Back in action...

After a prolonged absence I am back from vacation. Although I'm sure most of you didn't notice I was missing in the first place because... well... this is a relatively brand new blog and my colleague has admirably been filling everyone in on anything and everything is that reality television since my departure. Anyways... enough about me.

To start with I'd like to thank Allison for saving this season of big brother... and she managed to do it in the first week of the show which is almost unheard of. Don't get me wrong... I do not think Allison is a threat to win the game. She seems to be a little too emotional (perhaps emotionally unstable is a better description) in order to make any serious run at the grand prize.

But it's her jealousy that is going to give this season's pair twists a fighting chance. When I first heard that this season was going to be about a pairs theme I was intrigued. When I found out four people in the house already had connections with each other, though, I had nightmarish flashback to season four's "The Ex's" which to date is the most disappointing big brother season in my opinion.

Why BB producers always feel the need to put people on the show that know each other is beyond me. It gives those individuals an unfair advantage over the rest of the competition and easily sets up an opportunity for them to use it to their advantage and make it all the way to the end (see: Dick and Danielle from last season).

I viewed this season no differently after finding out that Jen and Ryan have been dating for almost a year. When they were partnered with Parker and Allison respectively, they were essentially handed a powerful four-person alliance that if used properly easily would have controlled the balance of power for the foreseeable future.

Well you can forget about that now. Allison seemed to develop feelings for Ryan right from the start but once she found out that he was off-limits jealousy fueled emotions ensued. Even though she wasn't the one who broke the news to the rest of the house, make no mistake about it, if she hadn't been so opposed to working with Jen from the onset the twist never would have been revealed this early in the game. Jealously and paranoia are a lethal cocktail and in this case it will most likely cost one of the lovebirds their chance at half a million dollars.

Kudos to Alex and Amanda (or as I like to call her, Janelle Jr.) for realizing the immediate danger of a real-life couple in the house and acting on it immediately. It's always tough to get a read on teams in the first week of the show, but I envision these two sticking around and being a real threat for this season's crown.... That is until they are seperated (they can't keep everyone as pairs all season long can they?)