A Closer Look at the 'Big Brother' Cast, House and Twist

Yes, the big "reveal" went down. New hamsters, new show logo, new house and a new twist. Yesterday, we gave you a quick rundown of the cast, along with the video clips and photos. But now let's delve into this cast, rip 'em apart and spit 'em out! I'm here to trash the twist and mock the beach design of the house. I'm here to wreak havoc! Oh wait. That's the twist.

Anyway, I want to know how I'm spending my summer, don't you? I want to have at least an inkling of what's in store for me. After all, they're going to be my roommates for the next three months. While I won't be in the house itself (never!), this group of strangers will end up being a part of my life. So, let's get into it ...

Allison Grodner Never Listens to Me!
The 'Big Brother' boss totally ignored every important issue in my recent TV Squad article, "A Wish List for Big Brother 12." And, most of the commenters seemed to agree with me on those issues.

I said "no chess board." I couldn't help but notice in the house tour video (posted below) that the chess game is still set up outside of the Head of Household bedroom. I said "no weird twists." OK, no one seems to have a previous relationship or is related to another. However, similar to the "America's Player" twist, we have one person in the house who's a plant doing the whim of America. Viewers can make suggestions for the havoc-wreaking at the CBS web site Twist page. Although it will be amusing to watch, I'm not overly keen on it. What if the saboteur is someone I want for the win? By doing evil deeds for us, he/she might be voted out!

Once again, the plea for a diverse cast has fallen to the wayside. Unless you count hair color, this is one of the least diverse casts I can recall ever seeing on the show. The youngest hamster is 22, the oldest is 40. There are bartenders and models -- didn't I ask that we not have them for once? That said, we definitely have a few with less reality contestant kind of jobs, such as a podiatrist and a college professor/online and Sirius radio personality. I'm not seeing much color in there, either. For once, we have an Orthodox Jewish man. While that might be interesting, I'm a bit let down by such a lack of diversity on the whole.

Onto the Hamsters
I watched the videos released this morning and checked out the bios for each hamster posted on the CBS 'Big Brother' web site. My impressions of each one is based solely on that criteria. I'm a firm believer in preconceived notions! Hopefully, a few who turned me off will redeem themselves (not likely, though). Here we go:

Andrew Gordon, age 39, a podiatrist residing in Miami Beach, Fla.: He's an Orthodox Jewish man who may not compete in competitions on the Sabbath (Saturdays). He's also Kosher, which limits him drastically when it comes to sharing dinners. Is 'BB' Slop Kosher? His strategy is to be a mix of Dr. Will, Chicken George, Kaysar and Evil Russell from 'Survivor.' Um, that means he'll lie about dressing like a chicken while praying to Allah and sabotaging the chicken coop. He hated Holly from 'Big Brother 5' because she was annoying. Heck, I might just have to like this guy!

Annie Whittington, age 27, a bartender living in Tampa, Fla.: She's already irking me. No, it's not because she's a fan of Evel Dick. I happened to like him on the feeds -- not all the time, mind you. She claims to be "over-dramatic." Sigh. She'd better not be a crier! She also doesn't like "prejudice people." I know it's nitpicking, but the there are no "prejudice people." Sadly, there are more than enough prejudiced people. She's scared (at 27) of getting old and not being able to do everything she wants to do. I don't think she is a MENSA member, probably not even a JENSA member.

Brendon Villegas, age 30, a high school swim coach currently living in Riverside, Calif.: A Dr. Will fan, he's working on his PhD in Biometric Physics. Now, he might be a MENSA member. His bio was a bit scant which leads me to believe he might be a bit on the quiet side or ... could he be our saboteur?

Britney Haynes, age 22, a hotel sales manager from Huntington, Ark.: She claims to be "argumentative, comedic and opinionated." Uh oh. She also lists arguing as a favorite activity along with cooking and cleaning. The latter might keep her in the house, the former may be cause for eviction. She doesn't want egomaniacs or old people in the house. Well, there are always egomaniacs in the house. She might consider the 39- and 40-year-old houseguests "old." I don't know. Part of the reason she liked Dr. Will and Janelle was because they're attractive. I admit I like my own eye candy on the show, but I'd be more directed to strategy than looks if I were in the house.

Enzo Palumbo, age 32, an insurance adjuster from Bayonne, N.J.: I know I should cheer this guy on as he's a local dude. But, there's a dark side to him. He lists his favorite previous houseguest as Justin from 'Big Brother 1.' There was no Justin in the first season, but there was one in the second ... until he got expelled from the house for holding a knife to Krista's throat! Do you remember Justin Sebik? I certainly do! He's also from Bayonne. Just when I think 'The Jersey Shore' has besmirched our fine image as much as anything can, along comes Enzo.

Hayden Moss, age 24, a college student living in Tempe, Ariz.: He seems nice. Nice can be boring. He comes across as so vanilla, so nice ... he would be perfect for the saboteur mission! If he's not, the house just might eat him alive.

Kathy Hills, age 40, a deputy sheriff sergeant from Texarkana, Ark.: She's the oldest hamster this season and is also an ovarian cancer survivor. I want to like her. She thinks Chima disrespected the game. She might even be entertaining. But how will she fit in with the rest of the houseguests?

Kristen Bitting, age 24, a boutique manager from Philadelphia, Penn.: She says she's often misunderstood by strangers and liked Braden ('BB11') because "he was nice to look at." Her motto is "grab life by the balls." I'm pretty much speechless here. How about you?

Lane Elenburg, age 24, an oil rig salesman from Decatur, Texas: For some reason, he's reminding me a bit of JT from 'Survivor' -- at least JT as he was in his winning season. Lane seems to be competitive, yet he just might get along well with others, too. I'm going to keep my eye on this guy. It doesn't hurt that he's attractive, too. Yes, call me shallow!

Matt Hoffman, age 32, a web designer residing in Elgin, Ill.: He likes to annoy people for his own amusement. That's not a quality I seek in friends, but it might be interesting in the house. His favorite previous hamsters were Dr. Will and Dan. He's very into pop culture and music. Well, he'll have no music in the house other than the wake-up music and he'll get a chance to make his own pop culture.

Monet Stunson, age 24, a model from Glen Carbon, Ill.: She thinks she's "exotic, active and the coolest person you'll ever meet." She lists have a good photo on her driver's license as one of her proudest accomplishments. Um ... um ... waiter, can I get my check now? I'd like to leave! Perhaps she'll prove me wrong, but she stands to be the most annoying hamster of all to me. She's way too full of herself. Maybe she'll pull a Chima.

Rachel Reilly, age 26, a graduate student in chemistry and VIP waitress, currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada. Despite that too-red hair she sports, she might have a chance to make it in the house. She's intelligent with an edge.

Ragan Fox, age 34, a college professor, poet, radio show host, and quasi-celebrity on Sirius radio, the Internet and YouTube. He currently lives in West Hollywood, California. For me, he's going to be the entertainment!


Time to Meet the House


Despite that Allison Grodner never seems to quite get what the fans really want, I know I'll be hooked on the season (and the live feeds). How about you? How about these hamsters?