Celebrity Hijack

The Giggling One (TM) and I are, it's safe to say, into "reality" game shows in a big way. Big Brother, Survivor, Australian Idol, Poo Love (that one with Mark Philippoussis - sometimes train wrecks are fun), and my favourite of them all: The Amazing Race (we're watching two series of that at the moment).

But what I want to talk about here is the interesting sideshow to the Big Brother franchise that is Big Brother Celebrity Hijack.

**Obligatory spoiler warning for week one up to and including the first eviction**

I was curious. Will it work? Will it be a dud? I should prefix this by saying that I've only ever seen BBUK Series 8, and a little of Series 1 that we are working through courtesy of the lovely Max. Series 8 we absolutely loved. I even went to the trouble of editing together a 30 minute piece featuring housemate Brian's best moments (and that was leaving a fair bit out just to keep it to half an hour). But I digress.

Celebrity Hijack has been great, mostly. John McCririck, Peaches Geldof & Fifi Brown sucked. The rest of the Hijackers have been good to great.

Though cringeworthy, Matt Lucas' mission for John in the season opener was classic. In those few bits when I wasn't peeking at the screen with one eye from behind a pillow clutched in my arms like a child's safety blanket, I laughed pretty darn hard.

Ian Wright brought down the barrier that most seasoned BB veterans are used to by conversing with housemates regardless of where they were in the house rather than only in the Diary Room. He hasn't been the only hijacker to do this, and for whatever reason I don't like it.

It's a hypocritical sort of view really, because there have been other instances where the normal rules of isolation have been broken this series, and I'm OK with them. The "cameraman" bursting into the house for example. Loved it. Even the pathetically awful hijackers the "Trash Pussies" going into the house in disguise I didn't mind, though their execution completely sucked.

Onto the housemates themselves. I normally latch on to a favourite or two by the end of week one, as well as a least favourite. The producers have done an outstanding job of bringing in young people who are smart, clever and articulate. Well, except Anfony. It's common knowledge that boxers only have one brain cell.

I gotta say that Amy is my favourite so far. I've never really understood the sort of concept art that she delights in, but putting that aside she's a cool chick.

Despite being my namesake, I thought I'd not like Jeremy. He has an air of arrogance but he's also a relatively nice bloke - when he's not playing off the chauvinistic Victor.

And what an enigmatic (a polite way of saying two-faced) arsehole Victor is. Chauvinistic one second, charming the next. Or is he? It's too hard to tell. He'll say something improper and then follow it up with "only joking". I don't think he is. Talented? Absolutely. Sincere? Hardly.

I really thought Victor would be the first person evicted. I hoped so too, cos he's my least favourite housemate. However it was Jade's chirpy "look at me, no seriously look at me - I'm so happy all the time" attitude that not only annoyed her housemates but also, obviously, the voters. And come on, is she really a Mensa beauty queen? She looks weirdly like that woman who had all the plastic surgery and ended up looking like a mangled, bloated cat.

Liam is odd. And apparently a sex beast. Who'da thunk it? And who would have thought anyone would have stranger hair than Matt Corby? Well done on that score Liam my boy.

That's the end of the thought process for now. I'll wrap this post up by saying that Victor sucks, but that thing he does with Emilia on the roller skates? Fucking awesome. And naughtily erotic.