BB9 Premiere Night!

Wow, this is going to be a Big Brother for the books! I think the producers were largely inspired by last season's estranged father-daughter team of Dick and Danielle, and the budding romance team of Eric and Jessica, because this season's twists are all about team couples with a twist.

The House:
It's a cozy ski-lodge theme, with plaques everywhere about love. And all the bedroom doors are locked.

The Twists:
First, Sharon and Jacob were a serious couple, but broke up when he came home from the Marines because he had cheated on her. They haven't seen each other since, and they didn't know that the other was in the house.

Second, Jen and Ryan are a current, live-in couple, and they know they are both going to the house. But they have to play it single while trying to work together to make it to the final two...or so they think. Also, let me just say that am I right, or am I right? The special ed teacher-turned-bartender and the eternal college student. What a perfect couple!

Third, Julie reveals that the houseguests all have a "soul mate" in the house...apparently they're perfectly matched according to personality research, etc. (I think the matchmaking probably has more to do with the producers than with eharmony.com.) The couples will sleep in the same room, compete in HOH and food competitions together, and be evicted together. So all the tricks of the BB book can be tossed out the window...or can they? I hope the fans in the house who watched last season have learned a few things from Jess and Eric!

The Couples:
Alex and Amanda (Mr. New York and Mary Tyler Moore) - They have already expressed their individual happiness and attraction to each other, so they're off to a good start. They were born one year and one day apart. Both seem like pretty nice people. We'll see!

Chelsia and James (Biker Girl and Bike Boy) - Both kind of wild and crazy party kids, but she like Harleys...and he is homeless and rides a bike everywhere. They seem to be making an effort to get along.

Matt and Natalie (Boston and the Bible Bikini Barista) - This is not going to work out well...she is supposedly very religous, and he's a total tool. But they competed well together.

Jen and Parker!!! - He's the paps and she's the undercover lover. So we've got the girl with the biggest secret matched with the guy who gets paid to reveal people's secrets. Hmmm.

Joshuah and Neil - The gay couple. And now that they've been outed and defined as such, that's really all that's been said about them.

Jacob and Sharon!!! - Jacob is glad because he doesn't want to see Sharon with another guy who could potentially be her soulmate. I guess you should've thought about that before you cheated on her, pal. Sharon is pretty pissed.

At this point in the coupling announcements, Julie informs the remaining couples that all the rooms are taken...so the last two couples get sleeping bags. Nice.

Ryan and Allison - Ryan is already getting jealous about seeing Jen with another guy. Allison is very, very concerned with her gambling addiction, which she says could hurt her if discovered, but also could help her find the weaknesses in her housemates. I'm not sure if these two have even spoken to each other yet.

Sheila and Adam (The Couple from Hell) - ...or, the Cougar and the Casanova. He gets off to a bad start with her by calling her "Mom." She already hates him because he's not Ryan, her "tall dark and handsome" type. So right off the bat, we've got some sparks flying in the house...not the good kind, of course. Although both kinds are good for the producers!

The HOH Competition: "Falling for You"

The first HOH contest is an endurance challenge. One team member lays on a bed, and the other is harnessed to hang from a cord horizontally. The harnessed person holds onto the teammate, and both are hoisted in the air, where they have to hang longer than everyone else to win HOH (or as it's being called in this season, "power couple").

Sheila pretty much immediately craps out, and she and Adam are out. They hate each other, and so does everyone else, I think. I just don't get it...he's a designer, and she's a model. How could that not work out?!

The gay couple goes next, because they're pretty much lazy and figure they're not gonna win. Then Amanda, who dubs herself "the heaviest girl here" decides she's too heavy to keep hanging in the air, and she quits, eliminating herself and Alex. Sharon and Jacob do some bickering and then Sharon drops, so they're out.

Now half of the couples are eliminated, so Julie presents the next challenge. In the beds below the hanging couples are heart pillows worth $10,000. If the couple can retrieve the pillow using only their hands, they get the money. But if they fall, they lose everything. Everyone goes for the money except Natalie and Matt. Allison and Ryan go for the pillow, get it, drop it, and then Allison falls, so they're out. Allison blames her greedy and competitive nature (a.k.a. gambling addiction) for her blunder. Chelsia and homeless James get the pillow, but later fall.

So now it's down to Jen and Parker, Natalie and Matt. Jen and Parker have successfully retrieved their $10,000 pillow and make a deal with Nat and Matt that they will be safe if they concede to Jen and Parker. Nat and Matt agree, and drop.

So the first HOH Power Couple is: Jen and Parker.
They now must decide who to evict.
Is Ryan safe with Jen in power? Will Adam and Sheila be eliminated for their lame negative energy? How will the elimination and power of veto work with the couples system kicking people out of the house twice as fast as a normal BB season? Is this a way to end the show quickly in case CBS gets some of their normal shows up and running before the spring now that the writer's strike is ready to end? The answers to these questions and more tomorrow night! Have a good one.