Big Brother 10 -- First Episode Impressions

Gotta hand it to CBS/Big Brother. After several seasons of populating the cast almost exclusively with 20 or 25 year-old model wannabes with severe personality disorders, they decided to pick a cast of people old enough to remember life without the internet who actually seem sane and nice. Granted, its early. Having just watched the first episode, here are my thoughts on Big Brother 10.

The House

The house got a MUCH needed renovation, adding some creativity and set design to the bland rooms of years past. While I'm sure these will blend into the background, it is nice that they finally decided to decorate the house with something other than crap they found at K-Mart.

The Initial "Twist" -- Head of Household

Big Brother made the houseguests vote for a Head Of Household before they even went inside the house. This is another lame Big Brother twist that will prove to have no impact one way or another on what happens in the game. It would have been better to have some sort of lame competition or random chance game to choose the winner. Was anyone really shocked that the house guests picked the oldest person as their first HOH?

First Food Competition

After 7 or 8 years, Big Brother finally realized that the umpteenth variation of writing a number on a chalkboard was a boring method of competing. So they finally started getting a little creative in staging more elaborate games for the contestants to play. Tonight's upside down VW bug game was inspired, and making the house guests choose early whether to be greedy or work for the good of their team was a smart game for the first round. If I were BB, I would have let the team that finished second play it through and let the last person in THAT car win the vintage Mustang.

Julie Chen

My wife said that it looked like she was wearing a red girdle. It's good to see that after 10 years, Les Moonves' woman has yet to get implants. Personality implants, that is. I've often wondered how this woman feels to know that most people feel that the biggest asset she brings to the show is her robotic nature. I'd love to see a competition.

Thoughts on the House Guests

Big Brother has had a habit of picking casts that are populated with people in their twenties that act like they're 12 and look like they're 38 DD. In going for eye candy, they've usually managed to populate the house with people not that you love, or love to hate, but simply hate. This season looks a bit different. Much of this cast looks like they might actually be normal and stable. How did they let that happen? The cast was really too big to get much of a flavor in one episode, but herre are my thoughts.

Renny -- Oh my God. Could this woman be more annoying? The accent alone makes her the Natalie of BB10. . It's almost as though she has been planted by the Big Brother producers. Unless CBS decides to do some sort of non-physical BB power of veto centered around N'awlins, I think she's going to be the first one out the door.

Libra - This chick either wants this or she's tired of being a mom. Seems to be okay with her decision to leave, but I can't imagine how she's going to cope being away from three cute kids that long.

Michelle -- Self described tough chicks usually are among the first to annoy me in BB, but so far she hasn't shown much so far to irritate.

Steven -- Gay rodeo star? He's playing it smart by not telling too much about himself. Nice that he jumped in the car competition and allowed Memphis to win. Ups the chances that Memphis will go early.

Jesse -- He's a "natural" body builder. He looks more like a gay rodeo star . Of course, his biceps are as big as most people's thighs. What's with the Bob's Big Boy hair? Not that'd I'd say that to his face.

Memphis -- He is quick to point out he is a mixologist, not a bartender. In other words, he's a jackass with self-esteem issues. My guess is that he's an opportunist who will wind up angering pretty much everyone in the house by playing all sides of the fence.

April -- April's CBS biography says she's 30, but looking at her eyes and her face, it looks like they were either 30 hard years or she's a bit older than she said. She's an attractive girl, but this doesn't look like a house where boobs and blond hair are going to get you far.

Dan -- A Catholic School teacher. I'm guessing he doesn't like his job much because I imagine a season on here will have him kicked out of his school in no time. It would be nice if he'd look directly at the diary cameras. I like his chances. Big Brother must too, as they featured him much more than anyone else tonight.

Brian -- Brian and Dan look like the anti-Chilltown, two guys who want to fly under the radar but are strong enough to win the thing.

Ollie -- Conservative Christian who looks like he won't be hammering us over the head with it. Amazing. Reminds me of Forest Whittaker a bit in the face. Would be nice to see a black man go far in this game for a change.

Jerry -- How great is it that Big Brother 10 put someone in who was born before TV? I already want him to go all the way. Extra points to him for touching April's boobs. His selection for eviction was brilliant, almost guaranteeing he won't have a target on his back first thing.

Keesha -- A Hooters waitress. Now that's Big Brother casting. Hasn't made much of an impression yet. Could be one to sneak under the radar.

My early prediction about who will make it to the final five: April, Dan, Brian, Jerry and Libra.