Five Drinks Into Reality TV: Big Brother 17 Finale

Tom's Take: 

It's over. Congratulations Steve. I'll get into my final game and show rankings, as well as an overall cast assessment, and my thoughts on this season as a whole after the break.

Overall Season Thoughts and General Cast Assessment


This was a really good season. I think the ending wasn't great, so I would put it below the Canada Seasons, and Big Brother 14, but above all the other U.S. seasons since Big Brother 12. I am really glad they abandoned the Takeover twist, and ended Battle of the Block early.

Les Moonves said this season's cast was a disappointment. He was dead wrong. This cast was great, as you'll see from my grades which will soon follow.



1. Audrey

Cast Grade: A+

Audrey was gold. She was everything. She burned out, but of course she did. That was what she was supposed to do. And it was amazing to watch. I don't really want her back, due to her practically quitting the game, but I thought we got a lot out of her this season.



2. Austin

Cast Grade: A-

This is a surprising one. I really disliked Austin to be honest, but a good cast is about variety. You can't like everyone, and Austin was an interesting character. I could honestly see Austin come back in a future season, and I think he'll do pretty well, because people will underestimate him.


3. Becky

Cast Grade: C+

This is a higher grade than I expected to give Becky at the start of the season. She was really boring early on, but she actually really grew on me. She was the smartest member of the #Downstairs alliance, and the only one who realized Vanessa was the danger. Her HOH reign lead was the only major challenge to Vanessa's dominance of the season, prior to Steve winning the final HOH. She was an unworthy opponent to Vanessa, but at least she opposed Vanessa's dominance unlike anyone last year opposing Derrick.




4. Clay

Cast Grade: B

I was pleasantly surprised with Clay. He was actually something of a gamer. Unfortunately his showmance did him in. He would have been a force if Shelli had been evicted first though.


5. Da'Vonne

Cast Assessment: A-


Da was great. The tragedy of #bb17 is that Da was out so soon. She gave the best DRs, and even though she wasn't an amazing gamer, her feud with Audrey was the inciting incident that got Big Brother 17 rolling.

6. Jace

Cast Assessment: A-

Jace was a fun first boot. He seemed terrible, and he was a horrible player, But that's exactly what you want in your first boot.


7. James

Cast Assessment:  Fan Favorite A+

James rocked.

8. John

Cast Assessment: A+

I did not get the JMac hype. But, people really really loved him.



9. Julia

Cast Assessment: A-

I found Julia's presence to be very amusing.

10. Liz

Showplay: 100
Cast Assessment: A-


See Julia's cast assessment. Liz got owned in the final 2, but she's 50 grand richer.

11. Jason Roy

Cast Assessment: A+

Loved Jason. Wish he had played more.



12. Meg

Cast Assessment:  C-

I thought Meg was the top player in Big Brother 17.  She completely failed. While she was kind of a fun presence, her absolute lack of game lead to this season failing to surpass Big Brother 14. If she was even remotely a good player, this season could have been a real clash.

 13. Steven

Comp Bonus Points: 100
Strategic: 100
Showplay: 100
Cast Assessment: C-

The Ian ripoff wins the season. I guess Steve ended up being about a top 15 winner, but not much higher than that. I will have to revisit that some time in the future.

Steve cried and whined, and was too much of a momma's boy.

14. Shelli

Cast Assessment: A

Shelli was a surprise for me. I thought she really had some game. Unfortunately a showmance, and Vanessa completely destroyed her.


.

15. Vanessa

Showplay: 100
Cast Assessment: A-

Vanessa was the best player this season, but she couldn't close it. She wasn't really amazing television, and she is not well liked, but she'll go down as one of the top female players of all time.


16. Jeff

Cast Assessment: D

There was no reason to cast Jeff. The guy played the game I guess, but he was just such a meh player and character.




17. Jackie

Cast Assessment: B

B is for boobs! But seriously, Jackie had a spark, and it was actually fun to watch her at the end.



Showplay Rankings


1. Vanessa: 1150
1. Audrey: 880
3. John: 860
4. Austin: 860
5. Liz: 760
6 Steve: 640
7.  James: 620
8. Julia: 610
9.  Shelli: 590
10.  Clay: 520
11. Meg: 390
12.  Jason: 370
13. Da'Vonne: 340
14. Jackie: 280
15. Becky: 200
16.  Jeff: 180
17. Jace: 130



Gameplay Rankings


1. Vanessa: 1820
2. Austin: 1170
3.  Liz: 1130
4.  James: 1045
5.  Julia: 960
6. John: 860
7. Steve: 840
8. Shelli: 710
9. Clay: 530

10. Becky: 470

11. Jason: 430
12. Meg: 420
13. Jacky: 340
14.  Jeff: 240
15.  Audrey: 210
16. Da'vonne: 100
17.  Jace: 0