Oh Brother, Part VIII

Thursday saw the season premiere of the newest installment of everybody's favorite summer reality television borefest, Big Brother. Each year, I bitch and moan about how ridiculous the show is and what a huge time commitment it entails and how I can't be bothered to watch it. And each year, I watch the first episode and I'm hooked.

This year is no exception. Fortunately, the Big Brother house has been blessed with the delightfully catty ex-couple of Dustin and Joe. No holds are barred in their verbal slapfight, especially since Joe felt the need to confess to the other houseguests, mere hours after meeting them, that he "immaculately conceived" gonorrhea, thanks to his former partner. Also interesting for her potential to contract foot-in-mouth disease, is bible-thumping Kail, who expressed how displeased she would be if one of her children chose a gay lifestyle, since we all know that sexuality is entirely a matter of choice and that people willing open themselves up to gay-bashing because they have complete choice in the matter.

What continues to drive me nuts is Big Brother's continuing reliance on aspiring-model hardbodies, to the point where people come into the house scouting out others to hook up with, rather than people to ally with. I know they're targetting it to the younger demographic, but shows like Survivor do a much better job of presenting a cross-section of society (especially lately, with the multicultural casts). But first, would it kill Julie Chen to eat a hamburger, so that her body isn't dwarfed by her hairdo. How does that woman still have a job, anyway? Oh yeah, she's sleeping with the president of CBS.