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Sunday, Nov 22, 2009
Jamie reads the instructions. She was the valedictorian of her college, but has never run across the word "saboteur."
She pronounces it "sab-a-twah." She naturally turns to Josh for confirmation.
Yeah, that's right, he says.
Josh has told everyone that he has a very high IQ. As we've noted before, he seems to be under the misapprehension that it's done on a scale of one to 100.
Jamie runs around saying "sab-a-twah" until Curtis mercifully corrects her. Then she pronounces it "sabadder."
Josh picks a card that makes him the saboteur. So what is he supposed to sabotage? Will he shave Eddie's chest? Poison Curtis's food? Hide all of Jamie's make-up?
Nope. In a classic "Big Brother" move certain to ensure mass boredom, he is supposed to set back the house clock a half hour each day. (It's a clock fueled by raw potatoes, which the hamsters built during their first week or two in the house.)
Josh isn't sure if he can do it.
He sneaks out of the bedroom that night to do the deed. Not all the snappy editing and spy music in the world can make it interesting.
The next scene is a chat between Curtis and Josh. Curtis says he figures that "Big Brother" viewers and story editors might know more about the hamsters than they know about each other.
Oh, yeah, says Josh.
Because they get to see what happens in the Red Room, says Curtis.
"I'm thinking the Red Room might be totally shocking," says Josh.
Curtis opines that shocking might not be the right word.
It's not. "Boring" would be appropriate. "Tedious," perhaps. "Soporific" and "dull" are other options.
"Maybe not shocking -- interesting," Josh says quickly.
Then both of them agree that they can't imagine that the inmates behave that different in there.
But Curtis says that he can't imagine that the viewers would allow houseguests to get away with that.
It's pretty surprising that Curtis, who seems to have half a brain, really can't figure out what's going on with the votes. It's probably because he has a different image of himself than the way people see him. First Mega, then Jordan, then Karen, then Brittany, then Cassandra, then George. The 1-900 jury has that old "Sesame Street" song in its head whenever it calls up to vote: Which one of these is not like the others?
He doesn't realize that his own innocuous, milquetoast behavior has saved his ass every time he's been up for banishment. No one feels strongly enough about him to vote him out.
As someone pointed out when "Survivor" ended, on "Big Brother," fat and offensive but entertaining Richard Hatch would have been the first to go.
Will Mr. Bland be the last?
(J.S.)
