Effectively eradicating recent speculation that the next edition would be celebrity-based, CBS has announced a nationwide casting call for Big Brother 9, starting this Saturday in Los Angeles and wrapping up Dec. 8 in Tampa, Florida. (Go to CBS.com for a complete list of tryout venues and dates.) This ninth cycle of the typically summertime reality competition will air "in 2008," says CBS, "on dates to be announced." Meaning, "as soon as Julie Chen can get back in training for how to say, 'But first.... '"
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Question: Why haven't ABC, CBS and NBC copied the cable networks with new summertime programs like The Closer, Damages, Burn Notice, etc.? Don't they know the public is clamoring for good programs to watch during the summer hiatus?
Answer: The networks often say they'd like to put good stuff on in the summer months, not just failed burn-offs and shows they've otherwise given up on (Traveler, for instance). And the trades continue to announce provocative projects (like a horror anthology for NBC) that could air in the off-season. But for the most part, I'm betting we'll still see mostly reality on the networks in the summer. Some good (So You Think You Can Dance), some awful but popular (America's Got Talent), some hateful (Big Brother), and many that come and go without a ripple (Pirate Master, anything on ABC). The reason: economics. Cable networks see the summer as an opportunity to promote and produce some of their best work, to establish their brands and make noise. The networks will
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This Tuesday's ratings at a glance:• A two-hour The Biggest Loser matched last week's premiere audience — 7.9 million total viewers — and surged to nine mil in the 9 pm hour opposite Big Brother's finale.• Beauty and the Geek scored 3.34 mil on its first-ever fall date. That's a 30-percent drop from the previous season opener.• Big Brother wrapped up its season with 8.5 mil, a three percent improvement on the Season 7 closer. All told, BB8 matched 7 in average audience size.
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After 81 days and countless dramas, Evel Dick emerged as the $500,000 winner of Big Brother 8, with his daughter, Daniele, taking the $50,000 second prize. The dynamic Donato duo certainly faced their share of controversy and managed to survive being on the block — with each other — three times. The day after their big win, the two shared their favorite moments of the summer, what they plan to do with the money and some surprisingly tender insights about each other.
TVGuide.com: What was the key to your success?Dick: Working together. Best teammates ever, best team ever!
TVGuide.com: That's been your motto since making it to the final two. Why do you think you worked so well together?Dick: Nobody else did what we did, including Danielle and Jason and their secret alliance in Season 3, Will and Boogie in All-Stars, the twins in Season 5, the exes in
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“By golly, it’s either Evel or Evel Spawn that’s gonna win.” That about sums it up, Dustin. I have to guess that the toughest part of being on this particular Big Brother jury is looking back at all the wasted opportunities they had to evict the Donato-nators. In the words of runner-up Daniele, it must be so… “frusterating"!It has been an interesting, entertaining but, generally, predictable summer in the Big Brother house, so I was really excited that we ended with an unexpected victory. I thought for sure that the jury would reward Daniele for her skill in the competitions (Jen and Jameka agreed with that philosophy, though I think their votes were more about personally disliking Evel Dick than the game itself). I don’t know if it was Eric’s impressive ability to sway the jury or their own acknowledgement of being thoroughly played, but Dick emerged victorious over his offspring. After looking back at a number of episodes courtesy of my DVR,...
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