TVSquad

It's summer and the live feeds inside the Big Brother 8 house in full gear. Now, this is for all of the "internet fans" as the Evil Dr. Will so lovingly described us. If you're watching the show and not the feeds, you'll find there's another whole dimension to Big Brother. And, you'll see what is shown on the televised show isn't always necessarily the whole story. This season folks who subscribe to ShoToo on cable are getting a taste of what has hooked many of us from year to year.

It's the voyeurism factor! Oh, no. I meant the sociological study, man's inhumanity to man. Yes, that's it. I can't be so shallow as to just want to peek in on strangers. Or, can I? It doesn't matter. In September I'll have to see if there's a 12 Step Program for my addiction. Until then, I'll be watching the feeds and filling you in on the latest skinny sometimes days before it appears on the show. We're into the skinny after the jump.

For example, the Power of Veto Competitions are usually held on Fridays. They're aired on television on the Tuesday show. The Power of Veto Ceremony, in which the winner decides whether to use the veto to save a houseguest nominated for eviction, occurs on Sundays. That also airs on Tuesdays. If you're the type of person to sneak a peek at the end of a novel as you read it and find it actually inspires you to keep reading the book, then these are spoilers you're not going to be able to resist. If you want to know the latest alliances, the latest shomances, and how the show is edited to reflect an entirely different reality ... this is for you. You want to peek. You know it.

One thing which nags me with the show versus the feeds is the depiction of Eric, our dear America's Player. What is seen on the show isn't the man on the feeds. Yes, he's an avid fan of the show and has been applying to be on it since the second season. However, instead of the friendly clean-cut charmer, he's the most foul-mouthed houseguest in the house. Yes, worse than Dick! He's very antsy and his housemates think if they ever put him on the block even as a pawn, they fear he'll freak out and have a major breakdown. Yup, that's our man!

Then there's the relationship between Dick and his daughter, Daniele. It is indeed awkward, but only to a point. Dick would probably give the world if he could to let his daughter win. Of course, if she doesn't win, he wants the million half-million. Contrary to what's been shown of Dick on the show, he's studied Big Brother. He's a huge fan of Dr. Will's and even took notes on all of his strategies. It's Dick who applied to be on the show, Daniele was recruited. She isn't as receptive to him as he is to her, but they're working in the house as a team in the house. Another tidbit about him is that he is one of the two main housekeepers this season. Instead of his Evel Dick moniker, he's Domestic Dick. By the way, that's how he spells "evil," not the way I spell it. The other housecleaning buff is Mike.

Did you know that Big Brother hunk Nick's father thought his son was gay until he was 21? He's in a major showmance with Daniele, but the guys like him too. Uh-oh! He certainly looks comfy on the hammock with Zach, doesn't he?

One thing we don't find out prior to the show is the actual vote for eviction. The Thursday show is live. Later in the season, the vote will be live. I expect the votes will be done in Diary Room sessions on Wednesday until the numbers are down. We don't see the Diary Room and the houseguests are forbidden to talk about the votes they cast. They're forbidden to discuss the Diary Room sessions at all. While the feeds are blocked for most competitions, they talk about them later. Alas, not so with the pre-taped vote.

Leading into the voting day, we're able eavesdrop on the houseguests as the alliances discuss voting blocks. So, who's going home Thursday? Initially, it was an outright ouster of Carol. Despite the way she seemed to take her nomination well on the show, she broke down on the feeds. She cried; she fussed; she snapped at the cameras; she wanted out of the house. Who are the others to argue? She seemed miserable.

Then the tides turned and it looked like Amber was more likely to be booted. Mike and Zach talked about making deals with Carol to keep her in the house. Right now I think most wish Jen and Joe were on the block instead of Carol and Amber. As I'm writing this, it seems like we'll see a very close vote. Jen and Joe seem to be votes for Carol to stay. Dustin and Jessica will vote for Amber to stay. If a deal is cut with Mike and Zach, it could push it to Carol's favor. From what I'm reading on the Internet, it seems that the America's Player vote is going to be for Carol to stay, so that's Eric's vote.

I didn't think she had a chance to stay two days ago, but I'll go out on a limb and predict Carol might stay with a 6-5 vote. If she doesn't, it still should be a close vote. It changes hour to hour with this one, though.

Something else to watch for on Thursday's live show -- Joe has tried to campaign to have everyone (most everyone) throw the Head of House competition so he can win. His plan is to put Dustin and Jen on the block with Dustin as the main target. Although Jen really annoys the other houseguests, Dustin's the smarter player and more of a threat to others. He might go home in that scenario. Of course, that's if Joe wins HOH.

To read more on the latest televised episode, see JJ Hawkins' review.