Big Brother -- or Big Bother? Who's Paying Attention to the Final Three?

Less than halfway through this season of CBS and Endemol's Big Brother, I found myself asking myself, "Self, why are you still watching this show? This year isn't nearly as good as what we've had in the past."

But why did I think that? This season was replete with likeable characters (Donny), and it had its cute little romances (Nicole and Hayden). It had its built-in villain (Zach), and it even had the player we loved to hate and hated to love (Frankie). There were confrontations, there were blow-ups and dust-ups and OMG moments.

To top things off, this year I even began watching the Big Brother After Dark -- since I no longer had to subscribe to Showtime for it and could watch it for free on TVGN (soon to be renamed Pop).

I think it was when I started watching #BBAD that I truly got my Big Brother overload. The after-hours show is worth watching if only to fully appreciate the power of editing. Unless, of course, you enjoy watching people eat. Or sleep. Or play cards. In rare instances something would happen, like Frankie's big reveal of his more-famous sister, but for the most part there were informercials with more eyeball attraction.

I told myself as soon as Donny was evicted, "Self, this is the point at which we're done watching." I'd had enough unanimous votes, enough HOHs scared to make the big moves, enough everything.

And now there's less than 24 hours to go, and I'm still watching. Is it some sort of reality show related sadomasochism? Am I looking for another adrenaline rush like when Caleb sat out a two man competition, giddy that Frankie was going to get stuck on the block and go home, then finding a begrudging respect for his gamesmanship when he actually won the competition single-handed? (Donny did the same thing later on, when Christine was throwing the competition by aiding the other team in the dark.)

Maybe I'm all "twisted" out. Maybe nothing is unexpected anymore.

Maybe I'm just disappointed that in the final competitions, Victoria didn't come forward and reveal herself to be a master player who had carefully disguised herself as a floater just to get a crack at the final HOH and take it all. Maybe I'm still comparing every season to Season Three, with the genuine mischief of Doctor Will and the palpable hatred Nicole had for him.

Whatever it is, here I am, watching, as Victoria, Cody, and the all-but-declared winner, Derrick endure a week of no campaigning, no backstabbing, no deal making -- in short, no gaming -- while we just wait out the clock for the finale episode. And I tell myself, "Self, this is the last year we're doing this."

And then I see the ad for the casting call for next season. And I know I'll come back like I always do.

There's got to be a 12-step program for this somewhere.