I rather like the Heaven or Hell divide to the Big Brother house, too -- although it's gone on far too long now. That said, throwing all the housemates back together without the Heaven/Hell backdrop might not be advisable. With so much scrutiny on peoples' behaviour post-racism row, the drunken activities and arguments that fuelled previous BB's are few and far between. Anyway, this year's bunch generally just sit around looking bored and discuss being on the show 24/7. The best thing they've done as a group is lob eggs at each other in the garden. Before Big Brother told them off. Spoil sport.
The Great British Public once again proved they have NO sense when it comes to evicting housemates. After evicting Rebecca (crass and awful woman, but still the life and soul of the house), why get rid of her would-be boyfriend Luke; one of the few housemates who creates a bit of drama -- albeit behind everyone's backs? True, he was half the person without Rebecca to hand, but still. The house is far, far quieter without him...
Mind you, Lisa burst into life by shooting down cynical, sarcastic Rex. The ginger chef has been Alpha Male for weeks now, and his ability to bitch and criticize people to their face (and get away with it!) has been making my teeth itch. I particularly hate how Rachel bears the brunt of his "straight-talking" bullshit... but still thinks Rex "gets" her, so never nominates him! But that speaks more of Rachel's doormat personality than it does Rex.
So anyway, Lisa earned herself a huge dollop of my respect by verbally slapping Rex about a bit one day -- even if they did "make up" shortly after. It was enough to make Lisa rocket up my mental "Deserves To Win Big Brother" list... but then she blew it by deciding to make a shock bid for escape by breaking out through a garden door. It was exciting stuff. Er, for the few minutes it lasted! Security guards detained her in a portakabin and Big Brother allowed her to return to the house (if she wanted) because she hadn't technically left the compound. Oddly, Lisa's determination to walk out and see lover Mario crumbled to dust within minutes of sniffing reality, and she re-entered the house to dozens of WTF expressions. Hmm.
The reason Lisa walked (in a circle) was simple: the surprise arrival of Rex's girlfriend Nicole. If you believe the cynical chef, "Princess" Nicole is the most delectable and jaw-dropping vision of beauty the world has ever seen. Oh yes, she makes Helen of Troy look like a minger. Of course, the reality is a bit more grounded. Nicole's certainly pretty (and one of the better female housemates on BB9 -- behind Maysoon and on a par with Jennifer), but she's nothing truly "special". Rex clearly never suspected Nicole would arrive on the show, so could afford to exaggerate. That kinda backfired, didn't it.
And what of Nicole herself? Ugh. What a totally vapid waste of time, she is. The problem with putting her into the house is obvious: she wouldn't have made the audition process. She's only there as a cheap stunt to play with Rex's mind. BB cunningly made sure the Nicole/Rex love-match are divided, by putting Nicole into Hell while her boyfriend sits pretty in Heaven. Of course, the plastic fence isn't much of a division. Want to know where Rex is at any time of the day now? He's at the fence, hugging Nicole and whispering cheesy sweet-nothings in her ear whilst demanding kisses every 4 seconds. It really is squeamish, stomach-turning stuff. I'm surprised the other housemates can keep their dinner down.
Nicole made the mistake of jumping over the barrier into Heaven to begin with (understandably thinking she was a prize for Rex, so could be with him), meaning Big Brother took away her suitcase as punishment. If the sight of Nicole and Rex embracing for 18 hours of every day isn't bad enough (seriously, they make Lisa and Mario look restrained), then Nicole has basically sealed her inevitable eviction by crying like a big baby over the loss of her clothes and make-up. Rex, as her infatuated other half, can only hug her and plea bargain with Big Brother in the Diary Room. The other housemates don't know her well enough -- otherwise they'd be telling her to fucking grow up and stop snivelling over something so fucking trivial. God...
But is she really upset over her detained suitcase? I kind of hope not, for her sake. A part of me wonders if she's slowly realizing Rex is a patronizing, arrogant bastard. He treats her like an object, talks down her, and generally belittles her in that sarcastic Rex way. I don't think he means to upset her, but he's incredibly overbearing and condescending. And did you see the look on his face when it was revealed Nicole failed a task by taking 10 MINUTES to correctly recite the alphabet backwards? He was appalled to see her thickness exposed to the house so soon. Poor girl. She shouldn't be there. Do us all a favour, Nic: split up from Rex to shut him up, and then leave. He's so insecure, he knows it'll happen some day. He's already wondering if their relationship will breakdown on national TV!
It would help the ratings.
