fan or the live feeds. I'm very iffy on her. I can't really get any sort of grasp on her at all. I can see where she might have some strengths in comps and such. But if I can't get a grasp, it makes me wonder about her social game. We all know that's more important these days than comp beasting.




Oh my gosh, she's like a real slim version of someone I know. Mo, no one from BB at all. At least we have a big fan in her and not a recruit. I'll forgive her for naming Paul as a favorite player and saying he was robbed. True, he had some very good strategy but his social game absolutely sucked and got worse the second time he was on the show. Hopefully she can mix his strategy with a better social game. I don't think she will be a physical comp beast but could be strong in mental comps. Perhaps she'll just come across as a bit silly and no real threat. I do love that she's the only one, when given the choice between a snake or a rat, she pointed out that snakes eat rats.

I like Ovi. He's the only one who has mentioned the live feeds. He actually had to watch the show for a course he took. Why, he's so likable he was voted student council president in his class at college. I like his choice of players picked -- Vanessa and Hayden. While Vanessa didn't win and really was too emotional, she was a strategy queen. I don't see him being as emotional and hope his strategic game is worthy. I don't know if he's going to be ruthless enough for the win. I'm also not sure how entertaining he'll be on the live feeds. But I like him.

Cliff says he's 54 but the CBS bio information has him at 53. Either age, he's the sole "old" guy in the house. I can't say how much I personally hate them sticking one older person in there! At least he is a fan of the show although watching since BB8 isn't quite "forever" to me! With that fan timeframe, he must have seen the season with Kevin. His line about all of his stories he can tell reminded me of Kevin. Kevin made it far, but didn't make it to the end. I don't think Cliff will be strong in comps. Hopefully his social game will keep him in for a while. I do like that he mentioned not liking Rachel Reilly. Her first season drove me up the wall. And, while she was good at comps, she played way too Drama Queen for my likes. He likes Ian and Vanessa. Good choices.

BB21: Live Feeders vs. Aired Show Fans vs. Hamsters

Yes, I know that I still owe you the rest of the Ika ET Canada videos and my commentary on them. Yes, I know I need to post an informative post on how this blog works with the show, the feeds and stuff like the show scheduling. But first … this stuff here keeps going through my mind as I watch the cast interviews and such. 

I've been actually blogging about BB since BB5 -- unfortunately those entries were on the now long ago sunsetted AOL Journals blogging platform and this BlogSpot blog kicks in with BB7. Due to the AOL blogging, I got a paid freelance gig following the show for Weblogs, Inc./TV Squad/AOL Television for a number of years. That brought about the changes to this blog with the live show parties, etc. 

Before blogging became a "thing" I was a part of the AOL team monitoring chats and message boards for the show since Season ONE -- a season in which  Julie Chen was not well known at all, not to even mention Julie Chen-Moonves! AOL was the platform for the live feeds and practically ran the show environment. I recall things like 70k comments during an aired show at the time. Incredible! As time went on and the BB online community grew, I followed other sites like Joker's and Hamsterwatch. I lost my paying gig writing about the show and feeds when AOL TV was taken over by HuffPost. Sigh. 

With all that said, I guess I would qualify as some sort of super-super-fan, even more so than some of the largely followed sites since I've been actively involved since even before the first show of the first season even aired! Yes, setting up the message boards and stuff like that. But, no. I would never be in that house and, if I was, I'd truly suck at it. I don't do surrounded by people and chaos well.

So … why all this history? Well, in looking at this cast, I see recruits, some that have watched the show for a few years, some "big" fans who may have watched for ten years or so and only one who mentioned the live feeds. Say WHAT?!?! The online fan community for BB is tremendous and may be the forefather of various online fan communities for other shows -- both reality and scripted --since its inception. Yep, that's what I think.

There are distinct differences between regular show fans, live feeders and the hamsters themselves and here are my thoughts:

Aired Show Fans

This category of fans seem to be who the producers think they want to impress with showmances, twists, house themes and more. But they're the least knowledgeable about the show of all the fans. They see edited versions of "reality." They don't see the downtimes (or doldrums as I often refer to them). They only see edited versions of brouhahas or kerfuffles, often not with a full story of what led to such chaos. They see so little of the day to day happenings and interactions of the house that it disturbs me that so many new hamsters never see anything but the aired shows. They're being robbed!

The Hamsters Themselves

Once in the house, obviously their experience is different from other fans, aired show or feeders. No matter super fan or newbie, we cannot know what it's like to actually be in there. I think I might safely assume it's a mix of Highway to Hell or an Amazing Life Experience. But I don't know. I do know that even the hamsters themselves don't see the big picture of what's happening within the house. They only see part of it through their own confidants and allies. That ends up giving them each a skewed version of things. Thankfully after Danielle Reyes lost in her season due to the others seeing her Diary Room interviews, hamsters don't see them until after the season ends. So, while they have an insight into the show that no just fan will ever have, they aren't as knowledgeable about what's going on as are my last category --

Live Feeders and Online Community Fans

Yep, we practically know it all! We are privy to conversations that neither the show fans hear, nor all of the hamsters themselves. We get to see them pop their pimples and have wardrobe malfunctions. The only things we don't see are the first week in the house because they delay the live feeds until after the premiere. By that time the hamsters have already a week under their belts. We also don't get to see the Diary Room sessions although on some rare occasions there have been an audio leak or two. I doubt we'll ever get to see them because the producers won't allow us to see prompting, leading questions or retakes. Also, as live feeders and involved with the online community, we tend to get all the dirt from internet sleuths who track down the backgrounds and lives of the hamsters. All in all, we know it all … except what it's like to actually be a house hamster. 

What are your thoughts?