Dingo's Hamster Watch - Big Brother 5

"Position the habitat of your hamster somewhere light and airy,
away from drafts, heaters, direct sunlight and other pets.
Never put it on or near a television, radio or hi-fi or a fridge."

This site isn't about who should win, who will win, who I'd be friends with, or who is cute. It's about watching hamsters: which ones are doing what and why. Which are fun and which are dull. If they aren't entertaining, get rid of 'em! More to come, bookmark & come back! .. that dingo

Linkage

Daily feed recaps & opinion ratings navigation tool for this often-biased site
HamsterWatch Big Brother 8 here we go again
HamsterWatch Big Brother 7 Hamster all-stars in the house
HamsterWatch Big Brother 6 time to do it all over again
CBS Big Brother 5 the official site
Housecalls live web show with Marcellas, also archived shows
TV Updates feed updates, screencaps, and fun boards - easy to use and functional!
bb5fan's 30 second refresh screencaps if you don't have feeds (great at work!)
Hollyisms and Cowboyisms and Lisa-isms from me, that dingo person
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What happened to Grins? We need our daily dose of BB5 Park - from Jokers

9/18/04 - Day 79 >> to the future >> dwell in the past >> latest

A jury of their peers

We figured it'd be dullsville in there with the talking Cowboy and his sidekick Prettyboy, and it was for most of the day

Things livened up though, when the fishies delivered to us a double explosion of testosterone-fueled anger.. Drew & Cowboy's cameraderie of just 24 hours ago ("we're here together - horsemen to the end!") turned to resentment at being in the position they'd already put all of their accusers into, and finding out that their illusion of appearing innocent all this time was just that: illusion

There was also a highly competitive tone between them, even as they railed on their accusers, each of them blatantly pissed off at the statements or innuendos apparently made that (individually) they did not deserve first place.. again, a complete turnaround from last night.. and again, both of them too dense to recognize it

Mostly it was a lot of hot air, frustration release, and the same pity party we've seen for most nominations.. these guys had put down the ones who acted exactly like this.. and there were a lot of transparent justifications for guilty consciences: many of the things they were irate about being accused of are true

The actual Q&A will be highly and subjectively edited for Tuesday's finale of course, so we can only guess from the boys' hostile reactions and flimsy justifications at how it really played out.. the only thing we learned for sure was that the jury won't reward Cowboy cuz he's too poor, and they won't reward Drew cuz he's too rich.. go figure

Prior to all that, it's this bad: the high points of the day are Drew's failed audition as nachos commercial spokesman, and Big Brother screwing up (or screwing with them) by calling every past & present hamster's name to "Please go the diary room".. of course our two deluded goody-horse-shoes answer the summons right away

Drew (monotone): It's like the easiest, most awesome tasting snack

Shared activities move here & there, with predictions of what's to come, and then it's another prep 'n primp, this time with a twist! Drew rehearses his speech to the jury, as if he's said it 1,000 times, and he presents himself to perfection

Drew: If anything, it'll be Diane having some words with me
Cowboy: Same with me and Nakomis
Drew: Yea but she's had some time to think
Cowboy: Diane doesn't need time to think before she says something
....
Drew (on fashion): Whatever makes you feel good.. makes your personality shine
....
Drew (rehearsing): You can't judge the nominees by financial backgrounds.. pick a nominee by how they played the game.. I'd like to stress to the jury how I played the game.. I hope you guys respect it.. I tried to keep my word throughout the game.. unfortunately yesterday I had to break a promise to one person.. for me it's evident I was HOH week 3 (etc, he numbers the weeks).. I didn't ride anybody's coat-tails to the final two.. with that, I hope you respect me.. I tried to keep my word.. I was only on the block once but that's not my fault - you guys could have put me up anytime.. just once and I took it like a man.. I made myself get in the final two because of winning HOH the last two times

dingo: It's odd that he refers to them as nominees; it's telling that he even brings up riding coat-tails; and it's downright sad that he says he tried to keep his word, just after admitting he broke it.. as for taking his nomination 'like a man'.. well.. that was one of the most volatile days we've had in there (and one of my favorites), even though he was guaranteed a veto escape.. incidentally, the jury had apparently seen last night's episode

"Nothing personal"

Sorry, but it's another text-heavy episode, kids.. Marvin is the HamsterWatch star of the day yet again, even when he isn't there, for being the one to rattle both their cages the most - probably without even trying.. As always, just the snippets I caught and found interesting and/or amusing.. check your favorite full-service update site for the rest:

(Cowboy says something about someone talking about 'going up against the horsemen')

Drew: 'Aww, you tore her heart out and I'll be there to see you'.. give me a break, man! Trying to make me look bad, trying to make me look like a piece of dirt

Drew: I bet you anything that Marvin's all up on her now
Cowboy: I've got 2 black nieces!

(Cowboy asks Drew his reasoning on how he arrived at how the jury votes will go.. Drew begins with 'Diane told me..'

(they go through the jurors - each of them hopes they get 'at least one')

Cowboy: Marvin and Diane grilled my ass
Drew: Me too!

Cowboy: If that's how they're doing it, fine, that's fine.. but couldn't there have been a different way how to word that maybe?
Drew: Yea

Drew: Are we still on Big Brother? Do they see our reactions to all that now??
Cowboy: They do not see our personal conversations, and this is a personal conversation.. a big conversation

Drew (about his farewell to Diane): What do they expect, 'I love you? I'll eat puke for you??'

Drew: They know who we are, most of that was probably for tv dramatic purposes.. they know who we are

Cowboy: And I hope Nakomis understands why I did what I had to do! I wish I'd voted Diane out to be honest with you
Drew: Heh
Cowboy: You wouldn't have expected that, you woulda been mad at me
Drew: I'd respect any decision you made.. I woulda been rubbed the wrong way, I admit that

Cowboy: You use women.. and I'm a racist!

(they go through Drew's final HOH basket - it's lots of candy and snack foods.. but there's a theme)

Drew: Funny funny, Big brother.. everything's peanut butter and jelly

(Drew says they don't know what happened with Diane 'after she shut that door')

Drew: Right after Young & Restless Marvin came up to me, he said 'Dude don't tie yourself down to her.. do your thing with Diane but keep it loose for when you're out.. girls are gonna be coming at you, a young white (he said that) kid on tv..' THEN he comes and says that to me tonight!!

dingo: So Drew's saying he did what Marvin told him, cut Diane loose, and now he resents Marvin for calling him out on doing what he told him instead of what he may or may not have done on his own?

Cowboy: They are taking power into their own hands!
Drew: They are.. this is like being on the block! Um it's worse than that

(Drew talks about how Diane kissed Scott & Marvin again)
Cowboy: Oh by the way, Diane asked me about that kiss
Drew: And you saw the kiss!! Screw this, I don't care.. she is so FULLA SHIT!! She's kissing every person who's HOH whenever they're HOH!! She's a SLUT!!

Cowboy: Marvin did every girl in this house!
Drew: Marvin was like a Houdini, he escaped every time he was on the block.. and that's why I got rid of him

Cowboy: Karen asked Nakomis's question for her!
Drew: I know, I can't believe that!!

Drew: Tonight we saw people's true colors
dingo: we are seeing them now, too

Cowboy: You scored brownie points with Lori.. today when you said she was beautiful

Cowboy: Don't say anything about this, I'm surprised CBS hasn't.. but I was the school mascot
Drew: Really? Dude, that's awesome.. I think of you as the Big Brother mascot
Cowboy: I was Willie the Wildcat

Drew: My mom was a cheerleader.. I think.. it was either my mom told me this or my girlfriend in high school.. she loved basketball games more than football games cuz.. etc

Cowboy: I didn't get to play football my senior year cuz my ex-wife wouldn't let me play

Drew: People can say whatever they want about me, but I know who I am.. you know who you are
Cowboy: Who cares what seven people think about me??

(Drew says he got his college degree 'from a pretty reputable school in Ohio'..)

Cowboy: My bank account before I came in here was negative
Drew: I don't want to get discriminated against just cuz of the family I was born into

Cowboy: I'm gonna get a little bit closer to you
Drew: Why?
Cowboy: So I can reach the nachos

Drew: I never ever EVER said trailer trash! I think he was just promoting himself to get her
Cowboy: He can have her
Drew: Uh huh

Drew: Producers, I hope you see the true people that everyone in this house now is, and that you portray us as we really are
Cowboy: I know what we are, two nice guys in the final two and getting lied at by everyone on the jury

Drew: They were assaulting us for our personality and saying everything we did was wrong

Cowboy: I won 2 food competitions, a veto.. America Choice, but that's different..

(free of kissing duties, Drew can now wear his retainer to bed again)

Drew: The one person who should have stayed one more week..
Cowboy: Lori?
Drew: No
Cowboy: Savage?
Drew: Yea
Cowboy: Who was he up with again?
Drew: Marvin.. he had plenty of time to think out the things he said tonight, and he still said what he did

Cowboy: Now I have to sit down with my nephews and let him know why a black man said that to me
dingo: this is what I took down.. but earlier they were nieces? nephews? him? I'm as confused as he is now, sorry

Drew: The only times I talked bad about Diane was when she was a BITCH!
Drew: Ok.. the only time I talked bad about her was when I found out she kissed Marvin..
Cowboy: Uh huh
Drew: Ok and the only time I talked bad about her was with Adria
Cowboy: I feel like Natalie & Adria are good Christian women and they love their husbands.. I mean they love them for the hair on their chest and their big strong arms.. (they, or one of them - not sure) said they'd love their husband more than their kids.. do you believe that? I think the kids go first
Drew: I dunno, I think the husband and wife should come first, they're the unit
Cowboy: I'm gonna believe that Chasen's fed before April is

Drew: I voted out 4 people
Cowboy: I voted out 3
Drew sent Will, Natalie, Adria, Karen, and Diane to the jury.. Cowboy sent Will, Marvin, Nakomis

Cowboy: I'm gonna ask Marvin if he wants his Bible back
Drew: That'd be funny

I know I still you owe some parts from a few days gone by..
I will get to them - thanks for not making a big deal about it :)

Thanks for visiting!

Big ups to HamsterWatchers who stuck it out this far - just a few more days and we're free! Sincere thanks to those who posted & emailed about my Diane tribute yesterday (even those who disagree) - it means more than you know.. I'm still smarting from her exit.. nobody's getting out alive this time

After a mostly dull day of Cowboy being his usual self you want to slap just to shut him up, he emerged from jury questioning like a whiny crybaby. (More so than usual.) His half of the two-hour sour grapes tirade eventually boiled down to Marvin allegedly calling him a racist, which I just can't see, but we'll probably never have that whole story either. If feedsters end up believing it simply based on Cowboy's say-so, then I give up - this is the guy who thinks he's already booked on Letterman, that he's got a shot at kissing Julia Roberts in a bikini, and that Lori had a thing for him.. consider the source, people! Karen's right: he's a snitch.. he jump-started Diane's eviction by reporting back to his buddy Drew that 'Diane kissed Marvin' (neglecting to add that it was a friendly peck like Cowboy had given twins & others, and was done in Cowboy's presence - scandalous!); and as far as hoping Nik 'understands'.. well.. it seems most have forgotten that the 'brother from hell' told his fellow horsies about the surprise family ties before he told the sister involved - maybe that's when she started disliking you, bub.. ya think? He says he earned his spot in finals by 'winning 2 food comps and a veto.. well, and America Choice, but that's different.' It's always different with this drip.. and I think America did that one for April.

After a mostly dull day of Drew being his usual self you want to slap just cuz somebody should, he emerged from jury questioning like a spoiled child having a tantrum. His half of the two-hour sour grapes tirade eventually boiled down to Marvin supposedly manipulating everything (before & after his eviction) in order to have Diane. Will his ego ever stop swelling? I followed the whole (imaginary) Drew-Diane-Marvin love triangle carefully, and reported here as it went down that it had all been Diane's fabrication to a) make Drew jealous, b) prove his love by fighting for her, and c) getting super-popular Marvin out of the house. All of which happened except b) cuz Drew was too scared of the big mean man to confront him, and apparently still is. Ironically again, that Diane-plot helped to sabotage her hopes to end up with Drew but most now agree that's a good thing, all things considered. He says he earned his spot in finals by his four terms as HOH, his strategy (citing several incidents we know were her doing), and his knowledge of the game - but he couldn't even remember how many he'd voted onto the jury cuz Diane wasn't there to remember them all for him.

Ups are Diane's all the way, for giving us a moment so real it was heartbreaking to watch. Producers knew it was coming: clues were sprinkled all through the buildup edits, and they hadn't given her a hint either.. but everyone knows network tv has slimy ethics. They tried to get some more bang from the many bucks wasted on the quake machine, to no avail: the segment lasted almost as long as the actual comp, and the judging fuckup that took 15+ minutes to call at the time miraculously turned into a split second for air. Even highly dramatic music couldn't help this one - the most exciting thing watching it was the news-crawl that Barry Bonds hit #700 (go Barry!) Another overpriced DNA apparatus and another long, dull, drawn-out comp we knew the results of already.. and then it's the final comp (The One That Matters) and they've got Drew & Cowboy parked in kiddie cars in the living room - hysterical! Great to see Scott again, and Jase & Holly together, yay! A sweet bonus to find out the two bums in the house doing it all for the horsemen are the only ones still in the club. Julie looked like she wanted to smack Diane like she'd smacked Marcellas for still talking up Drew, and maybe she should have - it would have been kinder than showing Diane that cold farewell that ripped her apart.

Her motivation was to win the boy but he dumped her on tv for the money. As tough as she is fragile, feisty & bitchy but pure of heart and never dull. Way smarter than she thinks she is - she earned every penny Drew takes home. Star of the show.

'The Smart One' turned out to have perspective & ethics, and garnered respect for being herself. Overcame ratings-based emotional blackmail and proved that reality tv needs real people.

First out for playing well, but chameleon strategy is better defense than offense. Elevated the game with empathy, Oscar-caliber acting, and right-on-target rants. Most photogenic by far.