The infamous words of Ron Burgundy “Boy, that escalated quickly” could be used to explain week 1 in the Big Brother 19 house. For those of you waiting months for Big Brother to come back – it’s here – and we are already in mid-season form. Hopefully the drama can continue – and from what we have seen so far from this batch of Houseguests – it will.
At the time I am writing this – we still do not know for sure who is going home on Thursday night, and I love that. We have had so much safe gameplay the last few seasons (partially because of the twists) so it’s refreshing knowing that Thursday night’s episode should be a “shocker.”
BUT FIRST – let’s take a look back at the wild and crazy week – and see who earned themselves bacon for playing well, and who earned tofu for being, no so good!
Production – 5 strips of perfectly cooked, thick bacon! With the exception of Paul coming back (more on this later) – I love everything so far about this season, The house decoration, the twist(s), and especially the cast have all delivered entertainment above and beyond any of my pre-season expectations. Sure the “Den of Temptation” is just a weekly Pandoras Box, but the rewards / punishments are just what we want. They are complex and will blow up anyone’s game at any time. This is going to force this crop of houseguests to play like no cast has ever done before.
Alex Ow – 5 strips of Bacon – for the regular readers of my column, you know there is nothing better in the BB house than winning Veto when you are on the block. You ensure your safety – and are able to play in the following week’s HoH to give you the chance to get even. Alex also took the whole Megan situation in stride and never lost her cool. When the dust settled Alex emerged as a force to be reckoned with this season.
Kevin Schlehuber – 4 strips of Bacon – what’s there not to love about Kevin so far? His seemingly lack of BB knowledge may have been frustrating to superfans before the show started – but he has been “feeds gold” so far. The comic relief in a very tense house this week – he is putting himself in a great position to be dragged far into the game. At some point people may start to realize that they might not be able to win against him as he is so well liked, but that time is not now. He will continue to be a non-threat and watch all the threats go out before him.
Cody Nickson – 3 strips of Bacon – Cody’s reign of Head of Household has been legendary in BB history already. I cannot remember anyone having to nominate half the house the first week – and in doing so he has seemingly pissed off everyone in the house at some point. He is the biggest target moving forward (along with his showmance Jessica) but he also has the ability to win challenges & people may keep him around as “the bigger threat” to help further their game the next few weeks. He is obviously not scared of making big moves.
Christmas Abbott – 2 strips of Bacon – she went from at risk night one, to middle of the majority alliance, to the block, to the hospital, and now back in the house fighting for her life. WHAT A WEEK huh? Christmas is campaigning more than her block-mate, but may be over campaigning a little and actually giving people reasons to vote her out. Since its still too early to call, I am just guessing she will stay – but the smart move is to get rid of her.
Dominique Cooper – 2 strips of Bacon – Dom started off great getting in the middle of conversations – but not taking them over. She was making her rounds very well, and everyone seemed to trust her. But the last couple of days, Dominique has started to ruffle some feathers and her motives are starting to be exposed. She still does have some loyal people on her side, but it’s a slipper slope and the next HoH reign could expose her even more.
Ramses Soto – 1 strip of Bacon – Ramses name is being thrown around a little bit so far, but not sure if that is just a ploy by Paul to take the target off himself, or if he really is in danger. We do know that he has the curse of having to nominate himself in the next 2 weeks which sucks, but instead of moping about it, he seems to be taking it in stride (that’s what happens when a superfan is in the house and knows to “expect the unexpected”). Unfortunately we have not seen enough DR sessions from him & no real camera talking to know what exactly is going through his head. With Cameron gone, he’s the biggest superfan left in the house.
Josh Martinez – 1 strip of Bacon – it takes some balls to go for individual safety in the first team challenge of the season, and whether or not Josh’s early paranoia was warranted or not, we will never really know. But it actually turned into a great move as Cody had to nominate 65 people this week, but Josh was not one of them. He is looking to be one of the swing votes this week and despite his camera talking that he is 100% on board with Christmas & Paul, he is such a wild-card that we cannot be so sure.
Paul Abrahamian – 1/2 strip of Bacon – going on the record (again) – that I do not like when they mix the casts. I want to see all newbies, or all vets. Not a mix. Even if it is just 1 returnee. Paul coming back in was not really his fault, Kevin’s greed is the reason… and Paul’s 3 weeks of safety was also not really his fault, because OF COURSE the fans would vote to give him safety.
Paul has for sure learned a thing or two since the last time he walked into the BB house to play. This is not his first rodeo ya know. He started off stirring the pot a little and now that his safety is exposed, he’s playing even harder. He says he has some master plan that will be exposed if he wins HoH. I’m sure he has something big up his sleeve, but he is really getting annoying. I am hoping that the house gets rid of him sooner rather than later.
Mark Jansen – 1 strip of Tofu – this hurts to give one of my preseason picks tofu after week one, and honestly – Mark probably deserves more tofu this week. His showmance with Elena seems to have cooled off which could have helped him moving forward, but he is still siding with Jessica & Cody, which could potentially hurt him as allies of targets sometimes are the victims. Mark really needs to keep his emotions out of the game, and play more strategic. My hopes is he can turn that around soon.
Elena Davies – 1 strip of Tofu – we knew from her preseason interviews – Elena was probably going to be a loud one – and she sure has held true on this prediction. Even when she was making out with Mark, it was LOUD! Gamewise – she was driving the “Jody” bandwagon as their biggest fan, now she seems to want to do whatever will hurt their game the most. She is not your typical floater – but if this is any indication of her loyalty & allegiance moving forward, she too could be a major wild-card moving forward.
Raven Walton & Matthew Clines – 2 strips of Tofu each – honestly, of the 3 early showmances, this one I did not see coming, and even now still not sure if there is any substance there. It’s kinda like when 2 of your friends start hooking up because they are the only single ones in your group. 40+ words into this recap, and no talk about their game… they are just sheep at the moment and seem to be going along with the Paul/Christmas gang – but who really knows.
Jason Dent – 3 strips of Tofu – oh man, cmon Whistlenut – I know you wanted to get rid of the competition any way you could – but causing physical injury to someone that was supporting you is not the way to go. Jason fit right into the floater role that we all thought he would, and almost became Cody’s 93rd nominee of the week. He is going to be pivotal as his vote could be the difference maker this week – but he is not aware of how important he is. Some of the others do realize this and are campaigning hard to him. Another one that we have no clue what he will actually do on Thursday night.
Jillian Parker – 4 strips of Tofu – The Big Brother house is stressful enough when you are not on the block. Approx 75% of Jillian’s time in the house she has been on the block – and honestly – not for any good reason. All of this seems very overwhelming to her and we have not really heard too much strategizing, campaigning, hell, anything really coming out of her this whole week. It’s a shame that if she stays – then pretty much she will just be the pawn all season until someone’s back door plan goes wrong, and she is sent packing. It’s a bigger shame that it may happen this week.
Jessica Graf – 5 strips of Tofu – now, if Jessica was a recruit, I may understand her behavior a little better. She cozied up with the first HoH which, eh, ok – not a horrible move to keep yourself safe. But when Cody went off the reservation and his behavior / actions became erratic – she threw caution to the wind and decided to go along with it. Now Jessica is public enemy #2 behind Cody, and to some, may even be higher on their hit-list. She will be fighting for her life the rest of the season. Cody better be worth it.
That brings us to our first Tofurkey of the Week – and it goes to Megan Lowder. I mean, there are obvious reasons for this dubious distinction, but even more than her decision to self-evict – was the path she was leading herself down in the game. After the first couple of days of getting into arguments with her new HGs – from what we saw, she did not really try to make amends and give the house a different perspective of herself. If she did – it just didn’t work.
As far as her walking away – TRUST ME when I say – unless you lived in that house, you have NO idea how hard it is psychologically. Yeah yeah yeah, we laugh at people crying on the show all the time. It really is a mind bending experience so while I do not agree with her decision to walk out, I surely understand. As a self proclaimed superfan of the show – she should have known what to expect a little more. Hopefully whatever demons she had to face, as well as all the new ones this decision will bring up – she can look back and take solace in the fact that she was one of 16 people picked in the country to be on this show this season.
My question of the week for you all is – what Houseguest has surprised you the most (in a good or bad way) for how different you thought they would be in the preseason to how they are actually are inside the house?
OK – there we go – another week in the books. The fireworks that went off this holiday week have been spectacular – and BB19 has gotten our summer off to such a wonderful start. I hope everyone enjoyed celebrating this long weekend with their family & friends – and kept up with the happenings inside the BB House along the way.
Let me know what you think of my rankings this week – as well as answer my Question of the Week in the comments section below.
From outside the Big Brother House – I’m Adam Poch – have a great day!!
Follow Adam Poch on Twitter: twitter.com/heavymetalteddy.
If you are in the NY area – Sunday July 30th – please come out and join me as I am the head judge of the New York Best Wings Festival – more info & tickets can be found here: www.nybestwingsfestival.com
Adam, I couldn’t agree more! From the outside looking in, Cody is the biggest jerk of all of the houseguests and I would like to see him dropped down several pegs in his mind. I’m surprised that the houseguests didn’t look around at each other and gunned for the older houseguest. Prior to the season, I thought Kevin would be the first to go! I like a BB where you have no idea what is going to happen next! Question to super fans….”Who is your #1 dislike and who would you like to see out the door next?”
@darbyduff:disqus My attitude changed after the stunt Cody pulled. Now I dislike him the most and want him gone. Before that? I’d say I disliked Elena the most and wanted her out. This is not based on game for me, it was based on her bitchy personality and how cringe it is to see how she treats Mark when he’s being nice to her (even though it’s his fault, but still).
Good rankings. I am surprised as much as anyone how well Kevin is doing. Like you he could go far. I see him making jury when I thought he would be out the first week or two.
Kevin has surprised me the most so far. I honestly gave him the label of the preachy dad that would be gone early when I saw his interview with Jeff. Instead he has been the cool guy in the house that everyone feels comfortable around. While so much drama is going on he is just sitting back and observing and plotting.
I completely agree, especially that he would be the preachy dad. Kevin has been a total surprise with his winning personality. The only thing I would like to comment on is that his lack of real gameplay conversations has been a bit of a let down for me.
The second one I’m a bit surprised at, in a disappointed way this time, is Jason, aka Whistlenut. While I enjoy some of his outgoingness, although it can get overzealous (for example, poor Christmas’ foot), his gameplay is very poor. He doesn’t look at the big picture or the long term consequences, but maybe in the preseason it was just wishful thinking on my part that he would.
I will be happy when Jessica, Cody and Elena get bounced.
ADAM! I always love reading your take on things in the house. Can’t say I disagree much with any of your assessments this time with the exception of 5 strips of bacon for production. Yes, they’ve made this first week very entertaining, but I think they have to lose a strip or 2 for bringing back a vet and for sending a player home without even getting to play so said vet can re-enter. Yes, I know you mentioned that Kevin made that happen by taking the temptation, but do you honestly believe production wasn’t 100% confident that someone was going to take that temptation with full anonymity on the table?
My biggest surprise is Cody. I expected him to come in with a better strategy, be a comp beast and possibly a fan favorite. Well, I was right about the comp beast part, but he’s certainly not a favorite of mine at this point.
As a positive surprise, I find that I like this cast, overall, better than I expected at the beginning.
Thank you – I just think this season as a whole has so much potential and the twists are not cheesy as previous seasons. This cast is amazing!!! Had to kiss productions butt a little!
Pretty much right on the mark.
I think you were too generous with Cody. My main reason is because he threw the veto to Alex. Sorry but if you want to change one of your nominee, like he wanted to do, own it and win the damn veto. He was a sissy on that one.
Wow. This is the first time I’m not agreeing wholeheartedly. Cody’s HOH is going to go down as the worst HOH in BB history. He doesn’t even deserve a scrap of mystery meat, let alone bacon. Targeting Paul for absolutely no reason other than ego without the numbers and selfishly blowing up his alliance was the dumbest thing I’ve ever witnessed watching he show. On the other hand, I think Matt, Raven & Elena deserve more credit for damage control and adapting to the situation they found themselves in and remain in a position of power in the house. They could have misread the situation (like Jess & Mark) and allowed Cody’s stupidity to torpedo them. They knew when to cut their losses. Love your segment though. Looking forward to the next one!
Thank you for the feedback. I see what you are saying – but I will stand by giving Cody Bacon. Took balls for him to target Paul this early in the game no matter the reason. As for his allies (or former allies) – I think they were a little slow to cut ties.
What I will say about Cody’s stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid move is it made for AWESOME feeds for a couple days!!! I agree the move was ballsy, but he had so many people in the palm of his hand. They were still looking for a reason to forgive after the fact! Great column, I look forward to reading it each week and was so glad to see it this morning.
I wouldn’t call targeting a guy who made it to Final 2 stupid.
I respectfully disagree. I’m not saying Paul should not have been recognized as a threat, but taking a shot at him without telling your alliance and without having the numbers (or even having any clue if you have the numbers) is incredibly stupid and the fact that he & Jess are house target #1 now shows how dumb that move was.
Adam, enjoy your summaries as always. Don’t exactly agree with your ratings of Cody and Paul.
I would give Cody maybe 1 strip of bacon. His potential was huge given his physical strength and his leadership potential, his ego however has at this point damaged his game. He misjudged that his group would blindly support whatever big move he tried without their knowledge. He’s lost their trust and it remains to be seen if he can regain it. For Paul, I would give him maybe 2 strips of bacon. Yeah he’s a vet returning and many of us don’t want that, but he’s there and he’s making the best of it. I am surprised that as the only vet in the house and one who took the place of a newbie, the HG’s have rallied around him like they have. Cody might have gotten away with going after a different big target except that many of the HG’s like Paul. He is smart and he can be entertaining. Who else could have taken the key and got out of being a Have Not and have all the other HG’s laughing and clapping for him? He can be annoying and push too hard, that may do him in down the road but right now many of the HG’s like him and are throwing their support behind him
Thank you as well for the feedback. I still think Paul may be doing TOO much!
Often Paul and Too Much are synonymous, lol
I agree with you both. I expected Paul to be smarter about this. He could have leveraged the sympathy of what happened into a stranglehold of the house. Instead, he let his paranoia, his own ego & “Too Much” personality to a place where he’s now less trusted.
ITA hon! We talked about how I feel about Cody’s move. Think it was too big, too early in the game, but it was bold, I’ll give him that. I also think Paul has managed to create a decent alliance from the wreckage of Cody’s failed attempt to nominate him, however, he still needs to dial it back a bit. Lately, he’s started playing a bit too hard…I don’t want him to push it too far. As you say below…Paul & Too Much can be synonymous…I hope he doesn’t continue to come on too strong or next time he’s nominated, it might stick and I’d miss Paul, he may be crass, but he’s entertaining on the feeds! :)
I agree with your rankings for the most part. Paul is really annoying me though with his playing too hard and constant speechifying… eventually people will start comparing notes and realize that Paul is making the same promises to everyone…
I actually hope Cody sticks around awhile.. we need someone to go toe to toe with Paul to make this a good season… the others are just sheep right now.
I feel bad for Jessica… sure she keeps making terrible decisions, but she doesn’t deserve all the hate she is getting online.
Excellent review, Adam. I’m curious – what are your thought about the BB Swap (or whatever they called it) and Cameron’s eviction?
Cameron who? Haha – it sucks that a superfan had to go home on opening night, just so that they could get Paul back in there – BUT…. that makes for great water cooler conversations. I think Cam may be in a hotel or beach house somewhere waiting for the Battle Back again. So – we will cross that bridge when we find out.
I think the HG should expect to see an evicted HG returning this season, even if they weren’t down a HG. It’d be nice if Cameron got his shot, but if it is anything like last season’s battle back…he better bring his A game this time and not drop out without much effort like he did in the safety comp!
How could you blame Kevin for bringing back Paul? Half the HGs voted for the money. Frankly, you’d have to be an idiot not to press the button. It’s completely anonymous, you know at least 1 other person will hit it, you can blame it on someone else, and everyone who hit it will know they weren’t wrong because someone else did it. It’s like when Will and Boogie promised not to take the prizes and go for the veto (or whatever it was), then took all the prizes. Because why not?
It was sarcasm! Blaming Kevin – of course he was coming back!
Hi Adam, great column, I always enjoy reading your take on the house and HG because you know from experience how insane the BB game experience can be. I agree with many of your rankings here, especially your analysis of Kevin. He is really surprising me with how adept he is at creating the social bonds needed to move along in this game. I’m impressed and, as you mentioned, he is “pure gold” in the feeds! I think my only real disagreement with your interpretation is in regards to Cody & Paul. In my opinion, Cody’s move, although bold, was far too early to be called a “good game move”. If he had watched past seasons of BB, he would know if production does have returning players, they always create the opportunity for those vets to be safe for the first few weeks in order for them to have the time to create social ties with the newbies & not be voted out immediately. Look at your season, there were six returning players, nearly a 50/50 split with the new cast, therefore, I don’t think any of you felt safe to target the vets immediately. In season 14, the vets came back as “coaches”, but c’mon, we all knew they were going to be going into the game. I don’t think any BB fan was surprised when they became players and not coaches. However, because they were coaches, it gave them the time to make friends and allies in the house and thus move forward… Imo, Cody should have expected Paul would be safe and waited to get him out. He had a HUGE alliance that could have picked off the entire rest of the house and then, when the time was right, he could have moved on Paul and had the rest of his group backing him.
And as far as Paul is concerned…I think he has handled the betrayal of Cody far better than he did this type of thing last season. He has (for the most part) kept his cool and for Paul, as we all know, that can be difficult to do! :)
Anyhow, thank you for taking the time to post your insightful analysis of the game and players. I am really looking forward to this season. I think this is, by far, the best casting BB has done in years!! :)
I love when fans actually know what they are talking about and make civilized posts like this. Cody’s attempt to target Paul did expose his temptation / safety – and the house really should appreciate that.
*blushes* Aw shucks… ;) haha
Thanks Adam! ITA that Cody’s move *did* have one redeeming consequence in that it did force Paul’s hand and make him admit he’d taken the temptation. However, I also think Paul covered up his lying about it pretty well when he turned it on Cody and said “why should I have told you I had it? As far as I knew me & you were on the same side so I didn’t think I’d need it.” That was good game talk right there, moreover, it called attention (once again) to Cody’s betrayal of the group.
“He had a HUGE alliance that could have picked off the entire rest of the house and then, when the time was right, he could have moved on Paul and had the rest of his group backing him.” This. So much this.
Spot on girl
Thanks Em. :)
You are most welcome!
Good to see you again Adam.
I disagree with you on Cody, Paul and Matt.
I’d only give Cody 1 strip of bacon simply because he had a good plan. He just executed it poorly.
Paul I’d give 1.5 strips since he learned from last time and is pretty much assuring the house he’s going after the power couple.
Matt I’d give 2 since he seems to be rational minded out of everyone on the couple’s alliance.
Maybe a strip of rancid bacon with pubes stuck to it for Cody… Yeah he’s got balls….for brains, big deal, anyone can flame out in the first few weeks with their big old balls and it’s nothing new. What I really don’t like about him is the way he treats people in general. There is no subtlety in the brick wall he throws up when he doesn’t like somebody. The stink eye is palpable and awkward and ultimately really stupid. I didn’t like Megan either, but why tell her in front of everybody? Dick moves for no real reason may make audiences howl with delight at the spectacle, I always laugh for sure, but if someone really wants to win isn’t maybe faking a social game a thing? To answer your question, Cody surprises me most in that I didn’t think anyone could be so obvious in their open disrespect, contempt and disdain for people who potentially could be handing him a big check should he get that far. It’s a long summer and full of twists so who knows what will happen, but why stack the deck against yourself?
Couldn’t agree more. Cody has said so many cringeworthy things and when I heard he flew into Ferguson, just to see what it was like, bye.
Kevin has gone up in my estimation. Cody at first I thought I am going to like this guy, now I really dislike him.I like Christmas.
Good assessment. Early last season you put Nicole high on the list and I was like … what seriously? But you knew what you were talking about and Nicole went to win it all and good for her!
Cody deserves bacon this week and you call it as it is. Of course many will disagree with you on this but they are being emotional.
As for Paul, oh well.
I think Alex surprised me the most. I was not expecting her to be such a scrappy little competitor.
I agree. I didn’t expect to even like her much but I do. Especially her telling Cody to eat it in the comp. She’s been a pleasant surprise!
I always enjoy reading your assessments Adam. I agree with most except Alex and Megan. I didn’t think Alex handled that whole situation correctly. And as far as Megan goes, I don’t watch live feeds, but I never saw her do anything to anyone. All I saw was people being mean to her for no apparent reason.
Alex-5 bacon- why??? Maybe because she is the cool nerd who is picking sides with the cool guy who was nice to her, not super smart considering he nominated her in th first place. The best thing that might come out of her veto win is a pussy- oops I meant catfight with Jessica when Cody has to sleep amongst the common folk.
Kevin’s greed is not what brought Paul into the game, that honor goes to BB and BB alone. If no one had taken the money, there was plan B, C, and D to bring in Paul, you can bet your life on it.
Always look forward to these.
Hope life’s treatin’ ya well Adam!
Life is GREAT! Thanks
Yeap, Alex threw the veto comp, no doubt about that. He should lose 2 strips of bacon.
Alex won the veto comp… I think you mean Cody?
I think Paul went back into the game too soon, like Brenchel did in Season 13. Production could have waited for a season or two or an all-stars to put him back, rendering him a bigger threat than any other veterans returning in a future season because his gameplay would be fresh in the newbies’ minds. And Adam, you are right. I think Paul’s already stirring the pot in just the first week, like he did in the previous season. Lucky for him he got that immunity pendant. I like Paul as a player but I hope he doesn’t get consumed by the power that he becomes too aggressive and controlling, like Neda Kalantar did in BBCAN5 when Canada gave her the timewarp immunity.
Oh, and I also agree that Cody’s HOH reign is so tumultuous that I’d be surprised if he lasts until the jury. He’s rubbing a lot of people the wrong way. Christmas is so pissed LOL
So glad to see a fellow Big Brother Canada fan. I loved Neda in Season 2 but she got obnoxious with her safely in Season 5. I hope Paul doesn’t go down that same path because he grew on me throughout last season.
Although he tried hard to do so, he knew he couldn’t be a kisser butter to Cody. It was so fun watching both of them during the POV ceremony. That was some entertaining television.
I agree. The way the list is set up is exactly what we have seen from these players. Let’s hope it continues and after this week they don’t start voting as a house. There aren’t many surprises when watching the feeds or reading about it, so it’s great not knowing how most of the HGs are actually voting.
Cody is the biggest surprise since I thought he would be a sweeter person. I knew he would be a good competitor, but his arrogance is surprising. Jessica is exactly what I thought she would be and Elena. I knew they were going to be the male clingers.
could you please explain what strips of bacon mean, vs strips of tofu?
Adam LOVES bacon, so the more strips of bacon someone gets, the better he feels they did during the week. Tofu represents the opposite.
Thank You, Very Much!
Alex was the one that shocked me most. She’s bad ass!!
Cody is an ass & Jess can go out the door with him! Both of them do not impress me in the least!!
Was sorry to see Meg go but understand that ptsd is no joke!
Hoping Paul gets far just for entertainment purposes but wouldn’t mind seeing Alex, Matt, Dom or Mark at the end.
Being a self-proclaimed “almost” Super Fan (I’m old and don’t remember EVERYTHING so I;’m not SUPER..lol), I don’t know why I am just now seeing your comments… and I LOVE IT!… This is the best BB discussion group I have seen, and your personal experience gives you insight that I am excited to learn more about. I agree with your baconalogies! Especially for Cody… 3 strips is fair… All of the fan “hate” toward him is unwarranted … He is a bit cocky and over-confident… but I can’t help but wonder what the other HG would have done had they been in the position to have to nominate half of the house the first week! Especially when Paul’s immunity was revealed and he had to pick someone on the spot so early in the game…. What would, oh let’s say Kevin have done? lol Or the emotional wreck we call Josh? For the women, Alex and Christmas are the only ones that I see who will make their own decisions.. the others are coat-tailers… although I think Dominique has the potential… and doesn’t want to appear as a threat just yet… Anyway, excited to learn of your posts… not to tech savvy so I hope I can find my way back here… I don’t tweet…. I’m a Jersey girl who lives in Florida now so I cannot be at the wing festival… But I will be in Jersey the following week of you have anything going on…. Peace out lil the next time…..