Big Brother Craze

Aw yeah, baby! Now we KNOW it’s getting close! Today various journalists and bloggers spend the day INSIDE THE BIG BROTHER HOUSE! Lucky bastards. The only one I know for sure yet is Ben over at B-side Blog - little did we know when he tweeted that he was going off the grid for the day in 3…2…1.. he meant INSIDE THE BIG BROTHER HOUSE! I am so 100% jealous! He tweeted his release from the 12 hour sequester just a few moments after CBS tweeted the day had finished, and they would allow the journalists to release details on their own…

Don’t worry - I’m all about stalking him until he posts! It’s just one of the little things I do for all you Big Brother Crazies!

While we’re waiting for the stories to start pouring in, take a gander at this! Alison Grodner gave a radio interview this morning with John, Jay and Rich and Peaches has all the goods on it over at BB-411. Alison gave us a few details to ponder over and pick apart and OMGYAY somewhere around 4 minutes into the interview! Check it:

“Everyone is in. We’ve got a cast, we’ve got the twist, the new house. It’s exciting!”

“The house is gorgeous. It’s a modern house this season, and we’re going green. Eco-friendly.”

And Alison joked about Julie hosting through the pregnancy, and joked that the baby would be the FOURTEENTH CONTESTANT - do we consider that a confirmed 13 houseguests for the season? DO WE? I think we MIGHT be able too!

Back to Press Day:
– who dresses up in costume on Craig Furgeson’s show? He was there too.
– Someone named Carrie on that interview was also in the house…

THIS JUST IN: No details will be released until JUNE 29TH!

Which means, of course, that while we’re chomping at the bit, that means that we have a definite day that the actual cast will be preparing to enter the house, completely sequestered! We can expect them to move in by July 2nd most likely, with the premiere on the 9th.

WHOOO!

Also - if you’re lucky enough to be in LA during the season, and want tickets to the Live Eviction show? It’ll be a Live audience again this year and you can get your tickets by clicking here! And after you go - be sure to come back here and give us all the details!

As always - as soon as I know? You’ll know! In the meantime, hit up the forums and sign up for our pool party!

UPDATE! Here’s the participants in Press Day as we figure it out:
1. Ben @ B-Side Blog (will be posting on the 29th.)
2. Jen Johnson of BB8 fame, for MSN
3. Dennis Luciani from Average Joe
4. Carrie Ann Moten from JohnJay&Rich
5. Katie Neal from WLBB

Rumored:
Ross Mathews from Inside Dish
“The guy who dresses in costumes” from Craig Furgeson

I’ll update as I find out more!

I woke up to some interesting - and happy! - news this morning! On the Early Show, Julie Chen, our beloved Chenbot, had some good news to share: She’s pregnant!

I know! The preseason reboot must have been a doosey!

Ms. Chen told the viewers this morning that she’s pregnant with her first child, and couldn’t be happier. She rubbed her tummy and said that no, it wasn’t a big Sunday at the buffet table, she’s simply starting to show. Her due date is October 4th, and she made sure to let us know that she is not taking maternity leave beforehand, she still plans on hosting Big Brother this summer! She emailed Allison Grodner over the weekend to say “Don’t worry! I can still do the show!”

She even joked that the headlines could read “Big Brother gives Birth - Medical Miracle!”

All kidding aside, all of us at Big Brother Craze send our heartfelt congratulations to Ms. Chen and her husband, Les Moonves (CBS President and CEO). May your pregnancy progress smoothly and you and the baby remain healthy and happy throughout!

A Chenbot baby.
Could it GET any better?!

Here it is, the promo for Big Brother After Dark!

And if you don’t see the official new banner for us here at BBC - refresh! Just like last year, I will only update the header after the West Coast network show, so as not to spoil it for those on the west coast who want to wait for the show. Any spoiler posts from the live feeds will be posted under the official BBC spoiler warning button that looks like this:

It will also be behind the ‘read more of this entry’ cut tag. If you decide to push that link and go to the spoilers, you cannot get upset at me that you know something you didn’t want to know! I mean, you COULD get upset at me, but that’d be pretty silly, right? Right!

Less then 24 hours to go! To help you while the time away, here’s another interview with Julie Chen. Ever wondered what she really thinks of being called “Chenbot”? or who her favorite houseguests have been? Did you wonder if she actually cusses in front of people? She does - and in interviews too - in telling us who her favorite houseguest is, she actually uses the word “bitch”! I kid you not - even though it was a quote, she still says it. She also loves slop. How can it be so bad if the Chenbot will eat it? I knew they were being pansies about it! Anyway, go over and check it out!

And if that’s not enough Chenbot for you, here’s another interview for you from CBS 13. And last, but not least, Julie will be on Craig Furgerson tonight too! I doubt she’ll say anything different there then she has in the latest interviews, but it’s worth checking out none-the-less.

See ya’ll tomorrow!

Man I love this time of the Big Brother year - even if it’s several months early. You know what I mean… I love the reveals of the cast, the house, and the sense of general excitement that starts to permeate the boards, the sites, the general populace of Big Brother Fans. Sure, there’s some that are pissy and don’t want to think about it, and nay-sayers too. But that doesn’t matter - nope! The excitement lives on, and builds, and encompasses all of us true fans…

Which is why we’re giddy at two MORE promos tonight on CBS! Check them out!

Oooooh Julie! How we’ve missed you! about 12 more hours until we’ll find out more (hopefully) on the Early Show! Time to say goodbye to sleep, and any semblance of a normal life! (Picked a hell of a year to quit drinking Caffeine, didn’t I?)

What’s that got to do with Big Brother? Nothing, really. Especially for an eagle eyed fan who saw this commercial on CBS for Big Brother!

Sixteen houseguests? 16! The last commercials had it at 14, guess there are some shakeups in the works! There have been rumors of it being similar to a BBUK ploy, where there will be other houseguests in another house that will rotate in - and that the two houses will have different rules… there are also rumblings of perhaps it’s not two separate houses, but simply hidden people - a Big Brother Dirty Little Secret, so to speak. If so, wouldn’t it be cool if they got to eavesdrop on conversations and get additional info? Well, cool for them. Methinks the viewers would be stomping and chomping at the bit and complaining that they had an unfair advantage. Of course, the internet drama is half the fun!

It’s all hearsay, of course, but tomorrow is the day slated by those reporters who got to live the Week in a Day inside the Big Brother house that they’ll be able to talk at last and share what they learned - so tomorrow could be filled with info! Be sure to check back, and see what delights I can gather up so that you have it all in one place - a one stop Big Brother Shop, so to speak.

And, TVGasm.com has a new video showcasing Chenbot at her “But first…” best. Awesome!

….you watch David Letterman (who I dislike immensely) on the off chance of learning something new about the upcoming season as Julie Chen guests….

Well, that was disappointing.

There was nothing new on the interview, what little they talked about Big Brother involved the evolution of all strangers to seasons with twists, to a fake Big Brother After Dark segment and a plug that the season starts on February 12th. Guess we have to wait another week or so!

Sigh.

Here’s the Youtube for those who missed it - not that you missed much, of course.

Don’t forget! Tonight, the one and only Chenbot will be on David Letterman.

There’s a bunch of ideas floating around as to what she’ll be able to reveal, but we know that Big Brother 9 will at least be mentioned! And, of course, the pictures have already surfaced of her outside the studio this afternoon before taping. She looked fabulous, of course, and even struck a pose for the camera.

Check back later for what happened on Letterman! (Sorry, ya’ll gotta wait until I get the west coast edition!)

Also - seems a group of 8 lucky reporters, including Mark from realitywanted.net, spent Saturday locked up in the Big Brother House! Not only did they get the VERY FIRST look of the house, they have a specific date of when they’re able to talk about it - February 4th. Dare we hope our houseguests will be sequestered then and we’ll be getting our list of houseguests FINALLLy?

Mark posted on his Myspace that he’d been locked up in the house for 12 hours with 7 other ‘houseguests’. They went through HOH, POV and eviction all in one day - and he was put on slop AND up on the block for “screwing up” - there’s the promise of video and more info coming soon!

I’ll let ya know more as soon as I know it! Who knows, maybe that footage, or a part of it, will be on Letterman with Julie tonight!

And if you’re going to be anywhere near Rainbow Oregon - there’s still room left for Kail’s BB9 Premeire party! James, Kail, Jen, Kaysar, Rachel, Jennifer, Howie, Nick and Daniele will all be there, as well as others - Zach says he’s trying to clear his schedule and get there too! The day before the premeire, on February 11, there’s going to be a snowboarding/hot springs trip too. Click the image to get a full sized look and the phone number to call for more info!

..watching tonight’s Survivor: China, and what to my wandering eyes should appear? No, not Santa, but a gift none the less! With all the rumors, and the talks, and the strike, and the steadfast refusal of CBS to confirm or deny, and the slip of Robin Kass, Casting director on her Myspace… THIS is the one thing that made me go “ohhhh you know, maybe it’s really TRUE!”

What was it? A commercial asking for applications for Big Brother 9! In my experience, those only show up a couple months before the premiere of a new season – especially when in conjunction with fired up Casting Calls across the country!

With the latest press release, it also confirmed that Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan would again be at the reigns as Executive Producers, and our favorite Chen-bot would return as host. I do hope they have enough time to program her correctly!

Also announced, to my delight, is that Big Brother 9 “will follow a group of strangers” – which means no celebrity edition! So here’s hoping that all this is indeed pointing to an early run of our favorite addiction! Here is the latest list of casting calls:

BIG BROTHER 9 CASTING CALL - Dates/Cities/Locations and Local Times:

Nov. 17 Los Angeles - Exclusive Casting Studios, 7700 Sunset Blvd. (12 Noon-3 PM)
Nov. 17 Columbia, S.C. - WLTX-TV, 6027 Garners Ferry Road (10 AM-2 PM)
Nov. 18 New York - NY Castings, 243 West 30th Street, 3rd. Floor (12 Noon-8 PM)
Nov. 23 Houston - Meridien, 1503 Chartres St. (7PM-10PM)
Dec. 1 Houston - Moes Grill & Bar, 5000 Katy Mills Circle (2PM-5PM)
Dec. 1 Schaumburg, IL- Woodfield Mall, “Cool Waves” Nordstrom lower level (12PM-3PM)
Dec. 1 Atlanta -America’s Mart, 240 Peachtree Street 1st Fl. Rm. A (12 PM-3 PM)
Dec. 1 Brooklyn, NY - Duff’s Brooklyn, N. 3rd Street & Kent Avenue (7 PM-10 PM)
Dec. 1 Charlotte, N.C. - Cans, 500 West 5th Street (12 PM-3 PM)
Dec. 1 Chicago - Ontourage, 157 W. Ontario Street (10 PM-12:00 AM)
Dec. 1 Hillsboro, Ore. - The Streets of Tanasbourne 19350 NW Emma Way, (12 PM-3 PM)
Dec. 1 Kansas City, MO -Screenlands Crossroads Theater, 1656 Washington St. (1 PM-4 PM)
Dec. 7 Columbus, Ohio - Spice Bar, 491 N. Park Street (10 PM-12:00 AM)
Dec. 7 Scottsdale, Ariz. - Suede Lounge, 7333 E. Indian Plaza (12 PM-3 PM)
Dec. 8 Boston - Felt, 533 Washington Street 3rd & 4th Floor (12:00 Noon -3 PM)
Dec. 8 Broomfield, Colo. - FlatIron Crossing, 1 West FlatIron Crossing Drive In the Dillard’s Court (10 AM-1 PM)
Dec. 8 Columbus, Ohio - Park Street Patio, 533 Park Street (2 PM - 5 PM)
Dec. 8 Tampa, Fla. - The Dubliner Irish Pub, 2307 W. Azeele Street (12 PM- 3PM)

What do you need to bring? Your application, filled out, and your winning personality. Good luck!

So – in light of all of that? Dig the new banner, kids. When I know more for sure, you’ll know too!

Or as someone said to me earlier “Type-delay Live Blogging” as I’m 3 hours behind the rest of the world!

:00 Last time on Big Brother… Wahmber “Jameka… jameka… coulda taken it…

:04 This week fate took center stage in the house, and one was touched by Divine intervention. Jameka took Jen off the block giving her salvation as she believed God wanted her too, and Nick was put on the block, which sent the house into a tissy.

:06 We see Dustin nominate Nick again, and he says he’s surprised the Dustin made the move, and he figures he’s a threat and Kail is fragile. Kail says she was surprised, because he told her the target was Zach, so now she’s worried. Dustin says it was a house decision to backdoor the weasel. Amber runs off crying (oh! the shock! NOT)

:08 Kail and Dustin talk in the HOH and we see the little liar telling Kail what’s up and that she’s safe. She promises her the votes. Nick and Daniel talk, and she admits to knowing the whole time, and Nick walks away while Dani cries.

:09 Nick tells Dick to expect the unexpected and that he wouldn’t fuck over his daughter. Dick says everyone knows he wanted the noms to stay the same, and asks if it was a house concensus, Eric says a lot of names were mentioned. He kicks Zach out of the backyard, and Zach says “I thought we were close.” Nick goes in and apologizes to Zach inside.

:10 Nick goes to comfort Amber who lies (bitch!) and says she didn’t see it coming. Nick says whatever happens happen. Cut to Amber telling Dustin it’s the perfect time to backdoor Nick, cut back to her tears as she lays there and continues to lie to him.

:11 Daniele tells him she tried really hard to make it not happen that way, and asks him if he voted out Kail. He says no (We get the proof shown) and he says he doesn’t know who it was. She tells Nick everyone thinks it was him, and he says he doesn’t care, and Daniele says that she’s trying to help him. And Nick says he never fucked her over, and that it sucks she knew and didn’t tell him.

:12 Nick goes to Dustin and tells him it took balls and that it’s a game, but that he should have just told him. Nick says he’s ready for anything, and he asked for truth and didn’t like that they talked behind his back.

:13 Dick goes off on Jen about using Jameka again in front of Kail. Calls her a bitch, etc, and that she threw it and that she’s a smug bag, and Jen says shed never use those words to describe herself, and that she’s not a bad person. Kail walks away. Dick compares her to Saddam Hussain. She says she doesn’t care, nothing goes through. Then Jen tells dani that she’s sorry she’s had to live with that.

In DR - Dani says that it was rude, and ridiculous because she’s has no idea.

:16 Nick gets his MoHawk. Dick tells him not to discount Daniele’s feelings - the music while Nick cuts his hair makes it seem like a Brittany move. That’s funny!

:17 Dani tells Amber that she’ll vote with the group, and then we see her going off on Jen and how it’s a personal problem and that she treats her like crap and she’s never done anything to her. Jen says she has morals and HERE comes Dick, Zach and Nick who calls Jen a dumb bitch. Jen continues, and Dick pours tea over her head when she says that she has morals once again. SPLOOSH!

We see Nick chime in, and tells her no one likes her and she jumps to conclusions and no one cares about her.

:18 Coming up - we’ll find out who stays and who goes, let’s listen in to DR
Daniele says Kails a mess and walks around like she’s gonna kill herself. Dick says he wants to see Kail go, but for his daughter see Nick go. Jen says Nick is miserable and rude and no help. Whamber cries and says Nick is good and if she doesn’t stop crying it’s gonna bite her in the ass. (TOO LATE WHAAAAAAAAMBER!!!)

:20 COMMERCIAL!
(more…)

Of course, half the world has already seen tonight’s episode, but I live in Alaska and am a couple hours behind as a result. No matter - I’m gonna ‘live blog’ it anyway! You know you’re excited. You can admit it!

7:02 Recap time - they go through all of the previous weeks happenings, except of course for what we’ve all seen on the live feeds and Showtime BB After Dark.

04: Hi Julie! She looks fantastic and so very thin in her black pantsuit. She tells us that Joe and Dustin are trying to be civil, Dick is trying to talk to Dani but she’s not ready, and while Jessica is nice to Carol to her face, she can’t be happier about her being on the block.

Carol says she’s trying not to be bothered by the nominations. Amber tells Danielle that she made a good veto speech. Amber cries and says she’s fighting for her family. Dick knows he can trust Amber more then anyone but Danielle.

:07 Dustin and Amber talk in the bathroom - and he says that he trusts and clicked with Amber right away, and Amber thinks she has more votes and feels confident.

:08 Carol and Jen on the Hammock, Carol thinks she has Joe, Daniele, Jen - who says Carol would be the smartest choice, but she needs to be aggressive. Carol feels like it’s not her time to go at all, and approaches Jessica and says they could go far together. She even apologizes.

In the Diary room though, Jessica says that she doesn’t trust her at all, and considers it problem solved.

:09 Carol tries to get Eric’s vote, then it’s back to Dustin and Amber who are inseperable, while Joe complains about it in the DR and wants it separated. Carol goes for Joe too, who says he’ll help her. He talks to Zack, who says if it’s close, they’ll talk. But in the DR, Zack says they need to make a decision that works best for the Mrs. Robinson Alliance.

:12 Kail complains that people don’t tell her anything.

(more…)

No transcript of the show, because YouTube is just so much easier! Here’s Julie Chen’s appearance from last night on The Late Show with David Letterman. Keep in mind that Dave is no fan of reality TV.

Julie Chen, our beloved ChenBot and host of Big Brother, will be one of David Letterman’s guests on Monday, June 25th. The Late Show with David Letterman airs on CBS (naturally!) at 11:30pm Eastern.

I’ll be recording it so that I can give you a transcript the following day. Hopefully Julie will give us at least a little something to ponder over about the new season of Big Brother!

I’m also keeping an eye on The Early Show schedule to find out when the new cast will be revealed. Stay tuned!

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