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Big Brother US 14

Without a doubt the best series of BBUS I've seen (BB10, BB11, BB13, BB14-19) This kicked off in style with a coaches twist that saw 4 of the best players of all time in Janelle Pierzina, Mike "Boogie" Malin, Britney Haynes and Dan Gheesling return. Initially they picked players for their "team" and as veterans of the game who knew what it took to do well (and win the cases of Mike and Dan), they taught their proteges all they knew. There was also one of the most unfair eliminations in BB history that very same day, as Dan's team lost the HOH competition and one of his choices would be sent home by him - that was the infamous Jodi who fans have always hoped would return somehow. It's a bit of an in joke but she seemed to have potential. Janelle and Britney instantly wanted to work together as did Dan and Boogie.

Things weren't going well for Dan as he lost Jodi on Day 1 and Kara in the next eviction, leaving him with only ditzy Danielle Murphree, who was hiding the fact she was a nurse to not seem a threat. After a few evictions, the game really heated up as the coaches had the opportunity to enter the game properly if they reset the game - all bar Mike chose to do so and they all entered. Naturally, this was going to paint a target on their backs, so Janelle (*the* comp beast of BBUS tbh) and Mike (he controlled basically all of BB7) were disposed of before jury - the latter at the hands of his ally and teammate Ian. That was where Ian really came out of his shell as more than the awkward nerd that was no threat. And this was because of Dan taking him under his wing, which defined much of the rest of the series. I absolutely loved seeing Ian grow like that, he played a blinder of a game and it was amazing to see such a superfan really revel in EVERY aspect of the game, even being on slop (he snuck in a showmance too, kind of, sneaking in a bit of one with Ashley), and making friends with the Big Brother legends he'd idolised in Dan and Britney.

Of course the two best moments were courtsey of the Big Brother king Dan Gheesling - any who has seen this season knows that I am talking about Dan's Funeral and Shane being backdoored. Dan's Funeral is one of my absolute favourite moments of ANY BB in any country, absolutely outstanding. For those who don't know, watch the video below, but Dan found himself on the block with his closest ally Danielle, and with Dan's biggest rival Frank as HOH they looked to be absolutely f***ed. Unassuming floater Jenn had the veto though and all it took was a little Dan magic... In front of everyone, without even briefing Danielle, Dan launched into a tirade about Danielle being "dead to him", leaving her in tears. This was to procure sympathy for Danielle, so that people wouldn't vote her out. Playing a social blinder with both Frank and Jenn, Jenn pulled him off the block with the veto and Frank replaced him with another huge target - fellow veteran Britney who was after Frank. Without a doubt I'd say that that is the best move anyone has played in Big Brother history, I was in total awe watching it unfold and it just shows what a brilliant player Dan is to squeeze out of such an impossible situation. Backdooring Shane was also pretty iconic, similarly Dan looked kinda f***ed as his fate was in Shane's hands and he would have evicted Dan over Ian who joined him on the block. Danielle had the veto but she couldn't take either off as this was final 4 and she'd have to risk Shane in doing that. So Dan promised her that he'd evict Ian if she took him off the block... She did, and he didn't. Danielle had basically been walked all over for his game but she STILL voted for him to win, because Dan convinced her it was best for their game in getting to the final 2 (where she would have won over him), which was true tbf.



Interestingly, Danielle is hugely symbolic of how much of a different experience you have just watching BBUS and actually *following* it. When you're in the community as I have been since BB16, you follow all the stuff that happens on feeds (albeit second hand, I don't watch the feeds), you kind of live a whole experience with the rest of Twitter/Reddit/whatever. The "casual" lenses viewing Danielle would give you an image of a sweet Southern girl, besotted with the typical hot jock as if she's the cheerleader at high school. She was a bit of a doormat for Dan's game, but held her own winning a couple of compeitions. She almost seemed a bit too naive and "nice". And that's because she was an utter psycho! I was shocked to read all this had happened as I wasn't part of it all then. Lie after lie about her family (supposed abusive parents, for example), her health (multiple accidents, cancer, which was treated with "special chemo that didn't cause hair loss") and her abilities (being fluent in Spanish and Chinese for one). People who knew her have said that she plucked things that happened to people she knew and was pathological enough to apply them to craft her own lies... It's so odd that they never touched upon this in the main show (Janelle mentioned it I remember but to an average viewer it'd look like she was being petty as Danielle was the HOH who got her out) and painted Danielle so differently, the original Raven x



A huge strength of this season was the cast, not just the iconic coaches (even though I wasn't a fan of Boogie) but we had a huge range of people. You had the young nerdy Ian, initially seemingly the most awkward kid who couldn't function and interact, rock chick lesbian and perennial floater Jenn City, the season's high school esque showmance couple Danielle & Shane, and America's Favourite Frank, who was one of the best physical competitors in BB history and won competitions seemingly at the exact right second when he was in danger, keeping us all on the edge of our seats. Adding the masterful gameplay of Dan, Janelle and Boogie's rivalry, and the comedy genius of Britney was only going to boost this season even more. This is a great starter season for BBUS I'd say, or an easy older one to delve into if you are watching the current series and want something a bit more.


BEST


Dan - The best player in BB history. Someone like him going on a future season should be a huge target, but he managed to get 2nd yet again (and really only didn't win because of a hella bitter jury)! Every little move he made felt masterful and I was always hooked on what he was gonna do next.


Britney - A QUEEN, as a person she is possibly my fave to ever do BBUS. Her diary rooms were hilarious, she just had such a vibrance, intelligence and a way of carrying herself that I loved, as well as a great social game. It's a shame she had to be ousted by Dan's Funeral but I couldn't be too mad given how masterfully Dan did it.


Ian - Adorable naive little awkward nerd... Nope, comp beast and BB winner! Ian was not here to play, and his nerdy demeanour made sure that people kind of overlooked him as a threat until it was too late and he'd really set himself up. As I said, I loved watching his journey and he is my favourite winner along with Dan.


WORST


Willie - aggressive awful twat. Next.


Shane - SUCH a bore, v v v typical "hot" jock. At least his showmance partner was entertaining for being so awful.


Joe - loud and annoying and totally pointless.