Will Jesse also have the brains to match his brawn in order to win Big Brother?

    A gay cowboy.  A natural bodybuilder. A Hooters waitress. A right-wing schoolteacher. A liberal mom. A 75 year old great-grandfather. An owner of a beauty salon. These are just a few of the 13 new house guests that will participate in CBS' Big Brother 10 debuting on July 13. After enduring an unpleasant and rushed mid-season winter version of Big Brother we're hoping that this new season makes up for it. The signs are good (at least we think) that this will steer this series back on track.

 First of all Big Brother 10 seems to be returning to basics. The 13 are all strangers to each other. No relatives, no secret romantic pasts, no previous relationships at all. No overt attempts to pair any of the guests romantically. The theme of this season is "Opposites" meaning that they've cast people who seem to have conflicting values and beliefs in order to create drama. They're a diverse group from age 22 to 75 and they appear to defy convention. Some of the baggage they bring in could either hurt or help them.

 The twists, if any, haven't yet been revealed but there are a few changes this time. CBS has already announced that the live evictions will take place before a studio audience. 

 But as we've seen before, no matter what the premise, Big Brother is only as good as the house guests who enter the dwelling with cameras watching their every move and recording every conversation. As you can tell from the title of this blog entry, we already have picked our favorite----at least in terms of eye candy. We'll see how our loyalties shift as the season goes on. With that said, here are our initial impressions of the 13 house guests:

                      
                                      Sweet Jesse                                                                  Sour Dan

 Jesse Godderz, 22, bodybuilder from Huntington Beach, Calif. We just HAD to start with Jesse. He's the first bodybuilder to be on the show and he's supposedly a natural bodybuilder. We've seen him on video at Strengthnet.com and appeared on MTV. He is very dedicated to his craft. He's from the mid west so he's got a little of the wide-eyed All-American guy thing going which will probably disarm those intimidated by his body. Obviously he's our eye candy pick and he could turn out to be as nice a guy as last year's delicious Nick Starcevic. There haven't been that many drop-dead gorgeous hunks on Big Brother that have lasted so we'll see how Jesse fares.

 Steven Daigle, 35, geographic consultant from Dallas. We've seen our share of good and bad reps for the gay community in past seasons, but it looks like Steven has the potential to be our fave. In fact if it weren't for Jesse, we'd pick Steven as our fave eye candy----and he still might be if Jesse doesn't work out. Steven is from Texas with a white collar day job and also is a champion bull-rider on the gay rodeo circuit. On paper he seems smart AND athletic. In his preview video he comes off as very sweet and yet he admits he's flirtatious with the guys. We'll see how he reacts to Jesse.

                            
                                          Cowboy Steven                                                                      OCD April

 April Dowling, 30, finance manager from Higley, Ariz. She looks like she's going to get all the dumb blonde jokes and she does seems to have all the girlie traits in her resume. She's involved in sports fitness management too but all of this could turn in her favor if she's underestimated like other smart cookies from the past. Janelle, anyone? Where she might get fouled up is her admitted OCD. It might help her in some brainy challenges but it might drive her roommates crazy.

 Keesha Smith, 29, waitress from Burbank, Calif. A little darker-toned blonde who works at Hooters and so she might be objectified by the straight guys too. She's a bit more political since she's a member of PETA and she doesn't eat red meat. Like April she likes sports and it seems like these two might form an alliance since they seem to complement one another. Just a hunch. In her back story she mentions something a little naughty/sexy. We'll see how that works here.

                 
                              PETA member Keesha                                                            Despicable Dan

 Dan Gheesling, 24, high school teacher from Dearborn, Mich. Asshole. No other way to put it. In his back story he mentions being a Hillary hater and anti-Democrat (he hints that Obama supporters are dupes). He's sexist (he thinks the country isn't ready for a woman prez), he dislikes vegans, tattoos, piercings, and seems very intolerant. Too bad he's good-looking. Oh did we mention he's a teacher in an all-boys Catholic school? Great example for the youth bud. Well, guess what? In his video he comes off even MORE unlikable. Let's hope he goes quickly! We think the women may all gang up against him. Did we mention he sounds as arrogant as he looks in the pic we found?

 Libra Thompson, 31, human resources representative from Spring, Texas.  She is Dan's nightmare. A strong independent woman. Married with children including twins (one black & one white!), She was a college athlete, is very liberal and a staunch Obama supporter while living in Bushland. She describes herself as "spunky" which may or may not get her forward in the game. We love her politics and her taste in men (she listed BB8 Nick as one her guys she's attracted to!). Yep. Dan will just LOVE her.

              
                                    Obama Girl Libra                                                       Firecracker Michelle

 Michelle Costa, 28, real estate agent from Cumberland, R.I.. She's very outgoing, athletic, an animal lover. She describes herself as a "firecracker" from a large family. She speaks her mind and she'd aspire to be President if she got into politics. Do we even have to mention that she's another foil for Dan? He's going to have to keep his opinions to himself but we don't think Michelle has any intention of doing so.

 Brian Hart, 27, telecommunication account manager from San Francisco. Cute and attractive with a very diverse background. Hard to figure what's up with him. He used to be in the Air Force, was raised by strong Italian women and has "his own relationship with religion, not a formal one" (uh-oh Dan another possible nemesis!) This single straight guy sounds like someone the girls are going to flip over.

                           
                                               Brian                                                                                 Renny

 Renny Martyn, 53, hair salon owner from Metairie, La. Colorful woman who lives in New Orleans. Married for 27 years with grown children, she's not the typical mom figure. Former pro-football cheerleader and now beauty salon owner who wears wigs and outfits for all kinds of occasions. Describes herself as a socialite whole loves to show off her impersonations of Judy & Marilyn. Too bad she's a woman. She'd make a great drag queen. If she has any tattoos we have another candidate for the "We Hate Dan" club.

 Jerry MacDonald 75, retired marketing executive from Magnolia, Texas. Possibly the one with the greatest chance of winning and hence viewed as the greatest threat. This 75-year old may get voted out because of this but those who choose to evict him are going to feel like heels. That is unless he is not as likable as he sounds. He's a longtime Big Brother fan, is in great physical shape, is an ex-military guy, and has been married for over 50 years to a woman who was just diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He volunteers at an animal rescue shelter, his favorite film in the Ten Commandments, he treasures his family. It sounds like has something that every one of the house guests admires. We'll just see.

                            
                                                                               Jerry and Ollie  

 Bryan Ollie, 27, marketing sales representative from Bloomington, Minn. Son of a preacher man. Seeems to go by his last name Ollie. Not much into politics. Strong family values. Sports fan. Into gospel & hip-hop. Doesn't smoke drink or curse. Seems like a level-headed guy, not much a of boat-rocker. Again he could be one of those liked by everyone types. He appears to be the kinder, gentler version of Dan, but who knows at this point. He could be pals with Dan, unless the jerk is also a racist.

 Robert "Memphis" Garrett, 25, mixologist and party planner from Los Angeles. Lives in LA via Tennessee and Florida. Goes by Memphis Doesn't like to referred to as a bartender but hey, that's what he is. Has a girlfriend, is very outgoing and likes the same types. He has a semi-shady college past and sounds like today he'd be happy living the life seen in "Entourage". Has the potential to be a cheater or at least a flirt with the girls. He's either a very affable guy or a con-artist.

 Angie Swindell, 29, pharmaceutical sales representative from Orlando, Fla.. A Korean-American tomboy who is tattooed, a recent divorce and happy to be single again. She likes strong alpha males and guys with tattoos and yet she has a sensitive side too---she's very protective of her mentally disabled brother. Once again, a strong female that goes against Dan's view of women's role in the world.  Okay, we know we may be jumping the gun but are there ANY women here who could like Dan?

                      
                                       Memphis                                                                                 Angie

  So that's how CBS has set it all up. As we know from past seasons, nothing is very predictable at this stage.
We are giving the show another chance to redeem itself as our favorite guilty pleasure, but time will tell.