Big Brother is looking at you all over again

Kuya is back! Yes, the voice and owner of the blue-yellow house along Mother Ignacia St. in Quezon City. He is back for 18 weeks or more than 100 days as Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) Season 2 airs on Feb. 25, 9:30 p.m. at the Concert Hall beside the house. Fourteen housemates will be introduced to the public.

He will resurface with a vengeance as he cooks up more challenging tasks and stricter house rules for the second batch of housemates. (PBB’s Celebrity Edition and Teen Edition are specials/spin-offs of the show.)

The latest edition of the Survivor-inspired show — without the far-flung island — will again tell stories of struggle, romance, coming-out, discovery (of talents) and triumph (over poverty). Although the themes and situations might be similar to season one, viewers will see a totally different PBB, assures director Laurenti Dyogi, project head and the Kuya, as many believe to be. He recalls the screenings were tedious. The committee interviewed the contestants more than thrice. They even visited them in their "natural habitat" — to see how they live and work.

Big Brother wants to know them more as natural and normal as possible to avoid "surprise" behavior — and misbehavior.

The screening committee tried to veer away from the personalities and life stories of previous housemates. This is to make the show refreshing and unpredictable.

Expect a new mix of boarders once the TV reality show hits the small screen.

Dyogi says auditions for Pinoy Big Brother were conducted at the time ABS-CBN looked for scholars for then to-be-launched reality TV show Pinoy Dream Academy. There was even a global search for possible housemates. It means viewers and fans of PBB might see "half-breeds" gracing Bahay ni Kuya. With their liberalism and ethnicity, viewers can look forward to a doubly fun, riotous gang and new set of personality clashes. Hopefully, no housemate will experience the racial slur or discrimination Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty went through on Big Brother (Celebrity Edition) UK. Remember, the incident sparked a debate in England’s Parliament and a series of protests and burning of effigy in India.

There are still the basic rules, says Dyogi, to guide the actions and behavior of the housemates and to apprehend them if they go over board.

With new housemates and a fully-refurbished and bigger house, PBB Season 2 is ready to take off.

However, it is bound to topple what Season One achieved — 80 million televiewers and The Phenomenal TV Moment title for its grand finale.

ABS-CBN’s Pinoy Big Brother Season 2 will be hosted by Toni Gonzaga (primetime), Mariel Rodriguez (for Uplate), Bianca Gonzalez (Updates) and Season One runner-up Jayson Gainza, the man of the street. Asia Agcaoili and Sitti will host Studio 23 ’s PBB edition. Among the hosts of the reality show, Bianca is on the hot seat as everybody wants to hear her side on KC Concepcion-Lino Cayetano affair. According to reports, Lino informed Bianca about it and she was not the last person to know, as many suspected. Bianca heard it straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

Ask Dyogi if the reasons of contestants joining PBB Season 2 have changed and he replies, "Others want to develop themselves. Some want to enter showbiz and do this for money. Even parents of some want their children to be part of the show so their kids will become better individuals."

Pinoy Big Brother Season 2 will be twice exciting and completely different.

As many say, expect the unexpected.