wait...didn't they say new?

So, here we are, the big day before the Big Day. Not quite premiere night, but the day we meet the new HGs. Will they be what we've come to expect? Good looking 20-somethings, mostly single, straight, and white...a few tokens thrown in. A gay guy, an "older" (read: over 33) person, maybe a minority or two. Will there be 14 of them to fill all the frames on the memory wall, or will the prods go with 13 to match up with season number?

Um, well....no. Not so much. First, I have to give the BB casting deptartment credit for a few things. While none of the new HGs are by any means unattractive (well, maybe one...), it doesn't look like the usual line-up of a casting call for a swimsuit catalog. And, it's got to be the most racially diverse group I've ever seen on BB. And most impressively, 5 of the 8 new victims are over the age of 30.

Yes, I did say 8 new HGs. Instead of giving us a new crop of hamsters to pick on, BB is once again going to the recycle bin. The name of this year's twist is Double Trouble and CBS has a "poll" up asking which of some past "duos" we think will return. It's another of those well worded questions...they're not even asking who the fans want to see back, much less implying they care what we think. The wording does seem to confirm that at least one of these pairs will be playing the game. The rumour mill has as many as 3 pairs returning. Another rumour is that CBS was so unhappy with the original cast that they ditched most of them and pulled this re-run twist out of their back pocket

With 5 former winners in that bunch, 2 of whom have already done this crazy thing twice, there are certain pairs I can't imagine would even agree to this. I wouldn't think they could pay Will enough to do a 3rd BB, and Boogie got what he wanted out of AllStars. While I can kind of see Enzo wanting another shot, what's in it for Hayden? (And does Enzo want to miss another 3 months of his daughter's life?) Also, either of those pairs would throw off the gender balance, and BB usually tries to keep it pretty even at the start. I wouldn't be shocked to see Jeff/Jordan or Dick/Daniele agree to come back. And I'd be shocked if Brendon/Rachel or Jessie/Natalie (well, Jessie anyway) didn't agree to it. But if they bring back Zippy the Pinhead for a 3rd time, not to mention having him pop out of the worst pandora's box ever last season...I may have to hurt somebody.

At this point, the voting is strongly in favor of Jeff/Jordan, with Zippy and NataLIE holding steady at 1%. And regardless of what the question actually says, I'd wager most people are voting for whom they are hoping to see back. And a number of fansites are recommending voting that way to send the message of who we don't want to see again.

Going to back the actual newbies....after several seasons of getting what ended up being incorrect first impressions from pre-season interviews, I finally decided to mostly stay away from them. I watched just enough to get a quick picture (literally and figuratively) and basically just learn names and faces. And, hey, with only 8 it's easier than usual.

	Shelly Says she's been watching BB since season 1 and "really got into it when the livefeeds came out." Since the feeds have been around since season 1, I guess she means since whenever she started watching them. I do have to respect that she called herself a livefeeder, and said she's just going to go on the show and be "a normal person without all the 'assets'."
Porsche Spells her name like the car. Says she's worried about being compared to BB8 Jen and doesn't want people to "get the wrong impression of pretty girls right off the bat." Her favorite past player was Natalie--didn't specify BB9 or BB11--depending on which it is, could either raise or lower my opinion of her.
	Lawon Describes himself as "unexpected, vivacious, and handsomexy" and then feels the need to define that last one in case you didn't guess it's handsome+sexy. His favorite BB season was BB1, and his favorite HG was Will Mega. Now, that's old school.
Keith Says he's going to align with 3 girls, call them 'Keith's Angels' and each of the 4 of them will have side alliances with 2 other people. [sound familiar? Bro-gade....play your own game! And that strategy's going to have to go fast once the reruns are revealed, since the re-HGs probably won't play with him, and without them there aren't enough HGs for his plan. Though the idea of Zippy as one of Keith's Angels is kind of funny.]
	Kalia Her's was the only interview I actually watched all the way through. Seems smart, grounded, and has a good understanding of what makes a good BB strategy. She's got an acting background and now is a writer (professional blogger--gotta love that). Big fan of BB3/7 Danielle (though called her "Danielle from season 2"). Also said she was a big fan of James; again didn't specify which one....I have to believe she meant BB6/7 James.
Dominic A model from San Francisco. Was sent to a BB open casting call by his agent, and didn't know anything about BB beforehand. But he's been watching past seasons and now calls himself a BB addict.
	Cassi Also a model who hadn't previously seen BB, but now considers herself a huge fan. Identifies with Britney; says she's the kind of girl who's always friends with "the dudes."
Adam Clearly a fan, gave shoutouts to a number of BB sites. Has tried out a few times and finally made it. I'm just hoping there's some sort of comp. consequence that gets rid of that horrible facial hair.