BBCan3 Recap Episode 3 - Week 2 HoH - This Ain't No Sound and Light Show.

The game continues...

I mean...come on.

Not all HoH comps are created equal. This one, called "Wall to Wall" is one of those - it's an endurance test. Endurance tests usually favour the strong, small types. Usually. But, just as I called it last Wednesday, this one is geared to people with, oh...I don't know...maybe some rock climbing expertise. And lucky for Big Brother, we just happen to have one HG with those creds. Enter Bobby. I guess BB has pegged you as the lucky winner of the first HoH comp. The one nobody wants. The one everybody wants to throw. (I am sure Bobby wanted to throw it as well. He just couldn't avoid it.)

BBCan3 Live Feeds In Brief: Summary Week 2 (Spoilers)

Week 1 of Live Feeds  Wednesday March 25 to Wednesday April 1 (Week 2 in the House)

If you only watch the aired shows, any info from the Live Feeds will be Spoilers. Just Saying.

BBCan3 Recap Episode 2 (Week 1) Eviction The Game is Afoot or Maybe Abreast

FINALLY, we get to see some of the activity in the house besides the boring intros and the nasty nomination twist that Arisa dropped on the houseguests. You might say the game is now afoot. But what you should really be saying is - the game is now abreast...

Risha is still in the bathroom trying to compose herself. She has a plan. Flirt her way to safety. She also has a secret weapon. She leaves the bathroom. Here she finds her first victim...Kevin. She has game, but it's waaay too obvious. She's overworking it. Shameless hussy!

Oh look, it's Zankie. Ummn, Kevnny???

The living conditions are still like a combination of Gilligan's Island and Survivor. The only convenience is the bathroom and a massive supply of clean towels which they can use for blankets and pillows. Johnny is crushing on Kevin and manages to find his sleeping spot right next to him. Kevin either doesn't mind or is just willing to work it. It's kind of like a Zankie thing, but way less annoying. But I think Johnny is getting way more out of this relationship than Kevin.

The first morning in the house will not be a day of leisure. Arisa calls them all to order. Here's the deal. If they want their stuff back, they are going to have to work hard for it. In the backyard are 5 huge red balloons. Inside each is one number, and the five numbers form an access code for the vault. I am getting the feeling this vault will be the source for a lot of grief this year. The catch is the houseguests must hold the balloon off the ground for 5 hours.

As the task gets underway, Sindy Withaness decides she should jump into the game. I don't mean the

balloon game. No, I mean HER game. She rambles over to Pilar, who is busy holding up one of the balloons, and starts to comfort the poor girl who is up for eviction. Pilar falls for it, calling Sindy Withaness a nice girl. NO SHE'S NOT PILAR! Geesh. While this is going on, Kevin is called to the Diary Room. There on the table is 1,000 bucks and an offer to sabotage the game: break the balloon, and the money is his. Kevin is torn, but not for long. The idea of this being an entertaining stunt for Canada (and winning our hearts) outweighs the threat of being discovered. He trusts his ability to lie and bluff. He's going for it. He heads to the kitchen where, for some strange reason he finds a selection of random earrings on the counter. He takes a blue one and embeds it in a towel. Hey, the way I figure it, if he was outed, he could have always blamed the girls for leaving their stuff around and one got stuck in his towel. He can't fail.

Zordan, Master of the Universe

He waits for just the right moment. The deed is done, the balloon pops and he thinks he's gotten away with it. The task continues and the last balloon is finally popped by Johnny.

Johnny: I killed a balloon with a spear.

Oh, oh. Seems Sarah is highly suspicious and talks to Britnee about her belief in karma, stuff and things. And those things were mostly about balloons and a possible saboteur in the house. She has already noticed some mischief and pegs Kevin as the nasty scoundrel who popped the balloon. Meanwhile, Zach and Jordan are in the storage room where they make a fast Final Two alliance with each other. Seems they both scoped each other out when they entered the house and saw each other as fellow BB superfans.

Hot tub Badonk-a-donks. I hate floaters in Big Brother.

Elsewhere, Risha must have suddenly realized that Eviction Day is drawing near and decides to shift her campaigning into high gear. It's time to release her secret weapon. Actually weapons, you know...with an S. But where can she...oh wait! There's a hot tub in this house! And wouldn't you know it? Kevin, Bobby and some girl are out there. Risha unleashes The Bouncing Bettys much to the shock of Kevin and Bobby. Best line of the episode goes to Kevin, "I've seen enough over-inflated balloons today." Soon, Godfrey and some other girl show up. Risha must have thought she had this vote in the bag.

The houseguests must recombine the 5 digits (1,2,6,8 and 9) to open the vault. Johnny is delegated to

No measily access code can defeat the Mighty Zordan.

lead the attempt. He tries, again and again, only to be flashed with "Access Denied" on the screen. Just when he is at his wit's end, Kevin relieves his tension with a backrub. Johnny is immediately rejuvenated. Miss Sindy Withaness says they've been at it for 30 hours and she needs her bed. After all, beauty queens never sleep on floors. Sounds like this one could feel a pea at the bottom of 18 mattresses. Better get The Brick on that. Just when things start to get ridiculous, and everyone is down-hearted, Zach and Jordan (shall we call them Zordan???) give the code a try. Bingo,,,Access Granted. But Big Brother has one more trick to throw at them. There is a diagram showing where all the furniture goes and if they get it all moved into position correctly - in 45 minutes, they will get dinner. Don't worry, they beat the clock and get fed.

Time for the Eviction Vote and Arisa breaks the bad news to the houseguests. They will not be voting to evict. It was Canada's Vote all along. Risha looks like she could kill a puppy. All that hard work her girls did for a week, and for what? She knows this just isn't going to end well. Arisa tells Risha and Pilar to go to the vault. There they find two keys and must find their lock boxes, retrieve the envelope and return to the living room. For some reason, Pilar can't find hers, which it right beside Risha's and clearly labelled - even after Arisa tells her where to go. They return to their spaces and are told to open the envelopes.

Pilar is safe and Risha is evicted. Seems her over-inflated balloons couldn't keep her afloat, after all. Her only regret, she later tells Arisa, is she wore her high heels into the house. It made her look imposing. Got news for ya Risha, when you're short, a 6'1" woman in flats, (and with boobs like those) is kind of terrifying. Period. The heels had little to do with it.

Oh, but don't worry, fans of Risha - there is a way for Risha and her boobs to get back in the game. Risha will be put back into sequester where she will be joined by 4 other evictees. Arisa clearly said the first five evictees will face a difficult challenge to re-enter the house. Okay, whenever I hear the words "First Five" I get kind of nervous.

Bobby: I don't need no stinking rope.

The first HoH competition is called Wall to Wall. The task at hand is a test of endurance: they must stay up on a strip of plexiglass (so thin, you can't even call it a ledge) with the assistance of a rope that is height adjusted for each houseguest. This sounds like a job for Superman a rock-climber. And why do I get the feeling these guys are in for an added bonus like a blast of cold water? The catch is the first 8 out will compete in the Have-Not comp. Oh, this shit just got real.

The next episode is Sunday at 7 PM Eastern, covering the completion of the HoH comp and the first real nomination ceremony.

Big Brother Canada 3 Week 1 Eviction: Pilar or Risha?

The fans are in control of the first eviction this year. With no Live Feeds until after tonight's show, we have been asked to vote based on first impressions alone. All we have to go by is the one hour premiere episode, brief written bios and videos shot while the houseguests were in sequester.

The houseguests have been in that house since last Thursday, and have already formed friendships, sized up the competition and planted seeds for alliances to form. They think THEY are voting tonight, based on those alliances. When you watch tonight, look for any houseguests who may have anticipated this twist.

Then there are the nominees themselves. Pilar and Risha think they have been campaigning with their fellow houseguests, when in reality they haven't been able to campaign with anyone. Even if they suspected it was "Canada's Vote", playing it up to the camera would have fallen on deaf ears.

So, how did the fans vote?

Pilar is a pretty, young athletic girl. I think her introductory video was badly edited to emphasize her supposed Talla-like qualities. She seemingly laughed for no apparent reason. Other than that, there was practically no further information on her. She was given little airtime in the premiere episode, but what we DID see was nothing like the girl who was promised to us. She seemed quiet and reserved. Sindy with an S said she nominated her because Pilar didn't talk to her. After she was named as the replacement nominee, she went to the group for consolation. There is no doubt that Pilar is a bright, perky and attractive young girl, from a great family and has a lot of supporters. I just have the feeling that we have seen enough young 20-somethings, and the superfans out there recognize this.

Risha came across as mature, with more of a backstory, and with incredible sex appeal. Sure she's a cougar but at least she went in the house with a strategy in mind. She came across exactly like we expected from her bio and video. After the PoV Ceremony, she immediately separated from the group and went up to the bathroom to be alone. Normally this would have been a bad thing to do, but it would have pulled on the heartstrings of many a fan out there. I think the fans want to see more diversity in the houseguests, and will want to see the mix that a middle aged woman with game can add to the cast.

The major thing to consider with the Canada Vote is fan voting influence, and casual fan vs. superfan. Voting influence is the factor that your vote has and depends on the points you have earned on the official site. The casual fan only signed up after the premiere and have earned few points. At best, they have a 2X influence. The superfans signed up as soon as the official site relaunched - well over a week ago and have already reached 5X the influence (maybe more?). Oh, and one more thing...if you think it's just Canada voting, you are sadly mistaken.

There has been a lot of campaigning on social media, mostly Twitter for both Pilar and Risha. The apparent winner of this is the Save Risha camp. By apparent, I have to consider the fact that these numbers and Twitter's "Reach" stats has been seriously skewed by a few ardent fans who have been tweeting relentlessly, and some well known alumni.

My prediction?

I am leaning toward Pilar to be walking out of the door to meet Arisa and be the first guest on Side Show. But who really knows? No Live Feeds really suck.

Leave your thoughts in a comment...come on, don't be shy. I'm nice, really.

Big Brother Canada 3 Premiere Recap: Time and Space and Doctor Who

Season 3 of Big Brother Canada finally arrived - with a BANG. The new house looked even better than all the promo photos and house tours. Of course there was a lot of added special effects and CGI manipulations added in to make us go oooh and awww. We were even treated to an holographic Arisa, who explained the decor with the phrase "Represents Time and Space like never before". Oh Arisa...you know that's not true. Unless the house is really the Tardis, and Doctor Who is inside...oh wait. There IS a doctor in the house.

I guess The Doctor is really a woman.

I will definitely need to re-evaluate my pre-season picks. As far as the promised HUGE twists go...all the rumours proved true for a change.

Twist #1:
NO food, NO furniture, NO personal belongings. Kind of like Gilligan's Island. The main bedroom, the HoH bedroom, the backyard - all in lockdown. The houseguests will have to earn it all back. They did not look pleased when they found out.

The super-duper power rises from the floor.

Twist #2:
The Have-Not room, a cross between a ship's brig and a dungeon, ALSO holds a SUPER POWER, that when unleashed, will "bring the house down." We don't know what it is, but I think it's the ultra twist sponsored by....KFC. And is this the twist thats never been done before, ever, in any BB version?

Arisa finished the high tech introduction saying this year, the houseguests will learn who's boss. Good. No more accidental eating of candy when you're a Have-Not. The fans, the audience, went wild with excitement especially Arlie, Jon and Neda.

Twist #3:
All the houseguests are the HoH this week. They each had to go to the Diary Room and name two people for nominees for eviction. The two who received the most votes went on the block: Risha and Sindy with an S. She must have pissed off a lot of people right off the bat with that schtick. This is the vote:

Vote Tally:
Sindy 8
Risha 5
Pilar 4
Bruno 4
Bobby 2
Godfrey 2
Sarah 2
Zach 2
Ashleigh 1
Kevin 1
Naeha 1
Britnee 0
Graig 0
Johnny 0
Jordan 0
Willow 0

Yep, it looks like Sindy with an S really ticked off a lot of Houseguests. She got a strong reaction in the Twitter-verse too. The best line to date came from Evel Dick (of course) who said he took a &#!+ with an S. I wonder if it was painfully annoying and it told him it was pretty?

Seriously, Miss Sindy Withaness has to go. I remember saying the same thing with Sabrina last year. Crap, let's hope this one doesn't become this year's pawn. Love her or hate her, at least Sabrina was entertaining. For me, she was the one I loved to hate. I'm not getting the same feelings for Sindy...at all. She would be the one I hate to hate.

The show moved very quickly and jumped right into the PoV Challenge. The players were Risha,

Kevin...making Sindy with an S look good.

Bobby, Kevin, Sindy with an S, Zach and Naeha. Dressed in pseudo-steampunk/bondage gear, they had to solve a puzzle: retrieve puzzle pieces one at a time by crawling over a net; then randomly enter a 3 digit code to open a safe for the last piece. Lets just say, these people were either trying to throw the comp or they really suck at this, because Sindy with an S won, narrowly beating out Kevin...Godamnit. I am sure she THINKS she's good at this. The odd thing - Kevin looked like he was really trying. He conquered the first part and even knew there were only 64 possible combinations for the lock. Did it seem to you that he slowed down a bit here? Looking around a bit too much? Was this the start of his "elevating comp throwing to an art"?

The new PoV necklace, a heavy one to bare.

Anyway, Sindy with an S saves herself and names Pilar as the replacement nominee. Her reason? Pilar didn't hug her during the introductions. Translation...Pilar didn't praise the ground Sindy with an S walked on. Canada votes to evict...based solely on first impressions. With no Live Feeds until after the first eviction on Wednesday, I call this a curve ball for the fans. Tsk, Tsk. The best part is, the house doesn't know it's the fans who are voting. It should lead to some interesting interactions, bonding and a few preliminary alliances.

Got to wonder what is going on in that house.

Oh and don't be too worried about the lack of food, furniture and personal belongings. Take a close look at the Diary Room confessions when and if you re-watch the premiere. Notice anything with Jordan in that bit at the end? Yep he's wearing different clothes. I really don't think this twist will go far. One...Big Brother can't let them starve in there. Two...The Brick is the major sponsor....furnishings will arrive shortly, I am sure.

Make sure to vote. There are huge movements afoot on Twitter to #saverisha and #savepilar. As I write this, the Save-Rishers are 525 and on the rise, while the Save-Pilarers are 492 and have bottomed out. Not trying to influence you, just stating the facts. Of course, this could change before the 24 hour cut-off for the vote.

Big Brother 3 Live Feeds - When Do They Start? + Streaming News for Tonight's Premiere

Arisa and her darn teases.

The official word (or maybe official tease) via Arisa Cox's Instagram is Live Feeds apparently will not start up until after Wednesday's first eviction - leading to a wave of complaints and rumours galore. Rumours upon rumours.

The main point is: what IS it they don't want us to see? Has there already been an eviction and that person will be missing from the LFs? And...are there actually two evictions this week, since there are 16 houseguests (one more than last year)? And all of this just compounds some of the previous rumours that 2 people were nominated by consensus shortly after they entered the house, or contradicts another that Canada will vote for the eviction. The possibilities are endless. And I think it all comes down to that damn HUGE TWIST they have been teasing us with. Don't forget, After Dark is also not slated to start up until Wednesday overnight (3 AM Thursday), and I am pretty sure this also differs from last year.

Something is up and it's driving me crazy!!!

And...IN OTHER NEWS: 

GLOBAL HAS DROPPED IT'S LIVE TV SIGN-IN

FOR THE PREMIERE TONIGHT.

This means any non-Canadian only needs a good VPN to watch the Season 3 Premiere. Go to the Official Site http://www.globaltv.com/watchlive/ Monday March 23 at 8 PM EASTERN.

Oh Look...It's a Brand New House...And Rumours Galore

Now arriving on Pier 1...The Nautilus, with your Captain Arisa Cox.

Here's the first look at the new design. Let's just say it beats the shit out of a wall of a thousand birdhouses. The teases started last night. I got anxious, so I made this:

Luckily, this morning they complied. I think I nailed it. It really does look like Dr. Evil's underground lair. You have to wonder what the houseguests thought when they saw this.

The entrance is incredible. It almost dares you. Shall we???

The front doors...from the inside.

Down we go. You can see the basic layout has not changed.

But WOWWEE, now that's a  reno!!! Those are some big gear chains.

Thank God they reno-ed the Kitchen.

The houseguests receive incoming transmissions from Arisa here. Very cool.

Central Meeting/Living Room.

Backyard...unchanged except for gargantuan geer mobiles.

The hot tub. Cleaned and disinfected.

If Marsha's in here, she must be trippin right now.

The Twilight Zone hallway to the DR....Marsha, are you there? Marsha? Maybe those gears and wheels...

HoH Room. Or Captain Nemo's quarters. Take your pick, but this is where all the action will go down (nudge, nudge)

The HoH bathroom.

Good to see they reupholstered those cushions...

Engine room. Steam room? No it's the main bathroom.

Hallway into the bathroom. Don't touch the pipes.

This makes me want to sing, "Under the Sea"

The main bedroom.

And finally, there is this thing. The Vault. Let the rumours commence.

Big Brother Canada 3: One Lucky Fan Will Get to Compete Inside the New House

Arisa's such a tease...the new front doors are looking a bit steampunky.

While season three’s twists are still top secret, Canada will continue to play an integral role in the lives of the Big Brother Canada houseguests. Here are some of the details we are beginning to learn:

Registered users who log in before the March 23 series premiere are automatically granted more power, earning 1000 bonus points making their vote three times more powerful.

A special Fan Feed gives viewers camera control, allowing them to vote which room will appear on this fifth feed. I don't know the mechanics of this just yet, but I guess we will find out soon enough.

In a series first, Big Brother Canada is running a contest for fans to win a chance to enter the Big Brother Canada house this season. While in the house, and with the houseguests locked away, the lucky contest winners will compete in a custom challenge to win prizes, earning the ultimate #BBCANSuperfan bragging rights by going where no fan has gone before. 

In order to be eligible for the contest, fans need to play along online and earn points for entry. Fans who reach the Brass level will receive an automatic entry into the contest, and those who keep playing will receive one extra entry for each additional level they reach, up to a maximum of three entries – the more fans play, the better their odds are. (No, this does not make the winning fan a 17th secret HG!!!)

So, DON'T WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE PREMIERE... go to https://bigbrothercanada.globaltv.com/ NOW and create your account. Go now. GO. 

Oh. You're still here? Well you may want to set your timers for The Morning Show Friday March 20 because that is when we get our first look inside the new house. The suspense is killing us all. They have been incredibly tight-lipped on this one. Last year's house - which was a completely new set, was leaked online weeks (or was it months?) before the premiere.

AND, if you are playing the game, you can check my weekly standings board before you set your predictions in...I will have spoilers from the live feeds.

Big Brother Canada 3 Houseguests...The New Batch!!!

Who the hell IS this???

Here we go, people. ET Canada has announced the season 3 contenders. Of course, these cast photoshoots CAN be very deceiving. It's like that old saying, you can't judge a book from it's cover. Remember Jon Pardy's bio pic? Completely out of character. He looked like a math nerd. Geesh.

We just may be in for Superfanaramafest '15.

Just like last year, I am going to give it my best shot and give my first impressions and character rating. I will do preliminary survivability and predictions, but I reserve final judgement until I see the entire cast. Looking back over the stuff I wrote for last year's cast, I think I did pretty well.

The official cast reveal means these people have been sequestered, and have entered the house today...Thursday March 19... MOVE-IN DAY!!! As I write this, they are probably freaking out with excitement, and getting right to work sizing up the competition and jostling for position. Like race horses out of the gate. The latest commercial promises twists right from day 1. They will soon be playing for their first comp...HOH. Yep. Or, more appropriately, not playing for the HOH. Nobody wants that. Well, except Paul last year. Now THAT was hilarious. Not just for the fact that he wanted it. Or the fact that he thought he needed to. No. It's because of his social game. He ran his HOH like Brando in Apocalypse Now....laying in his bed and granting audiences.

Anyways, enough of the fluff. Hey here's something! There will be 16 Houseguests!!! This tells me something...I think it's part of some new damn twist. The 10 week time frame just doesn't fit. So I guess we should, ummn, what is that? Oh yeah...expect the unexpected. I almost forgot.

Britnee Blair
25 
Calgary, Alberta (currently N.Y.C)
Model
Strategy: Britnee's strategy depends on aligning herself in a showmance, which she prefers. But a fauxmance will do just fine. She also thinks she can win over the girls because she knows how to handle whiners, based on her experience as a model in NYC. Give them sympathy, boost their ego, and they'll be your friend.
BBCan Idols: Gary, Emmett and Jillian. She goes gaga over Emmett...or large, muscular guys in flannel and a cowboy hat.
My Impression: Don't let the high maintenance look in her bio pic fool you. In her video. she was quite comfortable wearing flannel. She likes flannel, I guess. She says she's in it to win it - which is possible, but something tells me she would be satisfied with the exposure. She may garner fans who see her as a role model for plus size women.
Character Rating: Marilyn Monroe. She's the girl next door who left home for fame and fortune.
Survivability/Predictions: Medium

Bobby Hlad
27
Oakville, Ontario
Rock Climbing Instructor
Strategy: He has strategies planned out in his head, but knows they will all change once he gets in the house. He wants to be the likeable friendly guy that everybody wants to stick around. It's not in his mindset to physically throw a challenge. A memory task won't be a problem though. And yes, he is open to developing a showmance, fauxmance, bromance or any-kind-of-mance.
BBCan Idols: Emmett and Jon (no surprise there) and he is secretly in love with Jillian. Maybe he should form an alliance with Britnee to break up the happy couple.
My Impression: He says he only started watching the franchise with BBUS9, but doesn't remember the trivia like a superfan. Yet, he is going to be ADHD with the excitement of being in the house with 15 other people. Something's not adding up here because he must have studied the game enough to recognize that any planned strategies change once you enter the house. On top of that...he looks and reads like the love child of Jon and Emmett.
Character Rating: Loveable Party Dude.
Survivability/Predictions: Medium to high. I think he may be at risk of the cast will recognizing the Emmett/Jon qualities, but I think he may be just too much fun to vote out.

Zack Oleynik
22
Regina, Saskatchewan
University Student
Strategy: He wants to align himself in a close, 4-person group. He will build his social game first, then bring physicality into play down the road. He wants a showmance or a bromance, and knows that his height (6'4") will put a huge target on his back and give him problems with endurance challenges.
BBCan Idols: He likes Jon, has a crush on Jillian. Oh great, another one.
My Impression: I don't know if I have one. This guy seems like a standard, cookie-cutter houseguest. In other words - yawn - what was I saying??? Oh oh. Yeah it seems Zach  trolled Peter Brown on Twitter. This was during Season 1 - two years ago. It was so nasty that Peter recognized this guy when he was announced today. So you can look for a nasty episode of Side Show when this guy is evicted.
Character Rating: Weasel
Survivability/Predictions: Medium...if he aligns himself with someone quick. Otherwise, yeah his stature and ego are a problem.

Sarah Hanlon
27
Toronto, Ontario
Hemployee at a Vapour Lounge
Strategy: She says she has too many strategies to list. Here's what she foresees happening: the cool kids will take over the house. The outsiders will tire of all the bossiness. She will then stage a coup and become Queen of the Misfits. That's her "title", not mine. She fears physical challenges. Of course she does...just look at her.
BBCan Idols: Gary, for remaining true to himself.
My Impressions: Hippy? I balk at that. No hippy-type would be caught dead in a dress from Le Chateau like that, even if you wear a headband. Her bio is a terrible read, but she calls herself a superfan in her video. Not too sure about that. She wants the first HOH, preferring to work around the target it puts on her back.
Character Rating: Poser
Survivability/Predictions: Medium to high. At this point she looks like this season's Anick and comes off more like BBUS16  Christine.

Ashleigh Wood
21
Calgary, Alberta
Unemployed
Strategy: Ashleigh wants to focus on her social game: be kind, nice and not win the first HOH. She wants to fly under the radar and form an alliance with people she wouldn't normally hang with...you know: nerds, quiet types. She has been trying to exercise her long term memory by doing puzzles (geesh). Another strategy is aiming to keep her mouth closed and her opinions to herself.
BBCan Idols: Jon - not because he won all that money, but because he's funny.
My Impression: Oh this one is trouble. I can see her getting into it with Britnee. Not good. But, I also see a Christine/Nicole kind of thing happening with her and Sarah. Meh.
Character Rating: Princess. And I don't mean Disney.
Survivability/Predictions: Low. Medium if she can lasso in a showmance quickly.

Jordan Parhar
21
Cloverdale, British Columbia
University Student
Strategy:  This one considers himself a superfan. He's been watching since BBUS2. Here we go. He wants to make friends and gain trust by wearing his McLovin, while deep inside he's really Frank Underwood.
BBCan Idols: Neda, because she is a superfan like himself. Also Peter - who he considers talked the talk, but couldn't walk the walk. He fears no challenges and thinks he is smarter than most other people he meets.
My Impression: Well, talk about being full of himself. Wow. He has thrown the gauntlet down. Right at Peter's feet. I can't wait for the episode of Side Show after this guy gets eliminated.
Character Rating:  Mr. Know-it-All Brown Noser. Maybe I will call him Parhar-dee-har-har-har just for laughs.
Survivability/Predictions: Medium. I think he is going to annoy the crap out of everyone. But let's see if he's smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

Bruno Ieto
31 
Ottawa, Ontario
Construction Worker
Strategy: It's not that he doesn't have a strategy, it's just that he wants to get to know his surroundings first, get to know his fellow houseguests, then adapt. Oh yeah then there's something about the houseguests are part of his toolbox. I think I know what he means, I just hope he doesn't slip and call one of them a tool. He wants to see who he connects with, and trust his gut. He believes he is stronger with physical challenges. He has one drawback...he is colour blind. He also knows he will have to keep his mouth shut, let things play out when there is bullying or fighting - even though it is not in his nature.
BBCan Idols: He has no idol from the alum, but he liked the humour of Paul and Adel.
My Impressions: Although he enjoyed Paul's humour, he knows the guy was pretty much the worst player in the history of the game. So he has that much going for him. The rest is a bit of a mystery, but he has a real trusting face, so that could help him a bit. He is married with 2 kids, and seems a little level headed - just like Mumzy.
Character Rating: Mr. Mumzy
Survivability: Low to Medium, but he will probably become a fan favourite.

Willow MacDonald
26
Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia
Sales and Marketing Rep
Strategy: She wants to make the others believe she has no strategy and is just flying by the seat of her pants. Meanwhile, she will be analyzing every person and their moves. She wants to align with intelligent, calm and cool people. She fears mental challenges, is horrible at puzzles and is mildly dyslexic. One more thing. She calls herself a superfan because she has been watching the show since she was 16 (her video says since she was 10).
BBCan Idols:  Jillian...something about how hard it is to be a woman in the house, especially when there is a dominant male alliance.
My Impressions:  I am not too sure about this one. It's like she's hiding her true nature. A bit like Heather whose bio suggested she was a ditz, then proved she had brains. Her video suggests she knows the game, BUT she seems to stress she'll be digging the experience of it more. She suggestively says she's in it for the "whole Shaban".
Character Rating:  Miss Shaban-ging It
Survivability:  Low to Medium

Naeha Sareen
29
Toronto, Ontario
Chiropractor, Entrepreneur
Strategy: Ummn. What the frig? She answers this question  by talking about how good she will do in mental challenges...because she is intelligent. But her memory is bad. She also says when she watches the show, she gets the answers before the houseguests. No, I didn't type that incorrectly. Like I said...WTF? She fears physical challenges even though she works out. Her video suggests she is a bigger fan. She wants to be the "go to person" in the house, and says there is nothing she won't do.
BBCan Idols: Emmett and Gary from Season 1; Adel, Arlie, Heather, Jon, Kenny and Neda from Season 2. Did she leave anyone out?
My Impressions: I don't know if I have ever seen such a discrepancy between a written bio and a video interview than Naeha's. The written bio came off as Sabrina 2.0 or even Paul 2.0. It was so bad, I started to think she auditioned for the wrong show, and I had her down as the first out. The video shows a completely different Naeha who looks to be a strong, determined contender. Amazing. I think she could be the one to round up the fringe collection, not Sarah.
Character Rating: Smooth Talker.
Survivability: High

Graig Merritt
36
Pitt Meadows, British Columbia
Pro Baseball Scout/Coach/Ex-Dodgers Catcher
Strategy:  He's going into the house under an assumed personality: he is a 30 year old Costco worker. He has done his homework and even talked to a Costco Manager about wages, shift work and the like. He thinks his pro-ball career would put a huge target on his back and he is probably right. He fears mental challenges because, he says jokingly, he was a Catcher and has been conussed a lot. He does not claim to be a superfan and has only watched the show since BBCan1. He applied for last season but was in a very serious car accident.
BBCan Idols: Adel, because of his attitude and gameplay.
My Impressions: Graig's secret identity strategy is exactly the same as BBUS 16 winner Derrick Levasseur - an undercover police officer who said he worked for Parks and Rec. Just one problem...a ballplayer LOOKS LIKE a ballplayer. I get the feeling he will become a fan favourite.
Character Rating: Undercover Cop
Survivability:  High if he can keep up the charade and deflect any suspicions to other houseguests. Remember, everyone thought Derrick was foolish for playing his strategy that way, and look where it got him.

Godfrey Mangwiza
22
Toronto, Ontario
Psychology Student
Strategy:  Basically, he wants to use the power of distraction by planting rumours to make the others paranoid and fight among themselves. Meanwhile, he will fly under the radar. He plans to hide the fact that he is s Psych student by saying he is a high school dropout. One part of his plan is to lie, just like Adel did and say that he was granted special powers by Canada. He has brains and brawn, but plans on using neither to win challenges. He also wants to lie about his real life - substituting "Stripper" for "Psychology Student".
BBCan Idols: Emmett
My Impressions:  I really hope this guy doesn't try the Adel Special Power Trick. It just won't go over well. And I just can't see it fooling anyone. It was funny at first when Adel did it, became awkward and if I remember correctly, people (Jon and Neda) questioned it at the time. On the flip side, I like the fact he knows he doesn't have to win challenges to get ahead in the game - you only need to when it's absolutely necessary.
Character Rating: The guy who tries too hard.
Survivability: Medium, because I think his antics will be discovered. But, like Bruno or last season's Adel, he will become a fan favourite for sure. We will be mesmerized on the feeds. Remember that extra 5th camera we get to vote on? It's name will be Godfrey.

Sindy Nguyen
25
Huntsville, Ontario
Assistant Cruise Director/Pageant Queen
Strategy: Sindy admits to not having much of a strategy and is just going to wing it, basically. She also admits to "not watching the show much." She is not going to tell anyone she is a cruise director - just going to identify herself as a pageant queen. I don't know why. Does she think being a cruise director will make her seems to smart? She will find endurance challenges hard.
BBCan Idols: She doesn't have one, but she likes Heather and Gary. And apparently herself.
My Impressions: She is going to annoy everyone in the house. How can I tell? In the section asking who her BBCan idols were, she turned it back onto herself and detailed how her last boyfriend was a stripper...a la Channing Tatum.
Character Rating: Love Boat
Survivability: Is there a level below "Low"??? She has to be the first out or there is no justice in the world. The only way she can possibly survive, is to get into a showmance as soon as she enters the house. And I mean just like The First Five making their alliance in the first 5 minutes.

Johnny Colatriglio
26
Winnipeg, Manitoba
IT Project Manager
Strategy: He knows better than to go into any Big Brother house with a preconceived plan. But there is a bigger picture to look at. He will get to know people, size them up, and make sure he doesn't rub anyone the wrong way. He says he will be good at mental challenges and he's been training for the physical ones. He is highly competitive.
BBCan Idols: Neda. Enough said.
My Impressions: He calls himself not just a superfan but a huge superfan. How big? He left his 8 month old puppy Veto at home. A hard thing to do during a puppy's informative years, don't you think?
Character Rating: Veto Corleone
Survivability: High, if he can lay low and pretend he is not a superfan.

Pilar Nemer
22
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Student
Strategy: She doesn't know. She's just going in the house and go with the flow. The good thing is she has 9 siblings, which has prepared her to battle. Nine siblings? I'd say that would have prepared her for just about everything!
BBCan Idols: Neda - because she is competitive like her, and Talla - because she is goofy, like her.
My Impressions: Pilar's written bio came off better than her interview video where she was portrayed as totally clueless. A complete scatterbrain. I blame the editing which pieced together laughs that seemingly came out of nowhere. It could be they are trying just a little too hard to make her out to be the next Talla. Remember Talla just screaming for the sake of screaming? Yeah, like that.
Character Rating: Clueless???
Survivability: I am not sure about this one. But for now I am going to say Low. Pilar is definitely one I will have to see on the show and live feeds to see how she does. I'm confused. If she can tone it down for the first week, she seems likeable enough to win a few allies over.

Kevin Martin
22
Grand Prairie, Alberta
Professional Poker Player
Strategy: Kevin's strategy is to relax when the others go crazy. It's a marathon and you don't want to play your hand too soon after all. The others will get themselves worked up and totally destroy their game doing so. He is not planning on winning HoH EVER. In fact, he plans on elevating game-throwing to an art form. That sounds like game on, Arlie. Game on. Because of this, he fears no mental or physical challenges. But he does fear a boring challenge that he can't throw without it being obvious.
BBCan Idols: Arlie, of course.
My Impressions: I think Kevin will succeed where Arlie failed. Don't forget that Arlie was totally screwed within the "first five minutes" when he was suckered into that alliance. Arlie was the master of throwing comps (always remember the potatoes) but he could also win them if he had to. Yes, you can get by without winning anything even in the finale BUT you have to be able to convince the jury you had the winning hand all along.
Character Rating: Hold...Hold...HOLD! <Think Braveheart>
Survivability: High.

Patricia "Risha" Denner
41
Toronto, Ontario
Waitress
Strategy: Risha's strategy is to play the big sister to everyone in the house. She knows what not to do from watching the mistakes of those that came before and is aware that you have to adjust your game as you go. She fears no challenges, except anything that involves height, which she is quick to point out is ironic due to her 6'1" stature.
BBCan Idols: Emmett - classy, a good person and above all, he knew how to listen.
My Impressions: What do you THINK my impressions are of Risha? Well, you're wrong. I think she is going to take that big sister strategy and make it work much like Sarah Miller and her role as Mumzy. Which is also kind of ironic because Mumzy is younger. I can see a younger egotistical person (like Sindy, perhaps) trying to target her. But, let's face facts here...I don't think there is a straight guy in the house who wouldn't want to keep her around for a while.
Character Rating: Jessica Rabbit (You thought I was going to say MILF, didn't you???)
Survivability: Medium...if she can pull it off.

My thoughts so far: 

I think this cast is one of the best ever...at least on paper. And we can never get so comfortable with our predictions until we've actually seen them in action.

I am starting to get the feeling that we will be seeing a guys alliance happening this year. There just seems to be something about the guys announced so far. There may even be two. Let's just hope it doesn't happen on Day 1.

Something is amiss. There are two guys - Zach and Jordan, who have criticized Peter Brown, and I think this may have something to do with Side Show. It's still on Slice, it's an hour long and they will now be interviewing evictees right after elimination. Are they counting on a confrontation or two to fill that hour?

Another thing I have noticed is there seem to be a lot of houseguests who claim to be superfans. Everyone has. They could either band together (remember: get your friend close, but your enemies closer?), OR they could create a huge chasm in the house and kill each other off. So, don't let all these claims get to you. The claim to the title of superfan is debatable. There is a huge difference between a fan and a superfan. Or perhaps, we are just looking at various levels of superfandom. I guess we will actually have to wait to see which of these claims ring true.

My Pre-Season Top Five:

My money is on Kevin, but I also like the looks of Naeha, Sarah, Bobby, and Graig (in no particular order.) Let me explain. This is, of course, based on pre-season bios and videos on the official site. I can easily see it changing once the first few episodes air and the live feeds begin. It also doesn't mean I don't personally "like" others like Bruno, Pilar, Johnny, Godfrey or Jordan. I do like them, and they will have hoards of fans. But the biggest monkey wrench to these predictions is the level of involvement in fan participation. There are so many rumours out there, and if true, all these predictions will go right out the window. And I will be up all night Monday editing my choices.

...and I have already changed my mind...I also like the looks of Jordan, but I have no idea how he can fit in the mix. Who do I drop from these five?

My Pre-Season Pick for 1st Eviction: Sindy

Once again, this is based on the info we have received pre-season. There are all kinds of red flags there which suggests she is a handful and will irritate a lot of houseguests. If she survives the first week, it's because she has started into a potential show/fauxmance or is only being pulled along for her pawn value by one or more of the superfans. Harsh, I know. But that's the impression I got.