As the seasons of BB go on, we get more and more HGs who've seen past seasons, trolled around the 'net to visit all the BB sites, and even been fans or superfans themselves. BB12 was not only the most educated cast ever, but the most BB-educated. The good thing for us is that HGs who were fans ought to know what we want. And we want is drama, entertainment, gameplay and likeable hamsters we can root for.
A couple notes on the stats..."nominated" means put up for eviction either as an original or replacement nominee, and "survived eviction" means they were a nominee at the time votes were cast and were not evicted.
Jump to:Annie | Monet | Andrew | Kristen | Rachel | Kathy | Matt | Brendon | Ragan | Britney | Enzo | Lane | Hayden |
HOH: 0 POV: 0 Nominated: 1 Survived Eviction: 0
From the pre-show stuff, I predicted I'd like Annie...I should have known that was a sign she'd be gone early. When the feeds kicked in, I didn't like her quite as much as I'd expected, continuing my tradition of not quite right first impressions.
The CattyGirls alliance had it's moments, but Monet wasn't the entertaining part of that duo. While Britney managed to be funny, Monet just came across as bitter and mean. All that completely blew any chance she had with me for likeability points. And for all her alleged princess-ness, she didn't really bring the drama. The closest she came was her role in the House Meeting which outed the Kick-Monet plan. She was genuinely surprised to find out that Matt had offered himself as a Pawn to ensure that she would be out. Of course rather than really going drama queen on him for it she just asked permission to speak and then cried and ran from the room.
At the end of the day, though Monet didn't get much of chance at gameplay, what she did get to do she didn't handle too well. And very few points for likeability and entertainment due to the the Mean Girls act. She did do the best in the drama department, but not nearly as well as we would have hoped.
Andrew was one of the more unique HGs we've had over the years. He brought a new culture into the BB world, and though I don't think the TVOVs got anything other than a massive stereotype out of it, if people were paying attention in the house or on the feeds, they just might have learned something. Even beyond that he just had a quirky character that made him interesting, but also was a big part of his downfall.
Strongly suspected by people both in- and outside the house of being the StaboTool, Andrews antics could be pretty entertaining. Right from day one with stalking around in the dark, and from the start of the feeds with the pap smear incident, he was attracting attention if nothing else. I'm not really sure what to say about his gameplay. He never won anything, but he fought hard, and came close a few times. He hung in on that surfboard, and came close in the veto that could have saved him. But close isn't good enough. His strategy was confusing. He had a fair number of secret alliances, but they were all with people who had other first loyalties, so he was ultimately left alone. He had many mood swings, and it wasn't clear if they were real or staged. And just when we thought he wasn't going to be all that strong in the drama department, he went out with a bang. With quite possibly the most dramatic eviction night plea ever he set off the rest of the game. Too bad he couldn't figure out a way to set off the drama and keep himself in the house.
At the end of the day, Andrew gets big points for drama. He brought it little by little all along, and then got in a fantastic parting shot. He gets points for entertainment for his various antics. Not so much with gameplay points, though he wasn't horrible. And top marks for likeability. If nothing else, I have to give him credit for teaching me the term "bull sh-sugar pops." And bonus points for inspiring this exchange:
Kathy: Did he remember to pack his pot?Enzo: His what?!Kathy: His cooking pot.
For the first couple of weeks Kristen was practically the invisible houseguest. She stayed quiet and out of all the drama, which she later said was part of her strategy. The TV viewers really had no clue who she was since CBS didn't seem to know what to do with her. She came with the bikini body they love, but didn't have the boisterous personality that they assume will come with it. But despite her below-the-radar approach she somehow managed to attract the wrath and commentary of the Catty Girls. Between that and catching Hayden's eye BB finally sort of figured out her role: Rachel's nemesis.
When it came to gameplay, Kristen wasn't around quite long enough to really get in the game. She didn't win any comps, but she didn't really need HOH early on and didn't play in any vetoes until she was nom'ed herself. She had an alliance game going but everything fell apart on her in the end. Her deal with Hayden wasn't really worth much due to him being a bro-gade boy. Her deal with Kathy wasn't really worth much due to Kathy being Kathy. And we all know what happened with her deal with Andrew.
Kristen was the center of some major drama but it wasn't really of her own making and given the choice, she would have avoided it. She found her entertainment factor with the hippie suit and Mrs. Roper wig. She handled the costume better than many and will always be remembered for being evicted in it. I definitely found her likeable in the sense that she seemed like a person I wouldn't mind knowing in real life. But that doesn't always make for good BB.
Rachel was definitely one of the larger than life characters of BB12. She came in with knowledge of the game, a clear strategy, and a dramatic personality. She wanted to be "the next Janelle" and in some ways she almost was. But by violating one of mybbpov's rules for HGs ("play your own game"), she did drop off a bit on our scale.
Kathy is one of the easier BB12 players to assess. She came in with a bit of promise to be a competitor despite being the token "older person." It seemed like as a deputy sheriff she'd have the physical fitness and insight into human nature to be a real BB player. But as it turned out, she pretty much fell into the typical role of the house mother, spending a lot of time doing laundry and dishes and such. Well, when she wasn't crawling into bed with Brendon and Rachel, that is.
As far as gameplay, if Kathy had a strategy it was to do so badly in comps that no one would even consider her a threat. In some seasons that might have worked to let her slip under the radar to near the end. But there were too many hardcore competitors this year. While they did target each other, they also just didn't want to see the stereotypical floater make it far. When it came to personal strategy, Kathy was the perfect floater. She was nice to everyone's face, and yet talked trash behind all their backs as well. Whoever was HOH could count on her to be their best friend for the week. Kathy gave us very little drama, actually playing the peacemaker for the most part. But she did have one great fight with Rachel, amusingly over the one competition success that Kathy had all season. Her entertainment value was mostly being the one we could all laugh at, especially as the editors had fun with sound effects. But when it comes to being likeable--absolutely. Despite not being the most stellar BB player, Kathy was never annoying about it. She came across as a real person, just there for the game and experience, not trying to use BB as a stepping stone to anything else.
At the end of the day, I can't really give Kathy any points for gameplay or drama. She gets a bit of credit for entertainment. If nothing else, her bizarre habit of getting into bed with Rachel and Brendon was amusing. I'll always remember her for things like getting stuck in the caramel, and getting dragged around in the Flintstone car during the luxury challenge. And points for likeablility for being such a good sport about everything from housework to fish feeding to the way she handled her eviction.
Matt turned out to be an example of why I shouldn't even bother to watch the pre-season interviews. The impression created by the soundbyte versions of the HGs is almost never a fair view. But I never would have guessed that someone could go from near the bottom of my list all the way to the top. Matt came into the game with a SuperFan's knowledge, a truly sharp intellect, and a strategy that was a combination of gameplay and sympathy.
Matt said from the beginning that he'd never throw a competition, and the first time he did, it cost him the game. He also never bothered to play the below the radar game. When that surfboard comp started I thought he'd never last wearing jeans, but from early on it was clear that he could truly stand out there "all day, baby, all day." Matt's strategy with alliances started out quite strong. He was probably always the low man in the Bro-gade, but he was still in it. We got a little post-show controversy over whether the alliance was Matt's brain-child or Enzo's. While Enzo certainly came in to the game with a plan to make an alliance, it's a good bet that others did too. And it really seems like the plan of keeping the core alliance a complete secret and then splitting off into side-alliances to truly control the house was probably Matt's. As he said in the post-season interviews, he was called the Brains for a reason. And Matt's own side alliance with Ragan was a great game move, but also part of what made him likeable and entertaining. And his multiple alliances actually managed to stir up some drama. With his first HOH, the Bro-gade wanted Brenchel up and out, but with his deal from the week before, Matt couldn't quite do it. And then when it came to him being on the block, his side-alliance, pseudo-Showmance tried to save him, and that really stirred things up. Of course the real drama from Matt came with the Diamond POV. The real credit for that has to go to BB. It was not only their twist, but they probably did manipulate things just a tad to force Matt to use it. Of course, he was happy to play along. He could have created some real drama by turning on the Brigade, but that would have been a questionable game move.
Matt came into the game with lie on top of lie, shaving a few years off his age, downplaying his intelligence and BB knowledge, and, of course, giving his wife a horrible disease. Many people outside the game jumped all over the last one, but I never had a problem with it. He wasn't hurting anyone except his fellow HGs who are going to feel foolish for believing him. It turned out to not be a great strategy anyway, since the rest of them weren't there to do anyone else any favors. Despite all that, there really was something likeable about him. He had a clear love of the game and in many ways was one of the more genuine people in there.
At the end of the day, I give Matt a lot of points for his gameplay and strategy. I also give him drama points for his handling of the DPOV. But he has to lose a few points for not outing the Bro-gade, and for not really fighting to stay in the game. Matt gets entertainment points for things like the way he handled Brenchel's house meeting and just making us laugh. The no-mance Showmance CuddleBuddy Alliance also gives entertainment and likeability points. And big likeability points for being such a BB SuperFan and loving the game as much as we do. Plus, how can you not love a guy in footie pajamas?
It's nearly impossible to think about Brendon without thinking about "Brendon and Rachel." Or Brenchel, as they would like to be called. While Rachel had a personality and presence all her own, Brendon was pretty much just her sidekick, despite winning more comps than she did, and staying in the game longer. So when it comes to judging him, we'll have to judge him, but also them.
It's hard to argue with Brendon's gameplay when it came to competitions. He won when he needed to, mostly, and even sometimes when he didn't need to. His social game was a little muddled. On the one hand he had the Showmance angle, which was certainly a strong alliance. But being that twosome also made it nearly impossible to have a believable deal to offer anyone else. He tried to bring in Andrew, who was even willing to be the third wheel, but without Rachel on board it wasn't going to take off. And once Rachel was gone Brendon made a valiant effort to bond with the Bro-gade boys in a mutual Matt/Ragan Hate game, but Brendon never really stood a chance of latching on to the alliance. Sure, they would have taken him farther, given the chance, but he was always going to go sooner or later. Brendon brought us some drama with his fights with Ragan and others in defense of Rachel (who hardly needed defending). And he gave us drama just by staying in the game and ticking off the rest of them. There was some odd drama in his bouts of berating Rachel, but mostly those encounters just left us out here feeling uncomfortable like we were watching something we shouldn't be seeing. When Brendon tried to be entertaining he generally failed, but his complete lack of awareness of how much they all hated him was entertaining its own right. None of them wanted to hear his stories, and watching them try to sit through them was funny enough. And then the ongoing game of "trapped" provided us (and them) with further amusement. Brendon started out the game seeming like the one to win the likeablility award. But he never quite fit the role of the nice, sensitive guy. He took sensitive too far and just ended up being pathetic and needy. And his angry outbursts at either Rachel or someone like Ragan or Britney just made him seem like a bully. He was afraid to take on the guys, but he'd scream at a girl all day long.
At the end of the day, I give Brendon gameplay points for his comp wins and for his strong alliance with Rachel. But negative game points for calling Matt "Ronnie" and yelling "you got got!" about 57 times in the big house meeting. Play your own game! Further negatives for all the whining over comps he didn't win. No one says every comp. is equally easy for every HG, but they're actually generally pretty fair. And even if they're not, you signed up for this...it's okay to be disappointed when you lose, but move on. Brendon does get points for drama in a generally dull season, and points for being inadvertently entertaining. But big negatives in the likeability category for making us feel like we were looking in on an abusive relationship, and for picking on people not your own size.
One of my early thoughts about Ragan was that he was way too good at this game to do well in it. It seems like a contradiction, but it's actually a BB truth: those who understand the game too well tend to get kicked out early. The other problem for Ragan was that he not only understood the world of Big Brother, but he had an excellent insight into human nature, and into individuals. In the end, Ragan did better than I expected, but like most of them, he never really stood a chance against the Bro-gade.
Ragan's gameplay strategy was pretty good. As far as comps he came in with a nice middle-of-the-road approach. He did well enough to not be labeled "a weak player" but didn't do so well that he was seen as "a big threat." I really think he could have hung out on that surfboard for as long as Matt, but it was a strategic move to give away the win. It was also so great to see Ragan's sheer joy at doing well in the endurance comps. You could tell that it really was a personal victory for him. And at the same time, he wasn't just an endurance guy. He Jedi-drilled like no one else this season, and it showed. When it came to knowledge comps he had all the answers. The problem was that especially with the later POVs, it's not just knowing the answer, it's getting to it first. And that's what killed him in the end with OTEV. If it weren't for Enzo's perfect dive, Ragan would have gotten that CD first and won it. But that's how it goes. In his social game, Ragan was also pretty high on the scale. He was expecting the house to split in two and was working hard to make sure that when the split occurred he'd have the choice of which way to go. The problem for him was that the split never happened. Or, it did, it just happened on Day 2 when the Bro-gade was formed, and no one else was invited to play. And unfortunately for Ragan, his strongest alliance was also his downfall. Since the Bro-gade didn't like him being so close to Matt (even after they'd turned on Matt) he was the next target.
When it came to personality aspects of being a hamster Ragan was right up there with the best of them. It wasn't a big season for drama, but a fair amount of what we got came from Ragan. There was, of course, his outstanding "ooey, gooey cookie" fight with Rachel, which ended with one of the most eloquent tirades from a HG in 12 seasons and leaving even Rachel speechless. And there was the Neander-TAL encounter with Brendon and a few other little tiffs along they way. Then there was his despair at the thought of losing his cuddle-buddy Matt, which just heightened the drama of the DPOV. Not to mention that it was entertaining for us, since we knew it would all work out okay. Ragan was entertaining with his quick wit and running jokes. He wore on a number of the other HGs, but I never stopped finding him at least a little funny. And he scores super high on the likeability scale. He was a good friend to those he befriended, and even when he fought he never got too nasty.
At the end of the day, Ragan did well in gameplay and strategy, decent in drama, especially in this mostly drama-free season, and great in likeability. He was also the first HG ever to vocalize something that I completely agree with: BB is a game, but it's not just a game. The way you play the game and the way you handle the experience says something about you too. And finally, how can you not love a guy in a bow tie?
Britney is exactly the kind of person I like to see on BB. She came in with a knowledge and love of the game, a perky personality, and an entertaining wit. She played the game well and was the kind of HG people want to root for. She was honest in her emotions, so though she was mostly upbeat, when she was down it wasn't annoying. She made people laugh both inside and outside of the house, and got into enough drama to keep things interesting. What more could a livefeeder ask for?
Britney's competition gameplay got off to a rocky, or shall we say, slippery, start with not even being able to finish the first HOH comp. But that probably had a lot more to do with her height than anything. And she quickly redeemed herself by becoming the POV Princess of BB12. Early on she was able to win vetoes both when she needed to and when she didn't. Unfortunately things started to fall apart for her later on and she just couldn't pull out a crucial win in the last few comps. As far as strategy, Britney seemed to have the right idea: build a few strong relationships, but nothing that gets you labeled as "an alliance" and makes you a Big Target. We can second guess her choices all we want, but I think the fact is that the only way she was going to get any further than she did was to either win some big comps, or to have been in an alliance bigger than the Bro-gade. So the only hope was to go with Annie's GrrlPower idea week 1. Which was just never going to happen.
Though Britney was by no means the Drama Queen of BB12, she certainly brought out what she could. She had a fight in her that wasn't obvious from her pixie-like look. We'll never forget her standing up to that Neander-TAL, and holding her own, especially when he turned on her with the really nasty personal attacks. And when it came time to be the final casualty of the Brigade, she did wonderfully. She held it together admirably, and even when she did crack it made her more sympathetic, not pathetic, as it could have. And for entertainment value on BB12, Britney can't be beat. She and Monet made the perfect CattyGirls, and even after Monet was kicked, Brit continued in fine style. Every once in a while she'd go a little too far with the nastiness, but she usually managed to just keep it funny. And her bond with Lane was just endearing. Unlike a lot of people, I never saw anything more the friendship on her part, and BB trying to push a Showmance on them was just annoying. They were perfectly entertaining just as they were.
At the end of the day, Britney's gameplay and strategy were decent, but what really made her a top HG from my BB POV was her personality. Just the right touch of drama mixed in with a likeable and entertaining nature. Often Britney's retellings of things that had happened were more amusing than the original, and her incredible range of facial expressions made her super-fun to watch and to screen cap. And come on--she's just too cute.
Enzo came into the game with a clear plan: he wanted to be remembered as one of the big characters from BB12. He had his act all planned out from his nickname to his signature moves, and even to the point of having an alliance idea sketched out. It seems he hopes to turn BB fame into a true Hollywood career, but fortunately he didn't spend too much time talking about that. He mostly just played his part, and gave the distinct impression that he is that much of a character in real life. He gave us gameplay and strategy, and a lot of laughs.
Enzo was another one who didn't bother to win many competitions. I don't think all of his losses were intentional, but a lot were. He did get the OTEV POV which he truly had to win. If he had managed to pull out one or two more wins in the run up to the Final 2 he might have finished in the money. He knew that, so I wouldn't buy that he threw those last few, but he really didn't need to win early on. He wasn't on anyone's radar and even if he had popped up as a target he had insulated himself with a strong secret alliance as well as "friendships" with just about everyone else. The Brigade was a brilliant move, and we can argue until the end of time as to whether it was his idea or Matt's. But the fact is that Enzo had the Meow-Meow Mafia planned before even entering the house, so no matter what he gets credit for the secret alliance strategy. On top of the idea for a secret alliance, picking the right people and keeping the whole thing under wraps until the very end was key to its success. Enzo gave us drama in a very unusual way. He was never in the middle of it himself, but yet he was always there poking at it from the edges. When it came to entertainment, Enzo was definitely a top dog...ahem, sorry, top meow-meow...his sense of humour was great to begin with, coming out with lots of fantastic Lines of the Day. His continual StaboTool accusations were an unintentional source of amusement for us all summer. I swear he really did accuse everyone except Ragan of being the Tool 2.0, and with each one he was positive that he was right. He also wore (and shunned) the penguin costume well, and took it all the way a HG should take those things. And he's got to get points for surviving the curse of the costume. For the most part Enzo was quite likeable. He had that nice family man, funny guy thing going for him and he never got too nasty in his joking. I didn't particularly like the way he turned on Matt, in part because I like Matt, but also because I would have liked the alliance better if they'd stayed 100% loyal as long as they could. But even so, that move was good gameplay. The place where Enzo really lost likeability points with me was with the Bro-gade reveal and the sheer cockiness and glee with which he spilled to Britney. Both Lane and Hayden were trying to be nice about it and realized they were crushing her hopes and dreams, but Enzo was completely focused on himself.
We can't really talk about Enzo without mentioning the slop-cheats. He was caught by many livefeeders and in post-season interviews admitted even more snacking that we realized. He blamed it on the 2 consecutive weeks of restriction, but others have done much more without cheating. Not to mention, those weeks were 2 & 3 and we know some of his snacking was week 7. As I've said before, it may seem like a small thing (and really, it is) but it's still a rule of the game and I take points off for breaking it.
At the end of the day, Enzo certainly gets what he wanted. He'll always be remembered as the Meow-Meow and one of the best characters of BB12. He'll also get credit for the Brigade, and it will be an alliance that won't be forgotten. His gameplay was good, his strategy was great. He gets some points for drama, and major points for entertainment. And despite my problems with him and the Bro-gade reveal, overall he was quite likeable. So from my BB POV, he comes out near the top on our scale. Though I may never forgive him for ruining my conversations with my cats. And I really wish I could have figured out why he wore his sunglasses at night...and inside.
From pre-Day 1 Lane reminded me of BB9 Ryan to such an extent that I was even calling him Ryan (unintentionally). I wasn't the only one who noticed that, and a lot of people thought Lane had second place wrapped up from the beginning. Though it turns out to be true, Lane ended up leaving his own unique impression. Second place sure, but I'm no longer forgetting his name. He ended up being a quite likeable and entertaining guy, and deserving the place he got in the end.
Early on it was clear that Lane's strategy was to just stay quiet and stay out of everyone's way, and therefore off the radars. But at the same time he managed to be noticeable enough that he was invited to the Bro-gade parties, and built a solid side-alliance with Britney. He never had to win comps in the early weeks, but he also never let himself be seen as a weak competitor, or become a known comp. thrower. And as the game went on, he switched into win-win mode and started pulling out a few victories. He really never had a chance at the top spot, so if he'd won any more comps he would have had to make decisions and declarations that he really didn't want to have to make. You can't really say Lane brought any drama to BB12, but at least he didn't try to get in the way of anyone else's. When it came to entertainment value, it was pretty much all about the Lane and Britney show. And while they were great together, I think Britney would have been fun to watch with anyone and I can't quite say the same about Lane. And finally, he was a perfectly likeable guy. Maybe people weren't gonna love him, but they weren't gonna hate him either. His friendships with everyone seemed real.
At the end of the day, the thing about Lane is that he just seemed to be hanging out for the summer. He never seemed overly concerned with winning. He also never seemed worried about getting kicked, but his strategy and personality put him in a position where he was never in any real danger. He's one of those BB players who will likely be quickly forgotten. He's not a standout personality of BB12, but he still played a good game and was fun to watch. And as a closing comment, the only way to tell he didn't have a baseball cap permanently affixed to his head was the fact that it changed colors. Well, okay, he did take it off occasionally...and sometimes even outside of the shower.
I'll admit it, I didn't expect Hayden to last. From the beginning he seemed like every other pretty boy BB recruit. He came across as barely having heard of BB, much less having any idea of how the game was supposed to be played and what the fans wanted to see. And it didn't help when he won the first HOH comp. That's usually not such a great spot to be in. You have to pick noms pretty much out of thin air and you get labeled as a "strong competitor." But Hayden was able to overcome those week one curses. On top of that I think he knew more about BB than he was letting on, and he turned out to have a lot more staying power than I originally suspected.
It may have seemed early on that Hayden didn't have much of a strategy, but it turned out that he did. He didn't necessarily want to win that first HOH, but by not fighting too hard against taking it, he put himself in a decent position. He definitely set himself up as being BB-ignorant, and maybe to a certain extent he was. But though he said repeatedly that he didn't "know shit about BB" he also mentioned a couple of times that his family watched the show. He might not have been a huge fan, and I do think he was recruited rather than having tried out, but he at least knew the basics. And by being the first HOH he ensured that he was included in the power alliance. And once in the Bro-gade, he played things brilliantly. He made sure he was in good with all of them, and when he saw that Matt was the biggest threat, Hayden was the first to suggest ditching him. And from then out he made sure that Lane and Enzo each thought he was Hayden's number one ally. I think Lane was his true number 1, but if things had gone differently and Hayden had needed Enzo he would have had him wrapped up. When it came to drama, Hayden was always standing right at the edge rather than being in the middle of it. With the Captain Kosher Disclosure and then Rachel's wrath, it was much more about Kristen than Hayden. In fact, it showed Kristen as the perfect "side-alliance" for Hayden. When he was nom'ed it was against her and he was completely safe. And while Hayden was the first to suggest backstabbing Matt, he let Enzo do most of the work, just coming along to confirm what Enzo told people. And to be fair, Enzo was right there with him; it wasn't as if Hayden manipulated him into these things. For entertainment, Hayden was never at the top of my list. But he wasn't at the bottom either. I was just pretty much indifferent to him. For me it wouldn't have mattered much if he got kicked at any point. And I kept wanting him to get his Justin Bieber hair out of his eyes, but it did make for great Zingbot fodder. I do give him points for likeability. He absolutely came across as a good guy, even to the point where people were surprised to see him doing something mean, even if it was in his best interests in the game.
At the end of the day, Hayden does well on all counts. I can't remember exactly when I started to think that Hayden was going to walk away with all the marbles, but it was somewhere around the middle of the season. He started with a great social game and personal strategy, getting in good with everyone and doing it without coming across as a floater. His competition gameplay began with a nice balance of not too strong, but not too weak. And when it came down to the end game, he rolled through comps like crazy. While he wasn't responsible for drama, he let it happen and every once in a while threw in his own jabs to the various fights. He could be entertaining, though he tended to save it for "official" stuff like the puppets and dancing. And he was likeable enough that no one minded seeing him win. He may not have been the best on paper, but in the end he played the best overall game in BB12, and that's why he won.