After a shaky first season, Big Brother hit it off with its second rendition. Big Brother Season 3 is coming off of that high, so the anticipation is genuine this time around, especially with all of the new fans that are coming in after hearing about how good last season was.
Naturally, there was pressure on the show runners this time around. Not to say that there wasn’t pressure last time. Indeed there was, but this time the pressure was different. They had to deliver a good follow up; they had to live up to the new expectations people had of them. Were they successful in this endeavor? Read on to find out!
An Exciting New Twist to the Series: The Power of Veto is Introduced
Obviously, since the last season was so popular after having made so many drastic changes to the format of the show, Big Brother season 3 needed to keep that sense of freshness going. One can argue that this would be similar to fixing something that is not broken, a major no-no if you want to replicate the success you have enjoyed so far, at the same time the creators of the show needed to offer something new to keep the older viewers intrigued. Otherwise, it would have just been the same thing happening all over again!
This is the season where the power of veto is introduced which is the twist the show needed. Each week, the guests at the house would participate in competitions to determine who was the best of the best – much like in the previous season – but this time around, the winner got something more. Whereas last season the winner was just exempt from getting nominated for eviction, this season they had the option to veto one of the Head of Household’s nominations and save that person from eviction as well. This added a new dynamic to the politics of the household.
The Return: One Previously Evicted Houseguest Returns
About a month into Big Brother season 3, four houseguests had been evicted so far. Tensions were running high, and it was pretty enjoyable to watch. However, I was starting to feel like the tension was getting a little stale. It was starting to become a little repetitive, and I was just about to add something in the minus column when the show threw me a curveball. They announced that one previously evicted houseguest returns following the next eviction!
This was incredibly exciting, and I have to say I wasn’t expecting it at all. It created a lot of tension and opened the show up to a lot of new possibilities. To be honest, I was down for any of the evicted guests coming back, but when I found out that it was not just going to be a simple return I was even more intrigued. The show did a great job at building suspense by making it a vote between two potential returning house guests, and I had to admit that I was relieved that Amy was the one coming back. I quite liked her; she made the show more fun!
A Celebrity Guest: Sheryl Crow Entered the House
There had long been the talk of a celebrity version of Big Brother in which a bunch of celebrities would come together and play for donations to a charity rather than personal wealth. While this season ended up coming before the starting of the celebrity edition, there were some celebrity appearances by some pretty famous individuals.
One of the most prominent appearances occurred when country singer Sheryl Crow entered the house. She serenaded the contestants at a private concert that had been organized just for them, and it was heartwarming to see all of the contestants just being together and having a nice time. I feel like these are the moments that help to make Big Brother such an amazing show. It is more than just a show where people stab each other in the back. It is a show where you can watch humans of different backgrounds coming together and accept one another. It is an odd way to look at a show like this, but under the surface, I believe this is what the show is truly about.
Was There an Opportunity Lost? Marcella Doesn’t Use the Power of Veto
On the 69th day of Big Brother season 3, one of the most divisive contestants on the show, Marcellas, won the power to veto through the competition but decided not to use it. I found this rather odd. After all, he had won the power to veto fair and square. Why would he choose not to use something that would allow him to have such an enormous impact on the rest of the season? It seemed very odd and very fishy to me, and I felt like it was just a ploy on his part even though that did not make sense.
This might have been one of the few things I didn’t like this season, but I think it did not take away from the entertainment value of the season as a whole. If I’m honest, my dislike of this event comes from a personal desire to see powers like this being used as much as possible. That being said, when everyone else noticed that Marcellas didn’t use the power of veto, it made everything seem a lot more dramatic which was certainly entertaining.
The Aftermath of Marcellas’ Folly
Marcellas had a chance to save himself, but because of his inexplicable reason not to, he ended up getting ousted from the show. Eviction is certainly not something that anyone would want to go through, and I must say I was sad to see him go.
He had a very interesting personality and managed to make everything seem so exciting! After he had left the drama level of the show lowered because the houseguests were all unanimously happy that he was gone. While I was certainly happy for them, at the same time, I must admit I was disappointed that such a stellar character would no longer be on the show.
Contact with the Outside World
One of the most intriguing aspects of this show is the fact that the guests are unable to contact any of their loved ones while they are in the confines of the house. This makes everything even more intense because the guests are pushed to the breaking point, and it also gives you the chance to watch the guests fight for the privilege of contacting the outside world.
After Marcellas had been evicted, the four remaining guests were given a chance to find a phone that had been hidden in this room for the chance to make a three-minute phone call to a loved one and send a thousand dollars to anyone they chose. All four contestants got the prize, and I must say I was happy that they got to speak to the loved ones they had not spoken to for several months by this point.
An Intriguing Change to the Contest
Big Brother season 3 was all about pitting the houseguests against one another, and they did that spectacularly this time around. Even though all the guests found the phones, they were offered the option to get five thousand dollars. Accepting the prize would mean no one else that found the phone would be able to make the phone call or send the money.
Amy ended up taking the money after it was increased to ten thousand dollars, and two other contestants accepted as well. Amy won the prize in the end because, as luck would have it, the number she called was lower than any of the other contestants! This created quite a bit of resentment towards Amy, and it affected how the rest of the show went quite a bit. It was fascinating to watch the guests being made to compete in this manner.
A Shocking Exit
It was pretty obvious that Amy was going to be ousted from the household after she took away a privilege that the other three guests had fought hard to get. What surprised me was that Lisa had also been nominated for dismissal. This seemed extremely strange to me because Lisa had been the only person that had not agreed to deprive other members of their privileges for their own money and Danielle, the head of household during this week, had accepted at the very first offer!
I have a feeling that Danielle chose to nominate Lisa because she saw her as a threat. After all, Danielle was safe for this week as Head of Household, but Lisa had made a good impression after choosing the high road. Danielle was probably scared that if Lisa stayed, she might lose her chance to win the game! It was incredibly shocking given the internal dynamics of the house.
The Wrath of Lisa
I think Lisa was probably my favorite character all season because she seemed like a good person, but during the top three stage she did something pretty cunning and I loved her even more for it! After becoming head of household, she could remove whoever she wanted to, and she chose Jason. I thought this was pretty shocking because Jason had saved her from getting ousted, but to be fair Amy had been the only choice and I understood why Lisa made this decision from another angle as well.
Danielle was extremely cunning, but she wasn’t as likable as Jason. If Lisa were with Jason in the final round, she would stand a greater chance of losing, but with Danielle, her shot at victory was much stronger. I felt like what happened next was well deserved in pretty much every single way!
Who Won Big Brother 3 This Time Around?
As Big Brother Season 3 drew to a close, I felt like Lisa was the clear favorite to win. Danielle had managed to make it this far, but she was not nearly popular enough with previous household members to nab a win. I was a little worried that Danielle might pull through in the competitions, but Lisa managed to come out ahead and was the one who won Big Brother season 3 at last!
I was really happy that Lisa won. She deserved to win after being such a genuinely good person throughout the show. I have to say I was a little surprised that I started feeling bad for Danielle, but I was glad that she got a pity vote from Jason. I knew Jason was never going to vote for Lisa considering she kicked him out last week, but it was pretty irrelevant when you take into account the fact that all seven other previous household members voted for Danielle to get ousted and Lisa to win! The grand prize was hers, Danielle got the runner up prize, and all in all the season closer was perfect.
The Verdict on the Show
I think it’s important to understand just how good this season was. It had some ups and downs, but at the end of the day, the only thing that truly matters is that we got top notch entertainment from a wide group of people, all of whom seemed to be made for the show. Hence, the casting this time around was superb, the producers of the show did a great job selecting people that were able to give us a very entertaining season while still seeming realistic which is, after all, what this show is all about.
I enjoyed the veto power that was introduced in Big Brother season 3. It added a new dynamic to the show and helped shake the format up; something that the show needed in spite of so many people thinking that it was good enough during the second season. It just goes to show that the show has some solid producers that certainly know what they are doing.