#BB15 NYC Launch Party

Last year, I put out an innocent call via Reality Nation (RIP?) for fellow fans to gather for the launch of Big Brother 14. It evolved into a huge production with input from Big Brother alums, and was repeated this year through the stewardship of BB14's Adam Poch at Murray Bar 34 in midtown.  This year, relieved of hosting duties (relieved being the operative word), I hit the party as a spectator with my good Big Brother buddy ST in tow.

The night was interesting, to say the least - it was a hot and humid night in NY, and if you can't tell from the party pictures, the place was about 95 degrees and even more humid inside. That didn't stop fans and houseguests alike from mobbing the place for hours, squeezing through and stepping on each other's toes for photo ops and strategic debates.

A few highlights:

-The bar was 21 and up, and a group of young kids were unable to get into the bar. When we arrived, a considerable number of houseguests were kindly posing for pictures outside with the forlorn kids, including Porsche, Enzo, Ian, Adam Poch, Monica, and JennCity.

-Porsche was considerably taller than I expected, especially in her six-inch heels. She was pleased to hear that I was rooting for her at the end of BB13, then whispered: "Even against Rachel?" Yes, I said, even against Rachel. She seemed satisfied with that.

-I was squeezing through some close quarters and ended up standing in front of BB2's Monica for a few moments. I felt compelled to share with her, truthfully, that I've been re-watching Big Brother 2 on my iPhone at the gym lately, and I hope she wins this time.

-Somehow ST and I ended up chatting with Chef Joe Arvin of BB14 for awhile. We struck up a conversation as the show was airing, and ended up getting into a detailed consideration of whether Elissa should come clean about her family relations. Joe, who famously got Russell Hantz's brother Willie booted, was of the opinion that everyone would know immediately about Elissa's family connections. His prediction proved to be right.

-Joe also informed us that on BB14, while he wasn't familiar enough with Survivor to make the connection, he found out very quickly about Willie's family ties from his fellow housemates.

-Chef Joe Arvin is possibly the loudest human being I have ever met in my life.

-One more great Chef Joe moment: While discussing his season, Joe noted to us that, while his game may have been lacking, he at least knew what was going on in the house the majority of the time. The fan standing beside us piped up: "When the lights were on, anyway." Ouch. I took the opportunity to ask Joe how that conversation would have gone if Dan hadn't outed himself. He said he was planning to tell "Shane" that Dan was still with Danielle, and not to believe any of it.

-We also had a chat with BB14's JoJo, who was very into the premiere episode. She wasn't a Big Brother fan before going on the show, but like most former houseguests, she now claims to be obsessed, to the point that she even watched Big Brother Canada online. JoJo was a fan of The Sheyld and Talla, which makes sense, since Talla was basically the Canadian JoJo.

-Michelle Maradie was in attendance ("Who?" First boot on BB4, look it up!), which made us note her more-than-passing resemblance to BB15 houseguest Aaryn.

-Eric Stein remains one of my favorite Big Brother houseguests of all time. He did not seem pleased about his recent loss in Risk, which he was quick to point out was just a silly board game. Duly noted, Eric.

-Michelle Costa was audibly shocked when McCrae won the first HOH.

-ST wanted a picture with Ian, who was looking quite adorable as he got a little more drunk and sweaty. Not that I'm planning to rob the cradle or anything. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't consider it. We asked Ian how Jun's matchmaking service is working out for him. (ST is Jun's honorary sister.) Ian admitted that it wasn't. Hopefully ST can use her honorary family connections to make that happen for Ian.

-On a similar note, ST and I both noted Elissa's misspelling of Jun's name on her dreamboard and immediately docked her points for that.

-All in all, it was a great party, and shoutout to our new bar buddies, Karen and Jeffery, as well as all of the houseguests who put up with the heat, humidity, and harassment of fans to enjoy the premiere with all of us.

The BB NYC party is becoming a fun tradition, and I'm already looking forward to next season. Thanks for keeping it alive, Adam!

Big Brother New York City Premiere Party

Season 15 of Big Brother US is rapidly approaching, more quickly than usual, since they've moved the premiere up to a surprisingly early Wednesday, June 26, 2013.

If you're looking for a good way to ring in another season of live feeds and controversy, look no further than New York, where I'll be throwing down at Murray Bar 34, at the second annual Big Brother 15 NYC Premiere Party. 

I helped organize the debut of this event last year with BB13's Adam Poch, and a great time was had by all.

This year, the Facebook page is already boasting of appearances by BB8's Eric Stein and Carol Journey (did we know she's a Knicks dancer now? guess she made it home for that barbecue), as well as Jenn, Joe and JoJo from BB14,  BB4's Michele, and Jeffrey Marx from Glass House. Alex Coladonato of BB9 (as in "dammit, why did they vote for the box with Crazy James instead of the box with Alex?") will be offering his DJ services once again. Enzo and Annie (BB12), Monica (BB2) and Crazy James (BB9) also made appearances last year and might turn up again this year. I also met BB14 Wil's personal fan club, consisting of his cousin and other friends who made a very conspicuous debut cheering on his every appearance on last year's premiere.

I can't say I heard much of the premiere last year, but that's what DVR is for, and it was entertaining to watch the vets' reaction to the episode. I also did some interviews with the vets at the party for the Big Brother Gossip Show, available here.

This year's party should be bigger and crazier than last year - so East Coast, represent! Drop me a comment if you're planning to be there.

Charge of the Brigade-Light

Big Brother Canada's four-man Quattro alliance was clearly patterned after Big Brother US Season 12's Brigade, one of the most successful alliances in Big Brother history. Yet three weeks (four evictions) into the series, their so-called "leader" is posed to walk out the door in an exit orchestrated by his own team.

Why did Quattro fail at doing what The Brigade did so well? The easy answer to this is "Tom", but let's go a little deeper than that.

Big Brother 12's Brigade - note the hype man.

First, let's talk about what Quattro was missing from day one. This is the one time I'll give credit to Enzo, so pay attention. Yes, we all know, Enzo was a terrible player, who never conceived a single move other than (maybe) naming the alliance. Sure, Matt was the strategist, Hayden was the executioner, Lane was the silent but deadly ally. But Enzo, fame-hungry, overconfident Enzo, did do one thing very well: he was an effective hype man.

Enzo spent Season 12 hyping the Brigade, until all of them truly believed what he was selling. Matt got along better with his "side alliance" Ragan, but because of his strategic single-mindedness and his belief in Enzo's hype, he never allowed himself to consider breaking the alliance. Lane considered it, and wisely kept it silent. Hayden never wavered either, allowing Enzo to take his athlete's team pride and wrap it up in the banner of their alliance. All four genuinely believed in the alliance and what it stood for.

Which one is the hype man?

Quattro lacked hype from the beginning. They rarely had group meetings. They aped the Brigade's general strategy, roping in two pairs of men, with Peter playing the dorky strategist role (Matt), Alec as the shirtless thinker (Hayden), Emmett as the hunky farmboy (Lane), and Tom as the bully and hype man (Enzo).

Quattro also successfully copied the Brigade's strategy of branching out and forming side alliances, in Topaz (Alec), Jillian (Emmett), and Liza (Tom). Poor Peter tried and failed to develop an effective side partner, but hey, Enzo never really had a true side alliance, either. So far, so good.

Still, the alliance crashed and burned by week three. Why? For the same reasons any alliance fails. The men grew suspicious of each other and began to think about outplaying each other. Tom refused to listen to his teammates, and Peter and Alec increasingly disliked his arrogance.

Watch your back, Tom...

The classic Brigade strategy also contains a serious vulnerability in that side alliance concept: what happens when members spend more time with their side alliances and start to like them better? That's what sunk Matt in Season 12, the boys decided he was too close to Ragan and had to go.

Big Brother's Bit on the Side?

The remaining members of Quattro will be at risk of this. If Topaz ever really opens up to Alec, will he start to be more interested in her than in the boys? If Peter ever finds a side alliance, will he get over his Liza funk and finally master the art of a secret alliance? What happens if Liza survives the double eviction and becomes his side alliance, given her tension with Emmett and Alec? And Emmett is awfully close to Jillian, to the point that he wants her in Quattro to replace Tom. Can the Brigade strategy work with members getting swapped in and out?

Moral of the story: On Big Brother, the strategy matters less than the execution. The Brigade was a brilliant strategy, only because the players were able to play it well.

The best Big Brother players are the ones who can read their housemates and adapt their strategy based on what they have to work with. Alec, Peter and Emmett seem to be doing this by pulling the plug on Tom earlier than planned.

Will it work to their advantage in the long run, or will Quattro become just another forgettable Big Brother alliance?