America's Tool
Task: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | Final Vote
As of Day 81: 27 Tasks Assigned/21 Tasks Accomplished/4 $10Ks Earned
CBS calls him "America's Player," but I (and many others) quickly came up with a variety of other names: America's Tool, Producers' Pawn, Producers' Pet....and so on. Supposedly we're an "alliance of 10 million" or something like that. But really it seems we're just a way to give a bonus to one houseguest. And not one we got to pick, like Janelle with last year's jury prize. I'm trying not be bitter, but what can I say?
After each show, we get an America's Choice question of what Eric the Tool has to do. We vote, he obeys. For every 5 tasks he completes, he gets $10K.
Update July 12th, Day 13...on tonight's show Eric's brother talked about how making Eric America's Player totally messes with his game. If he's really been a die-hard BB fan forever and had a plan, this could be driving him crazy. Just wait until the first time we assign him to do something he totally disagrees with.
Update August 8th, Day 40....According to this article , published on Reality News Online, CBS made the following statements (some of which clear things up, some of which create more confusion):
- “As of Thursday’s show (8/2), Eric has completed 7 of 9 America’s Player tasks.” --No one can quite figure out CBS's math here...according to my tally, 11 tasks had been assigned prior to the start of the 8/2 show. I do count 7 completed, assuming "I'd do that for a $" was counted.
- “Once Eric is given his America's player task, he must make a meaningful [effort] to complete the task.” --Good to know, but who defines "meaningful effort"?
- "Eric's eviction vote is always America's vote." -- Also good to know. And just leaves me wondering, if he's on the jury, do we get to cast his final vote as well?
- "Eric cannot tell the other houseguests that he is America's Player.” -- I knew this, but some people seemed confused.
Update, August 20, Day 52: After completing his "Woobie" task Tool turned to the camera and thanked us and mentioned $30K...implying that he either knows or thinks he has accomplished 15 tasks. By my count, even giving him credit for the "endless flattery to ensure his safety," we're only at 14. But if CBS is giving him credit for 7 of the first 9 (see above), I'm missing one. The only one that's debatable is climbing into Joe's bed, but they clearly called it a failure on the show. Or maybe it's just another "mystery vote."
Update, August 22, Day 54: CBS has finally posted their tally of the Tool Tasks. This has cleared up a few things. First, he got credit for the nomination task Week 2 (Jessica) b/c the question was "Who should Eric try to get nominated?" That seems a little lame, but the voting task was similar; Week 1 it was "who should he vote to evict" and subsequent weeks have been "get evicted." And the "flatter incessantly" AC was Dick, so that task was a failure. I don't think Eric even tried, which should be a violation of the "meaningful effort" clause if you ask me. Also, the current total is 14, so my count was right, I just had the two tasks I just mentioned with the wrong results. And Eric's "$30K" comment was just wrong.
Update, September 7, Day 70: I hear we do get to tell the Tool how to vote in the Final. I wonder if he'll be told to "campaign" as well.
Update, September 18, Day 81: He did have to campaign, and it's possible he swayed a vote or two, but chances are Dick would have won either way. The reveal of the Tool on the finale went pretty well. They were all surprised, but not shocked, and the editing was kind. He got to tell Jessica that everything between them was real. And Julie made a point of telling Dick that America kept him in the game Week 6.
All in all, it wasn't a bad twist in the end. I think I'm glad we didn't have to see Eric's real game. He said we would have kept Dustin and Amber and kicked Dick and Daniele. That might have been good for Eric, but bad for us.
Task #1: To whom should Eric tell a made-up, traumatic story from his past?
Options: All HG, other than Eric
America's Choice: Kail
What happened: Eric came to Kail with a story of an ex-girlfriend who had an eating disorder, and talked about what an emotional issue it was for him since he had been unable to "help" her. He claims that he gets upset listening to Daniele talk about not eating etc., and looking at how thin she is b/c it reminds him of his ex. He even manages to muster up a tear. The whole thing is pretty painful to listen to.
Watch the video (if you can stand it).
(1)Task accomplished? I guess so, though it's hard to see how he could have "failed" at this one. Hopefully the first one was a gimme and he'll have to work a little hard for his 2 grand from now on.
Task #2: Whom should Eric vote to evict?
Options: Amber or Carol.
America's Choice: Carol
What happened: Eric said "Good choice America! We vote to evict Carol."
Mysti's thoughts: Having him vote to evict Amber works out best for us either way. If Amber goes, it "stirs up the house" and if everyone else votes out Carol, but there's one vote to evict Amber, everyone will be wondering who it was and Eric might end up a target. Also, far better question choice than task #1, IMNSHO.
(2)Task accomplished? Yep
Options: All remaining HGs, other than Jen and Eric.
America's Choice: Jessica
What happened: He made a sort of half-hearted effort to get Jen to put up Jessica. But since he didn't have a good argument and she thought it was a stupid idea, he didn't push it too far.
Mysti's thoughts: Give him a challenge. Vote to get him to campaign against someone Jen won't want to nominate. The people that come to mind are Kail and Mike. They're the ones who seem safe w/Jen. But, given the way ToolTasks have gone so far, "AC" will probably be something stupid like Dick. And Eric will be more than halfway to his first $10K.
(3)Task accomplished? Nope. (He did say something about the veto on the show. I don't think Jess will be the re-nom, and in either case, I think the Tool failed.) Update 8/22: see update above....the key word here was "try" so it's a Yes.
Task #4: THE HOUSEGUESTS EACH HAVE THEIR QUIRKS, AND ERIC IS ABOUT TO DEVELOP A CASE OF SLEEPWALKING. INTO WHICH HOUSEGUEST'S BED SHOULD HE CRAWL TONIGHT?
Options: All remaining HGs, other than Eric.
America's Choice: Joe
What happened: Most of the HGs stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, making this a particular challenge. Finally around 9 AM, Eric wandered over to one of the "big" beds where Jessica and Joe were sleeping. He sort of crawled onto the end of the bed and curled up a bit. Joe eventually sat up and said something like "what the heck?" Then Eric went back to his own bed. Later on Joe asked him about it, saying he didn't have his glasses on so he isn't sure who it was. Eric completely denied the whole thing, and said Joe must have been dreaming. It's unclear if Jessica noticed at all. At this point it's working out great for Eric. Not only did he accomplish his tool-task, but he's got everyone thinking Joe's made up another story.
Mysti's thoughts: So many humorous options.....just don't vote for Jen or anyone else likely to be sleeping in HOH as they're not really eligible. If the winner is in "the locked HOH bedroom the next highest vote-getter will be selected."
Task accomplished? Yes. And well executed--successful and entertaining. Update, 7/16: According to CBS, this was a failure. The wording of the task given to Eric was to "climb into bed and stay until kicked out." Since he left without being told to, they called it a failure. Personally, I think he should have been given credit for this one.
Task #5: Who should Eric try to get evicted this week? (He only gets credit for completing the task if the person is evicted; not just for his own vote.)
Options: Dick and Joe
America's Choice: Joe
What happened: Eric did do a little campaigning, but it was really an easy task.
(4)Task accomplished? Easily
Options: All remaining HGs, other than Dick and Eric.
America's Choice: JenMysti's Thoughts: If you don't like Eric, don't want him any closer to the money, and want to see him get himself in big trouble, vote for Daniele or Amber. If you like him, want to make it easy for him, etc., vote for Kail or Jen. If you want to give him a challenge w/o making Dick totally suspicious, vote for one of the Robinson boys. My guess is it will be Kail or Jen.
What happened: He barely had to do anything. Jen was already on Dick's hit list.
(5)Task accomplished? Sure seems so to me.
Options: All remaining HGs, other than Eric.
America's Choice: JenWhat happened: Monday morning, Tool managed to sneak a bottle of mustard into the bedroom, and squirted it all over Jen's pillow and her "Jensa Member" shirt. Jen discovered it and asked "who's in second grade?" Everyone denied it, including Eric. Several people "alibied" each other. Jen was mildly upset, but it actually seemed to bother Kail more than it did Jen. Tool definitely accomplished the "creating drama" part of the task, as everyone is still trying to figure out who did it. Dick, Daniele and Nick were all high on Jen's suspect list; she barely seemed to consider Eric.
Funny moment later in the day, some of them were sitting around discussing if they might get a pool table or something and someone brought up America's Choice. Daniele asked when they usually start AC, and Eric responded way to quickly "no clue."
(6)Task accomplished? I'd say yes; should be confirmed on tonight's (7/24) show. And if my count is right, Eric just earned his first AP $10K.
Task #8: Which of the two nominees do you want Eric to get evicted from the Big Brother house?
Options: Kail and Mike
America's Choice: Kail
What happened: Tuesday night Eric started suggesting to ppl that they vote out Kail (rather than Mike, as planned). He doesn't seem to be pushing too hard, which is probably a good idea for his own sake. If he "goes against the house" too much it could mean trouble for him. Update: Wednesday night Eric made some pretty good arguments to evict Kail. But not enough HGs bought it. Now, after the vote, the irony is that Jen is being blamed as one of the 2 votes against Kail.
Task accomplished? No
Options: All remaining HGs except Eric and Dustin
Mysti's Thoughts: This is getting boring.
America's Choice: Jen
What happened: Whatever.
(7)Task accomplished: Yes.
Options: Sweet chicken! Booyakah! I'd do that for a dollar!
America's Choice: "I'd do that for a dollar!"
Mysti's Thoughts: What exactly constitutes success in this case? They said something about X houseguests, using the phrase at least Y times over the course of 5 days (I think).
(8)Task accomplished: Most sources seem to be giving him credit for it.
Task #11: Which of the two nominees do you want Eric to get evicted from the Big Brother house?
Options: Kail and Nick
America's Choice: Kail
What happened: Tool had already overplayed his hand in house talking about how Nick had to go. He even chastised us slightly when he got his assignment saying he was "disappointed that we didn't understand/support (something like that) [his] strategy of getting Nick out." He made a half-hearted attempt to argue that Kail should go, and he had to "cast" his vote against her, but Nick still left. And now people are starting to guess that he's the mystery voter. They don't know the whole story, but they know something is afoot.
Task accomplished? No.
Options: All remaining HGs except Eric
Mysti's Thoughts: This is getting boring-er.
America's Choice: Jen
What happened: Who cares?
(9)Task accomplished: Yes (though he didn't actually do anything. Daniele was going to nominated Jen and Kail no matter what. Eric has yet to actually "get" anyone nominated. Just gotten lucky when AC corresponds with what the HOH wants to do.)
Options: All remaining HGs except Eric
Mysti's Thoughts: This is the stupidest one yet. He'd actually already done this w/Jessica (who was a shoo-in to win AC anyway). And it's another "how could he fail?" task. I tried to think of someone to pick who would have a hard time believing him, and maybe even make him look like more of a weasel in the house.
America's Choice: Jessica
What happened: He has now said multiple times that he'll take her to the end. Whatever.
(10)Task accomplished: According to the checkbox: Yes.
Options: All remaining HGs, except Eric, Daniele and Kail
Mysti's Thoughts: Vote for Dick or Jen or someone who will never ever buy it and make Eric look like the Tool he is.
America's Choice: Dick
What Happened: He whined to just about everyone except Dick, though I didn't hear a lot of flattery, per se. I'm guessing he gets credit for this one though b/c he did "ensure his safety." Update, 8/22: Apparently AC was Dick. It was never even mentioned on the show, so I guess they just let him off the hook on this one.
Task Accomplished: No
Task #15: Who should Eric get nominated?
Options: All remaining HGs except Jessica and Eric
Mysti's Thoughts: This one would be an actual challenge. Jessica definitely plans to nominate Dick and Daniele with Jen and Zach as possibilities for the re-nom if needed. America will almost certainly vote for Dustin or Amber. IMO, Tool won't even really try.
America's Choice: Dustin
What happened: He did mention something about Dustin, but Jess laughed and he played it off as joke. If he was smart he'd tell her "put Dustin up as a pawn against Dick just to be sure Dick goes." This would be good for us b/c it would make the "Dani wins veto, saves her dad, they both stay" scenario a distinct possibility. But Tool is much more concerned with what he wants than what we want. Update 8/12: The Pawn Dustin Plan seemed to be coming together when Dust. himself suggested it. Tool was all over that, so we'll see. When we saw Eric get his assignment on the 8/12 show, he was clearly not pleased with us. He seems to think we should be supporting him, rather than thinking he works for us. What a Tool.
(11)Task Accomplished: Yes! Dustin was the replacement nom. when Dick used the veto on Daniele.
Options: All remaining HGs except Eric.
Mysti's Thoughts: Stupidest task to date. Couldn't we vote for "Big Brother" and just get him to shut up entirely?
America's Choice: Jessica
What Happened: It seems like BB gave him a chance to "say goodbye" to her. He went in to make one last pitch for "pawn Dustin" on Sunday night, then claimed he wasn't feeling well and would probably be in bed all day Monday. A likely story. And avoiding someone by playing sick is hardly the "silent treatment"
Task Accomplished: No. He couldn't do it, though he still managed to upset her.
Task #17: Which nominee should Eric get evicted?
Options: Dick and Dustin
America's Choice: Dustin
(12)Task Accomplished: Yeah Baby!
Task #18: Who should Eric get nominated?
Options: All remaining HGs except Daniele and Eric
America's Choice: Amber
What happened: Daniele says she's going to nom Amber and Jameka and back-door Jen if the veto is used.
(13)Task Accomplished: Yes
Options: All remaining HGs except Eric
America's Choice: Jessica
(14)Task Accomplished: Yes
Options: Jen and Jameka
Mysti's Thoughts: This is a tough one. It could get Tool in a lot of trouble if he has to vote to evict Jameka. And he did do a good job with getting Dustin out last week, so maybe we should go easy on him. On the other hand, up until FoodGate, I would have said I'd prefer to see Jameka go. But upon reflection I think Jen's violation of the food restriction is really wrong. It messes with the game. And now it sounds like she does not have a penalty nomination if she stays, but rather a "penalty vote" this week. The PV could just nullify AC, so this week Tool may not be able to do anything. The question is, if he gets orders to campaign against Jameka, will he do it? The TV only viewers have no idea what's gone on. But given Daniele and Dick's popularity, the vote might go against Jen. AC was to get her nominated several times, he was told to vandalize her stuff....so...anything could happen.
What happened: After getting called to the DR around 1:30 AM BBT, presumably to get his marching orders, Tool told Jameka she 100% had his vote. But he also said something about the vote could be 4-2, but Jameka would stay no matter what. I'll wait for the show to be sure, but my guess is either Jen is the AC target, or it's Jameka, but the DR told Eric not to bother campaigning and just deal with not completing the task. It's also possible that Jameka was the target but the prods agreed to either switch it and lie to us, or tell us that our vote was overturned by the Penalty vote. Since the TV viewers wouldn't know about the penalty situation, I can see the prods saying Tool gets credit for this task no matter what.
America's Choice: Jen (allegedly)
(15)Task Accomplished: Yes
Task #21: Who should Eric get nominated?
Options: All remaining HGs except Jessica and Eric
America's Choice: Amber
(16)Task Accomplished: Yes
Options: All remaining HGs except Eric
Mysti's Thoughts: LAMEST TASK YET!!!!! Eric and Jess made out last night. I'm betting Jessica is "America's" choice and we get footage that happened pre-task or at least just a repeat (kind of like F2 promise). I voted for Dick b/c that would be funny. Vote online; don't waste those txt msg charges, for sure.
What happened: See above. The best part was the subtitle on the graphic: Task Accomplished (barely)
America's Choice: Jessica
(17)Task Accomplished: Yes
Task #23: Who do you want Eric to get evicted?
Options: Amber or Zach
America's Choice: Amber
(18)Task Accomplished: Yes
Task #24: Who do you want Eric to get nominated? (Weasel words due to endurance comp.)
Options: All remaining HGs other than Eric
America's Choice: Jameka
(19)Task Accomplished: Yes
Options: All remaining HGs other than Eric
America's Choice: Dick
(20)Task Accomplished: Yes
Task #26: Who do you want Eric to get evicted?
Options: Jameka or Jessica
America's Choice: Jameka
Task Accomplished: No
Options: All remaining HGs, except Eric
America's Choice: Daniele
Task Accomplished: No
Who do you want Eric to campaign and vote for to win BIG BROTHER 8? Remember, vote for the person you want to WIN Big Brother 8!
Vote at CBS.com until 11PM EST Saturday.
Options: Daniele or Dick
America's Choice: Dick
(21)Task Accomplished: Yes
