Jordan Lloyd Wins Big Brother 11

After being sequestered all summer in the sometimes volatile Big Brother house, sweet Southern belle Jordan Lloyd shocked everyone by taking home the $500,000 jackpot on the season finale of Big Brother 11 on Tuesday night.

Lloyd, a 22 year old waitress from Matthews, North Carolina was deemed an underdog - especially after her  Big Brother boyfriend Jeff was evicted two weeks ago. But she outsmarted the competition  by making one of the smartest moves of the game. After a surprise final HOH win, Jordan went with her gut Tuesday night and sent the backstabbing Kevin packing. That decision may have meant the difference between a $50,000 prize and a $500,000 prize.

Part 3 of the Final Head of Household CompetitionThe Final HOH competition pitted Lloyd against 29-year-old Kevin Campbell. Campbell, who was by far the strongest competitor remaining in the house, botched a crucial tiebreaker question on a multiple choice quiz. Shockingly, Jordan was off by one number on the tiebreaker question, which was “How many total votes were cast to evict in the Big Brother house, including tiebreaker votes?” Matthews guessed 80 and Lloyd guessed 50. The correct answer was 51.

The Final TwoWith Jordan Lloyd’s Final HOH win, it was up to her to single-handedly pick who she would bring with her to the Final 2. In what could be viewed as the smartest move in the game, she chose the very-hated Natalie. Of course, Jordan had no way of knowing just how hated Natalie actually was in the jury house, but it was a great move on her part.

The Jury’s Questions
With the Final 2 locked in place, the jury, which consisted of Jessie, Lydia, Russell, Jeff, Michelle and Kevin, had the opportunity to ask the the women a few questions. The questions were pre-selected and agreed upon by the jury (very lame, in my opinion). This was probably the weakest Q & A session ever on Big Brother. In past years, each jury member was given the opportunity to ask one of their own questions to each of the final two contestants. Jordan stumbled over a few of her answers (and smartly emphasized that she laid low all season), while Natalie was a bit cocky and definitely more sure of herself.

The VotesWhen it was finally for the live vote, some of the votes came as a surprise. Here is how the voting went:

America’s Vote went to Jordan
Jessie voted for (gasp) Jordan
Lydia voted for Jordan
Russell voted for Natalie
Jeff (of course) voted for Jordan
Michelle voted for Jordan
Kevin voted for Natalie

The Winner – Jordan LloydJordan seemed stunned when it began to register that she was indeed going to be the winner of the $500,000. With three votes in her favor and Jeff’s vote not yet revealed, you could see the look of shock on her face. Natalie’s face sunk when she realized that her BFF in the house, Jessie, did not vote for her.

What Jordan will do with the money
After reuniting with her family and friends, Jordan took a minute to tell host Julie Chen that she plans to put a down payment on a house for her mom, give her aunt some money for her childrens' college,  and maybe buy herself a new car. Chen did not ask second place winner, Natalie, what she plans to do with her smaller prize of $50,000.

America’s Favorite Houseguest
One thing that came as no surprise at all was America’s pick for their favorite houseguest. Jeff walked away with that prize, which was $25,000. Oh, and he walked away with a girlfriend, too.

Sources: CBS/Big Brother11

Big Brother 9: Worst Cast Ever?

I've delayed reviewing CBS'  latest Big Brother installment, Big Brother 9: Til Death Do You Part, because I'm still scratching my head at the concept-- and at the annoying batch of houseguests.

Sixteen 16 twentysomethings (OK, one of them is 40-something), most of them complete brats, vying for the half million dollar prize. Maybe it's the first-ever "winter" edition of this show that's throwing things off. Either way, there ain't a likeable one in the bunch.

This time the BB "twist" is that the houseguests are working as partners, "couples" if you will. They're supposed to be soul mates, paired together by a series of compatability tests. Trouble is, most of them can't stand their partners!

Of course this makes for some fireworks, which is the whole point. But honestly, I feel as though I'm watching a really bad episode of Jerry Springer every time I tune in to BB9. The low blows that have already occurred, only 2 weeks into the show, are absolutely mind boggling.

One girl outed her boyfriend's racism in an attempt to get him voted out of the house instead of her. One guy called a girl a horse faced b ---h. A couple of others taunted a girl over her father's suicide death, saying she needs a noose "just like her father." There's plenty more trash talk, but not much class in this batch of houseguests.

I like to have someone to root for, an underdog, whatever. But this year there doesn't seem to be anyone, just a bunch of really bad people with really big mouths.