Before we get into the game a quick update. During the past week it came out that Aaryn’s mom allegedly hired a PR firm to somehow make lemonade out of the rotten lemons that is her daughter. Look my mom is the best mom in the world; other than going through a “churchy” phase, during which she was concerned about me and my brothers going to see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie because they worshiped a talking Rat and not Jesus, she was your normal, good mother. My point is that if I went on a reality show and started talking like Jimmy The Greek after happy hour, I don’t think “hiring a PR firm” would be in the top five of things my mom would ever think to do. Something tells me that Aaryn Jr. takes after Aaryn Sr.. Granted, she apologized to Candice and appeared to be on better behavior this week, but it’s going to take more time. Like Lindsay Lohan and sobriety, it’s going to take at least a year. for America to believe her.
On to the show:
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CBS pulls the plug three weeks in on the MVP gimmick and is going with the always popular “America is the MVP”, so Elissa gets stripped of her wizard powers. This feels like a good thing. It’s like CBS knows that America hates Aaryn so much that they want to give America the Sword of Destiny to cut Aaryn’s Big Brother head off, only I doubt Aaryn will get voted off, since anyone left standing with her at the end of the game is going to walk away with the money. Julie Chen seemed to have pep in her step tonight. Maybe her impending “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” breakdown on live TV will have to wait a few weeks.
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Jeremy will be missed.[/caption]
Jeremy, you will be missed. Maybe, like a soap opera, CBS will find a highly questionable, contrived way to bring you back. It’s weird with Big Brother: once the power shifts, you start getting annoyed at the underdogs you were previously rooting for. Helen in power, for some reason, had me start rooting against her. Maybe it’s her god-awful displays of celebration, which are a combination of spazzy and awkward, but at times I found myself pulling for Jeremy to survive. The Moving Company’s legacy will be compared to Enron and the Hindenburg one day as one of the biggest disasters ever. Has an alliance ever been so bad, this fast, in the history of reality TV? Helen played her HOH very hard and I think it will come back to hurt her game. Like our lord and savior Rob Cesternino said in a podcast this week, “Helen is playing for third or fourth on the jury.” Winning HOH can be a killer to your game if you play it like you’re King Louis VIII and try to intimidate the house. Helen also shamed half the men in the house and cried more then my friend Jason when he watches the Notebook.
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Judd’s administration takes office. The vibe of the house will probably stay the same from last week. Judd has played a good game up to this point, but he has never been under the spotlight. He will have to get some real blood on his hands this week. The pressure of the house is going to be to take out Spencer or Howard; it’s tough to see another path for Judd than targeting those two. The biggest move he could make would be to target Amanda. Amanda and Mccrae are by far the most unbreakable partnership this season. Targeting Amanda while scooping up Spencer and Howard would be a big power move. Alas, most people play it safe when in Judd’s position. But kudos to Judd for single-handedly resurrecting the name “Judd” from reality TV purgatory .
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Amanda is playing a dangerous game. Amanda/Mccrae- Amanda is playing a dangerous game. She wants her allies to make the moves for her. When you play like that, you better have the respect and love of everyone in your alliance, and you need to be top dog. Amanda is not viewed as the top dog; she is viewed, at best, as your girlfriend’s drunken mouthy BFF who is an “expert” on everything. Amanda is treating Judd like Demi Moore treated Michael Douglas in Disclosure, and the rest of the houseguests can see it. She would be my target if I was HOH this week, but I think that Judd will play it safe and therefore she will be safe for now. I can’t believe how good Mccrae appears to be sitting as Amanda is taking all the negative energy that should be shined on the both of them for being in a clear showmance. Mccrae, his “Weird Al” Yankovic vibe, looks poised to make a deep run.
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Howard/Spencer- Howard and Spencer needs some luck on their side this week, or one of them will be the third Moving Company member to be purged. Their gameplay really took a hit this week, especially for Howard as he got caught in more lies than the Talented Mr Ripley. The saving grace may be that MVP vote is coming from viewers. Judd will have pressure from Amanda to go after Howard, therefore Spencer and Howard need to spend their time bonding with the pariahs of the house (Aaryn/Jessie/Ginamaria) and trying to get some numbers on their side. if they don’t one of them is making the slow descent towards Julie Chen.
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I’ve got your back, as long as you are out in front. Andy hitched his wagon to Helen during the first three weeks of the show, Helen has emerged as a bigger target. This seems to be the theme of this season: partner up with someone and try to camouflage yourself. Andy has also established that he is the guy whose shoulder everyone can cry on. The role of the guy who is friends with everyone in the house seems harmless and is a common reality TV archetype The trick to playing this role to the end is to know the time and place to make the big move that will go on your resume when you make the final speech on why you should win the game. Andy needs to turn into the Predator and bide his time, then strike at the exact right moment.
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Kaitlin has actually shown some gumption. She is not in a terrible spot right now, all things considered. She is a free agent now that the love of her life is gone. Obviously she is aligned with Aaryn, but really, if she can survive this week, she has a good chance to slip into the middle of the house and float herself through the next few weeks. She needs to ditch Racist McGee and align with some new peeps pronto.
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Candice/Jessie – Both of these ladies are partnered up slightly: Candice with Howard, Jessie with Judd. Jessie seems alert and present as Bernie Lomax and will almost certainly get dragged along this week, conscious or unconscious. Candice is fairly vocal but doesn’t seem to have her footing. Candice can try and make a move but she needs someone to believe in her—which hasn’t been the case up to this point. Howard seems to want to support Candice, but you can tell that he doesn’t have a lot of faith in her gameplay.
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Elissa, stripped of her powers, seems to be in a good place. She was the most hated person during the first two weeks, and now she seems to have settled into the current power alliance in the house. She seems to be pro-Howard with the majority of her alliance being anti-Howard. This week could go a long way in showing us what Elissa’s fate will be.
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Watch out, Nick. Ginamaria – Nick if you’re reading this please stop (after you click the like button on here;)) and call the FBI and get into the witness protection program. Otherwise you’re going to find yourself tied in a bed like James Caan in Misery with a piece of wood in between your feet as Ginamaria is breaking your ankles so she can nurse you to health and mother your child. Seriously, what is she doing in this game? What is the goal here, Ginamaria? Maybe her strategy is to scare the hell out of everyone else in the house so they won’t put her up. Actually, that may work.
My prediction is that Judd plays it smart and nominates Spencer/Howard and Aaryn as the MVP vote. CBS normally doesn’t like one side of the house having the power for too long so I anticipate a veto competition favoring Howard. Vegas has now moved Judd into the 2/1 favorite to win this season. Aaryn has been moved to 1,000,000/1—right between Paris Hilton winning an Oscar for acting and Jennifer Aniston having a picture in a magazine where she doesn’t look depressed and desperate to find a husband.
