Big Brother 19: House Guest Impressions

It's 119 degrees fahrenheit. I've been swimming in my pool--- it must be Summer!

And with summer here, that also means it's time for another round of our favorite social experiment, Big Brother.

House Guests were revealed on Monday, the 19^th, on CBS All-Access. They were again interviewed by Jeff Schroeder. Why CBS continues to employee him is beyond me, but, let's get to my initial impressions of the HG's, based on these interviews.

By now, you know that I tend to fall hard for the male eye candy. It's sometimes an unhealthy obsession, but I like to think of it as a running gag over on my Twitter.

So, let's talk about Mark first. At first glance, he is your typical meathead. But, upon listening to him, you will come to learn he's a lot more than his looks. Firstly, Mark lost over 100 pounds. So, he didn't start out looking like this. There is a hardship you have when you are heavier.  When he lost the weight and found he loved helping others with fitness, he became a personal trainer. Mark describes himself as a teddy bear and this rings true, when we find out he lost both his parents; he says if he wins, he wants to start a foundation to help orphaned kids or single mothers. It's quite touching, really. He's very down to earth.

Maybe it's that I can't take my eyes off his arms, but, to me, he's the one person that jumped out as likable and sort of has that underdog feel. He will certainly have an uphill battle being such a physical threat, but, maybe his personality will win people over.

I did want to note something I noticed. When Mark was complimented by Jeff on his appearance, he called Jeff sexy. The two laughed it off. But, when Mark was talking about possibly having to deal with people targeting him, he began to say the term 'hot guy', but caught himself , and said 'tough guy' instead. When a guy censors himself in that way, it makes me wonder if there might be some sexuality questioning going on. I do not care if there is, but as someone who has been in that position, I noticed it right away.

Next, we have to talk about Christmas. No, not the holiday, the big brother contestant!

Christmas is a fitness guru and no, she doesn't like it when you joke about her name. With just seeing her picture, I assumed she'd be tough as nails, but, she actually comes across as sweet, but not overly so. Her plan is to 'listen and watch' and she knows full well she'll need to own up to being an athlete.

The initial response to Christmas from the fanbase was intense love. I didn't really get it at first, but I see it now. She is definitely the strong woman BB Fans have been hoping for. However, I can see her becoming a quick target. If she manages to win however, she wants to buy a cabin for her parents. (Maybe they can spend Christmas there?)

While Christmas seemed level headed, a few times she seemed to sort of get annoyed. First, when Jeff kind of teased her about her name and later, when they were playing a stupid “What's your School Mascot game?” Jeff laughed as he guessed her answer. She looked at him straight in the face and said, “We're not teammates.” Feisty.

Raven has an interesting backstory and she's already found herself in the middle of an interesting plot development. The casting of Raven was leaked a week before the house guests were revealed. A list of some of the home towns were posted online. Two members of a podcast realized they lived only about an hour away from one and off they went. The fact that Raven's home town is made up of barely 600 people, led them to finding her home and figuring out her name after talking to several of the townsfolk.

We've seen at least one example of a casting leak equaling that house guest getting cut. But, thankfully, Raven survived. The theory was she was kept because she has a unique health condition or because her cast leak wasn't due to herself. But my theory is that she was kept because of a twist... more on that, later.

Raven annoyed me initially, I'll be frank. She's very bubbly, energetic. She's the 'perky girl.' To the extreme. She was conscious of this and said she hoped to 'turn down the bubbly and the loud.' She's a two-time applicant, so, good for her. Jeff asked her  if she would be up for the physical competitions, which, I took to be a lead into her health condition, but she said, “Of course! Bring it on, Big Brother!”

Raven has a food digestive disorder. Her digestion is aided by a pacemaker and her one comment on it was that she can now eat chips. I do worry about her swinging from a vine or getting hit with a giant paint can. I do hope Production keeps an eye on her.

My feeling with Raven is that I feel some attachment due to her story and the fact she was leaked. I think she was cast as an underdog figure. But, if she can't turn down her perkiness, I might have to hope for an early eviction.

We've got an older person in there this season, and that's Kevin. He's 55 and has seven children. Six daughters and one son. And, he's a single Dad. Oops, he's a stay-at-home Dad! Still, that's admirable.
Jeff tried to change the subject, but, Kevin continued to say hello to all his children. It doesn't take long to learn Kevin is a talker. Poor Jeff even got confused when Kevin was talking about the state of California. Kevin kind of rambled, but, he said he has a story for every topic, has his own name for “hashtag” (Slashtag!) and he thinks the fact he raises seven children will help him in the game.

At first glance, Kevin seemed a bit off to me. I wasn't too excited about him. But, after a re-watch of the interview and seeing a separate video from one of his daughter's youtube videos, it seems he was probably just nervous and he actually isn't that hyped up all the time.

I think he'll be fun on the feeds, telling stories that keep everyone interested. I see a slight similarity to Renny, a house guest from bb10. She was 'zany' and a 'talker' too and she was loved by fans. There is a rumored 2^nd episode eviction, so let's hope he makes it through!

Dominique is a word smith. She's a spoken word artist and she's also an engineer. Where Christmas is strong physically, Dominique is strong mentally. I can see it. She appears to be a recruit, meaning she did not apply to the show, but was scouted.

She's an example of a good recruit. Yes, she may not know exactly what's going on, but, her personality is so interesting and she'll learn quick. Like Mark, she gave me that “fun to root for” feel and that's really what I look for.

As much as I would love to see her stay focused in the game, when asked what she'd miss most, she said she'd miss her phone. She implied she uses it for her creative outlet (writing her ideas down) so I can relate in the aspect that if I couldn't write at all, I would go crazy. We'll see what happens... I can't really picture Dominique getting upset really.

Jason. I keep thinking of Jason Roy, but no, I mean bb19 Jason, or “whistle nut.” He's a rodeo clown and an auctioneer. He's another example of a “good recruit”, where his personality outweighs his lack of game knowledge. I didn't feel a ton of love for the guy, but I can see him being 'goofy' and entertaining us. He also has a two year old son and that endured me to him somehow.

And now, let's talk about the house guests that I didn't exactly feel anything for OR they kind of rubbed me the wrong way.

Where Mark looks like he's asshole, but he really isn't--- Cameron has the opposite effect going for him. He “looks” like the nerd type. The superfan that might fizzle out or win, as we've seen two times now. But, don't be fooled by his exterior.

Cameron said several things that just made me wince and my feelings toward him sunk lower and lower. He was cocky as heck, saying he'd be the smartest guy in the house and that his social game would be way better than Steve and Ian's (Past Nerds.)

The interesting thing about Cameron was that in all his cast photos, he's wearing glasses. But, for this interview, he didn't have them on and instead said “They took my glasses.” I mention this because I think casting realized what I did. He “looks” like a nerd, but he isn't one. So, they want him without glasses to farther remove him from that archetype.

Where we heard if Mark would win, he'd start a foundation for orphans or Christmas would buy her parents a cabin, Cameron plans to blow the majority of the money in Vegas. Hey, to each their own, but, you might see why I am labeling Cameron as my pre-season “silly villain.”

The 'silly villain' is a term I thought up to describe a villain that is not malicious. Their antics are harmless little things that might derail someone's game, but that's as far as it goes. It is not true "evil" stuff.  A silly villain might be someone you 'root for' for the sake of conflict and entertainment they bring.

Cody.  No, not that one brother who took the undercover cop to the final two and lost, it's someone new.

Before Cody opens his mouth, he is stoic and dare I say... creepy? I've never labeled an HG creepy before, but Cody fits the bill.

My notes on Cody are few, but, he wants to win the first HOH and attach himself to a strong female. He might gravitate toward Christmas, but, I suspect she will be turned off by him.

In his interview, Cody did manage to smile and laugh, but it really seemed forced and if he wasn't speaking or looking at Jeff, he looked like he was plotting his next kill or staring into space.

I'm hoping Cody will bring the drama, but, I can see him blowing up. Blowing up is good, unless there's any physical violence. Cody mentions he hates “victim noises” from men. He clarifies he means when they get injured. But, still... victim noises?

Elana isn't a 'villain', but she's not a 'good guy' either. I didn't feel much from her. She's a radio personality and she seemed to be all over the place with her responses from Jeff. When asked about her strategy, she rambled and said a whole lot of nothing, until finally, said she would align with those that had strengths she didn't.

I'm not the type to ever notice breasts. But, I noticed Elana's. She doesn't seem like the type to use her looks to get ahead, but, I think some of the guys might gravitate toward her and she might use it as an advantage.

My reaction to Alex was, “Where did casting find her?” This girl had energy up the wazoo, and is a really fast talker. There's some conflicting information out there if she's a recruit or not. But, she had no idea she was in the diary room AND she had no idea she was being interviewed by Jeff. When she was asked about Showmances, she brought up “the house guest that got married in the back yard” and Jeff goes, “That was me.” Alex acts like a firework going off as she screams, “Oh myfgooosh, my glasses! I'm nearsighted! That's why.... My glasses are fogging up. She said she loves James from bb17 and bb18, which made me gag a little. Oh, and she also wanted to lose the game and then return next year...

She's an early boot unless the twist somehow keeps her around.

If you look around the fanbase, you'll see a lot of “OMG DADDY” when talking about Matt. I don't see it. He seems like a nice guy, but, that's all I see. In the context of this game, I would describe Matt like very interesting looking wallpaper. It's colorful and looks great, but, it's wallpaper.

Josh. He reminds me of Devin and Glenn. There's a lot of love for him online, but, I just don't see it. He's loud and he cursed a bunch, so, he might be exciting. But I didn't feel anything really. Things can change of course, once feeds start. But to me, I could barely get through his interview.

Jessica. The girl seems sweet, but it's clear she was one of the few this year that was cast strictly for the eye candy. She said she wants to win and then play again next year. Anyone that's looking at the game like that.... NEXT!

Ramses. He's high energy and fits the nerd archetype much better than Cameron. He seemed to have a handle on the game, but the buzz online is that he might struggle a little as things get more intense. I really think he could emerge as a possible person to root for, but, like Josh, I struggled to watch him for five minutes.

Jillian. She looks nice, she seems sweet, she recently lost weight which she felt allowed her to get cast--- that's all wonderful. But, there is a reason Jill is down here with the silly villains and the “meh” people. But. I said my impressions were only from the Jeff interviews, so, I think I'm being somewhat unfair. But, word got around and well.. I can't help but feel a little detached from her. Read her Hollywood Reporter interview...

And last, and least, is Megan. I want to make clear I have nothing against her personally, but in the context of the game, she just did nothing for me. She's a dog walker from my town, actually, but I don't know her (neither do any of my facebook friends.) Megan had gray hair during her interview, but casting pics that came out later saw she got some multi-colors to liven it up and it helps greatly. However, this same casting photo revealed one of her tattoos reads “I hate myself” in this weird upside down font. That's actually very concerning to me. I don't understand tattoos in general, but if you are tattooing a negative statement like that that you will always see... something is going on there and hopefully she's okay.

And there you have it.

 Just a few notes: Dan Ghessling tweeted that a friend of his knew one of the males on the cast, and Dan was asked to talk to this HG and give them advice. Apparently, the HG told Dan he was good and didn't need any tips.  Who turns down a conversation with a BB legend?

Also, we thought we were getting a Newbie-only season, but rumors are buzzing that Paul from BB18 is returning. I don't care who you are, if you are a VET, I don't want you returning unless you're hosting a competition or if it's another All- Stars. 

Lastly, it looks as though Raven knows Paul somehow. And my theory was she was kept and not cut because she was 'important to the twist.' If Paul is indeed an HG, that makes more sense why they'd keep her.

Whatever the case, I'm going to hope for a good season!