The Big Brother 17 Cast

Hello there. I'm BigBro411 and welcome to the first official entry to “Big Brother Thoughts”, a blog where I'll be sharing my opinions on the current season.

I have a personal blog and I had written about BB there occasionally. I felt it best not to annoy readers that were not Big Brother fans, so I felt I'd make the move to here.

A little about me.

I've been watching Big Brother faithfully since Season 8. I had seen bits and pieces of Big Brother 1 and 2, but I was still young that I didn't really grasp it.

I am a feed watcher, and I do post screencaps and some videos (shh) various places.

I aspire to write for television. So, blogging about television just feels right.

Okay. So, let's get to it. The House Guests were unveiled on June 16th. We watched in awe as Big Jeff interviewed (to the best of his ability) and we met each HG for about 6 minutes each. Throughout the next few days, more interviews popped up, giving us the ever small glimpse into how these people act. Here are my opinions on them, in alphabetical order:

Audrey :

Audrey is a spitfire. Immediately, she makes sure Jeff gets her name right. “It's NOT Aubrey, It's AU-DREE.”
She goes on to say she thinks she'll be a “misunderstood hero.” (She means Anti-hero.) But, I see her as a villain through and through. There are two types of villains that we get on Big Brother. They are:


The 'Silly Villain.' : This type of villain generally is not malicious. Their antics are harmless little things that mess up people's games. An example of a past villain of this type is Rachel Riley (s12 and s13). She was not well liked, but her actions weren't character driven to tear someone down. People might root for this type for the entertainment value.


The Evil Villain: This type is bad news. They are cut throat beyond all else and they do not care if they go below the belt. These are the people you love to hate and you want the under dogs to triumph over. An example of this type would be: Amanda Zuckerman (s15.)

So, which type is Audrey? We won't know until the show moves along. Hopefully, she's silly.

Audrey was revealed to be transgender as TMZ reported as the cast interviews were happening. She was pulled from the press and only did two interviews, out of a possible 5, I believe.
I think she'll be great to watch. Bring on the fireworks.

Austin:

Holy shit, this guy is massive. When the other House Guests see him, they are going to be shitting their pants. Austin says he's going to downplay the physicality and try to warm people up with self deprecating jokes.

Austin is actually a charming guy and he is well spoken. He did guest spots on Afterbuzz, a recap channel and I know at the very least, he talked about #bb15. Apparently, his opinions and observations were spot on. Hopefully, all the knowledge he has can transfer over into his game.

I worry about the Top Hat. I can see that becoming a Scripted DR segment. Austin will be fed lines. Seeing Judas, then Austin react to situations will become boring if its too often. This is the only thing I dislike when it comes to Austin. I hope he goes far.

Becky:

When I saw Becky's photo, I thought, “Yes! Here is this season's sweet, innocent girl I can root for!” But, once I began to watch her interview from Big Brother Network, my smile faded, while Becky's smile was permanently stretched.

Becky thinks she's the most important person in the room. She's a HUGE hiker. And as you know, female psychology is so important. As you know, Big Brother is a social game. She knows how to motivate women. But for HER game, she isn't so sure about an all girl alliance. As you've seen, you need to lay low at first. She wants to be a listener. “Everybody loves to talk about themselves...”

You get the idea.

All the House Guests talk about themselves during these interviews. But, Becky does it in such a way that gives the impression she's narcissistic. I don't like this about her. She does strike me as a girl who will turn into a mega bitch if you piss her off, so she might be entertaining in that respect.

Clay:

Every season needs that one guy that will look like sex in a swim suit. Clay is our man. He's a college football player and has modeled. (No surprise there.) However, Clay hasn't made it to the Wizard to get his brain.

Clay is the prime example of the dumb model. The deer in the headlights. While he may come across differently in his real life, here he doesn't have much going for him. He is a recruit, meaning he was found in a bar or other social venue where someone said to him, “Hey, want to be on a reality show?”

Clay told interviewers he was a super fan, implying he was a viewer of many years. But, no, he hadn't heard of the show until 4 months ago. He seemed generally clueless about the game, struggling to come up with an answer for Rachel Riley, when she showed him a picture of the Big Brother Hammock. ( Even the very basic fan will realize it is either a place for game talk or for a showmance to have alone time.)

I want to like Clay. And, he seems like a nice guy. But, aside from his muscles, him not knowing the game will get him evicted very early.

Da'Vonne:

Da'vonne is a poker dealer and a single mother to a 7^th month old. Like Libra from season 10, she's leaving her very young daughter to win the money for a college fund. Already, people have been hash tagging #Davonnehasadaughter, after my pre-season fav, Devin, from season 16.

In the Jeff interview, Da'vonne was sticking her tongue out. That just threw me. Is that supposed to be sexy? Does that make her hip? God only knows.

Davonne does have an interesting audition story. She used to watch Big Brother with her grandmother, who always told her to audition. Her grandmother passed away before season 16, so she had to watch it alone. She says she 'heard her talking' this year, and Davonne made it onto the cast. Now, that's a little mysterious, huh?

She plans to tell everyone she's a school teacher. She says Poker dealer = poker player = good liar. Her plan will blow up in her face, because, a famous poker player is also on this cast, so the secret might come out!

Da'vonne seems to be 'good girl' overall, but with that extra spice that brings intense energy and fierce attitude if things don't go her way. I'm excited to see her in the house and how she reacts under pressure.

Jace:

If you're a big fan of this show, Jace will immediately remind you of Hayden Voss, from season 16. The two have similar body types, long blonde hair and have that sort of surfer dude vibe. I liked Hayden, but he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Jace, however, strikes me as very smart. And this is what sets him apart from Hayden.

I was unhappy with the first cast photos we got, so I looked up Jace for a better photo. I was greeted with a mugshot which threw me. He didn't strike me as a troublemaker. The arrest is fairly recent as well. In all seriousness, sometimes things can just go wrong... I don't think he did anything very serious. We know Big Brother isn't going to cast seriously dangerous people. Right?

Jace seems to know the game fairly well. He says he is a leader, not a quitter. He says this with such conviction, I do believe him. He also notes that he is prepared for anything to be thrown at him. He knows Big Brother likes its twists.

Every year, there is a house guest I like, and am excited to see based on these interviews, and I'm not sure why. Jace is that guy. He's like 'the best friend' on a sitcom. He isn't the main character, but you see him every episode and he's a scene stealer. That's the impression I get. Let's hope he sticks around long. Apparently much of the fandom hates him.

James:

In his own words, James calls himself a 'hillbilly Asian' and this is what he thinks got him on the show. He's a man of very few words and he seems fairly reserved. That is something we aren't used to seeing.

James' audition tape is on Youtube, which I thought posting your audition tape online before the show was a big no-no. In that video, we get to see James has a large cardboard cut out of Taylor Swift. Uh, okay. Whatever floats your boat, dude.

James also has a mugshot. Yikes.

I really don't care for the guy. He's getting the Donny comparison, but Donny was genuine and kind hearted. James is just boring.

Jason:

Jason is filling the 'openly gay' character spot, this season. He's an applicant and while I don't think he uses the word, probably a super fan. He has a quirky sense of humor, tastefully joking about his profession and noting that he dodged a bullet by not being cast on Big Brother 15.

Jason is the first House Guest to be seen on the feeds in HD, by the way. I think that should go down in history. While the show was in HD last season, the feeds were not. During the Jeff interview, I was in total awe at the quality of the video I couldn't even pay attention to Jason.

Now that I can, I am able to say I like him. He grows on you. He's excitable and not everyone can handle someone that flamboyant. But, in listening to what he says, Jason knows the game at least and the one thing that made me love him was: “I'll tell the house guests to stop singing before the producers even do. Feeders hate that!.”

Finally, a house guest who understands we hate you if you sing and get the feeds blocked. Him knowing this means he truly is a fan of the show, and we can only hope he can win those physical comps. He says he can, saying he'll hang onto whatever for nine hours if he has too.

I don't think Jason was impressed with Frankie either. He was 'unimpressed' with Frankie, but his reason was conveniently cut out of the interview. (We can't have our FAN FAVORITE dissed!)

If Jason can manage to stay in the house and not be picked off by the bigger guys, we're in for a summer of great reaction GIFS.

John:

Oh my god. Someone did not take their meds this morning. They haven't taken their meds for two months and still thinks no one has noticed. Seriously, I haven't seen someone so hyped ever in my life. It's not even hype, it's medical-condition territory. John looking a bit and having a laugh like Beavis doesn't help him much, either.

Around the twitter-verse, a lot of people are in love with him, wanting him to go far. I didn't understand at first. But, now, it makes sense. John is going to get on people's nerves real fast. This will make for good television, but if he can't tone it down a little bit, he will be the first evictee.

I attended group therapy once and there was a girl quite a bit like John. She was not really as animated, but she kept talking and talking and talking. Her stories would never get quite from point A to B, and it made everyone else in the group uncomfortable.

You'll see the other House Guests make nice with John. But the second he is out of ear shot, they are going to complain about him.

The one thing about John though, is he plans to not reveal he is a superfan. A lot of them come in the door announcing they know every thing there is to know. John knows enough to keep that to himself.

I laughed hysterically when John was asked what he would need to do in order to not be the first evictee: “I'll probably need to shut up.”

Liz:

I know a Liz. She's dainty and soft spoken. But, we're not discussing her... we're talking about THIS Liz. The Liz that has this fairly deep voice that just bugs me. A voice is something you really can't help, and I feel awful commenting on hers, but it is something you'll notice straight away.

Liz also has a laugh that when paired with John's, will have everyone ready to pull their hair out!

Liz makes air quotes when she says “Big Moves”, which is very telling. She knows she looks like a b.i.t.c.h. But maintains she isn't one. She's also not going to be in an all-girls alliance. She does not want to be the next Joey, she says.

We might have a case of a personality being in the wrong body here. Everything Liz says is meant to be coming out of a quaint, shy girl's mouth.

It is very possible she was on her best behavior and we'll see someone totally different in the house. She plans to lead with her body to get ahead. Maybe she and Clay will get together.

Personally, I just can't stand her, so I'm mot terribly interested. But, we know first impressions can be dead wrong.

Meg:

I have a feeling Meg and John will get along. While Meg isn't over the crazy line, she's almost there, reaching out her hand to John. She's on a HIGH in all her interviews and I can't tell if she's just excited or if something else is going on.

Where Becky smiles to convey the idea of royalty, Meg smiles awkwardly, like she's never done it before. She does admit to being a loud mouth, thank goodness. Maybe she's self-aware?

Meg is like the drugged out popular girl that offers you your first cigarette. She says it'll totallly change your life. But, you look at her and wonder what the heck she's smoking.

Stick John and Meg in a room and lock the door. Please.

Shelli:

We've had a Shelly on Big Brother before and she was amazing. She was a hero, someone to root for and she had a tough exterior but gave us some tender moments.

But, today, we have Shelly with an I, and I do not care for her. She's probably a blast in the real world. But here, she is a bore. She says she's a fan, but she was easily confused with references to past seasons.

She is the only one who flubs the “What do you want/ do not want players to know” questions, unable to answer. (Although, Clay wanted people to know he was a football player, but not that he's an athlete!)

Shelli is on the wrong show and I have no idea why she was cast.

She's pretty much the male version of Clay and I can see them teaming up for the sheer fact that they'll have no clue what is going on around them.

Steven:

Thank the Lord, I can talk about a person and not dry paint for a second. At first glance, you might see an Ian or a Peter... but no, It's Steven, the one and true SUPERFAN this year.

Right off the bat, you can tell adrenaline is running through Steve's veins. He's talking very fast and his mouth can't quite keep up with his brain.

Steve applied the first time ever this season and made it. He mentions casting favoring the first-time applicant as of late. He was going to apply last year but couldn't, because his sister got married.

In my opinion, Steve has a lot going for him, but he is socially awkward, and this could be his downfall. The physical likeness between a few past players also might be a detriment. This actually annoyed me at first. But, having thinking about it, it's not his fault he looks similar. But, whether the other house guests think this through is another story.

If Steve can relax and not be so nervous, I think we could see a good player in him.

Vanessa:

Vanessa is interesting. She's a famous poker player. I don't watch Poker, so, I had no idea who she was, but a few of my friends did. Remember, Da'vonne is a poker dealer. So, they could recognize one another.

Vanessa says she is a fan, but I don't know if I believe her. She doesn't strike me as someone who loves reality tv. I could be wrong, though.

She's very to the point, a straight shooter. She has an element of class that isn't uppity. In one of her interviews, she talks about reading people is her main plan of attack and notes a pulse in the neck means adrenaline is being pumped into a person's body. I never knew that. She's really going to nail the mental aspect, I think.

Lastly, I think Vanessa is pretty level headed, but strikes me as a woman who will act out as provoked.

Bring on BIG BROTHER 17.

It looks like we're in for a great season.