BB23: Season Premiere Blog Party

 

A few things before we get started ...

--IF YOU HAVE NOT YET SIGNED UP FOR THE BLOG POOL, PLEASE GO TO THIS POST LINKED HERE TO JOIN IN ON THE FUN. IF YOU SIGNED UP ANYWHERE OTHER THAN THAT SIGN UP POST YOUR REQUEST WILL PROBABLY BE MISSED. SO, CHECK TO MAKE SURE YOUR REQUEST IS THERE! THE DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, BUT DO IT NOW!

--If you need refreshers on who is whom, you can find my meet the cast posts here and here.

--There are sixteen new hamsters and the commercials indicate that the prize money has increased. So ... are we up to a million now? I don't know, but it could be. We'll find out tonight.

--Tonight's show is a live move-in. That means they are meeting each other on live TV as we watch. It's a 90-minute show. From previously released information, they will be split into teams of four with team captains choosing their teams; only the team captains will compete for HOH if my understanding is correct. The HOH winner will get some kind of "offer they can't refuse" from Julie.

--The live feeds go live tonight after the West Coast live show ends. So, we're talking 12:30AM (or later) here on the East Coast. While I won't get a live feeds report up right then and there, I will be watching and compiling intel for an early morning (or late late late evening) report.

--Even though I have seen all the photos, it's still hard in the beginning of the season to get the names right. Please bear with me and forgive my name glitches and typos!

I'll be live blogging the show and constantly updating this post with the major happenings and some minor happenings, as well. Refresh the page to get the latest news! As always, the real party is in the comments! No face masks or even vaccinations needed for the party!

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Let the show begin! Julie, in a simple yet stylish red dress, welcomes us to the BB Beach Club. The narrator promises big risks, big rewards and the biggest prize ever. Julie tells us we'll find out how much the winner gets later.

Now we're into the hamsters finding their keys ... four men first. Travis, Derek F, Frenchie, Xavier. They are on stage with Julie. She promises great things. They go in and are directed to the backyard to compete in their first competition. They dawdle admiring their new digs.

The backyard has a casino set-up with The Kick-Off Comp. Whoever wins can immediately change the course of the game. The winner will be eligible to win HoH. They have to arrange travel posters to match a set travel poster. It's the Have Not Pool Poster. Five pieces of plexiglass to the puzzle. FRENCHIE WINS!

Next it's the first four women. Azah, Britini, Alyssa, Whitney (blog cheering please as one of us knows her). None them admit to being a gambler when Julie asks. She tells them that's important this season. They go in and head to the backyard. Slowly, just like the guys. Same comp, different puzzle. The four guys already in are watching from above. WHITNEY WINS!

Julie's back. Next group of four men. Kyland, Christian, Derek X, Brent. They are told to immediately head to the backyard. They don't dawdle AS MUCH. Same comp, different puzzle -- Blindside Beach. The previous eight hamsters above watching. CHRISTIAN WINS! Julie keeps promising the first twist of the season after the last group of four is in.

The final four women ... Sarah, Hannah, Claire, Tiffany. Tiffany is the only one really emphatic about being a risk-taker. They enter the house. They hug and ooh and ahh. They dawdle. They notice the No Risk No Reward decoration. Same comp, different puzzle -- Betray Showmance. CLAIRE WINS!

So, it's Frenchie, Whitney, Christian and Claire. Julie tells us that the hamsters don't know but they'll be playing in teams of four. They will be drafting the teams after commercial.

Those winners of the comps are now team captains. It's the BB Open Casino. They're all in the backyard. Julie tells them teams of four. The "losers" are on the balcony watching while the team captains are down on the lawn. They hit the button to start the slot machine. They get a bit of info about two hamsters and choose between them. Each team has two men/two women.

Names predetermined by BB -- Frenchie has the Jokers -- his choice is Hannah or Azah. He chooses Azah. Round two -- between Sarah Beth and Britini, chooses Britini. Travis or Derek F, Derek F.

Whitney has the Aces -- she chooses between Brent and Travis, chooses Brent. Round two -- between Derek X and Derek F, chooses Derek X. Hannah or Sarah Beth, Hannah.

Christian has the Kings -- he chooses between Alyssa and Tiffany, chooses Alyssa. second round -- Xavier or Derek F, chooses Xavier. Sarah Beth goes to the Kings as the last female.

Claire has the Queens -- chooses between Kyland and Xavier (who lies saying he's a bartender), chooses Kyland. Second round -- Sarah Beth or Tiffany, goes with Tiffany. Travis goes to the Queens as the last male.

The teams will be vying against each other for HOH and the team captain of the winning team will be HOH. 

Time for the HOH Comp. Captain is HOH, entire team is safe for the week. House of Cards. Each captain must build house of cards on platform while teammates hold the platform steady. Giant cards will fall down on them to mess them up. Last place team become Have Nots. 

FRENCHIE AND THE JOKERS WIN! The others keep playing to determine last team. The Queens, number two. Aces are in third. Kings and Christian are Have Nots.

Julie will announce the prize increase and offer Frenchie an offer which might be too good to refuse after commercial.

Julie addresses the hamsters, still in the backyard. Julie tells them the winner will get three-quarters of a million instead of a half-million. Another big reward could be handed out tonight. Offers Frenchie a double or nothing offer. Two weeks of safety, land the two oversize dice on the table. If he fails, he loses HOH. Claire would become the new HOH. Goes to commercial while Frenchie considers the risk to give his team two weeks of safety instead of one or keep the one for sure.

Frenchie decides NOT to do it. Julie has him do it for kicks. He just made it with like a second to spare. For fun, though.

Julie promises a new comp ahead -- the Wild Card Comp.

There is no show tomorrow night. Sunday is the next episode. 

An added plus for the diversity of this season -- I CAN TELL THE HAMSTERS APART AND I'M EVEN BETTER WITH THEIR NAMES! WOOT!

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BB23: What Goes On With This Here Blog

 

IF YOU HAVE NOT YET SIGNED UP FOR THE BLOG POOL, PLEASE GO TO THIS POST LINKED HERE TO JOIN IN ON THE FUN. IF YOU SIGNED UP ANYWHERE OTHER THAN THAT SIGN UP POST YOUR REQUEST WILL PROBABLY BE MISSED. SO, CHECK TO MAKE SURE YOUR REQUEST IS THERE! THE DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, BUT DO IT NOW!

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 at least one, often more live feeds reports each day. 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. So, no off the cuff nicknames, please.
• 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 never did return to work at my fulltime job after my back surgery.

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 Paramount+ 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 Paramount+ 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!

BB23: House Tour

Let’s take a tour inside the Big Brother Beach Club! ☀️ 🌊 A seaside escape that reminds houseguests that with no risk, there’s no reward! 👀 #BB23 pic.twitter.com/9esxag6cuS

— Big Brother (@CBSBigBrother) July 5, 2021

I think the only thing I like at all is the shark kitchen. I just could never live with the "loudness" they have going on in the design of the BB house! How about you? 

BB23: So, Why is Christie Gone Already? And who is this Claire?

 

What did I list in a post yesterday as the number one reason she might be out? Yep, you got it. She failed Covid testing. She's asymptomatic and has no idea where she picked it up, but she tested positive. And, they are positively sure about it 

CBS released this statement from Christie Valdiserri: 

“Hey guys, I don’t want to be sharing this news, but I tested positive for COVID and I have no idea how I got it. I have the vaccine and I have been following all the guidelines up to this point. I have absolutely no symptoms and I feel perfectly fine. So I’m really grateful for that, but it’s really frustrating because I won’t be playing in Big Brother this summer.”

So, who is this Claire person replacing her?

Claire Rehfuss is 25. an AI (Artificial Intelligence, I assume) Engineer living in NYC but originally hailing from Chagrin Falls, Ohio. We now have our definitely alpha-WOMAN in the house. She's an ubersuperfan with an online presence, her own popular Survivor online game, creates crosswords and might just be the first one to make a women's alliance actually work. She "wants to target the alpha males and team up with her fellow “black widows” to clear a path to finale night." 

In the article I read at the Big Brother Network, she shows extensive BB knowledge even dating as far back as BB2. Why the heck didn't she make first cut? Sheesh! 

By the way -- if you go to the BBN site I linked above, they have extensive bios on each hamster. Alas, that information was not available when I wrote my post!

BB23: Somebody Out Already Update

 

Christie Valdiserri is the hamster gone before she even got in. Supposedly BB will explain tomorrow. I wouldn't hold my breath. Christie herself has had to sign all kinds of NDA forms and I believe she might stand to lose the stipend for her quarantine and sequester time (my guess, not official info on that), so she won't be able to say anything if they don't want her to.

She was on my Meet the Cast Part 1 of 2 post. I've crossed her out (as above) but know so little about her replacement that I haven't updated the post otherwise yet.

Her replacement will be someone named Claire Rehfuss. I guess. 

This is Claire ...