why do i watch this crap?: big brother

So finally I come back to the WDIWTC concept. It hasn't been forgotten - I just haven't felt enough inspiration to return to it, despite a good number of episodes of Toddlers in Tiaras or even the consideration of catching the new deep, meaningful classic Bachelor Pad. Inspiration finally came to me during the finale of So You Think You Can Dance - a show that I do not consider crap - during which, I am ashamed to say, the thought of what might be going on in the Big Brother house has crossed my mind. This thought, of course, is followed quickly by, what on Earth is wrong with me?!, thus birthing this exact blog post.

why i've ended up watching it
I'm going to have to blame my parents again here, kind of, though we haven't ever really watched it together. It seemed to mostly serve as the replacement for The Bachelorette and whatever other reality shows ended around the time it began. It just sort of, well, happened. That's probably its evil plan...

what i don't like about it
I don't even feel as though I have the energy to write this section - I feel like this is more of a rhetorical question. Maybe it's hard to put into words because there's no blaringly obvious reason why it should be hated - aside from its very nature. Everything in the Why I Like It section could be found here (except for Ragan) - thus the ambivalence. Not to mention, everyone dislikes it for different reasons - different housemates rub different viewers the wrong way.
I suppose some people are okay with screechy girls who sound like they're constantly trying - and failing - to act, or wimpy, deluded, pseudo-hotshots who errantly refer to themselves as "the brain" in their wannabe macho dream-team alliance. The greatest thing about the things I dislike about the show, however, is that they compel me to watch even more. What I wouldn't give to see Matt kicked off that show with his head hanging once everyone gets onto his shit.
Etc. Etc. Etc.

what i do like about it
In all honesty, I don't think I have much of an excuse for this one. This show seems to cause ambivalent curiosity for even the biggest trash-tv naysayers. Cynical people (I won't out anyone here) with whom I've sat down in front of the show have begun by judgement and ridicule, but have since texted me with reports on the drama, and clearly know the characters' names much better than I do. How does this happen?! It may be the vague sexual content, it may be the beautiful people (or a combination of the two), and maybe they've just got the monopoly on the best Reality TV casters to create the best combination of drama queens, quirky normal people, meat heads, delusionals, hippies, girls-and-boys of the next door variety, and middle aged do-gooder. The result: just about everyone can be simultaneously annoyed and entertained, can find their would-be best friends and enemies alike. What is probably the biggest draw of the show as a concept is probably that for every part that makes us roll our eyes and judge from our couches, there is at least one housemate reading our thoughts in confessional or - better - to that person's face. What's better? At least once a week we get to see every one of the housemates suffer in some ridiculous but inconsequential way. It's addictive.

My personal favourite part of the show, however, is the quirky normal person: Ragan.

(I just learned his name this week - apparently most of America enjoys him as well because they chose him as the Saboteur... though I'm not entirely sure what that means...). The sole reason I have jumped on the Ragan bus is from one of the first challenges. Sadly I couldn't find a picture, but four teams had to tape someone to a wall and then other teams tried to shoot water with them to make them fall. I thought this was more hilarious than most and Ragan read my mind and quipped: "Just another Saturday night for me". BAHAHAHA. Ok, you might not think it's as funny as I do, but he stole my heart, and up until I learned his name this week, I called him "Just another Saturday night guy".
......I hope nobody read this expecting me to be cool.

All in all, Big Brother has the formula down. They catch you, they annoy you, and they drag you back in. Beware!