Tom's Take:
So I'm taking this time to take a look back on Big Brother 15 and comparing my initial Cast Reactions to what they actually delivered.
First off, I want to take a moment to discuss the obvious controversy that overshadowed the rest of the season. Racism. Do I believe that any of these 16 BB15 houseguests is or was a racist? The honest answer to that is no. Nor do I think any of them were truly horrible people. I think most of the cast made racial or otherwise unsavory remarks, but that doesn't make them racist. Everyone has stereotypes in their head. And everyone I know has made some Non PC remarks from time to time. It happens. It's part of our culture, and honestly it's a part of human nature. Is it a positive part of our nature? No, and it shouldn't be encouraged. If you get cast on BB, I advise you to stay the fuck away from talking about anything racial or any stereotypes period. I think the HG's were dumb for forgetting the cameras were on, and their comments were stupid. But saying stupid shit doesn't make you Hitler. And these people gave up their privacy for the sake of our entertainment, and I don't think they deserve to be crucified for that. Because honestly, the things "fans" have said about these houseguests is far more horrific than anything the HG's themselves said.
So let's look at how this cast lined up with my predictions.
1.
Final Stats:
Won: 3rd place in AFP voting.
Alliance: Moving Company, Grasshoppers
Evicted: 12th Place
Gameplay: 515
Showplay: 350
Awards: Golden Edit
What I said:
"Howard. He's black, he's cool, and he seems athletic. I think Howard will be a Veto beast that plays a strong enough social game to make it to the jury. I'm rooting for him to win the first MVP to insure he isn't the first boot. Realistically, I doubt he'll win, but I think he should make it to the second half of the game and I hope we have a strong competitor to provide drama on that front."
What he delivered
I overestimated Howard's athleticism, but despite what people said later on he did have a lot of charisma. The Moving Company put a huge target on his back after Week 2, and Amanda kept it on him until he was finally taken out. He got a golden edit from CBS, that was their way of countering the racial issues. It was undeserved, and ended up taking away from the real game that was being played by the Knockouts and the Goof Troupe. I like Howard, I think he's a nice guy, but honestly he was something of a dud, that CBS propped up out of necessity.
2.
Final Stats:
Won: 1 HoH, 1 Veto, Trip to Bahamas, $10,000
Alliance: Moving Company, Grasshoppers, Floater Four
Evicted: 3rd Place
Gameplay: 680
Showplay: 480
Awards: Ultimate Pawn Star
What I said:
"Spencer. My gut feeling on Spencer is that his beard annoys me. I don't like people who can grow beards. I think he'll end up being a dud who ends up getting evicted early jury."
What he delivered:
Spencer set a record of nine times being on the block this season, but was finally evicted. His ability to stay calm on the block was kudosworthy, but the truth is after the Moving Company fell apart Spencer was nothing but a floater, and he finished in the same place as Adam Poch. He had moments of good social play, but he didn't make any moves, so I can't consider him a good player. I enjoyed him about 80% of the time, but that 20% more than made up for it and left a bad taste in my mouth.
3.
Final Stats:
Won: 4 HoH's, 1 Veto
Alliance: Boats n Hoes, 3 AM,
Evicted: 8th Place
Gameplay: 1135
Showplay: 1180
Awards: Comp Beast, Allstar Possibility
What I said:
"Aaryn. Aaryn is my vote for hot second boot. I really see the amount of hot girls this season causing a bunch of drama, and ending with a lot of the hot girls going early. I have someone else in mind for the first boot, so I'm putting Aaryn in the second boot slot."
What She Delivered:
I got this season prediction really wrong, since the first three evictions were all guys. Aaryn survived on the strength of her competition skills, and was playing a pretty good social game in the second quarter of the game, but she wasn't very good at handling this information, and honestly she should have gotten Elissa out with one of her HoH's. That failure cost her in the end, and so she was evicted so that she could face America's wrath. Her interview with Julie was uncomfortable to watch, but "fans" loved it. She made some dumb comments, but she doesn't deserve all the hate. She might come back for a redemption story, which could be interesting I guess.
4.
Final Stats:
Won: 1 Veto (My Heart)
Alliance: Knockouts, Goof Troupe, 3 AM, 2 AM, McCranda
Evicted: 7th Place
Gameplay: 1435
Showplay: 1930
Awards: DR Queen, Allstar, Showstar, My personal Favorite
What I said:
"Amanda. I like Amanda. I think she could be the seductress of the season since she seems very willing to use her body to get ahead. The problem is that she apparently has a boyfriend at home. I predict that relationship will not last the season. I think she'll end up being a strong player this season and I'll go ahead and predict she makes the jury before she finally gets taken out in one of the last big evictions of the season."
What She Delivered:
I got Amanda spot on. But she also delivered so much more than that. She was the best player when she was evicted, and far and away the biggest cause of drama this season. She ran the game for weeks, had a very quirky but ultimately steamy showmance, and also fought with pretty much everyone in the house. She will definitely get asked back and I hope she takes up the offer. I am Team Amanda all the way and I encourage everyone to go to http://mccrandamafia.weebly.com/index.html and show your support of this amazing player and person.
5.
Final Stats:
Won: 3 HoHs, 2 Vetos, $500,000
Alliance: Knockouts, Goof Troupe, 3 AM, 2 AM, Floater Four, Chicago Pair, Spandy, GMAndy
Evicted: Winner
Gameplay: 1565
Showplay: 695
Awards: Winner
What I said:
"Andy. Andy is our gay. He's got a good head on his shoulders and he'll be a strong social player. I think he could be a finalist if he doesn't do anything stupid."
What He Delivered:
Andy played a fantastic social game. I knew he COULD make it to the Final Two, but the fact that he did and is our first Gay winner is truly impressive. His game most reminds me of Jun from Season 4, and I think that's a fair comparison. Andy was floater, but he floated with gusto, not like Adam Poch, or Zach from Season 8. Floating is a viable strategy in Big Brother, and I'm glad that this "no floater summer" produced a winner who used floating the way it was meant to be used.
6.
Final Stats:
Won: Nothing
Alliance: None
Evicted: 11th and 9th Place
Gameplay: 280
Showplay: 345
Awards: Golden Edit
What I said:
"Candice. Candice will be an early boot due to not fitting in with the white girls. It won't be put this way of course. I'm sure it'll have something to do with jealousy or whatever, but that's what it will come down to."
What She Delivered:
Wow. I did not see the racial stuff being as in your face as it was. That's all Candice provided for the season a "victim" for us to root for. The live feeders know though that she slept through the season, and barely played the game. Utterly forgettable.
7.
Final Stats:
Won: Nothing
Alliance: None
Evicted: 16th Place
Gameplay: 30
Showplay: 100
Awards: Nada Dude
What I said:
"David. Hello Spicoli. I hope you make it far just so that I have someone to focus my hatred on. If the other houseguests are smart they'll keep David in the house to beat up on strategically, but my real prediction is that he ends up annoying people and being an early boot."
What he delivered
Not much to add. He was good comic relief for an episode or two.
8.
Final Stats:
Won: 1 HoH, 2 Vetos, 3 MVPs, America's Favorite HG $25,000
Alliance: Knockouts, Mom Squad
Evicted: 6th Place
Gameplay: 655
Showplay: 660
Awards: Biggest instance of Producer Rigging of the Season
What I said:
Elissa. Elissa is Rachel Reilly's sister. So yeah. CBS will bend the rules to keep Elissa in the game, so I think she makes it to jury based on that alone. Then I think an ounce of integrity or their lack of talent at rigging the game will force CBS to let Elissa go.
What she Delivered:
Yep. Double Evictions are the enemy to production pets. Elissa threatened to quit a lot, and she was the target of a lot of bashing this season in the house. She didn't deserve 90% of it, but she didn't help matters with her attitude and her passive aggressive nature. I wasn't an Elissa fan, but she had a surprising amount of game towards the end which makes me think she was consciously playing low early in the season. If she had talked more game within the Knockouts, and Amanda in particular, the Mom Squad and McCranda could have teamed up the way the Grasshoppers thought they were and run the house up until Final Four. Instead she let personal stuff get in the way. And it cost her the game in the end, because McCrae refused to trust her even when he should have.
9.
Final Stats:
Won: 2 HoH's, Runner up $50,000
Alliance: Floater Four
Evicted: 2nd Place
Gameplay: 580
Showplay: 825
Awards: Finals Goat
What I said:
"GinaMarie. GinaMarie is our New Yorker, so I think we need her for comedy purposes. She'll make jury for sure."
What she delivered:
GM made it further than most people thought, but she wasn't much of a player. CBS only people thought she was worth cheering for since she broke up McCranda, but that was Andy telling her what to do. She was much more vocal in her hate than even Aaryn, but CBS never showed that, not that I think they needed to, but still. She was entertaining though, and her Nick obsession gave us all something to laugh about.
10.
Final Stats:
Won: 1 Veto
Alliance: Moving Company, Boats N Hoes
Evicted: 14th Place
Gameplay: 250
Showplay: 300
Awards: Early Star of the show, Asshat
What I said:
"Jeremy. Jeremy is young but I see him being in a showmance that will cause a lot of early drama in the house."
What he delivered:
He was in a showmance and caused a lot of early drama. Jeremy was one of my least favorite houseguests to be honest, but he made good TV. If he had gone further he would probably be an allstar contender. As it was he bragged about being able to win any and all competitions, which lead to him being promptly backdoored in Week Three.
11.
Final Stats:
Won: 1 Veto
Alliance: None
Evicted: 10th and 11th Place
Gameplay: 510
Showplay: 325
Awards: Flip Flopper
What I said:
"Jessie. Jessie will come out of this season as America's Sweetheart, and may even win fan favorite. She won't make the final two, but she'll come close and her eviction will be heartbreaking."
What she delivered:
She flip flopped. A lot. People liked her because CBS edited her to be the David to Amanda's Goliath, but the truth is she was just a floater looking for a solid alliance. She never found one. She had like 4 different attempts at a showmance, and they all failed. But Ian Terry has a crush on her, so maybe that'll work out for her. Or not.
12.
Final Stats:
Won: 1 HoH, 1 Veto, 2nd place in AFP voting poll, $5,000, a Second Chance in the House
Alliance: Knockouts, Goof Troupe, Grasshoppers, Floater Four
Evicted: 10th and 5th Place
Gameplay: 1000
Showplay: 755
Awards: My 2nd Favorite
What I said:
"Judd. Judd is a southerner and speaks in a completely unintelligible accent/dialect. He's my prediction for most comedy gold moments in this season."
What he delivered:
Judd was great on the feeds, even though he didn't often provide great drama for the CBS show. He was my second favorite after Amanda, and I kept praying that SOMEHOW those two would be the final two. Instead America, and a touch of his own shadiness cost Judd 1.0 the game, and when he was revived he came back bitter and bent on revenge.
13.
Final Stats:
Won: 1 HoH
Alliance: Knockouts, Mom Squad
Evicted: 9th Place, and 10th Place
Gameplay: 790
Showplay: 545
Awards: Crybaby Award, Possible Allstar
What I said:
"Helen. Helen is a Korean political consultant and I'm somewhat smitten with her. I'm not voting for her to get MVP because I don't want her to have power early in the game. I want her to win. That's right. Helen is my official winner prediction."
What she delivered:
Helen was never in as much control of the game as she or CBS thought she was. Andy was actually the one pulling her strings, and the fact that CBS never showed that is why no one really respects Andy's win. In actuality though, Helen was an aggressive player who did make the season more interesting, because her quick trigger finger ended up breaking the Knockouts alliance apart. She fought Amanda in a tug of war over Andy and Aaryn, and Amanda crushed her. She will be known for her constant crying, and for her long annoying positive speeches that brought us the hashtag #STFUHelen.
14.
Final Stats:
Won: Nothing
Alliance: Moving Company
Evicted: 15th Place
Gameplay: 150
Showplay: 130
Awards: Worst Move for Creating the Moving Company splitting the house and choosing the LOSING Side.
What I said:
"Nick. Oh my god Nick is annoying. I think that unless Nick gets into an early showmance he will quickly be on the outs for the first week. Nick is my first eviction pick of the season."
What he delivered:
Hahahahaha. I got pretty close. Nick came in wanting to be a mastermind. He ended up masterminding his own eviction. Kudos to him.
15.
Final Stats:
Won: 1 Veto
Alliance: Boats N Hoes
Evicted: 13th Place
Gameplay: 85
Showplay: 180
Awards: Most Forgettable
What I said:
"Kaitlin. Kaitlin is hot and she could easily replace one of the other girls as the victor in the early katty drama, but I'm going with my gut instinct and saying she doesn't. She'll be another early boot."
What she delivered:
I was pretty spot on with her. She was pretty boring in the grand scheme of things, but she seems like a generally nice person, so...yeah?
16.
Final Stats:
Won: 2 HoH's, 3 Vetos, $5,000, Amanda
Alliance: Moving Company, McCranda, Knockouts, Goof Troupe, 3 AM, 2 AM
Evicted: 4th Place
Gameplay: 845
Showplay: 745
Awards: My biggest disappointment
What I said:
"McCrae. People have watched Ian and Cochran win BB14 and Survivor Caramoan respectively. They won't let McCrae win. He should be fun on the feeds though, so I hope he makes jury."
What he delivered:
This is going to be a bit harsh, and that's unfortunate because McCrae is clearly a nice guy. But McCrae's gameplay was practically disgusting to me. All he did all season after Week Two, was sleep, hide behind Amanda, and tell people he was going to cut her. Then he got it in his head that people were trying to get rid of Amanda so they could work with him. WHAT? How does that even make sense? He was the worst ally in the game, and on top of that he refused to step up for Amanda during her many fights. He was a live feed watcher, and yet he practically refused to get involved in drama. How does that happen? And how does a "superfan" decide he's going to consciously TRY to play a JORDAN type game? It just doesn't make sense to me. I just don't get it. "I dunno." Again, nice guy, but I hated his game.
But Amanda loves him, so I wish for nothing but the best for the couple and hope McCranda gets to do Amazing Race. That would be fun, and I'd actually watch if that happened.
So there you go. BB15 is done!
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