Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Why Big Brother 16 Contestant Derrick May Be the Best...and Most Boring

There is no question that at about this point every year, fans of the CBS summer reality series Big Brother proclaim that this is the worst season ever.  This year is no exception.  With the eviction of fan favorites like Donny Thompson and Zach Rance, both of whom played the games with their hearts rather than their heads, there is a gaping hole in the soul of the show.  But what should save the season is the brainy play of 30-year-old police sergeant from Rhode Island, Derrick Levasseur.  Derrick has been masterminding every move made in the Big Brother house from jump street, yet his game play has not been entertaining or popular.

If the badge fits...For more on Derrick's gameplay click here.

Why is that?  Two words - jump street.  As in 21 Jump Street, the TV show (later movie franchise) about undercover cops.  Derrick is a former undercover cop and it is that skill set which has given him unprecedented power in the house and seems destined to put $500,000 worth of groceries in his young daughter's mouth.  So what is it about being an undercover cop that works so well in the Big Brother house?  And why does it not make for riveting television?

1.  The ability to blend in

The first and most important skill an undercover cop needs is the ability to blend into his or her surroundings.  Being outed as a cop can be a death sentence.  Whether it's posing as a teenager when you're years older (something fellow Houseguest Frankie Grande no doubt wishes he could do) or pretending to be a criminal or drug user, undercover cops have to be able to convince strangers of a made-up identity - a whole new persona that will seem completely real and natural.  Meryl Streep doesn't have her life on the line when she takes on a part, undercover cops very well may.

So the Derrick who walked into the Big Brother house is a creation, a manufactured persona designed to be nonthreatening.  He's a Parks and Recreations guy with a bunch of employees below him who helps paint hash-marks on the football field and keeps the red maples healthy.  He's married with a new baby (okay, that part seems to be true).  He's a nice guy.  Not good looking, like Cody Calafiore.  Not in great shape, like Caleb Reynolds and Devin Shepherd.  He's just Joe Schmoe, every man. 

He lets Caleb go on and on about his service in Iraq without ever letting Caleb or the rest of the house know that he also has dealt with dangerous, life-threatening situations including a fatal shooting. While Frankie drones on ad nauseum about his famous sister, his millions of followers, and his Broadway shows, Derrick just smiles and nods, pretending to be ol' boring daddy-o with no exciting stories to share.  He lets the other Houseguests take center stage as he fades into the background, the affable dad who likes puttering around on a lawnmower.  But because of this, he looks boring and uninteresting and his screen time lacks electricity. Zach could not strategize his way out of a paper bag, but he was watchable.  Derrick is dull as dishwater on the screen.

2.  The appearance of trustworthiness

An undercover cop is only successful if he manages to be accepted and trusted by those he's infiltrated.  Snitches get stitches, as the saying goes.  So it should come as no surprise that the word other Houseguests use most often to describe him is trustworthy.  Derrick is everyone's closest friend and confidante.  Victoria has poured her heart out to Derrick; no fewer than two other people are firmly convinced they have a final two deal with him.  He has never been on the block.  He has never been mentioned to go up on the block.

How has he managed this?  By keeping his mouth shut.  He doesn't rat out fellow Houseguests, so he can never be put in the middle of an argument.  You know the one way to look like you are never lying, never promise anything and never take responsibility for any decision.  Derrick is masterful at this.  He is constantly asking all his allies what they want and letting them know he'll go along with whatever they want.  If you promise nothing, you never have to break a promise.  If you never say what you want, you can never be called out when someone hears something contrary.

But because Derrick is considered so trustworthy, there are no fireworks when he's on the screen.  No one calls him out, no one gets mad at him.  Contrast this to the time that Zach told Derrick that Nicole told Victoria Rafaeli (phew!) about the five-person alliance that Derrick was in.  Victoria was devastated to learn that her closest ally had been lying to her all along.  Did that come back to bite him?  No.  Derrick immediately called a meeting to clear the air.  He did this to demonstrate how loyal and honest he is - he has nothing to hide. Instead, the focus was on Zach's lie, not the underlying truth (of the alliance).  So Victoria left feeling even more trusting in the man who had lied to her about his other alliance.  If she had felt betrayed and violated and had yelled at Derrick and stormed off, it would have made for good TV. But instead, she went right back to snuggling with her only true friend in the game.

3.  Make them think it was their idea

Derrick is a good listener and most people love hearing the sound of their own voice.  So they talk and he reflects back either supporting their decision or gently moving them in a different direction.  You will never hear Derrick say, let's vote out so-and-so next.  The same way an undercover cop can't be the one to suggest the illegal act, Derrick doesn't overtly make the move - he makes his allies think they are in charge of every decision.  He tells them any array of possibilities is fine with him (and sneaks in the one he really wants without letting on).  He tells them, repeatedly, that he has their back and will support whatever they want to do, and they don't even notice when his alternative suggestion (which they're free to ignore) is what he really wants.  And they don't realize later that when they take that alternative, they are doing his bidding.

To be a good undercover cop, according to Derrick in his pre-show interview with Reality Relapse, you have to learn to adapt to those around you. "Learn their likes and dislikes, their motives, their weaknesses."  Once you know this, you can more easily manipulate them.  Big Brother masterminds from the past - Dan, Dr. Will, Evel Dick - let the Houseguests as well as the home viewer know what they wanted and how they planned to get it.  This year, Derrick is as big a mystery to us as he is to the Houseguests.  Ten weeks in, do we really know who he plans to take to the final two?  Do we know what he plans to do this week or next?

Since Derrick is playing the game of making everyone around him do all the work and is not sharing with the viewers what his ultimate plan is, we are disengaged.  When other Houseguests scurry with a new plan to "shake things up," we know not to get excited or invested.  Ultimately, what will happen is whatever Derrick decides will happen.  We know that no big moves will be made unless he approves them, and nothing will keep him from running things.  The only mystery left is who will be sitting next to him in the final two and how he'll get them to think it was their idea to take him there. 

4.  Be a good liar

Lying has to come as easily as breathing to an undercover cop, or he won't be doing much of the latter for very long.  Derrick is an expert.  He weaves stories out of whole cloth, adding details, with the effortless ease of a former Enron exec.  But this is where his largest disconnect with the viewers comes in.  Derrick is not just lying to the Houseguests, he's lying to the television audience.  And that is a no no.

Once Derrick was joined with Donny and Frankie as Team America, he has not only been playing Derrick the Leslie Knope of Central Falls, RI, he's also been playing loyal TA member.  He stares right into the camera, talking directly to us, the viewers who voted him there, and lies to us.  He tells us that he wanted to carry out a Team America mission to cast a hinky vote, but Donny wouldn't go along.  He tells us that he would have tried to save Donny with the last mission, but Frankie wouldn't go along.  He tells us that he wants to keep Team America together and yet did nothing to keep Donny from being voted out.

A good liar, like Dr. Will Kirby, is entertaining when they let us the viewer in on their lies.  Dr. Will didn't lie to us by, for example, pretending to like a contestant that he knew the public liked (as Derrick did twice, after he heard the crowd roars for Zach and Donny).  Dr. Will accepted his dark side and shared his true feelings.  Derrick pretends to be the nice guy, the loyal Team America player who just wants to make America proud but is thwarted by his fellow team members.  He'll throw Donny and Frankie under the bus to the viewers, who can see what's really going on, and doesn't bat an eye.  He'll orchestrate Zach and Donny's exits, then tell US that he's sad to see them go.  That's not endearing, it's scary.  And, frankly, not fun to watch.

5.  Be smarter than the people you've infiltrated

The final reason that Derrick is the best and least interesting contestant this show has seen is that he has been given the weakest set of opponents yet.  The so-called super fans (Nicole Franzel and Christine Brecht) have zero clue what he's doing and have done very little to control their game.  When Nicole was Head of Household and could make a move, she failed by not nominating two members of the large alliance (why sacrifice Jocasta who would NEVER have voted out Nicole?).  

The Big Brother 16 Houseguests have no clue how to play the game.  All-guys' alliances are a staple of Big Brother and this year the Bomb Squad started out that way (with six of the eight men), until Devin decided to add two women to make a half-a-house alliance.  Joey Van Pelt tried to form an all-girl alliance only to have the girls immediately shut down the idea and spill it to the guys.  Had the girls gone along with the plan and kept it quiet, someone like Christine would have been in a great position, straddling two powerful groups.  Instead, she's now low man on the totem pole.

Not only are the Houseguests not smart enough to play a good game of Big Brother, they're not smart enough to pick up the many clues Derrick has dropped about his true identity.  After Frankie's big reveal about how he'd been hiding his sister's identity and his social media fame, there were of course rumblings again about whether everyone was who they claimed to be.  Derrick actually said, "most of us" are who we say we are.  No one picked that up.

No one noticed when he talked about peoples' motives and their profile, when he jokingly put a badge around his neck and said he was a cop, when he organized a neighborhood watch, when he seemed to have all the cop lingo down pat.  Nope.  They continued to be suspicious that the guy with the Duck Dynasty beard and a drawl slower than molasses in February was a college professor, but the street-sounding jamoke with confidence and a penchant for cop slang couldn't be lying about being a Parks and Rec person.  Even though he admitted to NEVER HAVING WATCHED THE SHOW OF THE SAME NAME.

[K]Nope, no red flags there. 

Before going into the Big Brother house, Derrick spoke to Reality Relapse about how his undercover past would help him in the game: "I worked in undercover for a long time where I had to not talk about things, so I'm used to being confidential. ... I've been in situations where if I make a mistake I could end up dead."  So far, he's made no apparent mistakes and is well-positioned to make the biggest score of his life.  It just may not be all that exciting for the rest of us.

***For more on Derrick's gameplay check out this blog post from Krazillia's Place.***

36 comments:

  1. Smooth operator for sure. However, I find watching his technique kind of facinating! Right on about this clueless cast. Derrick is the only one playing the game.

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  2. Great article!!! I agree with everything that was said pretty much. I'm still blown away from the fans that hate him and attack him personally by saying he is probably a dirty cop and stuff to that nature.

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  3. Comparing 2 cops shooting a criminal who has a "knife" to warzone is kind of a stretch.

    He doesn't throw people under the buss but he also tells everyone not to talk game with him..... it's annoying to say the least. If someone wants to trash talk caleb let them talk!! you don't have to go back to caleb and cry about it.

    I think it's to early to tell i think it will backfire and because he has made no enemies he will have to win the final HOH to win. And i dont think he will.

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    1. I was reminded of when Frankie said it was so hard to keep quiet about his social media following when Hayden spoke of his. When Caleb is discussing his six month stint working at the jail in Iraq, I wonder if Derrick thinks he has stories at least somewhat as scintilating.

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  4. Very well written, and 100% true to form. He has been both boring and fascinating to watch. I have listened to him talk all season and his ability to play the part is nothing less than brilliant. Even if he does not end up in final 2, I think he should be remembered as an excellent game player and master manipulator this season.

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  5. That was a great read, very illuminating! Thanks!

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  6. I don't think Derrick is boring. The screaming and yelling and name calling that some do is very annoying to me. I love watching him manipulate everyone and be so cool about it. This has been my favorite season ever. I think whoever cast this season did a great job. Go Derrick!!! But you never know what can happen. As they say " expect the unexpected. "

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  7. This is about as on point as you can get.

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  8. I really hope Derrick and his family see this article. Very well written because it is broken down. I don't understand the hate some spew, rather I think his undercover skill has served him well. I pray he goes to the winning end! I have great respect for him as does his family & friends, no doubt.

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  9. I agree that this is the worst season ever...the guys are all wimps not one of them has ever made a single decision on their own. The girl's have bigger cahones than the guys.,and then to make it even worse when has there ever been a season when all of the houseguests throw all of the competitions like this year. Who wants to tune in to see that every week...BORING

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  10. Derrick is playing the best game! I hope he will win BB16. I have really enjoyed this season. Thank you for writing this great article.

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  11. DERRICK DERRICK DERRICK! THIS MASTER MANIPULATOR/UNDERCOVER COP/FREAKING GENIUS. HAS MADE ME LAUGH, CRY AND BE EXCITED TO WATCH EACH EPISODE! HE JUST FLIPPED THE HOUSE CHRISTINE,FRANKIE THEN NICOLE 3 TIMES IN ONE WEEK. FREAKING AMAZING BALLS!

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  12. Derrick dose not even come close to Dr. Will, Dan, Evel Dick and Boogie level. They took risk and had fun They understood that BB is not just a game but also a show. With Derrick it's like he is on autopilot. For him it's just another day at work. Everything he dose is boring and predictable. Also the fact that production is allowing him to lie and look like the hero on the tv show, tells me that they are helping him big time. Any other season he would be portrayed as the villain, Just like Will, bb14 Dan, Evel and Boogie were. The worst part is that Donny did not trust him, but because of Team America he was force to work with him.

    Take a bunch of weak/naive kids, who care more about twitter followers then winning the game, and lock them up in a house with an experience undercover police officer this is what happens.
    Derrick deserves the money, he is the only one playing the game. G.O.A.T def not.

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    1. Derrick is not really playing the game. He is nothing more than a coach (high school) instructing his team of game plays; an adult with minors. This would be great if we were watching a sports activity; however, we are not. This is Big Brother. A game of mental strategy, physical competitions,and frolic among house guest all with the intent of winning $500,000 while entertaining a viewing audience who actually 'hungers' to be entertained. Permit me to add, some pay 'extra' to be entertained. That AIN'T happening.

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    2. All I got to say is the man has never been on the block and no one in the house is questioning or debating why that is. He is playing flawlessly because he has never been in danger Dan evil dick and the other you mentioned had to take action and put on a show to save their own asses when they were in trouble. Maybe derrick will soon face real trouble and give you the show you are looking for...

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    3. I totally agree, it takes skill to be a puppet master and never be a target. Dr.Will and the others may have been more entertaining but I must say that Derrick is a better game player, he is winning this game and the other house guest dont even realize he is playing....now thats awesome!

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    4. ^^ I agree with the top two comments. Derrick works very hard, however he gives off the illusion to the viewing public that the game is easy as pie for him. Which as a result is friggin amazing

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  13. Love Derrick, and want him to win this game. I cannot wait to hear his speech if he is in the final two. The jury will vote for him because of his brilliant game play. Go Derrick go....

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  14. The other thing you could add to your list is not playing the game with your emotions. Dr. Will was an impressive player and I believe it's because he never let his emotions get the best of him, or make decisions based on being angry or hurt. As an undercover cop, Derrick would need to keep his emotions in check at all times - and emotionality is often the downfall of a BB player.

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  15. Great article, well stated:) Especially the part about Derrick being a great liar. I like Derrick so much that it was hard to read that you think he's deceiving us the viewers as well but you're right. He's aware of the image he portrays and as a loyal BB follower and feedster, he knows that likable sweet Donny would be loved by us and although he doesn't want to make us mad, he knows when the Donny in the house isn't good for his end game. So you're right, I think his, "I am sad to see him go..." DR's are for his image and he's happy to see a threat eliminated. Derrick has been my favorite since we met him in the 2nd episode, and I don't think I've ever been able to route for the same one player from start to finish... I am vested in watching Derrick's strategy and although there isn't as much conflict, I still find it greatly entertaining. - Leslie G

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  16. I don't know what BB the writer of this article is watching, but it is not the same one I am watching. His game is not all that great. Derrick has ratted out and said things that were HUGE red flags; however the other HG are not intelligent enough to comprehend. THAT is why Derrick has been so lucky this season; not because of his 'undercover cop skills'. It is because the remaining house guest possess 'average' intelligence as best (several, below average). With players who are above average with intelligence, either Derrick would have been forced to actually 'play' the game or would have been evicted by now. Derrick needs to be extremely grateful to whomever selected the HG. 'That' individual was his biggest most trustworthy ally.

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    1. Go on YouTube watch big brother 16- after house meeting.... You will be introduced more in depth as to the kind work derrick is putting in to manipulate and convince his fellow HouseGuest's. The episodes aired on television can only bring a certain light to the real work that goes into manipulating others..Derrick is simply covering all bases and flawlessly blending in with his surroundings while controlling them. Its like a great illusion

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  17. I believe Derrick is playing an amazing game. He's definitely on par with Dan, Dr Will and to a certain extent with Maggie from BB6. I would never compare him with Evil Dick, as Evil Dick was no mastermind, he was a bully that was helped inmensely by the America's Player twist. I know that the Maggie comparison may seem odd to some, but there are some similarities. Maggie was a vile person, spewing hatred against the opposing alliance, headed by Janelle and Kaysar at every turn. However, Maggie was an amazing manipulator. Without Maggie, The Friendship would have imploded. She kept them all in check and doing her bidding. Derrick has done the same thing with The Bomb Squad/Detonators. He understands that he needs to keep the numbers in his favor in order to make it to the end. Every time that he has turned on an alliance member is because they threatened Derrick's position in the game: Devin (unpredictable and a wild card), Amber (a distraction/obsession for Caleb), Zach (unpredictable and a wild card), Christine. It may appear as a wimpy decision, but there's a reason why Derrick keeps big guys like Caleb and Cody around. They are loyal to him, easily influenced, and good at competitions. And if Derrick should ever be nominated next to Caleb or Cody, they would be voted over him every time because they appear to be bigger threats. Brilliant!

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  18. I also don't blame Derrick for voting out Donny and lying about it in the confessionals. The Team America twist is contrived. The "alliance" was fake and manufactured by the producers. There was no reason for Derrick to trust Donny. In fact, Donny pretty much admitted to Derrick that he was onto him. Donny also started to plant seeds of distrust with Cody and Christine. Derrick was smart to get rid of him. But at the same time, Derrick was aware that the audience created Team America and that meant Donny was reasonably well-liked. So, of course he played nice in his confessional. Why would he want to piss off the audience like Frankie did? That would be idiotic.

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  19. To the people commenting on whether derrick is not the g.o.a.t or that he's not on par with Dan and Dr.Will. You have to take into consideration that even though the game and end goal of big brother is the same year in and year out. One thing always constantly changes which is the enviroment and structure of which the game is required to be played in. This year with the added battle of the block and two hoh's. You can say derrick had to put in twice as much work as Dan and Dr.will to secure his place in the game right now. Thus, ultimatly probably resulting in a pay day of 500 grand. Just trying to make a point that every season of big brother is played in a different stadium which has different rules so you can't really compare all the seasons, and justify one player is better than the other. However if we treat the game of big brother like any other sport we would have to go by the individuals record and standings. Thus derrick has never been nominated and as far as a perfect game, that one stat is pretty good so far. Also like any other sport his mental game is flawless too. Combine them both and if he keeps up that record he might even get all the jury votes. Need I say more?

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  20. Derrick will join Dr. Will and Dan as the Bests of Big Brother (D.D.D are B.B.B ???). First, who cares if you find him boring. I don't for one. Would you rather be the Los Angeles Clippers having big crowds, sponsorships and exciting play or be the San Antonio Spurs and WIN TITLES. Derrick is gonna WIN TITLES

    Every move he makes is gold. Having Nichole and Hayden as Plan B just incase the detanators fall through, having Frankie turn against Zach because he was a huge wild card, voting out Donny because he would say anything to anyone just to save himself cause he was alone in the game, then voting out Nichole because she was catching onto Derrick Gesling. He convinced Caleb and Cody to first get rid of Frankie then to save him and Frankie thinks it was Cody plotting his demise. Then he gets Cody to turn against Christine which is terrible for his game. The best thing is he doesn't even get any blood on his hands. That's Dr.Will territory right there

    Out of the Final 5 every single person would take him. He's Victoria's best friend in the house, Cody's boy, Frankie's Team America Mate and buttered up Caleb to take him. And he uses his daughter in such a slick manner saying he feels bad being away from her and just wants to win the money to provide for her future. Genius thats what Brittney did and Devyn tried to do. Difference is Brittney slipped

    This season isn't perfect. Derrick is the only one playing chess out there but its impressive how flawless he's been. In a season where 4 people go up every week he still never managed to be put up and to my knowledge was never even considered by his alliance members to be sent home. BTW This season beats out the last 3 seasons easily

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    1. Agree with you completely. Derrick has been a joy to watch and made this season very entertaining as time after time he takes advantage of other players' weaknesses and idiosyncracies, having them think the moves he wants them to make are their own idea. However after watching him play a game of real chess with another HG and observing their moves, it was apparent that Derrick is either not a chess player, or he was playing at the other person's extreme novice level ;)

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  21. It's a generational thing as well, this younger gen has not been educated to critically think on their own, they have been trained to fall in line with the group think. All for one and one for all until you are on the outside looking in. Hardly a real game player among them. Live by the motto, as long as it's not me and some day it will be you!

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  22. Well said.... I totally agree

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  23. I can see both sides of this, but personally I LOVE watching him play. I find his play GENIUS. He has gone through the entire game never being put on the block. Now he's HOH in Final four, it means he never will be. He may be evicted---though I find that highly unlikely, but he will never have to be "on the block" per se. He may be boring for other people to watch, but I think his undercover work perfectly prepped him for this game.
    I also agree that I hate the drama they bring in other houseguests for, but without it what kind of show would it be? They certainly didn't pick him for the drama he could create. They had other players for that. On that note, I think most agree that Rachel was a drama-filled person on the show, but she was still good at the game, and well respected as a player. And even SHE thinks Derrick is playing the best game.
    I feel confident he will keep his word with Cody, because he knows Victoria will have his vote regardless. Since I have began watching this show--I still consider him one of the best players ever. Drama/interest free, yes, but that's what they bring in people like Zach and Amanda for---someone to occupy our attention while the best players can compete.

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  24. I'm a super fan and Derrick may very well be the best of all-time. he's easily near the very top of the list. we'll need to see him plead his case for the 500k. i believe he has played the best game of any 1st year player, ever.

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  25. I've always found Derrick to be a scumbag. For what reason does he have to lie to America's face like he's done the entire time. The point of the show, is that we are supposed to be in on the secret. We are not playing the game, so don't lie to our face.

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  26. The only reason why Derrick is playing a great game, is bc CBS filled the house with a bunch of morons. You don't have to be a genius to win this season. But what Derrick unique is that most people of average intellegence, would go insane by being trapped in a house for 90 days with so many stupid people. But bc he has special training, he knows exactly how to effectively play the game without completely losing his mind.

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