Expect the Expected with 'Big Brother 13'

COMMENTARY | CBS' "Big Brother 13" kicked off Thursday night, ushering in a new season of houseguests and a few twists. But were the twists all that shocking?

While host Julie Chen may have drummed up an extra fan base due to her soccer mom audience from "The Talk," when it comes to the "Big Brother" contestants this season, there are no major surprises here.

There are no secret twins, no hidden DNA connections, the token over-40 person is in the house (OK, this season there are two 39-year-olds in there, too) ... you get the drift.

And the twists that were announced were mostly just variations on things we've seen in the past on the show.

On Thursday night's premiere, we got to meet the eight houseguests:

Adam Poch, 39, Hoboken, N.J.

Cassi Colvin, 26, Nashville, Tenn.

Dominic Briones, 25, San Mateo, Calif.

Kalia Booker, 30, Los Angeles

Keith Henderson, 32, Bolingbrook, Ill.

Lawon Exum, 39, Inglewood, Calif.

Porsche Briggs, 23, Miami Beach, Fla.

Shelly Moore, 41, Prairieville, La.

Wait, only eight houseguests in that big "Big Brother" house?

Not so fast! Six more cast members joined them in the "Dynamic Duos of the Past" twist. The returning contestants were:

Brendon and Rachel ("BB12")

Evel Dick and Daniele ("BB8")

Jeff and Jordan ("BB11")

Shocking? Let's face it, the dynamic duos twist is just a rehashing of "BB's" oft-used returning houseguest theme.

Not that we mind it. Just not sure why CBS didn't go all the way and bring back 14 blasts from the past like they did in the "All Stars" season. Kaysar, Kaysar, Kaysar!

Early on, Chen told the eight newbies they had to pick a partner to work with.

Bacon-loving metal head Adam partnered up with the virginal Dominic. Guys' girls Shelly and Cassi paired up, while Keith and Porsche joined, leaving Lowan and Kalia together by default. (Not everyone was happy with their partner.)

The houseguests will be nominated for eviction in duos, and in the first week the surviving duo member will be get a "Golden Key" and be guaranteed a spot in the Top 10. That's four weeks of smooth sailing.

But back to this week. The first head of Household competition involved the duos swinging on giant bananas. That seemed to be Rachel's forte, so she won. (By the way, Rachel and Brendan are amazingly still together-- and engaged. And Jeff and Jordan are also still a couple. This show is better than "The Bachelor" for making love connections.)

The big question is, who will Rachel nominate for eviction this week? More than likely she will pick off a newbie, even though the surviving newbie will be safe for the next month.

Of course, if she were smart she'd put up Evel Dick and his estranged daughter, Danielle (yes, the two haven't spoken in three years but now they're partnered together on a reality show), but Rach sold her soul to the devil by making a deal with that dastardly duo for the HOH win.

Meanwhile, although CBS is touting this Golden Key twist as a biggie, it expires in four weeks. The couple pairings will have to expire at some point too, eventually leaving us with the same ol, same ol game.

We wouldn't have it any other way.

The next episode of "Big Brother" airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on CBS.