Terri Puts Nobbi In Combi

Terri has exacted her revenge for being chosen as the first evictee by the HMs. She got to choose a HM to live the rest of his BB life in the Combi van in the backyard. Of course, racist granny picked Nobbi-- also one of the HMs to vote her out, and the same one she chose to nominate for the snap eviction.

Nobbi is no longer allowed inside the BB house (presumably this will be overlooked when they have to do backyard maintenance, or set up for FNL on Fridays). He is confined to the backyard and must sleep in the combi van. Instead of talking to BB in the Diary Room, Nobbi must honk the horn to alert BB he wants chat, and BB will call him back on a car phone.

This arrangement apparently doesn't end until Nobbi is evicted through the normal processes.

Since their meals are served by BB on the conveyor belt, he will have to rely on someone to bring him food, and will have to use the outdoor shower and toilet.

Quote of the Day!

Just heard on the live stream:

Renee: I know you're a counsellor, but do you counsel, like, people?
Dixie (deadpan): No, dogs.

Live Streaming

How good is live streaming this year? Ten's new media player makes the stream bigger and clearer than ever, and you can maximise it to full screen with hardly any loss in quality. I hope content is better this year, after last year's over-censored crap!

I just hope the new media player works in Firefox on Linux so I can watch it at work.

Granny Gone

The young whipper-snappers of the BB house have ganged up on granny and sent the oldest HM ever home without setting foot inside.

It looks like the nominations were cleverly edited into a different order, since before the ad break Terri had received no votes, and it looked like Ben was the HMs' choice. Then at the end 4 votes in a row all to Terri.

Also, Dixie's vote was shown last. If she actually did vote last, did she not realise she had the power to either possibly save Terri, or save her own face? If she had voted Ben, she would have tied the votes and forced a tie-break of some kind. If she actually wanted to see Terri evicted, or knew she would be, she could have just voted Terri and not had to nominate someone who was obviously going to stay in the house and hold a grudge against her for her vote. Either Dixie didn't actually vote last, or she was not thinking clearly enough to figure out this gameplan, or she is just too honest to play the game.

It's unfortunate that Terri is gone so soon, as she would have been a good contrast to the others. In her short time she certainly had a few comments to make under her breath about the others. We won't get to see her compete in Friday Night Games, or snuggle up to the boys in the mega-bed, or jump under a cold shower (thank god!).

On the Live Stream tonight Ben's shameless attempt at rapping said it all:
I'm wearing a hood, coz that's where I'm from.
Terri got evicted coz I don't need a mom.

I think there's something in that for all of us! LOL.

But at least BB has let her take her revenge on someone-- and I think it might be Nobbi.

Housemate Hand Grenades

POST UPDATES WEEKLY

This year BB has introduced the HM Hand Grenade. Each evictee gets to throw a "grenade" into the House to shake things up a bit. Here's the on-going list of explosions so far.

Grenade #1 (Day 1)
The Kombi Van
Housemate is confined to the Backyard indefintiely. They must sleep in the Kombi Van, shower outdoors, and use the outside toilet. The HM must not cross the boundaries of the inside of the House unless instructed by BB. When allowed inside, the HM is usually confined to the Locker Room.
Thrower: Terri
Target: Nobbi
Results: Nobbi is still living outside and occasionally has HMs come to sleep in the van with him, though the nights are getting colder and he often expresses his interest in being allowed into the House with the others. Nobbi misses out on joining in with Family Dinners each Wednesday night, and only gets to watch the HMs on a mobile phone or the plasma screen in the yard. During a downpour of rain, the Kombi sprung a leak, and Nobbi was allowed to sleep inside, but only in the area between the back doors and the roller door, and only within a marked out area the same size as his van.

Grenade #2 (Day 14)
Personal Possessions
Housemate loses all personal possessions indefinitely, other than the clothes they are wearing.
Thrower: Saxon
Target: Brigitte
Results: Probably the most reaction yet, Brigitte was immediately moved to rage, attempting to smash the plasma screen in the House, then brought to tears. She also lost her teddy bear and stuffed unicorn, Princess Sparkles. She basicallt cried for 2 weeks straight, performing Diary Room sit-ins, and a hunger strike that lasted all of 4 hours. Brigitte's persistence has caused BB to offer many opportunities to win her clothes back, but she has gained little of what she wanted with HMs deciding her attitude to the grenade does not warrant her getting everything she asks for.

Grenade #3 (Day 21)
Laundry Service
Housemate must do all laundry for all Housemates, whenever asked, indefinitely.
Thrower: Rebecca
Target: Dixie
Results: Dixie was fine with her grenade to begin with, but has since lost interest and even asked to leave the House because she didn't want to do laundry fpr her whole time in the House.

Grenade #4 (Day 28)
Early Bird
Housemate must be first up every morning at the sound of a rooster crowing. They must make BB toast and coffee and bring it to the Diary Room for him. The Early Bird must not go back to sleep at any time during the day.
Thrower: Nathan
Target: Travis
Results: Not much yet. Travis doesn't seem to mind being first up, and now often plays with Ollie in the mornings until the other HMs join him.

Grenade #5 (Day 28)
Night Watchman
Housemate must be last up every night. They cannot go to bed until all other HMs have gone. They must make BB a midnight snack and bring it to the Diary Room, and must tell BB a bedtime story upon request.
Thrower: David
Target: Bianca
Results: Again, not much yet. She tells a pretty crappy bedtime story though!

Grenade #6 (Day 36)
Save a Nominee From Eviction
One nominated HM saved, putting the next HM(s) in their place. (The first "positive" grenade.)
Thrower: Dixie
Target: Alice
Results: Alice saved from Nomination, with Terri and Renee taking her place as equal-next-in-line.

Grenade #7 (Day 42)
No Message From Home
All origianl HMs will receive a message from they family and friends, except the one who receives this grenade.
Thrower: Renee
Target: Brigitte
Results: Poor Brigitte cops a second hand grenade. As expected, it resulted in another tantrum in the Diary Room, and with her mediator Dixie gone, Bianca was dragged into the DR to listen to Brigitte whinge to BB. Brigitte thought it was unfair that she could get 2 hand grenades, but BB backed up that evictees can choose any HM to receive their grenade. The HMs haven't received their messages yet (as far as I know). Maybe they, including Brigitte, will have to sit and listen to each others' messages, just to rub it in.

Grenade #8 (Day 49)
Housekeeper
Housekeeper must ensure the kitchen is clean at all times, wash all the dishes, and clean the male and female toilets every morning.
Thrower: Rhianna
Target: Cherry
Results: Cherry is not happy about being the dishpig, especially this week when they are not on staples and have plenty of food to cook up between the 10 of them. Plus, BB gets him up nice and early to clean the toilets just to rub it in.

Grenade #9 (Day 56)
Combi Replacements
Nobbi gets to choose TWO HMs to replace him in the Combi Van, banished to the backyard, but may use the House bathroom for 20 minutes a day.
Thrower: Nobbi
Target: Terri & Terrence
Results: Terri knew what the grenade would be and that it would be aimed at her, so she laughed it off a bit. She was a little more stunned when she found out Terrence would be joining her though. The oldies decided to take it in good humour and not get upset about it. When they get to re-pimp the van and get their own outdoor cooking equipment they are even more excited about it.

Grenade Reversals (Day 58)
Brigitte has the option to buy Hand Grenade reversal certificates from the Vending Machine. She buys all 3 available and removes Grenades:

• #2 (Brigitte losing all her possessions)
• #5 (Bianca's night watchman)
• #8 (Cherry's housekeeper)

Grenade #10 (Day 63)
Grenade Reversal & Remove an Item
Reverse the Combi Van grenade, allowing Terri back into the House, and remove any item from the House. Hair straightener chosen.
Thrower: Terrence
Target: Terri & House
Results: Brigitte said a few parting words to the hair straightener and relived the last two weeks they shared together.

Grenade #11 (Day 70)
Wooden Spoon
Receiver of the grenade becomes House Chef until further notice and must prepare all food.
Thrower: Bianca
Target: Ben

Grenade #12 (Day 73)
Boring Food
BB will deliver the target of this grenade with 3 nutritious, but bland, meals each day, and they may not eat any other food until further notice.
Thrower: Brigitte
Target: Rory

Snap Eviction

The twist of the overnight eviction is great because:

1. They haven't done it before here.
2. It sets the mood for the house of anything could happen, anytime.
3. They have told them there will be more than one of these.
4. It is a huge decision for them to make together and will create a great story for Day 1.
5. It is a huge kick in the arse for one of the HMs that have been through so much to get there.

I hope they actually go through with it and really evict this person never to be seen again (in the House anyway).

Who do I want to see go? It is so early! Hard to tell.

• I think Travis' voice will get annoying but he could also be a funny guy.
• Rima is a bit-- hmmm --plus no one will want her on their team for FNL!
• Alice could be the most boring of the lot.

I'm going with Alice for now, but I could be completely wrong about these people, as could the HMs themselves.

BB08 Episode 1: A New Hope

The Launch Show has just aired and in my opinion was fantastic.

Kyle and Jackie O did a great job hosting. The 2-host format works well and seemed more natural than one host standing there talking to camera and reading an auto-cue. Their interviews with the housemates seemed natural and unscripted. We saw the snide remarks from Kyle and the up-front side of Jackie. It's not the mother-hen hosting style we are used to, and it brings more personality to the show.

The new set is a great change. It has lots of "areas" so they can do lots of different camera angles from one small area. The staircase at the back is a good entry point to the stage. The tunnels off either side make it very 3 dimensional. The view-blocking ramp down the middle of the audience is gone and makes crowd shots look more full. The "special audience" either side of the stage is a great idea obviously borrowed from the other reality shows Idol and SYTYCD where the audience is made a part of the stage and are up close. The fact that it is all white and lit with coloured lights is good too, and I can just see it changing to red for the eviction shows.

No expense was spared on sets and staning which is great. The housemate holding area looked toally cool, and it could have looked so tacky. They did a great job of that. Plus the area at the back of the amphitheatre was decked out a bit when they got into the cars, and the stage outside the door to the house was really well dressed and looked like another venue entirely. Maybe it will be used more for the series.

Having the bookie there was a bit out of place but he may become a good character during the show. Does this sway the viewers' vote a bit too much though?

The treasured items was reminiscent of the charity items from the first 4 years. I can see them being used in a twist somewhere along the way. Do HMs want to get their item, or add money to the prize or something. It would be great if they said they were going to destroy the item for good in exchange for prize money. Let them think hard about their choice.

The House and Housemates I'll try and cover separately.

The Housemate preview packages were well done and made a bit funnier and more interesting than past years' clips.

The low-key, under-hyped twist at the end of the show was brilliant too. They didn't make too big a deal of it, but it gives them a unique and huge draw card for Daily Show 1. It is almost a shame they didn't hype up the twist a little more, but good they didn't go overboard like other years.

They put together a fantastic Launch Show that lived up to all the expectations of fresh and new they have hinted at. And it definitely sets the stage for a great season ahead.

BB08 Houseplan (Updates)

THIS POST UPDATED IF THERE ARE CHANGES/ADDITIONS TO THE HOUSE

Given that the Official Site has not provided a floorplan of this year's House, I have gone back to BB06's plan and updated it with this year's layout. This should help you understand where everything is in relation to each other.


(Click image to view it full size in a new window)

"Sunday Magazine" Article

In the Sunday magazine in today's Sunday Herald Sun, an article spills some more beans on the already highly-spilled-bean-stained series. Mostly in the form of photos, as all the other spoilers have already come out.

A photo of the backyard shows us a half-desert, half-footy-field-green outdoor area. The verandah is replaced by tinted glass panels. the pool has been replaced by a smaller L-shaped pool, in the same area as last year with an outdoor shower nearby. A bare-looking tree stands where last year's hot tub was. The upper half of the compound's outdoor area has been painted sky blue, while most of the rest is in browny colours.

The interior photo only shows the diary room. The walls now resemble the eviction hallway from last year-- coloured squares of fabric covering light bulbs hidden behind. Two unfortunate things are: the DR looks to be the same shape as last years, which may mean it has not moved, which may mean a similar house layout again! And the chair looks to be a recovered version of last year's chair, though it may just be a stand-in for the real thing to be revealed on launch night. It could just be the pink lighting in the photo making the old blue chair look black/grey.

The Twists

This is different from"gimicks". The gimicks are the quirky living arrangements for the year. The twists are the surpises that will happen along the way. However BB usually has a hard time keeping his twists in his pants for too long.

Usually twists are all used up by the 2nd or 3rd week. Secret relationships in the house that are revealed on the first Sunday show. The hidden bowling alley in BB05 that was revealed in FNL Week 2! Farmyards, Rewards Rooms, Punishment Rooms. White Rooms that don't even get to play out because the White Room HMs have more stamina than the producers.

In BB02 they only managed to hold off revealing the in ground spa (covered over by a fake garden) until the arrival of the Intruders in about week 3. Even in BB03, the joining of the Square and Round houses could have been held off longer than 4 weeks. Last year's telephone sitting in the living room all season was held off nicely, but when its use was revealed it was a real disappointment, so they tried to make up for it by using fans' suggestions for additional twists the phone could be used for, like the call from the BBUK Housemates.

The only time we've had a real twist that they have hung on to until the end is last year's Ice Cave, which was pretty spectacular for BB.

This year I'm hoping that there are twists already built in to the House, but that we won't even know about until the late weeks.

The Gimicks

I was pretty much expecting a back-to-basics year given that they have the opportunity to draw new fans to the show, however many gimicks of the year have already been released.

• HMs will sleep in one giant bed, with 1 sheet, 1 doona, and one long pillow made out of 14 pillows sewn together. This definitiely throws them out of their comfort zone from night 1, and will force them to get close to each other. It also allows for less real estate inside the compound to be used up by the bedroom! But how much does BB expect to get out of this gimick? How long can it go on for before the HMs just get used to it and get over it? And do we then have to watch it for the rest of the series? Or is this just a week 1 special and a normal bedroom will eventually be revealed after their bonding?
• No kitchen in the house, minimal kitchen facilities in the backyard, and the dining table has a conveyor belt along it coming out from a hole in the wall. So what does this mean? Housemates' meals will be served to them by BB? Not that awful porridge they had last year. Maybe a 3 course banquet. Maybe they will muck around with their diets a bit. They have said there will be no grocery shopping, but HMs will need coins. Do they have to buy their food? Again this doesn't sound like something that can last the whole season. I smell a BB03 rat where extra rooms will be revealed half way through the series, including a bedroom and kitchen.

I guess we will see tonight (or tomorrow) when the floorplan of the inside of the house is revealed whether there are extra rooms hidden away.

We have seen there is an additional house and backyard built onto the compound this year. This could be a luxury house containing a kitchen and proper sleeping facilities, but we may not know for some time.

It Begins

Although the countdown on this blog is counting down to the first TV airing of BB08, it all begins tonight.

While the nation's media are all interested in who our favourite dancer is, a little shed in Coomera will be rocking, and nearly 40 cameras start rolling, on the biggest popularity contest of the year.

Over 1000 fans will witness it all live: The first entrance of Kyle and Jackie O onto the stage, the first look at the new House, the first look at the new show titles and theme music, the first over-40, let alone over-FIFTY, Housemate we have had. The most culturally diverse assortment of HMs ever.

It is make or break for BB this year, and their last chance begins tonight.

Big Brother: The Character

Remember back in the Peter Abbott days when the HMs would just go the Diary Room for a good chat. And BB would do something almost unheard of for the last few years-- Answer!

The "nasty" Big Brother character they have tried (and failed) to pull off for the last few years has made BB more afraid of breaking rules than the HMs. How often do we hear the HMs talk about how they ask a question and sit there for 15 mins while the BB voice goes and rings up a producer and checks the rules and gets someone to write a script, then has a smoke and finally comes back and answers the HM, who has probably forgotten what they asked.

BB needs to be spontaneous, and doesn't necessarily have to be nasty. BB should be just that-- a Big Brother to the housemates. An entity watching over them.

HMs should be let into the Diary Room as soon as they press the button. Someone should be there at all times, otherwise the feeling they have of being watched 24x7 will be destroyed.

It took a strong personality like Kyle Sandilands to break Big Brother last year, by standing up for himself, not being afraid of rules, and getting pissed off when BB seemed to disappear on him. Now Kyle is on BB's team, but hopefully the HMs we have this year will walk in his shoes. But BB has to have the balls to answer them right back!

Housemates are Out There-- At Last!

I'll give it to BB. The HMs we have seen so far are out there. Can you imagine them in any other BB series? I don't think so. Well, not all together anyway.

For the past 4 years the HMs we have been served all looked like they were plucked from the "cool kids" table at a high school graduation party. This year's HMs so far look like your average bus stop or post office queue.

I think we are getting a much broader slice of society this year, which means we'll get a lot more clashing opinions and personalities, and more stories. While it may not be a glamour-fest this year, it will be reality TV.

Hosts Take New Approach

Kyle and Jackie O have been doing the interview rounds and have spilled a lot about the way their BB will differ from BB of the past. And it sounds good!

• They will host in a more "helter-skelter" way, rather than reading from autocues. This is great because having two hosts, especially with the on-air relationship they have already established from so many years on radio, we can have discussions instead of information being driven at us by someone up there alone with no one to bounce off of.
• Live audiences will be encouraged to cheer or boo housemates during live crosses to let them know how they are coming across outside the house. No more "quiet as a mouse" which never worked anyway. Let's face it, the Housemates know the audience is there. Now it's time to see whether they really WANT to know they are there! Imagine the first HM to unexpectedly get a good booing. This will dramatically affect the way they act for the next week.
• Evictee interviews will ask the questions the viewers want answers to, rather than the questions BB wants you to know the answers to. Interviews will be conducted as they would do on their radio show. Gretel always had certain video packages prepared and knew she had to steer an interview down that path. Sure she would swap things around on the fly if the conversation strayed another way, but eventually all the prepared videos had to be shown. Hopefully with Kyle and Jackie they will just let fly with the questions and let the conversation naturally take its course and see where it goes.
• They will change the show week-to-week if they want to try something new. We all know how scripted the live shows were in the past. In fact I even relaised if you watch 2 eviction or 2 nomination shows side by side you will even see exactly the same camera moves and positions. Also before eviction shows, the crew rehearse camera moves and positions without Gretel even being there, proving how structured every detail of the show would be. Hopefully we will now get a show driven by the hosts, rather than driven by the producers and directors. It should almost be a test of the crew to see if they can keep up.
• Then 10 questions are gone. They were too bland, and the HM would usually let the audience answer them anyway. Everyone knew the answer structure. "Who had the worst habit?" would undoubtedly be "So-and-so because he farted all the time." If the hosts are going to ask the hard-hitting questions, then they can't fall back to the script when they're told to.
• The phrase "It's time to go..." is gone. This will remain a Gretel trademark, and fitting that the new hosts bring in their own catch-phrase. Knowing Kyle, it will be "Get out, we've had enough of you.... Housemate Name".

It will be interesting to see just how much power the new hosts have over the series, but it might be in the show's best interests to give them all they want. We need to see hosts driving the show, rather than being dragged along behind it.

Programming Halved in 08

The TV schedule for BB is coming together now, and theory is defintiely "leave them wanting more".

Last year BB had 17.5 hours of regular scheduled programming on Channel 10 each week, plus specials from time to time. This year looks like about half that amount, at around 8.5 hours on air per week, made up of:

• Daily Show - 1 hr Sun/Mon/Wed, 1/2 hr other weekdays
• Sunday Eviction/Special - 1 hr
• Big Mouth - 1 hr
• FNL - 2 hrs

No live streaming has yet been announced, even for Ten HD.

With reduced access to content, especially of the "live" variety, expect the load on the internet streaming to be a lot higher this year, and more VIP memberships.

Uncut Material Returns Under the Guise of Current Affairs

Channel 10 have announced that new BB talk show Big Mouth will have no topic off limits, and will air uncensored (MA15+ rated) footage from the House and discuss adult topics that arise.

Thank god we are not being treated to the Play School version of BB we got last year where MA-rated UpLate would cut away whenever they breached the PG guidelines, and poor Mikey G would have to sit there and say the HMs were being a bit rude and the moment.

Of course in our most-over-censored BB series ever, we did let Bodie slip the C-bomb out during the PG rated Daily Show! Take that, government!

3rd Parties Releasing Spoilers

The problem with sponsorship is that sponsors want to get everything they can for their buck, without thinking of the event they are sponsoring in the first place. Examples:

3 Mobile have been BB's telecomms sponsor for the past few years. Last year they prematurely leaked housemate photos and names. This year they prematurely leaked the length of the series, by placing images on a server, whether made publicly accessible or not, was going to be trawled for information, no matter what they did.

You're not out of the woods yet, 3 Mobile-- not by a long shot! They have also leaked, through terms of one of their competitions, that the first Eviction this year may not be until week 4 of the show. Therefore if any evictions occur before week 4, HMs will know they are "fake evictions".

Channel 10 have advertised that a HM will be introduced on SYTYCD this week. With other HMs not yet in lockdown, if this is part of a twist, the others will know something is up with one of the HMs this year.

Dreamworld, "Home of Big Brother", have announced, before lockdown, that they are selling tickets to a special live show on the first Sunday, and given away its name, "Gatecrashers". Bit of a giveaway that someone will be entering the house that day, so the HMs again will not be surprised when it happens. If there is a second house this year and that is what it's about then when HMs do not enter the house on the first Sunday, HMs will have an idea that someone gatecrashed something!

BB might be thinking by this stage that they would be better off without sponsors, if all they are going to do is ruin the surprises of the series. Maybe a longer lockdown period next year? Or give less information to the sponsors before the series. Or just forbid them to publish such information.

House Sneak Peek

As usual the OS has provided pics of objects and patterns from the new house. It's always a great teaser, and fun to guess what things are. I went through with a friend last night and here's some of our guesses:

1. Grass, obviously, but not real grass. Possibly on the ground in the backyard, but who is to say this isn't whacky wallpaper or a table top or something strange.
2. The bullseye pic looks like it is painted on concrete. It could be a games area in the backyard, but may just be the theme of the whole backyard. Regardless, it is somewhere outside.
3. This one is obvious. The water tanks from last year along the back wall of the garden have been painted sky blue. This makes them less prominent, so maybe less focus on the "green house" of last year.
4. Well, it is rope surely, but made into what? Our guess was it is a person made out of rope. Looks like arms and a head and a torso. Looks like the patio area of the backyard possibly.
5. Another obvious one, a shower head, and it's outside. They have had a shower by the pool in previous years so maybe that's it. What's the glass structure in the background though? A new back area of the house? A greenhouse? Also, we've seen pics of the pool in a separate backyard. Is this part of that area?
6. Dumbells in the gym.
7. This was interesting. At fiest it looked like a wall art made from leather stools, but then we thought what if it is the top of the Diary Room chair? A grey wall and the DR chair made out of tops of stools in red, white, and blue.
8. A floor. Kitchen or bathroom.
9. The wall from whatever room the floor is from in the previous picture.
10. Wall art. Looks like melted toilet seats! Could be anywhere really. Bedroom, living room, "rewards room" (if they have one), diary room.....
11. Now first guess was this was either the emergency ward or the BB chapel! Later we thought perhaps the diary room door, or a door to somewhere else. Defintiely a wall or door given the angle of the lighting and the reflections of lights, but there looks like there is something behind it.
12. A ceiling or a floor. Probably the same area that pic 11 is from. Very dark though.
13. Carpet, but could be on a wall or anything in the BB house. This may be the bedroom colour this year.
14. This is last year's eviction corridor-- light bulbs behind fabric. But where is it this year? Looks like a wall somewhere. Could be the eviction corridor again!

So let's see how many are right on launch night!

Official Website

Yesterday the official website was launched. Surprisingly, it works quite well. My signin from last year worked first shot.

Strangely, when I signed in I had a gold crown next to my name, which I would have thought meant I was signed up for VIP, but I have not done so yet. Is this a bug, an anomaly in their database, or do they just love me? Regardless, I think I'd better sign up properly anyway.

They have provided some good teaser videos, slideshows and stories to kick off with. It's good to have some content on there for the launch. Looks like there are a lot of spaces where more information will appear after the launch, e.g. the very vacant looking header bar. Also there are a lot of menus missing that will have to appear later, like the Diary!

Navigation is a bit dodgy. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but things have moved around a lot. The top menus seem out of logical order. This again may sort itself out later.

But thank goodness that horrible dark gloomy website of the last 3 years is gone. This one is very bright and clean and spaced out nicely. It looks a lot easier to read. The video player is also greatly improved on last year, and my video capture software works perfectly with it, so I'll be able to grab copies of all the videos they put up. Last year it was way too tricky!

SYTYCD Housemate Preview

New ads are promoting a sneak preview at one housemate during this week's final performance show of So You Think You Can Dance.

I wonder if whatever this promo is was planned for Rove that night and was moved after Kyle's on-air sook about Rove.

Regardless, why are we being treated with this preview. It is one of 3 things:

1. A genuine preview of a housemate, possibly obscured from full view in some way, just because they're being nice? (I DON'T THINK SO!)
2. Someone who will be part of a twist, e.g. a mole (but isn't that too obvious?)
3. A publicity stunt. The "housemate" will be someone or something other than the obvious.

If they were really going to say "hey, here's a housemate", wouldn't it make sense to make it one of the 3 the viewers voted in, and if it was a viewer's choice, wouldn't it make more sense to introduce all 3 on the show? Or maybe they will introduce the 3 viewer's choice HMs on different Channel 10 shows throughout the week.

84 Days

Sounds like ths series will only run 84 days this year. The 100 days of the last few years was a bit of a magic number-- 84 just doesn't sound as good.

But it is a good solid 12 weeks, and assuming this is the year BB proves itself all over again, it is probably reasonable that they reduce the length back to where it used to be in the first 4 seasons. BB needs to build up its character as a new show and whatever it takes to do that and ensure many more series, I will live with.

I'm hoping they don't overdo the HMs though. If the rumoured 18 are to enter in the first week, this leaves no room for intruders. It would actually be really refreshing, and prove the format even more, if they had a year with no intruders. Firstly because HMs will expect them and have bets every week that "this is the week", and also because it will prove the strength of the characters they put in to begin with. Of course if the original HM casting is screwed up then this will ruin everything.

CALENDAR UPDATE
Also, the Calendar at the top of this page has been updated with the Day numbers from 0 to 84, with the finale presumably falling on Sunday July 20. Just click the "Google Calendars" logo to import my Calendars into your Google Calendar account. This will automatically update your schedule with all the BB TV shows and events I add as the series goes on.

Promos Ramping Up

At last the TV promos have gone up a notch and now introduce the new hosts Kyle and Jackie O, and what seems to be the theme of the promos for 08, "I Don't Think So". The ad is set to the Kelis track of the same name.

The full 30 second ad airing on Channel 10 now also includes the phrases:

• New Hosts. Same Show? I Don't Think So!
• New Attitude
• Dynamic Housemates
• An X-tra Cheeky Show "Big Mouth"
• Seen It All Before? I Don't Think So!

We'll come back to some of those phrases after Week 1 and see if they were right!

FNL Tickets on Sale to Public This Year

BB has come to his senses and will sell tickets to be in the live audience for FNL this year.

Previously the audience for this show and Monday's Nominations shows have been limited to about 100 invited guests. From what I've heard they were friends and family of Dreamworld employees and BB cast and crew, and all tickets were allocated at the beginning of the series.

This year fans will be able to buy tickets from the Dreamworld website. This has previously only been done for the final FNL of the year, and tickets went for $15 in 2006, and I think about $20-25 in 2007. Hopefully tickets will remain in the affordable category this year, and plenty are made available.

I will defintiely be making this part of the agenda for whatever weekend I manage to get up there this year for an Eviction show.

Calendar Added

Today I have added a calendar that will appear at the top of my blog and let you know what's going on in the world of Big Brother.
The calendar currently has 3 event groups:

• Blue events are TV episodes: Daily Show, Big Mouth, FNL, Evictions, and all specials, including promotional appearances by hosts and HMs.
• Red events are things that are happening inside the BB House.
• Green events are things going on outside the house.

I hope this keeps you up to date with what is happening and you don't miss a beat.

Promos to Begin Tonight?

It is speculated that tonight will be the launch of the BB08 TV ads. With probably 3, or possibly 4 weeks until the series launch, it is really about time.

How much will they give away this year? Will we start with teasers and work our way up? Will they announce the start date? Will they show glimpses of housemates and the house?

I remember back in early 2001 I went to Dreamworld for the first time. It was early in the year and the park was filled with banners with the BB eye and the words "BIG BROTHER IS COMING". At that time I had absolutely no idea what Big Brother was, or could be. But this was my first exposure to the BB teaser ads.

Since then we have seen pre-season promos:

• Announcing BB rumours (03),
• "What's the secret?" (04),
• Gretel interrogating BB "Assume Nothing. Expect Anything" (05)
• Birds, bees, rainbows, and world firsts (06)
• "What Big Brother Promises He Delivers" (07)

This year, the angle will likely be the changes to the series. I'd love to see ads featuring ALL the show's hosts. A Kyle and Jackie ad, a Mike, Bree & Ryan ad, a Tony & Rebecca ad, and a Paul & Tim ad. Make them all different to appeal to different groups, with a common look or thread.

Hopefully they will do away with the Channel 10 look and feel of 2-colour words-on-background flashing kind of promos. They need to come across as more mature than that.

How unfortunate that I will have to watch TBL tonight just for the ads!

Series Shaping Up

Based on the latest info out of Channel 10's own mouth, it looks like the series will be made up of:

• Sunday Night Eviction/Nominations show in one hosted by Kyle and Jackie O.
• Sunday-Friday Daily Show at 7pm.
• A possibly-weeknightly talk show "Big Mouth" with Tony Squires, Rebecca Wilson, Tim Brunero, and Paul Dyer, containing "Uncut-style" (MA) material.
• Friday Night Live with Mike, Bree and Ryan.

Seems a bit light on content given that last year we had 2 hours of live streaming every night plus separate Eviction and Noms shows. The return of an adult-oriented series sounds great though, and will hopefully introduce a whole new audience to the show.

More ex-HMs on the show will be great too, because who can better tell us what the new lot must be thinking. Tim and Paul will add very different views as well.

But where is Mike Goldman through all of this? Hosting FNL, and probably doing voiceovers on the Daily Show. But that's a bit of workload off him this year. Maybe he will become a regular panelist on BM, though that doesn't really cater to his excellent hosting ability.

Let's just hope Ten delivers the promised HD-exclusive content and puts at least a nightly block of uncensored live streaming on Channel 1.