S17.E01: Episode 1

[Tara Ariano]

Strangers living together in a camera-filled house attempt to win $500,000 by being the last one standing after three months of confinement in the 17th installment of the reality series. In the opener, the 14 houseguests meet and move into the compound.

[Skyfall]

First time I've watched in a couple seasons and I'm already reminded why I stopped watching...

[Maverick]

 "What the other contestants won't know is I have a masters degree in Medieval romantic literature".   You can only hope.  You might also want to keep the fact that you dress like an extra from Sprockets under your (Alice in Wonderland) hat.  I mean seriously, why keep that a secret in Big Brother house other than embarrassment.  Are the other house guests going to be like "he knows about them horny knights y'all.  He gots to go!"  Unrelated, is it just me or does he look like Bob Saget after a week long Full House wrap party bender?

 

 Shelli needs to keep in her pants.  Yes, Clay's but she's making a fool panting after him.  And besides Shelli, his momma's watchin'

 

 BOTB is a fan favorite?  For reals?  And here I thought it was just an annoying, pointless twist that ate 80% of the show time.

 

 Twin twist.   Where have I heard that before?  Hmmmm.  Why was Julie presenting that as if it was some new concept.  Did they forget they've actually done this before?

 

 After winning HOH, why did James say he's not going back to Texas yet?  You know, since he's from SC and all.  

 

 Did you know?  Have you heard?  You may not have (or you may have and have forgotten if playing a drinking game) but Clay recently played football for the Texas A&M>

Edited June 25, 2015 by Maverick

[Morbs]

Clay isn't as good looking as I thought he was going to be, so there isn't much man candy this year.  He's a good looking guy, but he's a basic bitch who has everyone's haircut and style.  Maybe his personality will make him cuter; at least he made a joke about how stupid it was that he was playing football shirtless in jeans.  The women on a whole are way better looking than the guys.

[Skittl1321]

Is fan favorite twist an oxymoron?

Blonde New Yorker is super annoying.

clay surprisingly did not get on my nerves right away. As an Aggie I expected him to embarrass us immediately.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Shelli reminds me of actress Michelle Green -- who played Abby on L.A. Law

 

Audrey looks kind of like Audrina Partridge from 'The Hills'.

 

ETA: Seriously, they couldn't get any sort of cross-promotion deal with Rottentomatoes,com, but they dragged out Kevin Fraser from one of the entertainment shows for no apparent reason other than a weak-ass pseudo-red carpet.

Edited June 25, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[PinkSprinkles]

I can't believe battle of the block is back after all the backlash last year. Are they trying to cancel the show??????????? 

 

Also, twin twist? Most of us remember BB5, Grodner......

[poopchute]

Who told Julie that Battle of the Block was a fan favorite? Everyone hated it. I'm annoyed that all these weeks twists are just an even easier way to rig it for whoever production wants to win. Not like they didn't already do that but now it will be out of control.

[Wandering Snark]

Thoughts:

 

Da'Vonne: I know people pre-love her but you're seriously leaving a freakin SEVEN month old? For 98 days??? As a single mother (gotta have at least one 'I'm doing this for my babies!!' player) too, meaning this child won't have either parent around. I just... can't. Sorry DayVonne.

 

I also can't with people who put hair ties in their goatee's I'm sure beads are next. Again I want to like you and the fact you are a one-person twin twist with your practiced alter ego to do your dirty work but... no.

 

If people didn't see in the media thread: I can't help but see Jace (unfortunate name...) him as Jace Fredericks, Tyler's big brother.

 

I wasn't expecting Audrey to be so... "passable". If people don't find out about this asap there is going to be some awkward moments reveled later on! I mean I wouldn't have picked her out of a lineup as the person who was transgender. Usually something usually will give it away but not in this case. Interesting.

 

I'm rooting for James the country asian, something about him makes we want to cheer him on.

 

I think Meg is a little too excited for her own good, she may be a hot mess after a while but I'm on her team too.

 

Shelli reminds me of... Daniele Donato, facially. Esp. with her hair back in the DR. That's going to drive me crazy.

Edited June 25, 2015 by Wandering Snark

[BlackMamba]

A twin twist. Oh Allison it's been done before.

Plus the battle of the block. sighs. Well let's hope this will be a better and unpredictable summer.

I loved Audery first episode and that she recognizes it is a game and it can very well get dirty. Shes awesome. DaVonne gave me total Tamar Braxton tease inher talking heads. Shes going to be TV gold if she goes deep. James impressed me in that maxi pad comp.

Cant wait to see my other preseason favs in Vanessa and Steve. Good first episode.

[vb68]

 

Clay isn't as good looking as I thought he was going to be, so there isn't much man candy this year.  He's a good looking guy, but he's a basic bitch who has everyone's haircut and style.

 

So, in other words, he's a human Ken doll.

 

I'm surprised they brought back The Battle of The Block.  I thought that was a dud of a twist that made the game less interesting last year.

 

Not sure who I like yet.  I want to like Shelli. I think I heard her say her name use to be Audrey too.  I'd like to hear more about that, but I didn't care for all the falling over for Clay.  

Edited June 25, 2015 by vb68

[Chrissytd]

One episode in and there's already a hint of a showmance. This isn't The Bachelor.

Da'Vonne's voice and mannerisms remind me of Tamar Braxton.

Battle of the Block was no one's favorite.

I got a laugh out of Clay saying he played football at Texas A&M, and in the next scene he fell off.

What is the point of telling the first group about the twists. Shouldn't they have waited until everyone was in the house?

[Ananayel]

I don't want to hear anymore about being an Asian hillbilly. I'm going to want to sneak out to LA and strangle Meg in her sleep. I want Austin to shave so I can look at him. I want a female alliance. And I want Grodner to DIAF - no way is Battle of the Block anything but a craptastic flop. It ruined last season, and if it isn't a one-time thing, it's going to be another disaster. However, it was apparently renewed for an 18th season as well, so someone's going to have to kidnap Grodner and spirit her away to a secret Antarctic base in order for anything to change. I fear it's just going to get worse.

[Skittl1321]

If people don't find out about this asap there is going to be some awkward moments reveled later on!

She told everyone pretty much first thing.

[PinkSprinkles]

Thoughts:

 

Da'Vonne: I know people pre-love her but you're seriously leaving a freakin SEVEN month old? For 98 days??? As a single mother (gotta have at least one 'I'm doing this for my babies!!' player) too, meaning this child won't have either parent around. I just... can't. Sorry DayVonne.

 

Janelle did the same thing when she appeared on BB14. Granted, Janelle's husband was taking care of their daughter while she was gone, but it's not as though Da'Vonne is abandoning her child. I'm sure her daughter is being well-cared for by her family. 

[loki567]

All the enthusiasm I had for this season went out the window with the words, "Battle of the Block." It's by far the worst twist they've ever had, it completely enables the super alliance and stops anybody from being willing to make an interesting move. Because after all, you're likely not going to keep your HoH.

 

I'm hoping desperately that the Takeover idea means they're switching twists every week and it'll only be a one week thing. 

[Callaphera]

Ugh. Battle of the Block. Why? 

 

Can Meg be the first boot? She already bugs me. "Taylor Swift", my ass. And I saw that they were already digging into food in the kitchen before Julie called them back to the living room. How long until the annual ant invasion starts? Go Team Ants!

 

It wouldn't be a proper start to Big Brother if I wasn't bitching about something.

 

ETA: 
 

 

I'm hoping desperately that the Takeover idea means they're switching twists every week and it'll only be a one week thing.

 

With how twists fizzle out or get abandoned or completely changed, it's like they've become self-aware and are just making it easier on themselves when viewers start complaining that they've changed it. Again. Perfect explanation. "We said it would change every week!"

Edited June 25, 2015 by Callaphera

[Wouldofshouldof]

Meg smiles all. the. time.

Clay is pretty.  Did he play football for Texas A&M?

I thought Shelli looks like Dani too.  But didn't it seem like her hair was brown in her THs and blond everywhere else?

 

My summer has officially begun.  Bring it on, BB!

[Artsda]

Battle of the Block was a fan favourite? Since when?

 

I agree that Audry looks like Audrina Partridge.

 

It felt like everyone was either "LA" or "Country." 

[LoveLeigh]

Wow, I have never seen an episode 1 that was so excruciatingly boring. This first group of HGs actually made me change the channel. Will sparks fly with this bunch? I am not getting the live feeds... doubt I will watch any of the episodes except the Thursday night live eviction. 

[Turtle]

I also can't believe BotB is back. I guess we're in for another summer of every HOH refusing to make any big moves and instead just nominating "who the house wants" just in case they get dethroned. Yay. So exciting. Can't wait to see the masterful strategy... Last season may have been popular, but it sure wasn't because BotB was a good twist. Plus, we will never *see* any strategizing that does happen because all the air time will be eaten up with the BotB comp, plus the announcement and implementation of the Twist of the Week, in addition to the HOH and Veto comps, nominating and veto ceremonies, and other stuff that is actually important to the game.

I really wanted to enjoy this season but with all these twists, it's going to be hard (for me and for the HGs!) to keep up with alliances and whatnot. I really don't want another summer of unanimous votes!

Meg and James are already grating. No one else bothered me. Yet. Liked Austin more than I was expecting to, which was a nice surprise.

[Stinger97]

I thought this was a surprisingly strong start to the season, especially considering I'm usually bored to tears during the premiere episode. I think I like most of the HGs so far (although I expect that to drastically change in the coming weeks once everyone exposes their true colors) and I'm oddly looking forward to the Twin Twist (even though, yes, it is a rehash from S5). 

 

That said, James wasn't my first choice for HoH, mostly because I'm rooting for Audrey and Da'vonne at this point, but we'll see how the rest of the week plays out. 

[Writing Wrongs]

What was the point of Da'Vonne sitting out the HOH competition?

[ottoDbusdriver]

Can Meg be the first boot? She already bugs me. "Taylor Swift", my ass.

 

I was out of the room when Meg's intro clip ran and just listening to her I thought she came off sounding like Kathy Griffin.

[TimWil]

All I took away was how radically different the DR sessions look this season. Is it the lighting or how close the HGs are to the camera?

Well, I have this, too--since Andrea from Survivor got to say something in Meg's segment did she get paid something?

Edited June 25, 2015 by TimWil

[ottoDbusdriver]

Didn't Chenbot say it was a brand new house ?  It's the exact same house they just redecorated and added the transparent bridge.  No significant changes at all.

[BlackMamba]

Battle of the Block was a fan favourite? Since when?

Maybe for Frankie fans.

[vb68]

 

A twin twist. Oh Allison it's been done before.

 

 

A sign that they really are running out of ideas?

 

 

Can Meg be the first boot? She already bugs me.

 

I noticed that she wasn't brought into the female alliance that we saw, so I took that as a sign that she is probably already on the outs.

[Katesus7]

So this season, the theme of Big Brother is that Big Brother is now simply a parody of a show called Big Brother.

I know it's early, but right now the houseguests all seem like caricatures of characters.

And don't get me started on the twists. "hello America, this season is all about twists. Later, we'll talk about several twists. But first, more twists! All of these twists have catchy names, which as part of my contract, I have to use at least 100 times each. Fan Favorite! Game Changer! Twins! Twist!"

The Battle of the Block, y'all. The freaking Battle of the Block.

Edit: Oh, and Clay totally wins this. He's bland. He's inoffensive. He's cute. He played football. He's a white male. Calling it now.

Edited June 25, 2015 by Katesus7

[Wandering Snark]

it's not as though Da'Vonne is abandoning her child. I'm sure her daughter is being well-cared for by her family. 

I didn't say she was abandoning her, but she IS leaving her without either parent for a chance at life changing money that in reality will most likely just be time away from her 7 month old daughter. That's rough.

 

I agree the BotB is/was a terrible twist and a worse idea. But it seems this year in the name of this overriding "twist" they are bringing back twists that they used in the past, it's like Twist All-Stars.

 

The twin twist will only be the first "rerun" we'll be subjected to, it was the first I thought of and posted in the media thread when they announced bringing back twists. I wonder if the HG with the fraternal twin will more easily be able to call out the twins?

Edited June 25, 2015 by Wandering Snark

[Maverick]

Edit: Oh, and Clay totally wins this. He's bland. He's inoffensive. He's cute. He played football. He's a white male. Calling it now.

 

 He'll win Grodner's panties. but I don't think he'll win the show.  Even with her ability to rig the game, Grodner doesn't have a good hit rate at getting her pets the win.    

[Xazeal]

I actually have a fairly positive first impression of this cast (my early favorite is in the next bunch, though) and it's sad that the twists will probably hurt this season.

 

I do like the twin twist, so I don't mind that, but... If it's who I'm thinking, then I really don't think it's going to work this year. 

[BlackMamba]

A sign that they really are running out of ideas?

As a fan of housewives Id live for a hws edition

[PinkSprinkles]

I don't see how they don't figure out the twin twist, Wandering Snark.

Liz and Julia are easy to tell apart

. 

Edited June 25, 2015 by Stinger97
Not sure if spoiler or spec, but edited just in case.

[TexasChic]

I like Audrey and Da'vonne too, they seem like they'll be fun. I also like James so far. I laughed when they said BOTB was a fan favorite, I've never seen more complaints on forums than about that little nugget of idiocy.

[LakeGal]

I don't hate anyone yet.  That is a good sign.  But it is only night 1.

 

I wonder if they made someone sit out so they can play in the HOH when the next 6 come in.  Even it up at 7 in each contest.

[BlackMamba]

He'll win Grodner's panties. but I don't think he'll win the show. Even with her ability to rig the game, Grodner doesn't have a good hit rate at getting her pets the win.

Yeah Grodner always has that hot boy that gets her hot every season. Remember Jeff?

[TexasChic]

Maybe for Frankie fans.

Heavens to murgatroyd, I'd actually forgotten about Frankie! I'm jealous of 5 minutes ago me.

[PinkSprinkles]

Yeah Grodner always has that hot boy that gets her hot every season. Remember Jeff?

 

Grodner gets a pass on Jeff simply because he took out Jessie. Watching that eviction night will never not be hilarious. Especially watching all of Jessie's widows sobbing in the kitchen afterwards. <3

[Mreid]

So the battle of the block is a fan favorite..... uhm NOT!!! Booo I am so bummed the double HOH/battle of the block is back. I just find it so unnecessary. The twin twist already been done before, word on the street is that Liz has a twin sister name Julie lots of photos of them on facebook... great another blonde just what we need!  Personality wise though it seems like a fun group but they need to have 2 hour premieres I like it when all the houseguests enter the game at the same time. I was really hoping Audrey would win the first HOH but im happy for James, I definitely under estimated him 

[vb68]

 

Edit: Oh, and Clay totally wins this. He's bland. He's inoffensive. He's cute. He played football. He's a white male. Calling it now.

Now that you mention it, he really reminds me of BB5's Drew.

[RandomWatcher]

Judging from comments on Twitter, even past BB HGs aren't fans of Battle of the Block.

[flipflopdiva]

I had a horrible feeling Battle of the Block was back when there were only 8 people to start with. I think 'a fan favorite' must just literally mean it was one fan's favorite. Only explanation I have.

 

Otherwise, I mostly like everyone? Meg seems like she could get annoying fast, and maybe Jace too. Audrey is my early fave. But early is the key word here. I'm sure I'll be hating them all soon enough.

 

(And even though I'm already mad about the BotB and recycled twists ... yay Big Brother! Now it feels like summer!)

[SamIAm]

This is the highlight of my summer and one of the only shows to bring me out of lurkdom. I was impressed with the response to Audrey's announcement. I must have missed earlier in the episode when she revealed the info, I just caught when she said something about people guessing her secret. When she said that I told my husband that she must be the transgender person.

[Petunia13]

Way too much shelli for my liking.

Meg is ridic annoying.

Da'Vonne is beautiful. So far I like Audrey. I worried she was weird cuz of her online role playing but she's pretty laid back and socially adept.

I not sure if he mentioned it but Clay played football for Texas A&M.

I have tattoos so I'm not trying to be a bitch but the BB tradition of ugly tattoos is still strong.

[TexasChic]

 "What the other contestants won't know is I have a masters degree in Medieval romantic literature".   

That may have been the cheesiest into they have EVER had, and that's saying a lot. Is that even a thing, a masters degree in Medieval romantic literature? I really hope he doesn't continue to talk about his 'alter egos' in 3rd person.

[mojoween]

I hate them all. Meg is so freaking cute, and then she speaks.

Why did Audrey have to tell? I mean, she's a woman. Unless she plans on sleeping with someone in the house, why does anyone have to know? She's a girl and that's that.

I also don't get why we need TWO athletic, competitive, girly-girls from Georgia.

[Petunia13]

Could have ended it with master degree- and that would be shocking info or a nerd flag with the standard bb cast.

[TexasChic]

I like Meg so far. Shelli's teeth are really, REALLY white. Please tell me I'm not the only one who noticed that.

Edited June 25, 2015 by TexasChic

[Lady Calypso]

Yeah, add me to the 'Battle of the Block is a Fan Favourite?!?!' train.

 

I don't hate anyone yet, but I don't love anyone yet either. I thought I could like Da'Vonne, but her over the topness is probably going to bug me, along with her leaving her seven month old daughter behind. I know at seven months, it's not going to be a huge deal because she won't remember it, but there is still no guarantee that she'll win and she could be stuck in jury for a while. 

 

I do like Audrey, though, and Clay a little bit. Ok, for Clay, I didn't expect him to be like that. He seems calm and passive and a little bit quiet, at least compared to the females. Audrey's cool and I guess she wanted to get her secret out in the open while she can. It's not a bad strategy; I don't think anyone would have known otherwise, but if she told one person in confidence and they ended up betraying her, then it would be bad for her game. She'll get all the awkward questions out of the way in the next week or two and then hopefully they can all be civil and play the game.

 

A lot of Shelli this episode. I could have ended up liking her more, if she didn't get the showmance edit. Sorry Shelli and Clay, I hope you don't end up having a showmance so you're not bogged down in it. Austin/Judas? Don't like him much. I don't like James all that much either but cool that he won HOH I guess. Jace reminds me of Hayden (and clearly he knows it. AND he's an actual fan!). Meg is annoying but I think she will be the one to surprise me with the live feeds. I'm going to give her a chance since she didn't make me hate her. 

 

Overall, these twists sound lame. I like the twin twist (I never watched season 5 myself but watched the clip of the twin twist reveal) and I think bringing back twists is good...but yeah, not a new twist. BB Takeover sounds lame. BB already takes over when things don't go their way. What makes this twist any different? They could throw all old twists into this one big twist. 

 

So, yeah, Audrey's my favourite right now and I love that there could be a three girls alliance already. Now, let's hope there are girls alliances this season because the boys seem boring so far.