Not So A-Maze-Ing Friday

The major task for the fourth week climaxes in a live challenge on a Friday night. The housemates were given the whole week to master the web of strings constructed in the secret garden. The final phase was to accomplish this task on live national TV. However, it was a not so a-maze-ing Friday for the housemates as they failed to successfully complete their task based on Kuya's rules.

The housemates were earlier divided by Big Brother into three teams. The first team comprised Dionne, GeeAnn, Mickey, Nel, and Saicy. The second team consisted of Bodie, Kian, Bruce, Wendy, and Maricris. The third team was made up of Bea, Robert, Jasmin, and Zeke. Each team was given only five minutes to pass through the maze. Once a housemate rings a bell, he or she is automatically eliminated. The housemates were allowed to commit up to eight mistakes only, or otherwise, they will lose 50% of their budget for week five. The housemates wore luminescent skin-tight attire and the lights were turned off in the activity area. The strings were also made luminous so as to aid the housemates in passing through the maze.

On Big Brother's signal, the first team went through the strings. Silence and darkness filled the room as. Fortunately for the first team, they finished their task within the alloted five minutes. Dionne and Nel victoriously missed the bells. Unfortunately for them, Kuya heard a bell ring from GeeAn, Mickey, and Saicy. This sent disappointment to the first team.

Then the second team followed. Each member tried his best to flawlessly pass through each string. The five minutes were barely over when the last member found his way to the finish line. The second team awaited for Big Brother's ruling. Maricris and Bruce was unable to ring a bell, But much to their dismay, Kian, Bodie, and Wendy mistakenly rang a bell.

The last team then proceeded with the task. Bea, Robert, Jasmin, and Zeke sneaked through the strings. But too bad, Zeke prematurely rang a bell. He was given by Big Brother the chance to go back from the starting point. Bea, Robert, and Jasmin went on with the challenge. But in the end, only Robert and Jasmin succeeded. Bea and Zeke were all immediately called by Big Brother for ringing a bell.

When the last team was done, Big Brother made an official announcement. The housemates failed to accomplish the task as nine housemate mistakenly rang a bell. It was a devastating fourth loss for our housemates. As agreed, 50% will be slashed from their budget for the following week. But the housemates seemed to know how to look on the bright side. "Sanay na tayo matalo!" as one of them jokingly said. To keep their minds of the defeat, the housemates just went on for some Araw Natin 'To happy dancing.

Summer shebang!

After a long and tiring afternoon of practice for their weekly task, Wendy was called into the confession room. She received the task for today, and thankfully for the housemates, it didn’t involve any strenuous activity.

In the task, Big Brother noted that he has declared it to be summer inside the PBB house, and that the housemates should imbibe the summer atmosphere by having a pictorial! They were to pick up their swimsuits from the storage room, as well as a digital camera, and proceed to take individual and group pictures of each other in their summer garb. Wendy and Bruce, who both have backgrounds in modeling, would be spearheading the activity.

After they all changed, the housemates began their pictorial. Zeke took the camera, and seemed to have an eye for photography, as he directed the housemates’ shots. Soon the housemates were delivering their best poses as Kian took behind the lens as well. Nel even dropped his puppy garb for a more refreshing summer look! Gee-Ann and Bea, who were at first hesitant to show their summer bodies, eventually posed nonetheless. Soon Big Brother himself took directorial duties and asked them to pose as a group.

So after toiling under the summer sun, they soon enjoyed a great time under it as well. More hot and sizzling pics of these housemates to come!

The adventures of Nel the Dog

Nel got to walk a mile in Buddy’s shoes, thank to the fifth phone call he received. And his transformation from Mr. Perfect to the 103rd Dalmatian was simply hilarious; Nel had to wear spotted ears, paws and shorts, while his whole body was painted white with black stripes. He even had a spot conveniently placed over one eye, thus earning him the name ‘Spot’!

While the housemates practiced their dance moves before lunch, Nel was obediently sitting down on one corner. When they finished practicing, however, he crawled on all fours and approached them, who gleefully gave him a pat on the head. All Nel could say was “Woof!”

Lunch for the housemates was normal enough, except for Nel, who decided to roll over and play dead by the sofas. Mickey, being a good amo, went to him and spoon-fed their pet while telling him: “Kung makita ka ng mga fans mo… uy si Nel aso o!”

It wasn’t such a good life, however, when Nel had a minor episode with Buddy. The latter probably sized up the competition, and angrily growled at the new pet for sharing his territory. Robert then noticed, and slowly led Nel away from the house.

Finally, the housemates practiced their weekly task in the secret garden. Nel showed incredible flexibility for a pet dog, standing up on two legs and navigating through the strings with hardly ringing a bell. Everyone shouted: “Ang cute ni Nel o!” as he could only reply with a few ‘Woofs’ of his own!

And so the adventures of Nel the Dog continues. And in the few hours left as a canine, will Nel appreciate how his housemates cared for him, or will he realize that the PBB house is a ‘dog eat dog’ world? The puns end here!

Shop In 60 Seconds

The famous big red telephone inside the house has been changing the lives of some of housemates. So far, three people have consecutively received a good call from Big Brother. Although the challenge debuted with a punishment in the case of Zeke, it seems that Kuya is in a good mood to reward the housemates.

Dionne was the third housemate, after Mickey and Bodie, to receive a good news from Big Brother. She was given a treat comprising a Php 5,000-worth shopping package. Being a typical girl, Dionne was very much pleased with the offer. However, Kuya won't give it that easily. The catch was that the shopping would be done in the storage room and she can only shop for 60 seconds.

After a few hours, Dionne got her treat. The housemates were all gathered by Big Brother in the living room as Dionne was called in the confession room. She was given the final instructions on how to proceed to with her haste shopping, then she was told to go to the storage room.

Upon her entrance, Dionne was given the go signal to do her shopping. The countdown began and Dionne started picking anything stuff she wanted. She paid particular attention to the price tags of each item as she was only given a Php 5,000 maximum budget. Dionne did her fast shopping with the other housemates watching from the screen.

When her time was up, Dionne was told to use the calculator in computing the total price of the stuff she got. Much to her disappointment, Dionne spent only Php 2844.50. She later regretted not getting as much as she can, but also realized that it was not that easy since she only had a minute.

Dionne went to the living room and shared her stuff to the others. In her basket, she had several clothes, food, beer, and shoes. Big Brother also announced the other stuff that Dionne failed to get, like cigarettes. Dionne still looked disappointed, but the other housemates just advised her to look on the bright side.

Who will received the next call? More importantly, will the next call be a good one? Let's all keep locked in here for more developments.

Get to steppin'!

The housemates were primed to carry on with their weekly task, and were about to go into the secret garden when a couple of ‘distractions’ drew them away from their planned routine.

Earlier this afternoon, the housemates were shooting hoops in the garden when Big Brother suddenly called them. Mickey quickly called all the others so as not to keep him waiting, but he reminded all those who have not answered the call that they must first decide among themselves who the lucky (or unlucky) recipient was. Nel volunteered at first, but then thought of the rule and went with the majority, who selected Dionne. She then stepped up and answered the phone. But Big Brother was in good spirits, and decided to reward her with a 60-second shopping spree in the storage room! Dionne beamed when she heard of the P5,000 limit, and after thanking Big Brother, she happily told the others of the good news.

Meanwhile, Saicy was called into the confession room and was handed their task for today. The housemates were shown a VTR of a certain dance step, which they must memorize and perform later in the day. They found it hard to catch on though, and despite the fact that it had to be shown only once, the housemates were given a little leeway and were shown the video thrice. Mickey and Saicy were appointed as the leaders for this task, and after the boys and girls each tried their hand at dancing (the boys showed quite a clunky performance), they quickly got to practicing.

Will the housemates put together a performance worthy of Big Brother’s praise? And when will Dionne cash in on her reward?

A leap of faith

There isn’t a prayer room inside the Big Brother house for nothing. After lunch, Bea tried to make some small talk with Robert, who was seating by the garden. But their conversation soon took a much serious tone when they discussed a very vague yet unsettled issue: faith.

Robert told her that the hardships he endured before entering the Big Brother house has slowly enveloped his concept of faith. Bea, who was a religious person herself, couldn’t seem to believe why Robert would have this drab outlook in life. But soon Robert revealed that it wasn’t an issue of him versus God, but rather a culmination of all the bad things he experienced. “I got a problem with trust as well, I don’t trust people easily… nung nagpunta akong Birmingham, madami akong nakilalang hindi trustworthy. Since then I said I need to know the person to trust them.”

He then explained to Bea that accepting people’s trust doesn’t play out in other countries as well as it does here in the Philippines. But while Bea pointed out that at least he was able to see his father again, Robert replied that what he had to do to get three took its toll on him. He translates his disposition to his analysis of Pinoy Big Brother: “The whole concept of Big Brother is it’s a game, it’s hard to trust someone because if you become close to a person, and if you have a task against him, you’re gonna have a hard time.”

Bea then asked him to accompany her and Gee-Ann to the prayer room, but he respectfully declined; but he once again made it clear that it was his hard knock life that made him like that, saying: “More of specific reasons ang nangyari sa kin kaysa religious beliefs.” To this Bea noted: “Natutuwa ako kase ikaw, napaka-open mo sa emotions mo. There’s not too many guys like that.”

Robert seems to have the right perspective on Big Brother; that it’s just a game. But is this kind of mentality adhering to his outlook in life? Will he ever be able to restore his faith, and will his stay inside the Big Brother house serve as welcome experience? Keep it here!

Make Your Own Face

The first part of the mask-making was finished, but the housemates were only halfway toward completing the whole task. Using the masks that they have made, they must make their own face sculptures. It was not much of a problem on the part of the housemates as Kuya's guest prosthetics makeup artist was there to talk them through the activity.

There were not enough bowls and spatulas so the girls were the first to make their own face sculptures. The guys, for the mean time, cleaned up other mess and observed the girls do their sculptures. There were all told to take care of the mask made from their faces, not the mask that they made themselves. They were instructed to make sure that their masks have no cracks or holes where the dissolved plaster might spill. The housemates checked their masks for any holes particularly on the nostrils and eyes part.

Then they began dissolving the plaster of paris in the bowl with water. The powder must be completely dissolved in the water. They mixed the powder in the water with the use of their spatulas, but this time, they were advised to make sure that the mixture would not be as thick as that of what they earlier made for the mask. The mixture must as fluid enough to be applied all over the back side of the mask.

The mixture was then applied all over the masked. The guest artist advised the housemates to cover all the pink part on the back side of the mask with the fluid plaster mixture. Once all the pink part was completely covered, they were told to cut the excess straws on the side of the masks.

After the girls have finished, the boys had their turn in making their face sculptures. The girls set aside their masks to allow the plaster to dry up. In the meantime, Kuya advised the housemates who were not that busy to help out the others in changing the batteries of the lapels. Some of the girls even helped out the boys in making their sculptures.

After a few minutes, the housemates were given the go signal by the guest artist to detach the face sculptures from the pink clay. They were all successful in lifting their sculptures, but they were some cracks and holes found particularly on the nose part. They were instructed to use spare clays to remedy the cracks and apply some final touches.

Each of the housemates was later called by Big Brother to present their work. Kuya judged each mask to see how the housemates faired in this particular task. Some masks turned out good, but there were those, particularly that of Bruce and Maricris, which needed major remedy.

The housemates were supposed to make another paper mache activity, but since it was already late, the activity was postponed. The guest prosthetics makeup artist just advised the housemates on how to improve their works. The housemates all showed their gratitude and appreciation to their teacher and to Big Brother for the enjoyable art lesson.

Was Big Brother impressed with the works of the housemates? Will their masks share the same fate as that of the clay pots made in the previous week?

In Your Face Task

It was a new day for the housemates which meant a new task from Big Brother. Right after their On The Red Dot task on a lazy Wednesday afternoon, the housemates received instructions from Kuya regarding another challenge. However, it was a laid-back and enjoyable activity that awaited the housemates wherein they were able to show their creativity.

The housemates were tasked to make face masks which would be formed from the likeness of their own faces. Everyone was so excited about the new tasks as the materials were all provided in the storage room. Big Brother even invited a prosthetics makeup artist to assist the housemates in making their masks.

The housemates were asked to work in pairs -- a boy and a girl tandem. The girls were the first to become the subject with the boys making the masks, then each pair switched duties right after. The mask making was done in the living room to make a large space for the housemates to lie down and move around. The subjects comfortably laid down on the couch while the mask makers listened to the guest artist for the instructions.

The materials comprise pink powders, plasters of paris, and straws. First, the prosthetics makeup artist told the subjects to tie their hairs, wash their faces, and apply baby oil on their faces. While doing so, those who would be making the masks were told to dissolve the pink powder in lukewarm water and mix in a bowl using a spatula. They were able to mix a pink clay which was applied to the faces of the subjects. The whole face of the subject must be covered with the pink clay, except for the nostrils to allow the subjects to breathe.

While waiting for the pink clay to dry up, the mask makers dissolved the plaster of paris in water and mixed it in the bowl. The dissolved plaster of paris was then applied on top of the pink clay. Then on top of the plaster of paris, straws were placed to ensure that the masks will be hard. Then as a final layering, the plaster of paris was applied to cover the straws.

The masks dried up quickly, and the baby oil made it easy for the masks to be lifted off the face. According to the guest prosthetic artist, the masks will only serve as the tool to make an actual face sculpture. Since the masks had their own face imprints on them, the face sculptures will certainly have the form of their own faces. It was a great art class which the housemates enjoyed very much. At least, when our housemates leave the Big Brother house, they can leave their face scultpures as souvenirs.

On the dot

After two days of practicing their weekly task, the housemates were treated to a different game they all did together… or rather, had to do together. Big Brother decided that the housemates must learn to work as a team – and somehow thought that a big red dot would do the trick!

For their daily task aptly titled ‘On the Red Dot’, a group of four housemates were provided with Velcro-soled slippers, as well as a large red flattened circle for them to step in. Bea, Dionne, Kian and Zeke were first to step on the dot, and had to walk around together while they were stuck to the dot. After a while though, Big Brother decided to add two more, and spiced it up with a game of tag.

This is where the fun began! Each one who was tagged would join the circle, and try to catch the others as well. Gee-Ann, Saicy, Bruce, Robert, Bea, Maricris and Nel couldn’t hold their laughter as they saw a mass of arms and legs moving lugging around the house!

After securing a few of the housemates, the ones on the dot decided that the best way to move in unison was by following voice commands together. So soon everyone was shouting “Lift, Step!” while moving in one direction!

However, they still can’t seem to catch the crafty (and obviously much nimbler) Bruce, Robert, Saicy, Gee-Ann and Bea. So Big Brother issued a command: “Yung mga hiahabol, isang paa lang ang gagamitin.” The moves seemed beneficial to the “Its”, as Robert was soon touched by one of the housemates, and so was Bruce, who was helplessly jumping around on one leg across the sofas when they cornered him.

It soon became a game of stalemate when Saicy, Gee-Ann and Bea kept hopping around the table. But Big Brother intervened once again, ordering them into the much-wider garden; and Gee-Ann was caught soon after. They also got a little help from Buddy; after the dog kept chasing Bea around, she decided to give up and let herself be tagged rather than be bothered by their four-legged friend.

And then there was Saicy! She kept hopping around effortlessly, but then Big Brother told her that she could keep hopping on her left leg only. The others kept shouting “Mapapagod ka din!” as they lugged around, and after several minutes, Mickey finally grazed her arm. But when everyone was in, Big Brother asked: “Pano naman si Buddy?” Bruce quickly tagged the dog (who was conveniently standing beside him) and Zeke carried him as a victory trophy.

Saicy was then called into the confession room, and of course everyone had to go in as well. So after a minute or so of squeezing through the door the housemates finally entered, putting an end to a tiring but fun daily task!

Mickey Receives A Free Service From Nel

We remember that Mickey received a "pamper" treat from Kuya after answering a phone call. The free treat was composed of a hair cut, a facial, and a foot massage. Mickey was first given a personal hair stylist, and the haircut session was done privately. However, for his foot massage, Mickey was given by Kuya the privilege to choose the housemate who will give him the foot massage. Mickey chose Nel since Nel had a good massaging skills.

The foot massage was done in the living room with the other housemates watching. A mattress and a pillow was laid, and Nel was given some scented oil and body lotion. Mickey then laid down and Nel took control of the situation. Nel applied oil on Mickey's back, then Nel started using his foot in massaging Mickey. The began giggling as they watched Nel maneuver his foot all over Mickey's body, but Mickey seemed to be unmindful of the taunting as he enjoyed the relaxing massage.

Then Nel moved to Mickey's lower back and started stepping on Mickey's round butt. The taunting from the other housemates became louder and Mickey looked tickled by Nel's massage. Mickey tried to keep his composure despite the tickling massage of Nel's foot.

It was when Nel asked Mickey to turn around when the two boys got into a series of compromising positions. Nel used both of his feet in massaging Mickey's face. At first it was hard for the two boys to continue, but Nel assured everyone that he had clean feet. After that, Nel started massaging Mickey's chest and tummy. The girls all giggled while watching and they even talked about things which were, let's just say, appropriate only for late night television.

Despite all the funny moment, the massage session was nevertheless a relaxing treat for Mickey. Right after the foot massage, Mickey was called in the private room where he was given a facial treatment. The rest of the housemates cannot help but to envy Mickey for receiving a treat from Kuya. Will there be another surprise in store for the one who will answer the phone?