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Herc Has Stood Within The Home of His Future Neighbors: The BIG BROTHER 6 House!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
“This is a secret,” Arnold Shapiro, the 64-year-old executive producer of “Big Brother 6,” told me Tuesday. “You can’t talk about it.”
And I’m still not 100-percent sure he wasn’t kidding. “This is a secret?” I asked. “Seriously?” I glanced back at the tiny publicist, Jen, who shadowed us Tuesday through the brand new “Big Brother” set. She’s nodded. Jen’s expression betrayed no mirth.
And it’s such an innocuous piece of misdirection! A really minor hoax, if that’s even the word, but one I’m told will be perpetrated upon the millions who will watch “Big Brother” all summer. Something many dozens of people, including many members of the working press, would have to know already.
I have no idea why Shapiro wants to keep it a secret, or if he just made this rule up arbitrarily, on the spot. But I will play ball. You will not find the secret cloaked in invisotext anywhere in this post. Because as one navigates the tempestuous waters of televised entertainment, CBS is not a boat one wants to rock. Neither is a show hosted by network chieftan Les Moonves’ superhot new wife, Julie Chen.
But Shapiro left me wondering. This hoax. Has it been perpetrated by the show and the network for seasons now? Or is it unique to this freshly minted “Big Brother” house, which has now made its permanent home on the old “King of Queens” set? (“Queens,” for those wondering how the two shows could co-exist in the same space over the summer, has fled to another soundstage. The area on which the old “BB” house once stood will soon be home to new offices for CBS’ local Los Angeles news personnel.)
This was my first visit to any “Big Brother” set, but I’ve wanted to visit one for at least half a decade now. After “Project Greenlight,” “Big Brother” is my favorite reality show ever. I’ve not only watched every episode, I subscribe every year to the live 24-7 Internet feed to watch the housemates flirt, scheme and bicker, day and night. If you want to learn why, click that “More On This Topic” button just above the talkback. This show blisses me out, and is the reason Ain’t It Cool: Coaxial News gets much, much quietier between July and September.
Another reason I’ve craved a set visit? I’ve lived about a block from that set since they built it. You know those planes that fly over the “BB” house with rude message-banners for the houseguests? I can read those messages, effortlessly, from my East-facing balcony.
Anyway, here are some secrets I believe I can reveal of “Big Brother 6”:
* The theme this year is “Summer of Secrets.”
* The new house is spectacular. And much bigger than the old one. The pool is bigger and deeper (though not by much), the hot tub is recessed, the “grass” is greener, the air is sweeter, the yard is huuuge, the HoH room looks like the best suite at the Four Seasons. I wish this house were mine. And perhaps one day it will be!
* There are 14 houseguests. But my tour of the house on Tuesday revealed there are only 10 beds: the “Head of Household” (HoH) bed on the upper floor and nine others below. When I asked Shapiro how 14 houseguests would fit into only 10 beds? He said only this: “Summer of Secrets. Summer of Secrets.”
* The nine beds on the ground floor? All packed into one tiny room. Also? About half of them look nicer than the other half.
* You heard me right. The new “BB” house is a split level. The upper level contains little more than the HofH suite. Which is much bigger this year, and features for the first time its own private potty and shower.
* There's foozball in the backyard.
* There will be video displays above the eviction keys instead of mere photographs.
* Every houseguest has a secret! Not just some! Quoth the press release:
For the first time, every houseguest will be entering the house and playing the game with a secret partner -- someone they know from the outside world. Friends, co-workers and significant others will play the Big Brother game as secret duos. The twist is that each secret team believes that they are the only pair in the house (pairings will be revealed to TV viewers during the first live broadcast on July 14). Each twosome knows that if they can keep their secret and end up being the last two people in the house, the winner will win $1,000,000, the biggest cash prize in Big Brother history, with the second place finisher winning $250,000. If a twosome does not make it to the final two, the winner will win $500,000.
* Even the new house has secrets! Press release again!
Like the contestants that will inhabit it, the new house is also full of secrets and surprises that will be unveiled throughout the summer.
* If you’re a houseguest who’s somehow escaped media quarantine and logged onto the Internet? Some tips: When you enter those thick doors on July 7, run to the right. That’s where the nine downstairs beds are. There’s not much else to right, but beds are important. Also to the right is the confessional (or whatever it is “BB” calls that private talk-to-the-cameras room) and the living room where they hold the eviction ceremonies. There's also a striking chrome basket-weave wall. There’s a lot more if you go left, but not much in the way of beddage. Go to the left and you’ll find only the very large and colorful kitchen, the entrance to the huge Astroturf yard, the staircase to the HoH level, the exercise room (which has a keypad lock, suggesting access to it may be limited), and the gigantic single-commode downstairs bathroom.
* If you’ve not yet hopped aboard this big “computer” craze all the kids seem to enjoy? Here’s when you are permitted to enjoy “Big Brother”:
BIG BROTHER 6 debuts on Thursday, July 7 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Following the premiere, BIG BROTHER 6 will be broadcast each week on Tuesdays (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT), Thursdays (8:00-9:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) and Saturdays (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT). The Thursday broadcast, hosted by Julie Chen, will feature the live eviction of one of the houseguests.
* No geezers this year, at least in front of the camera. Not only are all of the 14 houseguests younger than Les Moonves, at least 12 of them are younger than the fabulous Julie.
* At least eight of the 14 appear to be young women. (Irvine graphic designer “Kaysar,” as it happens, appears to be a dude.)
* A whopping 12 of the 14 are single and, presumably, ready to mingle.
* This year’s contestants:
1) Maggie Ausburn, 26
Las Vegas, NV
Single
Emergency Room Nurse
2) Beau Beasley, 25
Pembroke Pines, FL
Single
Personal Shopper
3) Ivette Corredero, 25
Miami Beach, FL
Single
Waitress
4) Michael Donnellan, 28
Orange County, CA
Single
Artist
5) Ashlea Evans, 22
Plantation, FL
Single
Fashion Design Student
6) Howie Gordon, 34
Chicago, IL
Single
Meteorology Student
7) Sarah Hrejsa, 22
Chicago, IL
Single
Retail Manager
8) April Lewis, 30
Dallas, TX
Newlywed
Pharmaceutical Sales Rep.
9) Eric Littmann, 36
Boston, MA
Married Dad
Firefighter
10) Janelle Pierzina, 25
Miami Beach, FL
Single
VIP Cocktail Waitress
11) Rachel Plencner, 33
Parker, CO
Single
Horse Breeder
12) James Rhine, 29
Atlanta, GA
Single
Loss Prevention Manager
13) Kaysar Ridha, 24
Irvine, CA
Single
Graphic Designer
14) Jennifer Vasquez, 27
Plano, TX
Single
Arena Football League Dancer
Learn what they look like here!!
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Look! A new book co-edited by big-deal "Buffy"-"Firefly"-"Gilmore Girls"-"The Inside" TV writer Jane Espenson. She introduces each of the essays, and the whole book besides:
Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly
Now that you know how it ends, look for clues in the old episodes!! Lost: The Complete First Season on DVD!!
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...they seem to all look alike.
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You can peep the HGs there. Herc, I had no idea you were a superfan. You should've rounded up some of us local fans to go to the house with you. I'd kill to get in there. Literally.
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Missed that end link since I already read about the noobs. oops.
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I am a huge BB fan too, but these contestants seem like a bunch of morons, but I'll judge when I see the show. I mean the new cast of Real World seemed cool on paper, but this season, so far, the characters seem really uninteresting.
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Hey Herc and others. Thanks for the update. Some of which I knew, but the tease about the secret is unknown, as yet. I did not know you were such a BB fan, as my wife and I are. FYI, great place to get live feed updates for those that can't or won't pony up the cash, is at Reality News Live website. Check them out (not affiliated, just a fan)
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Jun 30, 2005 6:28:31 AM CDT
I'm really glad they asked the important question, "What'
by nadine_cross
Do they even still make Snickers Cruncher? Jesus! Plus, now that I know Ivette enjoys Orangina, I'll be sure to watch.
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Mark Daly here.
BB6 is on CH4 in the UK at the moment. BB6 went to head with the absolutely dire celebrity(Non-inentity) love Island.
BB6 UK's contestants all look like they came from day release scheme from the local mental hospital. If you want an example of just how bad things are this year, the first person to get evicted was an Irish white witch who looked demented more than her name scary mary suggested.
Hardly anyone in the UK is watching this show anymore.
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Jun 30, 2005 8:25:39 AM CDT
did they install a vaporizing lazer outside the door for the peo
by punto
We now know where Hercules lives. what to do...
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Jun 30, 2005 8:41:44 AM CDT
Sounds like the "heaven & hell" setup of British BB a few years
by evergreen
Half of them have to work their asses off and live on rice, the other half sunbathe and eat fine food - it's an ok formula, but it doesn't beat the one in the current British BB house: get in 12 of the most objectionable people you've ever met, and wait for the sparks to fly!!
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I know all the high and mighties that post on this site rip anyone who watches any reality TV other than greenlight, but those who do watch for some harmless fun this is the show. These people get put through the ringer and it's fun to watch.
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Or if he's just being messed with like he was with the whole two people will die "scoop."
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Jun 30, 2005 1:10:28 PM CDT
Zamfir, the "two characters dying" scoop is true, I can assure y
by lenny nero
As another talkbacker in on the secret said a couple weeks back as a hint, "Think outside of the box." No, Herc, I'm not giving it away.
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Hmmm Julie.
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We are currentl inthe midst of BB^ - btw, Herc, it's called the Diary Room over here, and the Diary Room uncut show they broadcast over here is superb - compulsive BB viewing.
Anyway, back on topic - the secret is that the housemates will be paired up with another in the house - they will know eachother, be friends or family, and the aim is to make the final two. If a pair make it to the final two, the prize money goes up to $1million for the winner and $250,000 for second place, as opposed to the standard prize of $500,000 and $50,000 if a "non-pair" make the final 2....
btw, something we do over here that makes it more sublime - the HMs all nominate 2 housemates each week - the 2 (or in a tie 3+) who get the most votes then go to the public vote, and watching the potential evictees play to the camera for safety is huge (laydeez and gennelmen, I give you dodgy under-duvet sex in the hope that they will land a magazine deal when they leave.....) -
BB highlight show currently getting 5 million viewers per night, which is a huge section of the 10pm audience share, with increased viewing for eviction, especially when it is a popular or, as this week is guaranteed, totally loathed housemate gets the boot
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sorry guys
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That explains a lot. Hate to say it, but she's the worst part of the show.
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Hey Herc, if the houseguests are reading your site, and they get the bedroom information, won't they also get the secret about the other teams? Hello... They have to be sequestered if CBS is advertising about the teams...
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Think the two waitresses from Miami Beach might know each other?
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I don't think so, but this info was posted att the BB6BBQ board, and the person in the know there said this:
"The people I spoke to at ASP said they hadn't talked to anyone outside the press about anything show-related, and certainly they hadn't revealed any "secrets" that weren't already readily known... they also said they didn't give a house tour to anyone (outside of crew/family/friends/media), and that it was likely the author was just quoting items he had read elsewhere.
The only "innocuous piece of misdirection" is the article itself." -
Both Miami Beach people are pairs, both Chicago people are pairs, both Texas People are pairs, and the Plantation FL and Pembroke Pines FL people are pairs (they just happened to choose two people from two nowhere cities that happen to be close to each other).
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Next month, it also begins airing alongside BB6 UK, on E4.
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Ratings go through the roof! Trust me on this CBS a goldmine I tell you!
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... I've come to the conclusion that it's 2 Firefly characters in the Serenity movie. Oh, and Big Brother sucks this year. No idea what the US one is like.
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that most of the pairs hail from the same general area, as helpfully provided to us on their bios?
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Correct! But that also makes her the BEST part of the show!
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BB is a great show to watch and zone out. I like the show because it is all about the game, and everyone is in it for themselves. It is like crack. Speaking of Julie Chen, she is the best part of the show (ie. HOT) and the worst (ie. when she open her mouth). Of course, Les may have a different attitude of when she opens her mouth... Heh!
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There's no reason for Herc's continued game-playing on that one. There have been spoilers on this site before, you know. It gives him a sense of power or something. As for BB6...I think the biggest mystery is how in the world this show lasted so long.
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Beware the apocalypse! Repent, sinners!!!!
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You just have to know when to watch and when to not bother. But anybody who saw the live show last Sunday night will vouch for me: it is TV gold this year, but it'll probably go rapidly downhill as each source of tension (saskia, maxwell, craig, science) leaves the house
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Its a shame that Saskia is gone though. If Maxwell survives the nominations this week, he'll probably get along alright with the rest of the group. But if Saskia had stayed, she would have been left in a house where almost everyone completely hated her. Despite the inevitable eviction the following week, it would have made for some good arguments. Derek is fantastic, by the way.
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