Shocker? Elissa's MVP Twist

So this week's MVP nominee was just revealed to the houseguests on the live feeds, and it's:

MVP!

So now America is all:

Could you repeat those instructions?

Congrats, Topaz - it's not just you anymore!

...Just kidding. The internet is starting to speculate that fans mistakenly voted their favorite for MVP, but I don't think that's the case at all (despite an earnest effort from some fans to ensure that it happened - *cough*, BBGossip, *cough*). On further reflection, I don't think it's a surprise that Elissa scored this week's MVP nomination from America, and I don't think America Topazed us, either. 

Think about it for a second. Elissa, to borrow a phrase from BBUK, is the Marmite houseguest. She's loved by a passionate brigade of Rachel fans, marching alongside people who flocked to her due to her early victimization in the house, but she's similarly loathed by Rachel haters and those who feel she's taking away from the show and the game by being a waste of space.

Did Elissa come in first in nomination voting? Of course she did not. Aaryn is the season's villain, heck, she's probably one of the most hated villains ever on the show, and the Elissa fans and others no doubt teamed up to vote their keyboards off for her. (I may have thrown a few votes her way myself, hoping for a Nerd Herd-style meltdown from Aaryn.) Kaitlin may have beaten Elissa, too - we'll never know, since Judd nominated the both of them, eliminating them from eligibility for America's vote. 

About that.

But not everyone voted for Kaitlin or Aaryn. It's quite possible that Elissa is the second or third most hated houseguest, in addition to being the most popular. BBUK fans have been dealing with this dynamic for years, with the constant tug-of-war between Vote-to-Save and Vote-to-Evict. A traditional BBUK Vote-to-Evict eliminates the controversial Marmite houseguests from contention, while the newer Channel 5 Vote-to-Save propels great characters to the end, like the Shannon twins, Spencer and Heidi, or Aaron. (They're back to a Vote-to-Evict this year, if you're counting.) 

What we're looking at here is a mid-game switcheroo, from a "Vote To Save" to a "Vote to Evict". It's very possible that Elissa scores highly in both without any fan interference. 

Her brother-in-law Brendon certainly did in season 13, where despite being widely despised by the audience, he still managed to win a vote to return to the house, when a dominant Dom-and-Cassi-loving voting audience split the vote and Brendon crept in from behind with the half-hearted support of Jeff/Jordan fans:

Brendon-39.5%

Dom-31%

Cassi-28.5%

Keith-1%

Marmite, folks. There's no production interference here, there's no manipulation, it's pure and simple voting theory. 

Elissa is loved and Elissa is hated, and with Aaryn and Kaitlin out of contention, the Elissa nomination makes perfect sense. 

So voting aside, the paranoia is already running amok in the house, and the game's about to get fun. The houseguests are scattering like mice (hamsters?) and whispering wildly about who could be the new MVP, and who to save, and how to strategize the veto competition.

I have to tip my hat to Production on this one, it's already far more fun than a fourth dreary week of Elissa as MVP. 

Around the Web: #BB15: The Countdown Begins

Haha, just kidding, the countdown has been all over Twitter since, like, Christmas. OK, so it's now the final countdown.

So, it's almost here! The houseguests have been revealed, and are already plotting and strategizing away in the house (apparently, though CBS has yet to release the traditional entry photo and cast photo to confirm.) I watched interviews on Big Brother Network mostly for their lack of Jeff.

For what it's worth, I believe that it's almost impossible to tell anything from preseason interviews. I've almost never liked the same houseguests in the house that I like in the interviews, and the real gameplayers never emerge until they're under the wire. Why? Well, because most of us don't really know ourselves that well. It's all well and good to fire "what if" questions at them, but most houseguests don't actually behave in the house the way that they think they would, and the way they act is far more important than what they think about themselves.

So, that said, I thought it would be fun to record my initial observations before they slide off my Twitter timeline, and maybe later this season we can revisit just how wrong I was.

I hear Aaryn was less likable in other interviews, so this might be a fluke. 

Andy is an early contender for my favorite, based solely on interviews. I remember on Season 12, when Matt and Ragan would frequently discuss the casting process ("You are not allowed to talk about Production") and refer to doppelgangers they'd seen in casting, people who were clearly in contention for the same spot. Andy and Ragan, without a doubt, are doppelgangers of each other - energetic gay speech professors. Can Andy manage to do what Ragan couldn't? 

(I was a fan of Ragan, for the record.)

Girl alliance! I could root for some of these apparently vapid girls if they could get their act together and get some girl power rocking in the house this year without letting it dissolve into cattiness and backbiting, as usually happens. Some of them seem to want to do that, but can they pull it off? 

Elissa Slater is, of course, Rachel Reilly's sister. I'm willing to give her a chance on her own merits, especially if she dicks around with deals less than Rachel did. Also, her eyes:

David might be great for the lulz, though. 

I'm not sure I'm going to like Howard, but I see him wanting to play hard. Also, I agree with the countless folks who have speculated about a Howard/Candice showmance - it seems like they may have been cast with that in mind. (Robyn Kass, Matchmakers Inc.)

And finally:

So, which ones will I be right about? Oh, probably approximately none of them. We'll see their true colors once we get to see them scheming and competing. Some of these people we will love, some we will loathe, most of them will surprise us. I do think we have a number of potentially interesting characters and group dynamics on tap, and 

I've got some great things planned for the site this summer, which I can't wait to reveal. And I'll be watching the premiere at the BB NYC party on Wednesday with the New York area houseguests - if anything good happens, I will report back! 

Happy summer, everyone!