Big Brother Craze

Oh stop - you know what I mean! Mike, the quiet man who ate much meat while in the house - was nice enough to sit down and answer some questions for all of us here at Big Brother Craze! It struck me, as I emailed back and forth, that he simply is what he seemed to be - a really nice guy, with integrity and confidence. Read on - I’m sure you’ll agree!

1. How did you come to be chosen for Big Brother 8? Were you a recruit, or apply as a fan of the show - what can you tell us of the process that got you there?
I simply saw an ad on the internet for a reality show, applied for it, and next thing I knew was being called in for an interview. I found out it was for BB, and having watched the past 2 seasons of it, was interested in advancing through to being on the show.

2. What kind of strategy did you enter the house with, and would you do differently if you had the chance?
I went into the house trying to get to know everyone as best I could, and asking them lots of questions. I would pay particularly close attention and compare questions that they would more likely tell the truth on vs. ones where they were more likely to lie about. At the same time I would also study their body language. This could be used later on during the show when asking questions to determine if they were lying or not so I knew where to place my trust. I wouldn’t have done anything differently if given the chance.

3. What were you thoughts when the enemies twist was revealed? How scared were you that one of YOUR enemies would be walking down those stairs? Relieved when they weren’t? Did the knowledge of the enemies/people who knew each other change your strategy at all?
I wasn’t scared in the least bit that I would have an enemy coming down those stairs. I just don’t have people out there that I hate or hate me. The enemies twist immediately made my strategy turn to eliminating one member from each group of three enemies for fear that they would all have a common bond in the house (regardless if enemies or not at that point) and join forces against the rest.

4. After leaving the house, how much of the show did you watch? Did you watch BBAD or the feeds?
I only watch about a half dozen shows. I did watch some BBAD but no live feeds. My schedule was and still is quite busy, which didn’t allow me much time to dive into the shows.

5. One thing almost all houseguests have in common, is that they think they aren’t portrayed correctly on the network shows. How do you feel CBS portrayed you?
Poorly. Many interactions whether it be conversations, ideas, strategies, revelations, activities including dates with the girls simply wasnt aired. Unless someone is in a power postition or their decision is going to have a drastic impact in the house it wasnt aired. So I looked like a mystery man to most when in fact I wasnt in the least bit.

6. Do you think they portrayed the other houseguests fairly?
I think everyone at some point during the game was portrayed differently. Some not as severe as others.

7. Could you describe each houseguest for us as one who knows them better then we could?
Carol - sweet
Joe - loud
Nick - athletic
Kail - hearty
Dustin - aloof
Jen - optimistic
Amber - emotional
Jessica - lofty
Eric - sly
Jameka - genuine
Zach - smart
Daniele - pompous
Dick - unreserved

8. You had the unique perspective of seeing the America’s Player twist played out from outside of the house since your early eviction. What do you think of the twist, and how Eric shouldered the load of AP?
I didn’t think the twist was a huge wow factor by any means. But, I do think Eric did a good job of manipulating others during the game. There were some tasks that seemed very unchallenging though and almost handed to him.

9. Do you think AP adversely affected your game, or that of the other houseguests? How so?
I think I left early enough where it didn’t affect my game but others yes. There were basically outside influences that counteracted opinions and decisions in the house which led to manipulation of events. Face it, if there was no AP, the game would have certainly been different.

10. Had you stayed in the house longer, how do you think you would have continued to handle the notorious Evel Dick? If you had a vote at the end, would you have given it to him or Daniele?
I would have continued to handle him just the way I did prior to eviction. Him and I got along, talked, cooked, cleaned, played games. Its just his approach to cutting others down at times, which some were completely hypocritical bashes, that I felt a little demeaning and didn’t agree with. Its a game and I realize that. Its cut throat, can be hurtful and vicious. But, then there is a line for all of that, which in my opinion (and women’s rights activists, advertisers, and BB fans) was crossed. I would have always stood up for myself and not backed down. But I don’t think it would have ever gotten to that point to where I felt threatened by words. I think I would have voted for Danielle at the end.

11. As many of the first evictees over the seasons, it often seemed you never really left, because your name was brought up daily by all of the houseguests, in a variety of ways. What did you make of the way the other houseguests spoke about you after you left?
Well, most of it was in the context of them missing my cooking or cleaning or having someone so nice around the house. So it was all positive feedback except for a few comments.

12. Back to Evel Dick - you stood your ground, and stood up to him to protect your alliance with Kail, even though it meant you would be going home. The outfits cracked me up during that POV, btw, especially since you committed to each one in the face of a stoic ED. Would you do anything differently looking back on it now? Do you still feel that sacrificing yourself for Kail was the right thing to do? Why or why not?
I wouldn’t have done anything differently. Kail and myself had no alliance at that point…it was done. She had basically spilled the beans on the alliance, wasn’t very careful when talking to the people in the alliance, and gave us up very early. Nick did for that matter as well. But, Kail was trying to get Dick out the second week, along with myself and a couple others. So, in rallying for votes she was caught and the worst case scenario happened, Dick won HOH for week 3. Well Kail was obviously put up along with Jen.. I really thought it would be me and Kail. Dick made it known that he was after me, Zach, and Nick…in that order. I knew I was in trouble shortly after that week. It seemed like the rest of the house was siding with him to a certain degree. So standing up to him in the veto was for two purposes. One, giving Kail a fair shot at staying in because, after all, it was her and I who wanted to and was trying to get Dick out week 2. She unfortunately was caught. The second reason was to hopefully suade others opinions in the house of me that I’m honest and trustworthy if they were thinking differently at that point due to Dick spreading around I threw Kail under the bus and didn’t tell her I was changing my vote to Joe rather than him on week 2 (which was not the case). Well I was able to show my loyalty and possibly showed my honesty and trustworthiness to the house, but it wasn’t enough to keep me around. I wouldn’t have done this any other way otherwise it would be compromising who I am.

13. This season, more so then any other, it seems, has been rife with controversy since the finale. Many folks are screaming that it was rigged from the beginning in the Donato’s favor, other’s say that Eric had an unfair advantage with the AP twist, and still more give off a resounding “..huh?” in the face of all the naysayers and opinions - what’s YOUR take on the season in total? Do you find the editing of ED and Daniele on the network shows primed them for the win with AP’s help vs. what we feed watchers saw? Do you think Dick and Daniele could have done it WITHOUT America and AP’s interference?
I have my own opinions about the show, what went on, how it was edited and played out, but those are best kept to myself. I don’t want any of it to be taken in the context that I’m maliciously attacking, bashing, or spreading false accusations of a network due to the possibility of them coming after me. I’ll leave it at that.

14. If you had the choice and could place the crown of best player on any of the BB8 houseguests, by virtue of their strategy, gameplay, and overcoming obstacles - who would you give that title to, and why?
I don’t think any one person excelled in all three of these areas. Eric excelled in having to overcome obstacles due to him having to vote a certain way or plot certain things because that is the way America wanted it. But he didn’t really have a strategy to go off of to do so. It was brought upon by the viewing audience. Dick had an effective strategy to rip apart other players but didn’t excel in gameplay. Danielle seemed to have good gameplay but had no strategy. And these are all based off of what we saw, others who were eliminated early may have had way better gameplay, strategy, or more obstacles to overcome, but due to prevailing circumstances we never got to see it.

15. And last but not least, the question we ask all houseguests - if given the chance, would you do it again?
I’m not sure. Reality TV can be hurtful in an entertainment career due to the fact of others in the industry not taking you seriously on your approach. Reality TV can be viewed as someone trying to get their 15 minutes of fame, and hurt them in the long run of progressing forward with other things. So in the light of that, too much reality may be a bad thing. I certainly enjoyed the experience and based solely off of that I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Thanks so much for taking the time to ‘talk’ with us at Big Brother Craze! I sure appreciate it!