Big Brother 17 New Hamsters - Part One

Okay, the cast has been revealed and the Jeff Schroeder interviews are up for CBS All Access subscribers! This is the first installment of five hamsters for the blog here. Unfortunately, I had to work all day at my real job and now I'm playing catch up.

Before getting into the individual houseguests, I need to say --

• Where is the diversity? 
• All young.
• Mostly white.
• At least one lesbian and one transgender so far, so LBGT gets some representation.
• Is there a law against having anyone over 40? 
• Gah. Very typical Allison Grodner/Robyn Kass kind of casting.
• Sigh.

Audrey Middleton

My first impressions from the Jeff interview on CBS.com -- Wiggly, chewed gum, not anyone I'd really want to hang out with, extremely confident ... maybe too confident; should tone it down a bit in the house. I did like that she compared her expected gameplay to Dexter Morgan without being a sociopath.

She's 25 years old, single, from Villa Rica, Georgia. While her job sounds fancy, it's basically responding to FB posts for a company. She says she's a super fan of the show and never missed an episode. So, I assume she started watching at age 10? Has she followed the live feeds, the websites? She didn't say. TMZ is reporting Audrey as the first transgender houseguest.

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Austin Matelson as Judas

First impressions from Jeff interview: I think I like the dude. I didn't think I would. His pro-wrestling name is "Judas." He said that Austin is good guy, but when the top hat goes on, out comes Judas. Under all that hair, he kind of reminds me of Christopher Meloni (Stabler from Law and Order: SVU) in looks. Rather surprising guy. Beside the Austin/Judas bit, if he wins he plans to give some money to an anti-bullying charity. He was bullied himself as a child and in wrestling circles.

Austin is 30 years old, a professional wrestler from Woodland Hills, California. He didn't mention single or married. In his bio, it's mentioned that his parents let him stop attending school in eighth grade. He now has a masters in medieval history. Huh. He says he's been a fan since the first season. I think he's going to be interesting to watch gameplay-wise and for entertainment value.

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Becky Burgess

First impressions from Jeff interview: She says she's optimistic, positive and thinks because her job is a retail manager, she'll have an edge -- she's used to dealing with high school kids (heehee). She thinks she's loud, sill and a bit goofy. I think I like that better than Audrey's (above) qualities. She smiles a bit too much and goes for perky. A long time fan of the show, she says that she knows she'll have to lie at some time in the game. I think that she might just be a bit too "nice" for this show. We'll see.

Becky is 26, single and hails from Denver, Colorado. She's on the athletic side and thinks she's a people person. She thinks she get along well with both the men and the women in the house. Hmm ...

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Vanessa Rousso

First impressions from Jeff interview: She's hoping to use skills learned in her poker career such as reading people and strategy. She also studied game theory and hopes that might help her, too. She says she's a big fan of the show. She's very worried that someone will recognize her as a professional poker player and wants to stress her DJ work. (I wouldn't recognize ANY pro poker players, nor would I care. One was on Survivor a few seasons back and he certainly didn't win!)

Vanessa is 32, from Las Vegas and has a longtime girlfriend. She likes Dan Gheesling as a player in the house. Uh-oh. She's scared of flying insects and being publicly humiliated. Does she know what she's getting into?

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Steve Moses

First impressions from Jeff interview: Gee, looks like they're trying for Ian II, doesn't it? Aha, a real superfan into the live feeds and all! We gotta like him! He seems like he might have a decent likable, excitable boy strategy, yet he thinks he can be ruthless as well. While he's reminiscent of Ian, I doubt he'll isolate himself as much as Ian did.

Steve is a 22 year old college student from Gouverneur, New York. His favorite player on the show is Danielle Reyes, always a good choice. She would have won her season had they not shown the hamsters the diary room sessions. That stopped that practice! I'm not sure how his innocent yet gregarious strategy is going to work and it's probably not a good thing that he looks a bit like Ian (as far as the other hamsters go, not the show fans). I'd like to see him do well.