Welcome back, Big Brother fans! It’s time for another summer of competitions, alliances, showmances, paranoia, frustration and twists. Big Brother 18 is finally here for the longest season ever, lasting 99 days.
I’ll be here for every single one of them, posting recaps, spoilers and updates from the 24/7 live feeds. Tonight is all about the first day as the 12 new HGs are introduced and move in. But with four “mystery guests” and new twists on the horizon, we had better expect the unexpected. The one good thing we can expect: no Battle of the Block.
BUT FIRST…this is my Big Brother 18 premiere live blog!
Julie Chen promises us a bumpy ride and a crazy summer vacation. Right away we learn that these two nights will have four competitions, three twists and someone is getting Jodi’ed, meaning there’s gonna be an eviction tonight or tomorrow! There are also four stowaways in the house.
Meet the New HGs
Natalie: She’s a former cheerleader and an event coordinator. She makes dreams come true.
Paulie: He’s Cody Calafiore’s brother and doesn’t wear a shirt in his intro. Neither does Cody.
Bronte: She’s a squeaky-voiced math tutor who’s also a stereotypical Cali girl. But she’s also a runner and dancer.
Victor: This New Orleans gym manager is also shirtless and a Latin dancer…for the ladies. But he lives at home with his parents! RED FLAG!
Zakiyah: She’s a gun-toting pre-school teacher who’s also a bad bitch that thinks the other females will be intimidated by her.
Corey: He’s a baseball coach who sleepwalks.
Glenn: He’s a 50-year-old from the Bronx who went from an NYPD narcotics officer to a dog groomer. He says “Bronx” about a dozen times in his intro.
Bridgette: She’s a soft-spoken traveling nurse who likes to surf. BOR-ING!
Jozea: He’s a celebrity make-up artist who was a go-go dancer in Miami. He’s “too much flavor.”
Michelle: This dietician watches what everyone eats and hates obesity. She’s scared of being kidnapped, aliens, North Korea and more.
Paul: He’s a rock ‘n’ roll clothing designer with a big beard and tons of tattoos.
Tiffany: She’s Vanessa Rousso’s sister and seeing Vanessa gives me PTSD. She’s a genius, but more social than her sister. Like her sister, she’s dated men and women.
Moving In
Natalie, Victor, Michelle and Paul go in first. Natalie is way too peppy. Michelle likes that Paul is a little different, but she’s scared of his beard. Victor is into Natalie because she’s a sexy Latina and goes full telenovela. Paul yells and gloats that he’s crazy and will run over this house like Godzilla.
Bronte, Zakiyah, Paulie and Glenn are next. Paul’s ears are laughing at Bronte’s voice. Zakiyah is instantly in love with Paulie.
Corey, Tiffany, Birdgette and Jozea enter last. Bridgette is happy. Tiffany is already in gamebot mode, stalking her prey. Bronte is overwhelmed and hides in the bathroom to find her zen.
Introductions
Bronte is first to lie about her job, saying she’s in childcare and not an aspiring mathematician who wants to help the CIA fight terrorism with prime numbers. Victor is in love with Natalie, but she’s in love with Corey. And Corey wants a bromance with Victor. LOVE TRIANGLE!
Paul thinks Zakiyah is hot. Paulie thinks Paul is too loud and obnoxious, so he’s going home first. Michelle tells everyone that she’ll cook healthy meals for everyone. Everyone likes Glenn, except Jozea who throws shade at him.
Paulie and Tiffany don’t tell people who their siblings are yet, but Michelle sees the Tiffany/Vanessa connection right away.
The Four Mystery Guests
Julie gathers the HGs to reveal the first of three big twists. There are four stowaways in the house who will be entering as regular players.
Everything You Need to Know about the BB18 Returning HGs>>
The first one is Nicole Franzel from season 16. She pops out of a suitcase. Paulie is worried because his brother took her out. She’s single and playing for herself. Victor leads the anti-vet charge.
The second is James Huling from season 17, also popping out of a suitcase. Bridgette thinks he’s gonna be a lot of fun. His eye is on the prize.
The third guest is Da’Vonne Rogers, also from season 17. James is worried that Mama Day is a firecracker who might target him. Paul says she’ll be lucky to last two weeks this time.
The final stowaway is season 14’s Frank Eudy. He got a haircut and looks less silly. Michelle likes that he’s a trustworthy fighter and underdog.
Mama Day is already struggling to be nice. Jozea, Paul and Zakiyah meet up to trash talk the vets and form an instant alliance. Meanwhile, the vets agree to team up. Da’Vonne is smart to use the fact that some people are fans and they can use that.
Once everyone is together, Paulie decides to come clean about being Cody’s brother. This immediately makes Paul hate him. Tiffany is freaking out, because now she thinks she needs to reveal her secret too, especially since Mama Day knows EXACTLY who she is. But Da’Vonne is keeping it a secret for now.
The Team Twist
Julie reveals the second twist: Everyone is playing the game in teams of four! But she doesn’t explain any of it. People are upset, but Tiffany sees the benefit in working with others.
The four returning players are on different teams and get to pick their teams. So it’s the coaches twist all over again, sort of. But the person they pick gets to pick the next HG on their team. They must also pick someone of the opposite sex.
Frank picks Michelle
Da’Vonne picks Paul
James picks Natalie
Nicole picks Corey
Corey picks Tiffany
Natalie picks Victor
Paul picks Zakiyah
Michelle picks Paulie
Paulie picks Bridgette
Zakiyah picks Jozea
Victor picks Bronte
Tiffany picks Glenn
Bronte and Glenn were last to be picked. Meanwhile, the anti-vet alliance of Paul, Jozea and Zakiyah is with Da’Vonne.
So the teams are:
-Frank, Michelle, Paulie and Bridgette
-Da’Vonne, Paul, Zakiyah, and Jozea
-James, Natalie, Victor and Bronte
-Nicole, Corey, Tiffany and Glenn
The First Competition
There are four giant rockets in the backyard. At stake are cash, punishments and safety. Each team climbs on a rocket and holds on. When all four members fall, they’re out.
The first team out will be Have-Nots!
The second team out will get a mystery punishment!
The third team out will get $10,000!
The fourth team out will get immunity for everyone for the next TWO evictions.
And Julie warns that the first eviction will take place tomorrow night.
James’ head is right in Natalie’s butt, which is kind of awkward. Eventually there’s rain. Tiffany is first off, followed by Glenn and Nicole. Just like that, Corey is the only person left for his team.
Michelle, Bridgette and Frank are down next, leaving just Paulie for his team.
Da’Vonne and Zakiyah fall as the rocket turns. Then Paul goes.
So it’s Corey vs. Jozea vs. Paulie vs. all of Team James. Jozea falls and his team loses.
Team Da’Vonne (with Paul, Jozea and Zakiyah) are Have-Nots!
James drops, followed by Natalie and Bronte. It’s Victor vs. Corey vs. Paulie. BRO BATTLE!
Paulie drops.
Team Frank (with Michelle, Paulie and Bridgette) get a mystery punishment!
It’s a 6’5” warrior in Corey vs. the Puerto Rican Sensation, Victor. Corey drops!
Team Nicole (with Corey, Tiffany and Glenn) win $10,000!
Team James (with Natalie, Victor and Bronte) win immunity for two evictions!
Victor did great, but I’m not wild about the other three getting safety. They seem like filler and floaters who are gonna coast.
The Game Begins
After the comp, Zakiyah rallies all of the newbies against the “old heads.” They even bring up season 13, when the newbies were divided and let the veterans win. Da’Vonne tries to get her team to like her by promising to keep the vets from targeting them if they keep her safe. Her team doesn’t care at all.
Team Names
Victor rallies his team to come up with a name. They start with Cavalry, then become Team Unicorn.
Paulie comes up with Category 4, like a hurricane, for him, Frank, Michelle and Bridgette.
Nicole, Corey, Tiffany and Glenn are the Freakazoids.
Jozea pitches Big Sister for him, Da’Vonne, Paul and Zakiyah.
Tiffany asks Michelle if she’s related to Nicole (paranoia is strong in the Rousso family). She’s not and Michelle turns it around because she knows Tiffany is Vanessa’s sister. They agree to keep it a secret and Michelle hopes to use her to go far.
The “Hit the Road” Competition
The three teams that aren’t safe will compete in a series of three challenges. The winning team of round 1 is safe. The other two teams will do battle in round 2 and the winner is also safe.
In the last round, the final team members will compete against each other. The loser will be eliminated right away. However, the remaining three will pick one of them to be the first HoH, so it’s a risk/reward scenario.
Now the backyard is a beach. For round 1, the teams must build a 15-piece pyramid puzzle. Three members will hold ropes to suspend a platform while one person digs for a piece and puts it on. Then they must switch so someone else gets a piece and so on. Any pieces that fall are out.
Big Sister’s castle drops and so does Category 4’s. Da’Vonne and Paul are at odds and clearly hate each other. The Freakazoids get frozen when they’re one away. And then they lose all of their blocks.
Category 4 wins! Frank, Paulie, Michelle and Bridgette are SAFE!
Corey and Nicole have a bond while Da’Vonne freaks out because she’s stuck with her crappy team that she hates.
For round 2 it’s Big Sister vs. Freakazoids. This time they must solve a puzzle as a group, but there are decoy pieces that won’t fit. Glenn tries to tell people something is wrong, but his team doesn’t respect him. As usual, Da’Vonne and Paul are fighting for dominance.
The Freakazoids finish first, but they’re wrong. They need to fix the base, which is exactly what Glenn was saying. Big Sister finishes, but they’re wrong too. The cream and speckled windows have to line up. Paul flips it in one move.
Big Sister wins! Da’Vonne, Paul, Zakiyah and Jozea are SAFE!
Wow, I didn’t expect that. They hated each other so much. This means Nicole, Corey, Glenn or Tiffany will be eliminated first. Glenn seems like the obvious odd man out, though Tiffany did fall first in that endurance competition.
Tomorrow night we’ll find out which member of the Freakazoids gets eliminated right away and which one becomes the first HoH. We’ll also get our first nominations as Sunday will feature a new competition where one player can change the game.
Will Glenn, the odd man out and the oldest by fire, just go home right away? Will Nicole blow her second shot and get eliminated? Will Vanessa Rousso’s sister somehow be eliminated? Or will Corey…do or say anything interesting?
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
