“I coulda been somebody, I coulda been a contender!” – On the Waterfront 1955
When this cast was announced, I was so ecstatic. I was hopeful that this was going to be one of the best seasons of Big Brother ever! This season had so much potential! I felt like this was a great cross section of fans & recruits, familiar personality types & new quirky characters. serious gamers & a goofy clown! The one thing that I did not take into consideration when forming my opinions (and preseason rankings) was the effect of a recruit coming back. And even if I did know a recruit was coming, and even if I knew that recruit was going to be Paul, I still could not have predicted this season would have ended up as one of the least favorite seasons not just to me, but to a lot of you out there as well.
However, despite all the negativity both inside & outside the house, no matter how many pots and pans were destroyed, no matter how many sprinting competitions one legged women won, no matter how many “Victim Noises” we had to listen to, no matter how many TMZ butt pokes (and other stories), a bad season of Big Brother is better than no season of Big Brother. So let’s take a look back at the season that was, and see how well I did in my preseason predictions.
BUT FIRST – I want to thank Matt from Big Brother Network, for allowing me to keep this column going for 5 seasons now. It’s so much fun sharing my thoughts as a superfan that was lucky enough to play the game – and giving you all a unique perspective of how the players are doing each week. Big Brother Network has always been a great source of the highlights (and lowlights) every day during the season, and I am honored to be a part of it. I plan on doing this column as long as Matt lets me, so when you start getting sick of it, just let him know & he can evict me from the Big Brother Network House!
17th place: Cameron Heard (preseason 3 strips bacon / final 2 strips of Tofu) – oh Cameron, we hardly knew you. So bummed that the biggest superfan of the season went home first. I thought he was going to go far as long as no one felt threatened that he could be a Steve Moses or Ian Terry type. Well, turns out they were threatened by that – and he got unlucky when he picked the wrong apple. He did have a pretty good chance of coming back, but blew a huge lead to Cody during the Battle Back.
16th Place: Megan Lowder (preseason 3 strips of Tofu / final 3 strips of Tofu) – I predicted Megan to be a floater and last until jury. Boy I got that one wrong! But then again, no one saw that coming! We did not get to see it all play out on the feeds (we could have if they did it like OTT!!!!) so who knows the 100% truth of what happened. Bottom line was Megan could not deal with the pressure of that house. While you may read this and think she wasted a spot, or how did she get through psych, unless you lived in that house, you can not know the amount of stress it puts on you. Nothing you have ever done in your life can prepare you (unless you played before) for this. Who knows what the season would have been like if she never left?!
15th Place: Jillian Parker (preseason 3 strips of Tofu / final 4 strips of Tofu) – I said Jillian was boring in my preseason rankings…
14th Place: Cody Nickson – oh wait… we’ll get back to him later…
14th Place: Dominique Cooper (preseason 4 strips of Tofu / final 5 strips of Tofu) – I was pretty dead on with my assessment of Dom from her preseason interview. Her mouth was gonna get her in trouble, and she would be an early exit. For someone who loved to talk all the time, her biggest downfall was not saying anything despite all the words that came out of her mouth. She would talk in circles and riddles, and no one had any clue what she was saying. So when she finally said what she had to say, no one believed a word she was saying. Dom was sittin pretty until she had to try and be the star of a talk show. She will be known for her use of the term “snake-like tendencies” in referring to Paul.
13th Place: Ramses Soto (preseason 4 strips of Bacon / final 1 strip of Tofu) – I thought for sure Ramses would get along with everyone and no one would see him as a threat early on. For some unknown reason, EVERYONE thought Ramses was a threat. Well, we know the real reason, cause Paul knew that Ramses would be able to see through him, and he was such an easy target to pin things on (the 25K first night, hinkey votes, etc…). Just like Cameron, Ramses was a super fan – although a relatively newer superfan, so i am sure he is having the “coulda shoulda woulda” dreams, but he never did quite fit in and left too early.
There were 3 showmances this season, and as you will see, they are 6 of the next 7 players evicted. I was pretty spot on when it came to Jody, I got 50% of Marlena correct, but I was WAAAAAY off on Maven. Then again, no one could ever have predicted either one of them, or whatever they ended up being together.
12th Place: Jessica Graf – (preseason 2 strips of Bacon / final 2 strips of Tofu) – “She will probably get into a showmance and end up losing her man along the way.”
11th Place: Cody (preseason 2 strips of Tofu / final 3 strips of Bacon) – “He’s not looking for a showmance – but I think some of the girls will try and cozy up to him early – which spells doom for his game. He will probably get into a few shouting matches along the way and will end up going out pre-jury in a blaze of glory.”
We have not seen a couple fight like them (both in the game and with each other) since Brenchal, and for a season that was built around Paul, without anyone to go after would not have been much fun. The season is 92 days – but for the first 58, Jessica &/or Cody were in there to go against Paul. Jessica was very emotional, and really fumbled when she won the HoH to take out RAMSES???? Paul was not safe, you won HoH and Veto and you took out RAMSES???? That is why she gets Tofu for the season.
Unfortunately most of the time Cody was in there, he had to defend Jessica. He did take the first shot at Paul, and never stopped trying to get people to see they should get rid of Paul, which is why he gets Bacon for the season. We saw both of them be much more social and dare I say likable when the other one was out of the house. But when they were in the house together – it was fireworks!!! As someone who lived with Brenchal – it was like reliving the nightmare (jk). Who knows what would have happened if Christmas did not use the Ring of Replacement and Cody could have competed in OTEV. But that was the theme of the season… If If If If….
10th Place: Elena Davies (preseason 1 strip of Tofu / 1 strip of Tofu) – “She may come off as funny and win people over with her humor – OR…. she can be bitchy and turn people off. She should make it to jury – but do not think she will have the killer instinct it takes to win the game.”
9th Place: Mark (preseason 4 strips of Bacon / 2 strips of Bacon) – “what’s not to like about the guy. He’s huge but humble; he should make final 6 – and give himself the best chance to win.”
Looks like I was wrong about Elena, she was BOTH funny & bitchy. Mark was pretty likable, until he was so transparent of flipping on his team. However Mark did compete well, and win some challenges to protect himself, Elena did not compete well, and could not protect anyone. They both rode the fence up to the bitter end (Mark gave Paul the “Save a Friend” apple??) but it was never going to help them get further in the game.
No one trusted Mark, and Elena even tried to get away from him for a bit, but her need to be loved took over and she jumped right back into bed with Mark. This was such a shame because I thought Mark was going to be a much stronger player. We have never seen a man this big cry so much. It was like if Mr. Pec-Tacular & Amber (BB8) had a baby it would be Mark. However Mark always tried to get further in the game, he was there to win… Elena just wanted to get to jury and pay her rent.
8th Place: Matthew Clines (preseason 1 strip of Bacon / co-TOFURKEY OF THE YEAR) – “I do not really have high expectations of Matthew’s game, but I think he will be the “villain” of the season. I guarantee he will be the early star of the show.”
6th Place: Raven Walton (preseason 1 strip of Bacon / co-TOFURKEY OF THE YEAR) “I really like the energy Raven brings to the cast – she has a positive attitude and will need to keep that up as the house can really bring the worst out of people. She wants to try to be a manipulator – and hopefully she does not come out of the gate to strong, or too bubbly. I think Raven can keep it in check and get pretty far. Jury for sure – and possibly Final 6”
OK, I was WAAAAAY off on Matthew being the Villain of the season – and was not the star of the show. Raven – well, I was kind of correct that the house can bring out the worst in people, but it really brought the worst out of Raven. The two of them played the absolute worst games of the season. Not once did either one of them contribute anything to the “team” except votes. But all the while they thought they were running things. Well according to Raven – she was running the show.
Matthew & Raven had lots of sex, they were slobs, they ate whatever they wanted – for Matt that was “copious amounts of cereal”, for Raven that was whatever dietary restricted food that was allowed for the Disease Du Jour. ( ok if you do not want to post this as it’s been on other sites) Raven told the best “stories” of her life – but something tells me I have heard them all before?? We have seen some delusional players before – but these 2 take the cake!! Let me remind you that Matthew won the Veto, while on the block, and did not use it. Sure, sure sure, it was part of the plan – but that could have easily backfired if… if.. IF… never mind.
There was a 4th duo – but this was not a Showmance, but easily the strongest duo of them all. Jalex won a whole bunch – 5 HoH’s & 4 VETOs – but that worked against them in the long run.
7th Place: Jason Dent (preseason 2 strips of Bacon / 2 strips of Tofu) – “His lack of game knowledge will actually work to his advantage; he does have smarts & is in great physical shape. He will get to jury – and if he can win a couple challenges could make it to Final 6.”
5th Place: Alex Ow (preseason 3 strips of Tofu / 2 strips of Tofu) – “People have compared Alex to Paola from BB16; Alex will have a hard time keeping her mouth shut and I see several outbursts from her; She will be a casualty in the first couple of weeks, but leave her mark on the house”
So I was kinda right, and kinda wrong on both. Jason had no idea how to play the game, even after 50+ days into the game. All along, I thought he was going to be the one to turn on Paul, and he had the best chance to on the first Double Eviction night. Alex was supposed to be the smart gamer, and she too had a chance to get Paul during the second Double Eviction night. Both were bamboozled by Paul – Alex more so than Jason. Jason’s downfall was he trusted Alex way too much. Jason did not seem to want to trust Paul, but since Alex did, he went along with it. That pathetic speech on the first Double Eviction night where he called Mark out was the absolute worst speech of the season (and there were some pretty bad ones).
Alex was an outsider to start the season, and as soon as she won her first HoH, we all thought she would turn the game around – but instead she fell into line with Paul and became one of his minions. For a girl who was such a superfan – she should have seen this play out in her head and NOT gone along with it. She kept insisting that Paul’s game was all about “Friendship” and he would never be untrustworthy (REALLY???). The 2 of them will look back at the season and kick themselves over and over. There were plenty of warning signs – but they ignored it. I always say, when you get cocky & confident in the game, you go home!
4th Place: Kevin Schlehuber (preseason 4 strips of Tofu / 3 strips of Tofu) – I was pretty close when I predicted that Kevin would go along with what the house wants. He went along with what Paul wanted, and Paul was the house, so… Although I also thought he would be the first out – so I was not completely right. Kevin was a breath of fresh air this season, his walks around the yard with Jason were some of the funniest moments of the season. However his lack of a physical game could not make up for his somewhat great social game. He kept throwing comps, and trusting Paul all the while.
I compared Kevin to Victoria from BB16, she trusted everything Derrick was saying – and why wouldn’t she, Victoria kept being safe week after week. Kevin was the same way, and even after walking out the door, he still thinks he was Paul’s #1. The main reason Alex hated Kevin so much was because Paul kept feeding her lies about him. Could it be his bitter jury vote that prevents Paul from winning the game???
The last 3 – are in the order I think they will finish:
3rd Place: Christmas Abbott (preseason 2 strips of Bacon / final 4 strips of Tofu) – Christmas was a preseason pick by a lot of people to do well, and I thought she would be a target unless she got in with a big alliance. Well, she was a target early – up for eviction the first 2 weeks. She escaped being the first evicted on opening night because a majority of the house thought Cameron was a bigger threat (huh??) – and then went back up the following week when Cody’s plan to go after Paul backfired. Christmas was kept in the house that week because a) it was a “screw you” to Cody & b) she was “crippled” and not a physical threat to win.
I am sure people thought they would be able to get her out later – but that did not work because she did get into that big alliance. She flirted with Kevin, she motivated Josh, she fell ion love with Paul, she sat back on the sidelines and watched people beating each other up in & out of the competitions – and used her social game to get to the end. However – after losing the first 2 parts of the final HoH – she campaigned to both Josh & Paul to vote her out and take each other to the end. Wait – what??? She did not even try to talk her way to the final 2 with both of them? Josh told her before this that he would take her to the final 2 – but she did not reciprocate that idea (even in a fake way).
Christmas really thinks they will bring her back next season – and who knows, they might, but you cannot play the game hoping to be brought back (hear that Alex???). The best part of Christmas’ game for us the live feeders, was her incoherent babbles when she was all hopped up on painkillers. Interesting note Josh voted Xmas out the first night. I do not think that ever came out.
2nd Place: Josh Martinez (preseason 1 strip of Tofu / final 3 strips of Bacon) – I could not get a read on Josh before he got in the house. I did however pick up on him be a wild-card. I thought he could go pretty far if he wins people over, but could go home early if people found him annoying. He ALMOST went home week 4. But by then, Paul was keeping him around as his goat, and convinced his minions to keep Josh over Ramses.
Josh played his role perfectly that week, but then the monster was unleashed. He felt like he was untouchable and pretty much was. Whether he knew it or not, a lot of people thought they could drag him to the end and beat him. Then he started winning some competitions – and on his HoH’s he took out Jessica & Alex. He also won a stressful Veto during the Double Eviction to keep himself safe after voting out Jason minutes before. Not using that Veto also reassured that Paul could not get backdoor-ed (Alex was never going to do that anyway, but…. you never know).
Now Josh could make the biggest move of the summer if he wins part 3 and sends Paul out the door. He has said he sees through Paul’s game, and said this would be the time to do it. But recently he sounds like he’s either getting cold feet, or Paul is convincing him that Christmas has the votes. If Josh wins & takes Paul to F2 – then he deserves to lose.
1st Place: Paul Abrahamian (no preseason ranking / 4.5 strips of Bacon) – Last season on finale night, I predicted Paul was going to win the game. I was wrong. BBOTT, I predicted the one Vet vs the house of newbies would win the game. I was wrong. So anyone who knows how I have felt about the season. I am SOOOO hoping that my prediction comes out wrong again! Paul did bust his ass this season, and everything has gone just as he predicted they would. Well, that’s cause he was planning it all, and had the most loyal followers since Charles Manson! The mind control he had on some of these people was even greater than Dan, Will, Derrick, combined. BUT…. he didnt have to be such a…. (fill in the blank)… about it.
Yes, this game is not about being nice and making friends, but unlike the 3 guys I mentioned before, when Paul screwed people over, they left “pissed.” We did see on BB14 that Dan got a little too cocky and the jury did not award him the money – so who knows how this season’s jury will vote. Paul has the resume though – with 3 HoH’s and 5 Veto’s – plus if he wins the final HoH – I do not care how much you hated how he played, he “deserves” the win.
Paul’s only fault this season (gamewise) was not beating Cody in the Battle Back. I was hoping people realized after that, that Paul was not the bee’s knees, but no, his sheep followed him and pushed him up the hill while killing themselves off in the process. IF, if he gets to final 2, and loses by 1 vote again…. it will be the most awesome / horrible moment ever on television.
OK – there ya have it – another season in the books for me. I know we will all be watching tonight and anxiously waiting to see if Josh pulls a Steve Moses (S17) or a Cody (S16) – or if he will even have that chance. I want to thank those of you that have read this column & commented all season. We all love watching Big Brother (no matter how bad it is) – and we love discussing the show even more. It’s been a rough 3 months – and luckily we have a little break before Celebrity Big Brother kicks off. Last year we went right into BBOTT – but I think I can speak for all of us when I say – we need this break!!!!
My final Question of the Week is – what is your favorite moment of the season? I have 2 – Cody’s walking across the coffee table as he was evicted – that was classic and we will see people try to do that in future seasons. I guess I like it because I want to see someone wipe out or break the table trying to do it. My other one was the Zingbot’s Zings. Every year they seem to be getting meaner & meaner – and this season he was just BRUTAL to everyone – but the Raven “Clownitard” comment was downright savage!!! Let me know your favorite moment(s) in the comments section below
For the final time this season – from outside the Big Brother House – I’m Adam Poch – have a great day!!
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Take a listen to the Big Brothers Podcast – I join them every week to discuss my rankings and more. The latest episode is here –