Sunday, September 22, 2013

Big Brother 15: That Amanda Zuckerman Podcast



Now, I'm still not a huge Amanda fan. On the show she did what she did and did it fairly well, though. In real life, I'm sure I'd find her much too abrasive and so not like the friends I cherish in my world. But my world's not hers and vice versa.

I watched the live feeds. I watched the shows on television. I'm never one to claim that I "hate" anyone on any of these shows. They don't personally matter enough to me to feel that strongly. They're there for my entertainment. Yup, some of them might think they're the puppetmasters, but it's really me. They entertain me or they don't. It's as simple as that.

Amanda was only entertaining to me when there was a brouhaha or even a kerfuffle at hand. Other than that, she cuddled, slept, ate in bed with her newly discovered love of her life pizza delivery boy.

Yet I found this way too long podcast she did with Big Brother Gossip interesting. She provided some inside info on the behind the scenes stuff, how much the Diary Room really influenced them and more. Be warned -- the podcast is about two and a half hours long. Really. I'm not joking. I had it on while doing housework and listened on and off to it over the course of two days.

Finally, some of the myths and rumors which fueled even more difficulties with this season can be put to rest. Amongst other things ...
  • Amanda tried out for the show five times before getting aboard.
  • Amanda only met Alison Grodner in the final interview of the casting process.
  • Amanda had met Mike Boogie years ago when she applied for a job at a company he owned. She didn't realize who he was until years later. She also didn't get that job.
  • Amanda confirmed (as I've said all along) that the Diary Room didn't tell the hamsters to do anything. Sometimes they could guess at things judging by the questions they were asked, but the DR (and production) kept them pretty much in the dark over most of the things going on with the other hamsters.
  • That said, production did ask Amanda to stop bullying Elissa because Elissa was refusing to go to the Diary Room, etc. They didn't tell her she had to stop and admitted it was within the rules. 
  • The infamous incident with Howard really happened. (Oh, my!)
  • At the jury house, they each had two handlers with them at all times and weren't allowed to talk game.
Now, there's a lot more to it. If you have the time, it's interesting not even so much from the Amanda angle, but the fact that she spilled more behind the scenes stuff than anyone who's ever been on the show.

Oh, mind you ... she's still abrasive and so not my kind of person. Good luck with that, McCrae!


17 comments:

stv364 said...

What was the infamous incident with Howard? I missed that one.

Jackie S. said...

He allegedly (yes, I'll still go with that) threatened her sexually. It was a big thing on the feeds. However it was whispered at her and we couldn't pick it up on the mics. All we knew for sure is that he did say something to her and she did indeed freak out.

What was supposedly said was something more risque than my PG level I keep the blog at, so I never went into detail. (And won't now.)

Brwngrl said...

This was the most disgusting BB out of all the seasons. I can't believe how nasty Andy got at the end and how he belitted Elissa. Ginamarie - expected. He would definitely not be teaching my kid. He had better consider himself lucky that he won the 1/2 million, well, less the taxes. Because if I were the university where he worked I would fire him. I would love the find out what the reactions are of the ones that lost their jobs. It pains me that they really don't see how nasty and disgusting they were.

Jackie S. said...

I just dub this season as the "I'm sorry if I offended anyone" season. That's pretty much all any of them have been saying.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if the details about the diary room not interfering with stuff is like Fight Club, what's rule number one? There's no fight club!

Sharon N said...

Jackie,
Thanks for posting a breakdown of the podcast because I don't think I'd have the patience!
Frankly, the kind of person Amanda showed herself to be makes me want to give Howard the benefit of the doubt... that he might not have said 'exactly' what Amanda told everyone. Who knows... not my dog. I don't have to kick it!

In any case, it will be difficult (for us who watched) to forget that agony Howard and Candice went through over all the racial stuff.

Jackie S. said...

I posted this more with an interest in some of the behind the scenes stuff rather than about Amanda or the hate-filled season.

uncartie said...

2 and a half hours of listening to Amanda? No thanks!

I have yet to see any of the hamsters who used slurs to accept responsibility for their actions. My favorite excuse was that "it was stressful in the house".

I'm sure it was probably "stressful in the house for the past 14 seasons,yet somehow those contestants managed to get through the season without offending everyone.

Jackie S. said...

Sigh. I didn't mean for all the hate and grousing about the season to start up anew.

Once again, I posted this because it had interesting behind the scenes information that we've all had some questions about.

Now I know why other sites dropped the show like a hot potato after the finale.

Marybeth said...

Jackie,

Thank you for the info! It was nice of you to listen to this whole thing and give us the behind the scenes info that we have always wondered about since season one.

Anonymous said...

Jackie...Thank you so very much for posting this and for your comments. I did enjoy Amanda and would love for her to be on All Stars. She is a true game player and plays BB...not some emotional person. I love that about her and I laughed a lot at her antics.
Sure....at least according to this web site I am not in the majority but I am sure that the past BB players will agree.....She PLAYS!!
She is not afraid to make fun of herself either. Anyway....Thank you for stepping out the the box so to speak and post this....knowing so many of YOUR fans don't like her. Yeah Jackie!

Best Regards,
Kasey

monty924 said...

Thanks, Jackie!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Jackie.....I DID listen to the entire podcast and found it quite interesting...even made me appreciate & like her more.

JimmyB said...


Thanks Jackie--the highlights are interesting--I'd never listen to it.

It also reminds me I simply do not understand America's love affair with Elissa. Entitled, self-important--NO social game whatsoever--NO strategy whatsoever. Had she not competed quite well in some competitions; she'd have been a total zero.

My favorite player was Helen from the get-go--that never changed. Andy was a weasel, but played a good game--his game. I can't fault him for that.

Witt said...

Thank you Jackie, for posting the highlights, since I doubt I'd have the patience for listening to the whole thing. I had difficulty listening to her during the episodes. I have often wondered, however, and marveled at how people try out multiple times for the show! I think I heard that Judd also tried out several times too.

Thank you for all that you do for us. It is so appreciated!

Witt :)

Anonymous said...

OMG....Good for you Jimmy for hitting the nail on the head regarding Elissa. I can't stand her and I wish all her followers and the people that voted for her to watch Rachels seasons again. Everyone hated Rachel and she was no poster child for morals in the house either.
GO JIMMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Someone who writes with "reason"!

QuixoticElf said...

Thanks for sharing! :)