Thursday, September 13, 2007

Who Played the Best Big Brother Game? Ranking the Final 9 Houseguests

This season on Big Brother has all come down to Dick, Daniele and Zach, a somewhat unlikely trio to be sitting in the Final 3. With six other houseguests in the sequester house getting ready to cast their final votes next Tuesday, I thought it might be interesting to rank the gameplaying of the Final 3 and the jury members. Of course, sometimes external influences affected the way someone could play the game (Eric being America's Player, for example), so the list requires a bit of subjectivity. But, hey, a little subjectivity never stopped me before, especially not from making one of my beloved lists!

So here goes...

1. Daniele
I hate to say it, because she's so often whiny and annoying, but she's played the game like a pro -- winning competitions, strategizing, lying when she needs to, and kissing ass when it benefits her, not to mention brilliantly using her father to do a lot of her dirty work for her. Her one weakness was getting to emotionally wrapped up in Nick, but she's managed to use it as motivation, instead of having it hold her back. Definitely the best player in the game.

2. Eric
Yes, he screwed up big time by not using the veto the week Jessica was HOH, but beyond that he dealt with every twist America threw at him as best as he possibly could, and pulled off the best strategic move of the game by evicting Dustin and aligning with Dick and Daniele.

3. Dick
It seems being abusive and being a good player are not mutually exclusive. His strategy may have crossed the line way too often (see my post Is Dick the Most Hateful Reality Contestant of All Time?), but there's no denying he and Daniele were a force to be reckoned with.

4. Jessica
Her biggest strategic move was not to piss anyone off too badly, and to stay loyal to Eric, and until he guided her the wrong way (getting rid of Amber), it was working out just fine for her. Add in the fact that she won 2 HOH's over the course of 3 weeks, and you gotta give the girl some props.

5. Dustin
Dustin made one fatal flaw -- being overconfident. If he had not volunteered to put himself up on the block, he would have definitely lasted longer in the game, and with tight friendships with Amber, Jameka and Jessica, he would have had lots of support on the jury had he made it to the Final 2. Oh well.

6. Zach
Zach would probably be at the bottom of this list if he hadn't won 2 out of the past 3 HOH competitions, a veto, and been competing for the final HOH tonight. He hasn't made one effective strategic move, but emerged through a rocky few weeks no worst for the wear. He's more a survivor than a real player.

7. Jen
Sure, she self-destructed and essentially got herself kicked out of the house, but lest we forget, she won an HOH and several Veto competitions, so the girl could play. She could also lie with ease, a vastly underrated skill in the Big Brother house.

8. Jameka
Yes, she was handcuffed by not being able to compete in 5 HOH competitions, but even in the competitions she was able to compete in she never made a dent. She also had no apparent strategy, beyond staying friends with Amber and Jessica, although I do give her credit for accepting Evel Dick's deal, thinking it might take her further in the game.

9. Amber
Sorry, crying is not a strategy, and if, somehow, it was, it didn't work. Amber never won a competition and was completely delusional about her place in the house. Pathetic.

What do you think of these rankings? How would you rank the houseguests, in terms of gameplaying ability?

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6 comments:

Vagrant said...

"Sorry, crying is a not a strategy"

haha! That's gonna be my new sig line.

I hated Amber with a dark dark passion. She was weak, emotional, and useless. Whenever she was on the screen, I would do my Edward G. Robinson impression: "Where's your messiah now, see?"

Anonymous said...

Does it really matter who was the best? From what I have been reading on the live feed posts, there has been a huge amount of flagrant rule-breaking going on from the "get-go" which BB has allowed to continue throughout the show. Therefore, BB has all but fixed the results for the Donatos to be in the final 3 and probably to win. And frankly, I think Dani is a spoiled whiny brat and ED is a bully to others and a overindulgent dad to his daughter. I am not swayed by the "father / daughter" reunion gimmick. Dani treats ED like garbage and he allows it while browbeating and abusing everyone else in sight. I won't be watching BB next season, if there is a next season.

Anonymous said...

The Donato's are the worst reality tv couple ever, and if one of them is the winner of BB8, I'll never watch the show again...

Anonymous said...

Good list. I agree with your rankings 100%.

Zach's gameplay reminds me of Sandra, winner of Survivor: Pearl Islands. Her strategy was - "Hey, I'll vote however you want, as long as it's not me."

Anonymous said...

I do not want Zach to win because he lies a lot in worse ways than the Donatos ever have done. he has said he has gotten through this game based on his abilities. Ha! He has gotten this far because of Dick and Danielle. I think Dick is a bully egged on by his daughter. but Dick has always redeemed himself in my eyes because of his love for his daughter. I do not really like any of the houseguests much, but Dick and Danielle have played the best game. Zach has not. He has lied about his religious leanings to Jameka, another of the religious hypocrites who were in that house. She said she hoped Dick, if he won first or second place in the game, would go through the money and then kill himself. Not as bad as many things Dick has said, but Jameka calls herself an upright Christian. Dick has never lied about his morals. He has said he has been creppy on purpose, and I believe him. Zach is extremely creepy while painting himself as so nice. He is not even honest with himself. Zach does not deserve to win. I am hoping either Dick or Danielle wins. If Zach wins, I will probably never want BB again. Reality shows do not shape my existence, however, and whoever wins will not effect me in any way that is important.

Anonymous said...

For me this has been the first year where I have not really liked one player or group so I feel that I am being unbiased in saying that, without a doubt, the two finalists deserve to be there. I am tired of hearing how Dicks methods where unethical and Danielle whined. This is a game of competition not who was the nicest or most honest! I did not personally like Dick’s methods but I see that they obviously worked. Danielle was clearly the strongest player in the game. Just as many people hated Dr. Evil no one can argue that he was not a brilliant player. Big Brother is not a game of honor and honesty, it is a game which pits people to compete against each other in which ever fashion they choose and Dick and Danielle played the game brilliantly. They lied and exploited people just as every other winner/player of big brother before them has done. Congrates to both of them. Stop letting your personal feeling cloud your judgment of who was the strongest player this year.