'Big Brother 10' houseguests move in, select first Head of Household

Big Brother's tenth-season houseguests selected the first Head of Household before they even moved into the house and had an opportunity to communicate during last night's premiere broadcast of the CBS reality series.


Big Brother 10's debut began with the 13 houseguests --  who were all strangers, the first time that has happened since Big Brother's Summer 2002 third season -- assembling on the steps of the house.  Big Brother host Julie Chen then informed them that for the first time, they would be voting for the first HoH on "appearances and gut instinct" only. 

Unable to vote for themselves, each houseguest cast his or her HoH vote and Julie revealed that the results would be kept a secret for the time being.

The doors to the Big Brother 10 house then opened and the first group of houseguests -- Renny Martyn, a married 53-year-old hair salon owner from Metairie, LA; Dan Gheesling, a single 24-year-old Catholic high school teacher from Dearborn, MI; Angie Swindell, a single 29-year-old pharmaceutical sales representative from Orlando, FL; Jessie Godderz, a single 22-year-old bodybuilder from Huntington Beach, CA; and April Dowling, a single 30-year-old finance manager with obsessive-compulsive behaviors from Higley, AZ -- moved in.

They were followed by the second group, which consisted of Libra Thompson, a married 31-year-old human resources representative and mother of three from Spring, TX; Brian Hart, a single 27-year-old telecommunication account manager from San Francisco, CA; Keesha Smith, a single 29-year-old Hooters waitress from Burbank, CA; and Robert "Memphis" Garrett, a single 25-year-old mixologist and party planner from Los Angeles, CA.


The last four houseguests to move in were Steven Daigle, a single 35-year-old geographic consultant and gay rodeo competitor from Dallas, TX; Jerry MacDonald, a married 75-year-old former Marine and retired marketing executive from Magnolia, TX; Michelle Costa, a single 28-year-old real estate agent from Cumberland, RI; and Bryan Ollie, a single 27-year-old marketing sales representative from Bloomington, MN.

Once inside the houseguests began to introduce themselves to each other, with Jerry differentiating himself due to his age and Renny doing the same with her mouth, as a few of the houseguests found her to be loud.

The houseguests were then instructed to move to the backyard for Big Brother 10's first competition.  The houseguests were told to split into two teams, and since there was an odd number of them, somebody would have to sit out.  Jessie nominated himself because he didn't want his physique to be too imposing too early in the competition.

The move backfired as Julie revealed that the houseguests were playing for their choice of one of two mint-condition classic cars -- a 1966 Mustang or a 1969 Camaro. 

"It's one of the most boneheaded things in Big Brother history," commented Memphis about Jessie's decision.


Titled "Buggin' Out," each team had to work to get everyone on their respective teams up and into their bug and then pull themselves along a pulley to the other end of their "road." Each time a team reaches one end of the road someone would have to jump out and grab a can of gas. They had to then go to the other side of the road to deposit the gas, but once the houseguest exits, they were out of competition for the prize.

The first bug to reach the finish line with a single houseguest would win. In addition, the winning team would be able to eat food for the week while the losers would be on slop.  Regardless, Jessie would be able to eat food.

The Red Team consisted of Renny, Michelle, Angie, Dan, Steven and Memphis; while the White Team consisted of Libra, Keesha, Jerry, April, Brian and Ollie.  The Red Team jumped out to an early lead that they never relinquished, with Memphis and Steven being the final two members in the car since neither has a car.  Steven decided to concede the victory, handing Memphis his choice of a classic car.  Memphis chose the Camaro.

Back inside the house, Julie revealed that Renny had finished second in the HoH vote with a total of three.  She was narrowly edged by Jerry, who received 4 votes and became Big Brother 10's first HoH.

"Being Head of Household should give me the opportunity to have the pick of the litter as far as who I want to go all the way with," boasted Jerry.  "It's going to make it easier for me to do the things that I want to do."


Dan and Brian quickly formed an alliance with one another and discussed brining in Ollie as their third.  Dan went and explained to Ollie how the three of them should work together and have each other's backs, and Ollie agreed it was a good decision.

"I think we can ride this to the end," said Dan.

As the houseguests attempted to go to sleep that night, Renny loudly screeched and cackled about how the door to the bedroom she was in was unexpectedly locked.  Not only was the door unlocked -- meaning the shrieking was for nothing -- it also woke-up Jessie, who was not very happy.

"Renny is definitely pissing me off," he commented.

Jessie confronted Renny about her behavior while he was trying to sleep, and she basically blew him off by persistently telling him to lighten up before half-heartedly apologizing.


"I would be embarrassed if that was my son," said Renny. "He's such a baby."

Jessie and Renny's bickering didn't go unnoticed by the other houseguests, as Brian told Dan that if Jerry were to ask for nomination suggestions, he would gladly throw Jessie and Renny's names out there. 

Brian and Jerry began to talk in the HoH room and Jerry quickly got down to business by agreeing that he was willing to work with Brian.  However Jerry then suggested Memphis and Dan as his eviction nominations, and Brain showed his cards by requesting Jerry not nominate Dan.  Brian suggested Jessie and Renny as eviction targets.

Jerry mulled over the decision because he thought it made sense to eliminate the house's "conflict" while Brian saw the HoH's impending decision as the "first test of loyalty."

The nomination ceremony then commenced, and Jerry put Jessie and Renny on the block.


"I think that my nominations are extremely safe and that those two will self destruct," commented Jerry in the Diary Room.  "I'm proving that I can play the game, I can make decisions and I am here to stay."

"These nominations were a large victory for Brain," said Brian, speaking in the third-person.  "It shows me I can trust Jerry.  I'm definitely pulling the strings right now."

Big Brother 10's next episode will air Tuesday at 9PM ET/PT on CBS, with the houseguests competing in the first Power of Veto competition.  Then on Wednesday at 8PM ET/PT, CBS will air Big Brother 10's first live eviction.






About The Author: Christopher Rocchio