In recent weeks, we've been learning even more about the remaining Big Brother 2 houseguests as layers of their personalities get stripped away. But in only the past few days, it seems that Nicole may be cracking under the stress. Can she make it to the end? Should BB producers intervene?
I am going to add my voice to the minions of Big Brother addicts on the web who are demanding that CBS supply the rules for the show. There are some fishy things going on in that house, and when you add them them up, you find out that in this strange parallel universe of the Big Brother house in California, (and having spent a year of my life in La La Land I feel I can say this honestly), that either the smog or the sensors are changing the equation, and in this universe, 2 plus 2 equals five.
I know if you look at the plethora of articles I have written, you will find one thing: I cannot predict who will get booted off. Strange, because I am usually the winner in the office death pool and have correctly guessed the sex of all the unborn babies in the office pool, but, like I said, in the Big Brother Universe, the reality is something scripted by the brilliant Rod Serling, and what appears obvious is not. The other rule of thumb to use for this house is the great line from Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple: When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.
Surely, the cast members of this year’s BB house cannot complain of stereotyping and how they are portrayed. It changes from show to show; only on the web cams have their behaviors stayed semi-constant. But in the last week, these houseguests are changing. Mark Burnett, in his book about the first U.S. Survivor show, said the longer you were in the game, the more layers of your personality it revealed. And what has it revealed about the houseguests?
One, that the newly departed Bunky was a lot smarter than he let on, and wanted to win. That although he started off malleable, he changed and grew a backbone as he stood up to Hardy – for example, he wouldn’t trade his cigarettes for protein bars. I was really sorry to see him go.
Another is that “Evil Doctor” Will went from hunk to junk, but now is actually one of the fun players left. His antics on screen have me smiling and laughing and he has actually shown himself to be nice on occasion! I am finding myself hoping that either he or Monica or Nicole win, but Will is playing the game the best out of the remaining guests, and for that reason and that reason alone, I feel he should win. (Although I also would be happy if either Nicole or Monica won).
Hardy has gone from beefcake to Goth almost overnight. He dyed his hair black. (Hardy, please fix it when you get out in the real world!) But he has been showing a mean streak in him that reminds me of a grammar school bully. He is a brilliant plotter, and I think all his plotting will be his undoing, plus he has to remember that all the people he has not been nice to will never vote for him in the finale (presuming he gets there, which I wouldn’t bet on at this point). Hardy, you need to fix your hubris, and fast.
Which leaves me with Nicole. Nicole is one of those guests I have not had a love/hate relationship with. I have liked her from the start, even when she was shown as bossy, and I think its brilliant the way she turned her nomination around. Nicole is a schrewd cookie. Don’t sell her short. She knows exactly what she is doing, once she realized she couldn’t be so headstrong, and adjusted to the houseguests’ various personalities. She also has made herself invaluable to the houseguests, taking a page from Richard Hatch’s book. By doing the bulk of the cooking and cleaning, she is almost guaranteed to last till the final 3 or 2, because frankly, who wants to do these things if you know someone else is?
Now, according to the live feed transcripts I have been reading, (no I have never seen the show on the web, my lap top does not have enough room to accommodate the new version of real player), Nicole has exhibited some, well, questionable behavior. She was extremely horny in the hot tub the other night, which was a long time coming. Even CBS showed footage where she complained she was horny and missed her husband and is a newlywed. From what I read, she tried to tempt Will, and Will stuck to his guns and wouldn’t participate. Good for you Will!
Then Nicole, perhaps waking up from a hangover (supposedly they were drinking during this hot tub incident) , realized that perhaps her husband saw her behavior on the live feeds. I have also heard he (or, more likely, somebody claiming to be him) flew a banner over the house saying that he needs to talk to her, he was understandably upset.
And Nicole apparently cracked. From what I have read, she grew extremely depressed and may have even threatened to cut her wrists with her chef’s knife.
Now, here’s the rub, as Shakespeare said. I hope the brass at the Tiffany Network are paying attention. A suicide threat should be taken seriously. I don’t know the context of Nicole’s statement, but if it is true, immediate action should be taken. Call Nicole into the Diary Room, and have the therapist or shrink or whatever CBS provides talk to her. Is she depressed? I am not a trained therapist, I have had psych classes both as an under graduate and graduate student. This is my opinion: She is. She was shown staying in bed the day Bunky and Will got their helicopter ride. Understandable, if you only look at that incident. But in the big picture, is she falling apart? And what does CBS do for a houseguest if she/he is falling apart? I have noted in other articles, the British show seems to have great aftercare and intervention for the houseguests, something I am not seeing in the U.S. version. This is why I want to see the rules.
When Justin had his knife incident, he was called into a private room and spoke to a therapist. Have they done this with Nicole? Surely, a threat of suicide is just as valid to raise the red flags of caution as a threat of homicide. Plus she had apparently been recently warned about a threat against Will. Or does CBS know something that we the viewers don’t? Could Nicole have a histrionic type personality and CBS feels she is just saying these things to get back into hubby’s good graces?
None of the other BB houses in the world last as long as the one in the States. 60 days in a house shut off from the world seems like enough time. The houseguests are slowly going crazy, as if they have just realized that Sartre said “hell is being trapped in a room with 3 of your best mates for all eternity.” I look at the other guests from the first American BB, and yes, they might have been boring, but none of them were cracking like this going into the 3rd month. Call them boring but stable. And if anything, by spicing up the casting in this year's house, there have some live wires and major personality conflicts, not seen in the first show.
I hope Nicole is okay. I hope that Jeff, her husband, is not upset with her and they can work things out. If it’s possible, I would like Hardy to be the next one booted off the show, which would leave Will, Monica, and Nicole. And any of these three winning are fine by me.
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