A "Big Brother" season that actually focuses on "Big Brother" gameplay would be a much-needed win for all of us. And, as a bonus, relying more on footage of the late night conversations and schemes that make up this game — and less on heavily produced and edited diary room and competition segments — would help us get a better sense of who these players truly are when producers aren't coaxing them to shout nonsense in the DR. (I don't know about you, but I'd take footage of Dunning confronting Brooks and Calafiore over every single veto contestant saying "I walked into the house, and it was a mess!" one after the other.)

"It doesn’t seem real; it doesn’t seem honest," Herren agreed. "I don’t understand why they went for this switch. DRs did not used to be like that … we’re getting 35 minutes dedicated to a veto comp where there’s so much happening they could be showing us. [...] I watch 'Big Brother' for the interesting human interactions. That’s the whole catch of it! When people are up for comps, they’re acting hokey; they’re not acting real. Don’t focus on that so much."

Indeed — if "Big Brother" had aired fewer DRs of Franzel mooning over Brooks (who is totally a human being and not at all an android sent from the future to destroy us all) and more actual footage of Calafiore's relationship with Everette (wonder why THAT got edited out), non-feedster fans would have A) learned much sooner what he's made of and B) seen an accurate depiction of what toxic relationships can look like. Instead, CBS did what it's been doing since the days of Evel Dick Donato and Braden Bacha — it edited out disturbing behavior from male Houseguests, this time cutting in approximately 8 zillion DR sessions an episode to make the Houseguests tell the story CBS wants them to tell.

CBS Entertainment President Glenn Geller, when asked about racism (from Bronte D'Acquisto, towards James Huling) and sexism in the "Big Brother" house this summer at the Television Critics Association press tour in July, defended the show, saying:

“It is a social experiment and they do the best they can to look into people’s backgrounds and see who these people really are. But what’s great about the show, is when you put people together, they become who they are regardless of the cameras, regardless of what’s going on. And, yes, there’s always going to be some tension and some issues, and this year, certainly, they worked themselves out in the house themselves. But that’s what the show is about. It’s an entertainment show. And it really is, again, a social experiment, and I think we see that every summer.”

Which is a fair statement, but CBS can't have it both ways. Does The Eye want a heavily edited, showmance-obsessed "Big Brother" that allows toxic bro-dudes to win comp after comp and run the house, while women get left behind, bullied, or worse? Or — and I hope this is the case — do they want to make a "social experiment" worth watching, and show us what really happens when 16 strangers are together 24/7 with virtually no contact with the outside world?

Because even if the latter won't necessarily ensure a female-friendly season every year, it will make "Big Brother" the groundbreaking appointment TV show it was five years ago. And when the Paulies, Coreys, and Franks return home to watch their own words and actions play out onscreen, maybe it will even make them think a little harder about how they treat the Da'Vonnes, Zakiyahs, Nicoles, and Natalies in their lives in the future.