David T. Farr More Content Now
As much as I enjoyed watching the Olympics on NBC, I enjoyed watching “Big Brother” even more. How could I not? It was the first time CBS produced a “celebrity” edition of the long-running reality show.
In September, Julie Chen hinted at a winter edition of “Big Brother” that would air sometime in early-2018. Then, it was rumored to be a celebrity edition. Other countries already have experimented with a celebrity-filled house, but never has it happened here.
All winter, speculation about who would enter the house teased diehard fans. I was excited to learn who would play, then the houseguests were revealed during Super Bowl LII.
A week later, Ross Mathews, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Mark McGrath, Metta World Peace, Ariadna Gutiérrez, Brandi Glanville, Shannon Elizabeth, James Maslow, Keisha Knight Pulliam, Chuck Liddell and Omarosa entered the “Big Brother” house.
Most seemed like obvious choices for a commitment such as “Big Brother,” meaning they might not be A-listers. However, Omarosa garnered the most attention, in and out of the house.
Omarosa already was known as a reality TV villain for stints on Donald Trump’s “Apprentice,” both the debut season when no one knew her and “Celebrity Apprentice,” when she had become a star. But the real elephant in the house was the fact that, only weeks earlier, she was fired from her job as communications director in President Donald Trump’s White House.
Instant reactions of the house guests were almost priceless. Even stars get star-struck. Mark McGrath, frontman of Sugar Ray, was in awe to see Metta and Liddell. Metta is an NBA star and Liddell is an MMA fighter.
Mathews, whose claim to fame is entertainment journalism, freaked when he saw Omarosa. He made it known in the “diary room” that he would get Omarosa to talk. What happened next was unexpected. It was obvious she was not bound by a gag order, as she spilled a lot about her time in the White House, Trump and her feelings on the direction of our country.
Omarosa’s candid words made headlines and were watercooler fodder for many of us.
But, as with typical “BB” seasons, game play, alliances and strategy was just as prevalent. I instantly liked Ross, Marissa, Shannon and Mark for various reasons, although Shannon showed her strengths way too soon. She became an obvious threat.
The shorter season, just 26 days, saw the celebs evicted one by one from Chuck, Keisha, Shannon, Metta, Brandi, James, Omarosa, Arianda and Mark, with Ross and Marissa making it to the final two.
Ross and Marissa were a winning duo from the start. They worked together throughout the game, explaining why Marissa chose to keep him for the final two, over Ariadna and Mark.
Votes were tallied it was the Tony Award-winning Marissa winning the first “Celebrity Big Brother.”
I’m pretty sure there will be another celebrity edition next winter. In the meantime, we’ll get a dose of the regular season this summer. I can’t wait.
— David T. Farr can be reached at farrboy@hotmail.com. You also can find The Farr Side on Facebook.
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