Archive through August 30, 2003
TV ClubHouse: ARCHIVES: Big Brother USA 2003 General Discussions Part 1:
Erika's JA is BB1 Josh?:
Archives:
Archive through August 30, 2003
Seamonkey | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 10:09 am     Gina, I agree with you re the plethora of college students given titles like "retail manager" and "accountant" and "headhunter". I mean Jun is a student too, but she has an actual career-type job to go with it. And while pilates instructor/bartender is questioned at age 33, that is the type of job you have when you are actively pursuing a career in acting/producing etc and that's what Erika is going after and more power to her! Friktion, I had the same thought about Erika needing to nurture her men, and dogs too. And I also feel good that she got rid of the needy-greedy-seedy Robert and now has Josh.. I think Josh and Erika, while at first seeming an odd couple, actually complement each other.. he did seem like a lost soul, I remember how sad it was that he said he didn't miss his outside life, was happier inside the BB house and all. So having Erika, who is a very "up" person and a nurturer must have been a great thing for Josh and Josh being sweet and not a taker, so it is a win-win for both of them. |
Thetruth | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 10:16 am     The whole thing bothers me. You have Lisa last year with connections and she ends up winning. This year Erika is connected and will make the final 4 at least. Add to that a complete cover up by everyone involved. That just seems so shady to me. Then you have Josh writing 'objective' reviews in which he praises Erika and trashes Robert every week, the whole time failing to mention his connection. That's very deceitful if you ask me. Finally, Josh's webmaster is deleting posts and banning people when they brought up the subject last night. I find the whole thing very disturbing. |
Angelbleu | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 10:19 am     To tell the truth I am absolutely thrilled to find out Erika and Josh are a couple...I think Erika has a lot of love and nurturing to give and I don't think Josh would ever use her....I am happy for both of them. |
Seanflynn2003 | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 10:22 am     Josh' site is totally irrelevant. If anyone wants to discount it in the future, fine, that's fair, but it has nothing to do with the play within the house. How BB chooses its HGs is a function of a lot of factors. Erika likely found it easier to get the producers' attention because of her knowledge. Well, knowing people and having contacts is the way show business, and life in general, works. She would not have made it on the show unless she qualified for the other reasons that any other HG is chosen. Her connections may have helped her get on the show. No big deal. Unless someone gives one iota of evidence that it has helped her during the show, there is no issue here. |
Thetruth | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 10:54 am     I don't think Josh's site has anything to do with the game either, I just find his conduct there distasteful. The big question is, why all the secrecy? Everyone from Erika, Robert, Josh, and the producers have kept this thing quiet. Why? At best it's for fear that it will hurt the appearance of an unbiased game, and would discourage people from applying in the future if they think only 'insiders' can get on. I don't think it's rigged for one person to win or lose, but wouldn't it be interesting if Erika did win? |
Beruthiel | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 10:57 am     I agree Seanflynn. I completely understand them wanting to keep their private life private. There doesn't have to be anything underhanded going on other than two people not wanting their relationship to become grist for the publicity mill. Also, I'm chuffed that they found each other, and wish them good luck! |
Kmjm | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:03 am     Awwww, two of my fave hamsters have got together! I find this really interesting and I'm happy for both of them. I don't think that Josh writing his take on BB4 on the internet really qualifies as "journalism", so I don't see any moral issue here. I'm sure they will reveal all once Erika is out of the house! Edited to add, great detective work, all of you who pieced this together! |
Bastable | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:04 am     I am totally grossed out by this. No one wants their reality shows to be riddled with conspiracy and nepotism. Everyone wants to believe that the contestants are drawn from all of us--it gives us a proxy to watch on screen. I'm thoroughly disappointed by the lazy producing and casting that Grodner and Shapiro have provided this show. This is the kind of thing that outrages us fans the most. Nearly 300 million Americans to draw from and we have to pick the girlfriend of a past silver medalist? Lazy! Incredibly lax. Do AS and AG ever leave Southern California? Let me into the producer's office! I'll put together a real show. |
Gina8642 | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:12 am     Josh's conduct may be distastful, but he's probably signed a contract to keep quiet too. May not be his choice to be quiet. |
Gina8642 | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:16 am     Bastable - you hit the nail on the head. NEPOTISM - it does smack of nepotism. Acutal or in appearance. At different points in the game, Erika has gone on and on about some board that oversees the governance of game shows and that BB is definately under those rules. I wonder what their opinion of this case is? |
Thetruth | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:22 am     Even if he signed a contract to keep quiet, that doesn't mean he has to review the episodes, and in doing so, go out of his way to praise Erika while attacking Robert each time. If he can't let his audience know about his personal connection to the show, then he shouldn't write the reviews. |
Bastable | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:24 am     I'm far more concerned about the producers' secret conduct than I am about Josh Souza's. |
Bbfanatic | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:28 am     what shocks me the most about the whole thing is how so many are sooooo shocked about it. i mean, come on. it isnt anything new. i watch because it is better than any regular tv shows. |
Thetruth | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:32 am     I agree that the serious issue is the producers' conduct in all of this. I was thinking of something. If Robert had no knowledge that Erika was going to be in the house, then why has he been a party to this 2 month long secret. I can't believe Robert of all people has kept quiet this long to do Erika a favor. I wonder if Robert was called into the diary room shortly after the start of the show and instructed not to mention it. |
Woofy | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:39 am     The bottom line ... no matter how we may individually (or collectively) feel about the casting methods ... BB4 has been a ratings hit and the ONLY reason that its been renewed for 3 more years is because it "delivers" the ratings. If Arni/Allison are "pulling strings" to make the show work ... that's what they need to do. As for the hysteria that people on the show (and other reality shows) are show-biz wannabes ... nothing new about that. EVERY game show on television (since the 50s) has found that wannabe actors/actresses make the best contestants. They don't freeze when the cameras go on ... and they can normally project a personality. Its nothing new ... it isn't going to change ... and continued whining about it is a waste of heartbeats and energy. sheesh |
Bastable | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:50 am     The issue here isn't ratings-- Erika is not responsible for them and someone else in her place would probably be just as good. And I don't think the issue here is "wannabes." I think most of us have accepted that all of these shows cast pretty people who come from the actor pool. No, our concern is that in this case, a cast member is a lover of a past winner! This is called a conflict. This is called nepotism. These are things that in the real world, people get fired for hiding. Think those of us who hold the show to higher standards are "whining"? Fine, think that. But we're true fans of this show and we want the best for it. We don't want this kind of thing going down---and we don't want our concerns to be trivialized. There is nothing wrong with saying that things could be better, and that these little scandals that besmirch the quality of our favorite show could be avoided quite easily. It's not about ratings or taste. It's about being above-board and high-quality. And it's about not trying to pull one over on the viewers. |
Bbfanatic | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:56 am     as a "true fan" also, it doesnt bother me. |
Bastable | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:58 am     It wouldn't have bothered me either if the producers hadn't worked so hard to hide it. |
Justshirley | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 09:55 am     Getting lost in all of the discussion of application procedures and journalistic integrity is what I think is the most intriguing aspect of this revelation: Why has Robert kept his mouth shut? According to the LFPs, Robert said to Erika "Don't worry, I haven't told anybody about him." Which, of course, implies that at some point, Erika asked him not to say anything. By doing so, she obviously revealed to him that she felt it would somehow hurt her in the game. By exposing this weakness, she handed him the perfect opportunity to do just that -- hurt her in the game by revealing her secret. And yet he hasn't. Why? Having watched Robert so often on the feeds this year and seeing how he loves being "in the know" and telling stories about his celebrity connections, I imagine it has been KILLING him keeping this secret. And yet he has never slipped. Why? It makes no sense to me. |
Eeyoreslament | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 10:02 am     How would it hurt her in the game? It's obvious that the hamsters haven't watched previous seasons of BB. So it's not like that piece of info would harm her in the house. Where it could cause inconvenience is outside the house, with the public. It's US who care about who dated whom in the past and blah blah blah. I think Robert may not say anything, because it's a piece of personal information that doesn't really have any business coming in the house. Maybe if Robert shares private stuff about Erika, she may turn around and do the same. Maybe Robert knows the value of keeping skeletons in closets. |
Naja | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 10:06 am     On more than one occasion, to more than 1 HG, Robert has said that he has a something to tell them about Erika...He said he would tell all at the wrap party and to remind him. He also told them they will "freak out" when they hear it. So I believe he is busting at the seams to tell them about it. |
Naja | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 10:08 am     Anyway, my point was he HAS hinted about it to others |
Lauram | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 10:32 am     thisis being discussed over here ../10972/1100507.html?1062263987 |
Justshirley | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 10:39 am     How would it hurt her in the game? Let's go back to week 2, when Jee was HoH and Dana first started to insinuate herself with the Jee3 by hanging out with them in the HoH room. Say Robert decides to tell them Erika is dating the guy who won $100,000 for coming in second in BB1. Dana flips and immediately runs and tells Jun and Ali, and they all discuss how Erika has an advantage by knowing someone who knows everything about this game. Dana might point out that it was a totally different game back then, but perhaps Ali would astutely note that that might be true, but she bets he's watched every episode of every season after that. And probably has met all of the contestants from the other shows and done commentary on other seasons. At that early stage of the game, all it takes is the merest hint of some advantage to get you evicted. I really believe that if Robert had revealed this way back in week 2, the Jee3 plan to evict Erika would have worked. Naja -- I hadn't heard that. But that makes it even more interesting. Why is he waiting until the wrap party? It is very unlike Robert to not tell that juicy of a secret. When Erika asked him to keep it secret, did she threaten to reveal something about him if he told? Or did she maybe tell him that he couldn't talk about it because Josh didn't sign a release? It just seems to me that Robert isn't the type to keep this kind of secret just because Erika asked him to. He has to believe that there will be some sort of consequences if he tells. I guess what I'm getting at is what are those consequences and who imposed them? Edited to tell Lauram that I've seen the other thread, but as I noted in my first post here, that conversation has veered off into how only people with connections are cast and how Josh has violated the rules of journalism by not revealing his relationship with Erika. I really am interested in hearing people's opinions specifically on why they think Robert hasn't told everyone about this, because I just don't understand why he's kept quiet. |
Seanflynn2003 | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 10:50 am     It's pretty obvious - Robert was told by BB not to mention it. |
Gina8642 | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 10:57 am     I think it would have been a definate disadvantage to Erika. She has come thisclose to being evicted - TWICE!!! All they (the other HGs) needed was an excuse early on. Why has Robert kept quiet? Because he's been told to by the producers and is prohibited by his contract from talking about people outside the house who have not signed a release. There may be some more specific clause in his contract, which while not giving away Erika's presence to him pre-show, that prevents him from discussing it. End of the day though - it is Rob who spilled the beans to us, the internet viewers isn't it? He's the one who mention 'HIM sleeping here too' isn't it? Folks have wondered who Erika BF is before, but never put two and two together before this. |
Justshirley | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:03 am     If that is indeed the case, and Robert has been forbidden by BB from mentioning this, isn't that really unfair to Robert? That was a potentially strategic advantage he could have used to get an opponent out of the game, and he wasn't allowed to use it. Don't get me wrong. I like Erika and am no fan of Robert. But if BB interfered on this, it just seems wrong. |
Onlyhuman | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:08 am     Justshirley, I agree that it is curious that Robert has not blabbed this, especially when he has had no problem spilling other stuff about Erika. Erika has no hold over him, so it MUST be BB forcing him not to say anything. The question is...Why? What is their motive? It's really interesting, because when BB put Erika in the house they HAD to have known about her relationship with Josh. Then, when they decided to put in Robert, they HAD to have known that there was a possibility it would come up. After all, wasn't that the whole purpose of the x-factor...putting people in the house with others who knew them in order to throw them off their game? What's interesting is that Robert had a good piece of info on Erika that REALLY could have made her unpopular in the house, simply by casting suspicion on her very presence, as in the example Justshirley gave above. If BB somehow prevented him from using this info, then that is unfair. The really funny thing is that in the first few weeks, many of the HGs felt uncomfortable with Erika, that she was hiding something. Obviously they were picking up on something... |
Beruthiel | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:13 am     All HGs are forbidden to talk about anyone of family and friends who have not signed a waiver which says it's okay to talk about them in public and it's a rule that is enforced, because BB could get into trouble otherwise. In previous BBs some family members of HGs got some nasty treatment, thus the rule. It doesn't give anyone an advantage one way or the other since they all play by the same rules. That's why they FOTH when some people are discussed by the Hgs. |
Bastable | Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:15 am     Onlyhuman, BB has forced Robert to keep quiet about it because it's embarrassing to the producers! What if Erika wins this? To think that a past second-place winner is partnered with a current winner, and was even before the game? It shrieks of nepotism and of scandal. They gave the lover of a former winner a 1-in-13 chance of winning another version of the game. It seems rigged. That's why BB's producers want everyone to keep quiet--it stinks like last week's trash. |
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