I know they have to stretch things out on the Big Brother live eviction show, but the moment I dread most is the visit to the jury house, and this week was no exception. To have to listen to Lydia simper, “I have a little crush on Jessie,” and to watch that muscle-head rip his shirt off in — what, celebration of the arrival of Russell? It’s the house of dummies.

Can you explain to me why it’s such a big deal that Natalie has shaved a few years off her age, and isn’t the 18 year-old she claims? It not only came up in the jury house, but Jeff mentioned his “destiny” being in the hands of “an 18 year-old.”

Who cares? The overriding point is that Natalie ruined a helluva lot of good future drama (and comedy) in the Big Brother 11 house by not taking Jeff’s jerry-rigged offer of complete safety for another week and voted him out. Even though I’m still rooting for Michele to win, she doesn’t have the TV-friendly personality that made Jeff such a non-stop pleasure to watch.

Kevin may have made the season’s most clever joke in his reference to the “Pandora’s Box”: “Under any other circumstance, I wouldn’t mind being bent over and handcuffed over a box.” But the sweet friendship between Jeff and Jordan, their goofy yet sincere attempts to keep each other’s spirits up… well, it was unique in Big Brother, don’t you think?

I suppose it led to a different kind of good drama. Julie Chen said Jeff received the  first audience standing ovation, and we got to see Natalie win Head of Household and crow stupidly, “I did it sticking to my word!” Not hardly. “This is for Chima!” Natalie yelled. Oh, great: the tiresome martyr of Big Brother 11 was invoked and praised yet again.

It’s going to be a grueling week with Natalie strutting around, don’t you think? Did you watch?

Be sure to read Josh Wolk’s definitive BB TV Watch.

And check Lynette Rice’s exit interview with Jeff below:

With the news that Michelle Duggar is pregnant with her 19th child, the matriarch sure is making good on the title of the TLC show 18 Kids and Counting.

The announcement neatly coincided with a new Tuesday episode of 18 Kids, with the Duggar clan taking a “field trip” to Washington, D.C. I hadn’t watched this series in quite a while, so it took me a bit of time before my eyes adjusted to papa Jim Bob’s high-beam, ever-present, gleaming-white smile. Really, there is nothing for which this man cannot find a smile, even when confronted with the seemingly-impossible task of buying 20 subway tickets from a D.C. vending machine. (It’s the little things in a big city that throw off the Arkansas-small-town Duggars.)

I must say, after months of Jon and Kate Gosselin tabloid antics, the holy wholesomeness of the Duggars is an interesting contrast. I like the fact that this half-hour showed the family volunteering at a homeless shelter, Miriam’s Kitchen, helping to prepare a meal. I like the way the kids say “sir” and “ma’am” to any adult they encounter. I like the fact that the boys wore suits and ties when they toured the Capitol, as roving hordes of tourists padded around in sweaty t-shirts, baggy shorts, and flip-flops. It’s the little things, y’know?

On the other hand, I’m not sure about Michelle’s answer when asked by an off-camera voice what she’d talk to the President about if she had the opportunity. Mrs. Duggar said she’d tell Obama that she and her family pray for him to make wise decisions and surround himself with wise counsel. The Duggars do enough praying, as anyone who watches knows. Couldn’t she stop praying for a few minutes to engage the President in an actual, give-and-take, curiosity- and knowledge-satisfying conversation?

Oh, well — that President chat was theoretical anyway. The Duggars managed to survive the D.C. subway and a meal at an Ethiopian restaurant, where they smiled a lot but a few of them turned up their noses at the food and the incense that was burning and the “whole different culture” thing they were exposed to. Confronted with some people doing Ethiopian dances in the eatery, a couple of the kids looked a little embarrassed. The Duggars don’t dance, you see. Sometimes the Duggars unnerve me a little.

So: Do you watch 18 Kids and Counting? Are you happy for Michelle Duggar and her pregnancy, or does the prospect of 19 kids and counting strike you as a bit much?

Two of the most interesting quotes from the Tuesday edition of Big Brother 11?

“Historically, us gay house-guests haven’t made the best decisions,” said head-of-household Kevin. Boy, Kev: way to put some pressure on yourself.

On the other hand, Natalie, who wouldn’t know history if Abraham Lincoln appeared to her in the shower, said, “Michele used what little brain she has.” She was talking about a neuroscientist who’s been overcoming her social awkwardness to play one of the shrewder games of BB. Er, way to go, Natalie!

HEEERE’S YOUR SPOILER ALERT: DON’T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHO WON THE POWER OF VETO.

One of Natalie’s more trenchant comments, however, was one she advanced in arguing that the neuroscientist should be evicted: “The bitch is strong,” Natalie said.

I assume she meant “strong” in the mental sense after all. Clever editing could not hide the fact that Michele aced the Power of Veto in a goofy identify-the-mashed-up-alien-faces competition. Jeff was angry with himself. “You lost; it’s over,” said Jordan in a rare moment of clarity about how the eviction nominations might now play out.

Indeed, Michele took herself off the chopping-block, and now Jeff and Jordan are nominated for eviction. “You deserve to be [in the house] over me,” said Jordan to her house-buddy. When she was out of earshot, Jeff said frankly, “Jordan’s gotta go.” Hey, the flirting’s been cute, but they both know what the game is about: getting that final blast of cash.

Who do you think is going to be evicted on the live show Thursday?

Oh, and what did you think of “Pandora’s Box,” and the way all the house guests proved they were not concerned about anything other than the money raining down on the back yard?