‘Big Brother’: House Rules Change

Oh, brother. Things are getting more complicated on “Big Brother 3,” but not necessarily more captivating. That depends on your taste for this brand of chicanery.

Just when the 12 house guests had set their strategies in motion, forming alliances aimed at getting them to the half-million-dollar prize, the producers introduced a sneaky twist of their own near the end of the first week: veto power. How this affects the summer-long battle royal will become apparent as Week 2 starts tonight (at 9 on CBS; three new episodes run each week, on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays).

The object of the contest, of course, is to be the last one left in the house by surviving each eviction vote--or, at least, to catch the eye of a good agent along the way.

To recap the first week: The guests moved in and started scheming. Josh, the annoying waiter, targeted Marcellas for eviction because of his “negative energy.” Danielle and Gerry assumed the makeshift family’s mom and dad roles, trying to win friends and influence roommates by performing chores. Lisa, the brash bartender, won the first “head of household” competition, so she got to relax in a private room and nominate two suckers for eviction. Most of the others took the ol’ sitting-in-the-back-of-the-classroom approach.

Too much information was the theme of the second episode, as we found out for sure that fashion stylist Marcellas is gay and learned that videographer Jason is a virgin, which made him more adorable to the women. Lisa put Marcellas and Lori on the chopping block.

Amid politicking for the first eviction vote, the veto challenge wrinkle stunned the contestants. Now the winner, Gerry, the middle-aged teacher, can save Marcellas or Lori.

As for tonight, there’s a chance that Lori, the bank rep who last week surmised, “I believe there might be a lot of backstabbers in the house,” will be proven right. After all, isn’t that what it’s all about?