America's Player! What a great concept!

Except for the not part.

Maybe if they gave us a player we could like a little...maybe root for once in a while.....but no...we get weasel boy.

Weasel boy apparently mistook "America's vote" to get Jen out to mean that the WHOLE country hated Jen and that bashing her even on the way out the door was going to gain him great favor with all his fellow Americans.... Twit!

After watching several hours of the Jess/Eric show (now! complete with kissing!) I have come to the conclusion that the boy just can not read a room at all. He kisses when he should be sleeping...he talks when he should be kissing....he is just completely clueless to hints. Jess is going to have to learn that she just has to tell him exactly what to do. ("Now would be sleeping time, Eric.")

I hate to act like a giddy teenager but.....THEY KISSED???!!! When?!

Kissing started at 6:46 am HT

This morning.

Eric's one true love is the sound of his own voice. That is why he is incapable of paying attention to anything else.

He's absolutely pathetic and it was cringe-inducing just reading how lame he was about finally getting around to kissing Jessica. I can't imagine how horrible it was to watch. Although, I'm sure we'll see some clip of the action (highly edited to remove the lameness and dorky questions) on one of the shows this week.

I have never liked him and I'm sorry that he's gotten so far in the game. His fake announcer voice, spastic eyebrows and shifty eyes were just the beginning of my complete dislike of this guy. He has shown himself to be as dispicable as Dick in many ways by trashing the other HGs at every opportunity. If the producers don't allow America to vote on whether or not he uses the veto then I will be forever convinced that they intended this season to be all about the Donatos and have made sure to influence the voting to favor them.

Why do I think that when he first sees DICK! this morning he'll be all "Dude, I kissed Jessica last night!!!"

ETA:

DICK!: Was there any tongue?

Eric: Tongue?

DICK!: Did you grab some tit??

Eric: EWWWWW!

Oh you SUCK! I was off the feeds for the rest of the day. I bought Gloria Estefan's Album Mi Tierra on Real and I was kicking back to code, write and possibly pull weeds if it stops raining long enough for stuff to dry out. Now? I'm going to have to check in and wait for it because you KNOW he's gonna.

Ok, so I might as well say this and then leave the room quick so no one beats me up or barfs on me...

I think it's adorable that Eric and Jess finally kissed. I honestly think he's just a total dork who doesn't usually get the cute girl so he has NO IDEA how to act around Jess. I think the nervous talking is just all he knows how to do. I also think he didn't want to start a showmance with Jess because (hold on, let me finish) he really does like her a lot. And sweet chicken, when she finds out about him being America's Player she might be really pissed and confused. I'm sure he wants to avoid that. And I think that she really likes him too. The problem is, in real life there is no way their paths would've crossed and if they did there's no way either of them would've hooked up. It took 2 months in a house with a bunch of asswipes for these two to finally hook up. In some strange, fucked up way it actually makes it seem more sincere - like they didn't want to start hooking up the 3rd night in the house before they had a chance to actually figure out if they liked each other.

All that being said, I give it 2 weeks max outside of the house. Jess will quickly realize that her hot Kansas-ass stock has risen dramatically and she can probably snag some hot douchebag that looks, acts and talks a lot better than Eric.

I'm still happy they finally kissed. I'm a dork like that. It WAY better than trying to read recaps about Dick slandering people in vile, horrendous ways.

Ok, I'll duck and run now.

Me too Coolio!! I think it's adorable even though I was cringing most of the time afterwards. He is SUCH a dork which just makes it so cute. He needs to calm down and stop with the nervous chatter though.

I couldn't have put it better myself. Eric is a much better person when he's with Jessica. He tends to dial it all down several notches with her and they have normal getting-to-know-you conversations. They've been dancing and flirting for weeks, but I think once they both admitted that they had feelings for each other yesterday morning, it changed everything for both of them.

In short, yay kissing!

I think it's all very cute, and a nice change from last season's sleazy "relationship" between Booger and Scrubika. Sure, Eric's a total nerd, but at least he doesn't seem to be using Jess.

I hate to say this but in the feeds this morning about 25% of his talk was how the Impending kiss was going to get them air time on TV and after the kiss about 30% of the convo was on how it would make the commercials and the show and how it would get them their own freaking spin off.

I'm all for romance. Really I am. Hell. I write romance in my spare time. But this ain't a romance.

They may come out of this as good friends but I just don't see them riding off into the sunset together except heavily edited.

I totally agree with you, Ferfe! I just like having something fun to giggle and watch instead of Dick being a dick and Dani whining about everything and nothing. And you know there will be some entertaining drama that results from this. I didn't watch the actual feeds so I don't have to know how fake and painful the kissing session was. I'm sure I'll be sick of it all in about 2 days anyway. I have a short attention span. Anything for my amusement! Dance, hammies, Dance!

Exactly.

At first, I thought Erick was crazy about her but holding off because he knew that (as AP) he could not reliably protect Jessica though the game to F2.

There's nothing in the AP twist that says that little rat bastard has to have an unlikely "showmance," and I'm betting Jessica's parents are blowing a few gaskets right about now. Not only was Erick almost certainly going to have to screw Jessica out of a F2 to protect the Donatos but now he's gone and tried to fulfill some demented producer's wish for a few hot commercials (albeit, in the most pathetic way). I should have known better than to think he had any scruples.

What Jessica is, or was, up to is almost immaterial at this point because Erick knows full well they aren't playing on a level field. He knows better than to go there. He didn't have to and he shouldn't have.

It isn't even real romance, as you rightly pointed out, but Jessica really is getting screwed by some crass, rat-faced twerp. There's nothing endearing about that.

I'm at a total loss as to why Jess would kiss him, what's wrong with her?, and why anyone thinks Eric is not using Jess and that the idea of them kissing is just total EEWWWWWWW!!!!! I realize we all have different opinions of the hammies, but to me, Eric is a clearly disgusting and a weasel.

Wait...wait... okay. For a minute I thought I was going to throw up in my mouth. Ah-h...I'm okay. I can't decide whether Jessica is a complete idiot with no taste in men/eunuchs...or if she's a FABULOUS game-player and will do (oops...it's coming up again...wait...wait). I'm okay...or if she will do ANYTHING to win!

Compare and contrast...

After they kissed, they were talking about whether they had thought about kissing each other prior to then and Eric flat out said to Jess "No, I hadn't" Then he said that there were a few moments but as a whole he hadn't been thinking about it. A while later, he asked Jess if she had been thinking of kissing him for a while and I think she was hurt by his earlier comment because she said, " Well, you already said you weren't thinking about so no." and then she kind of turned her back on him.

I forgot my point after writing all of that so... Eric is a Weasel

Well, Erick's on-again, off-again girlfriend, Cheryl, is very cute. Of course, he may not have any action with her, either.

I think the delay in action is because of Cheryl and because Erick was afraid of getting shot down on camera and because he's a total dork.

And I agree with Ferfe about him being very interested in getting on the broadcast.

I also think that this would have been cute if it was at summer camp and these guys were 12 but Erick is 26 or whatever. So I stick by my opinion of: totally pathetic and super lame. America's Hamster is a dud all the way around.

And, Erick is a ratfacedweaselboy who sucks. I didn't want to pass up an opportunity to say that.

Also, I think Poppa Smurf had a heart attack this morning. Happy now, Erick? You bastard!

Well...being as my night vision is not good, compounded by the fact that I was watching "kissgate" on my computer...one thing I could not tell...
Was Jess kissing/hugging him back at all?

I have to say, that there is more sex appeal in a tampon commercial then in watching these two. Then again, who am I to say what's it's like to kiss while being watched by people behind the wall, and the internet folks.

Eric missed his "famewhore" window of opportunity by not doing the kiss during Showtime hours...I'm surprised he did not think of it, and plan it that way.

Just color me skeptical of this whole showmance!

Yesterday Eric was talking about how the producers were putting the pressure on for him to come through (wording is intentional) with a "Showmance". From watching the kid in action my assessment is that everything he says and does is completely calculated and totally beyond his control. He understands but cannot manage the theater of it.

Jessica is far less caring of the cameras and is bored out of her mind. He's all she's got for entertainment. Sometimes he's entertaining. Most of the time he's a pain in the ass.

The only real chemistry they share is their own cute sense of humor for riffing off each other. They are friends. Nothing more.

Just my take.

eta SBTZMom - She was not kissing him back from what I could tell.

No she kind of laid there like a dead fish. She didn't move at all that I could see. It sort of looked like she was kinda hoping Eric would hurry up and get it over with so. That's what I saw but I could be mistaken in my reading on it.

He mentioned it after with regret.

Eric: "Is that your mouth?"


BWAH!

I was going to say thanks to Daisylou for posting the video, but I'm not sure "thank you" is what I should say.

Jessica has a voice like a chihuahua and tends to be a bit petty...

but seriously. ERIC?! She let ERIC kiss her?

And I use the term "let kiss" because I don't think even she could convince herself to make out with someone with that much of a resemblance to a rat.

I know and did ya see the part where he touched the back of her head, jerks his hand away and says, "What the hell is that!?!?!?" He's so smooth

I honestly believe Jess is a game player. She doesn't "blurt out" things when people come to talk to her. Most of the time she sits and listens and is very non-commital.
I have a feeling that she knows going to final four with Eric and the Donatos almost guarantees her the win.

Not saying that she's not friends with Eric, but I think she's using that friendship to her advantage.

I think she's had her "AHA" moment with Eric, and figured it all out...personally, I think she and Daniele are the two smartest game players this year.

ETA: Sorry mods...for some reason can't get the quote thing to come out correctly...UGH!

Fixed tags -- Mags

I have to say that as much as I detest the rat-faced boy, I don't think it's all showmance for him. I think there's definitely an element of that, but it also plays to me in the same way all his vile slander and bullying do. He seems to be trying to convince everyone, including himself, that he is: a bad-ass; a stud; funny; intelligent; well-endowed down there; good looking enough to get a cute girl. Er-ick seems to be all about shaping how people view him - creating the image for himself of the kind of man he knows he's not.

I can't believe that Jessica is actually attracted to this man rat-child and I hope this is more showmance/game for her. Spin-off, my ass.

This whole season has seemed like Big Brother: Pre-teen Edition. Witness Nick's love letter to Daniele and Jerica's summer camp style "will he or won't he touch a boob?" There's Daniele's childish spats with Daddy and almost continual pouting and Ambore's almost frightening naivete and neediness. Mostly, there's bullying and humilation.

But how much of him not thinking about kissing her has to do with the complicated thing he has going on out of the house? He's been pretty adamant about the whole not wanting to start anything because it might hurt his ex and because it might hurt Jessica. I could see where he wouldn't let himself go there because of the circumstances. Also, we've all thought he was pretty clueless as to Jessica's signals so he might not have let himself have any kind of hope that she was even remotely feeling the way that he was. Once the air was cleared about his situation outside of the house (something she was already mostly aware of) and they both admitted feelings, everything seems to have changed for both of them.

As for the reality show spin-off, they've been discussing it for days so the blame for that can't be entirely laid at Eric's feet. They've both been hyper-aware of the cameras and how it's playing on TV and have discussed it several times so I can't say I'm surprised that they discussed it before and after. It's the kind of decision that seems to really fit with Eric's crazy need to overanalyze everything. I think they're both aware that most people only start showmances to get further in the game and that made them rightfully cautious with each other.

There are a number of reasons why I appreciate Eric/Jess both on a game level and on a personal level (I admit it - I haven't wanted a specific final 2 this badly since Danielle and Jason). They're cute and flirty and fun and she gives him the humanity I think he lets get away from him. How many people noticed that she made him not talk about Jen for 24 hours? He's a lot more self-aware when he's in her presence. I like dorky Eric a lot - I have no shame about this as I think it's sweet and a lot closer to who he is in real life. It's awkward and hilarious because he's totally nervous around her. On a game level, they have each other's backs whether it's in competitions or strategy. Other than AP, I have yet to see them lie to each other about a conversation they've had with someone else in the house (unlike Dick and Dani) - there's a level of trust that is pretty awesome in a house full of overly paranoid hamsters. They've talked and fought their way through any trust/communication issues they have and come out all the stronger for it.

As for AP, I'm pretty much at the point where I think it sucks that Eric is the AP because it means that he's going to betray Jess's trust at some point (probably HOH) and for a pair that's played pretty well with the things thrown at them, I think they deserve the shot to be there without America's input and that there should have been something in the agreement that lets Eric out of the automatic voting/nominating if he should hit final 4. It disgusts me that he's going to have to take Dick if he wins the final 3 HOH because America usually plays on a personal level without any further thought to the idea that Eric only got that far because of Jessica's loyalty.

ETA: Sorry to be so long-winded. I guess I had a lot to say about Eric and Jessica and how they're playing the game.

I actually thought it was very cute all morning as I watched (and recapped for my first time this season.) He's so freakin' nervous with her and such a cute little dork. I think part of him is amazed that he got to kiss this hot chick and that's why he was so into how it would look on the show.

Yeah, sorry about that. I thought it was cute at first but.....

I have a dream... Share it with me...

Jess tells Eric that she wants him to use the PoV so that she can put ED on the block (so that she can have something to hold over Zach or Amber later).

Eric uses the PoV.

Then Jess surprises everyone by putting Eric up as the replacement. She can use one of a number of excuses:

1) Eric is distracting her from her game.

2) She is afraid that she can't beat Eric in the F2 and Eric has said he doesn't care if she wins instead of him.

3) She's afraid that he'll do a Boogie on her.

4) His kissing sucks.

Hey, a girl can dream.

The HoH is not allowed to put up the veto winner as a replacement nominee (otherwise, only the nominees would ever use it), so it will have to stay a dream.

Sigh, and it was such a wonderful dream too!

I just thought of something. Jessica listens to Eric and some of us are wanting Eric to use the veto and get a Donato out of the house but what if Eric is too afraid of going against what America wants? I don't think he will make a truly bold move because when he was trying to get Nick out and America didn't like Eric thinking for himself, someone in America jacked up his game and he nearly got evicted. Aligning with Dick and Dani is semi-bold as far as the HGs are concerned but Eric thinks he is doing what America wants and keeping us happy and when he does what we like he gets rewards such as not having to be mean to Jess. I don't think he'll suggest getting them out because America probably wants Amber out or something.

That is, if the messages he receives are truly America's wishes and not the producer's.

It's been like this for every vote on any viewer participation show I have ever seen. What I think "America" must be thinking is totally wrong. So I think Eric is doing what a lot of viewers want him to do.
Most casual viewers I talk to love Dick and vote accordingly. Some on their cell phones(which is something I will never understand).
What he doesn't know is he is playing for a Donato to win, America is not looking out for him at all. The only reason his votes changed to help him was he kept Dick over Dustin.

America won't get a vote that late in the game, so Eric won't be forced to send her packing if she makes it to F4.

From the CBS website:As it stands, 22 tasks have been attempted; seven remain. Per the website, these seven votes will take place in the next two weeks. If there is a double eviction in this time, it will take the house down to F4.

Yeah, I was a lot happier after I heard about that in the America's Player thread - it seems a lot more fair to me that if he makes it that far with America crapping all over his game, he deserves the chance to play his own game and fulfill his promises for the final 4. Although I imagine that if he gets to the final 4 and gets sent off to sequester, we'll probably still get a vote. Either way, that September 12th date is prior to the finale and we were going to get a vote if he made the jury.

For today's flashback fun, I present Eric.

I like Eric, but isn't he Ben Stein's boy???? I just wonder how his family is feeling about his actions???

Is he really?? Or are you just messin' with me?

I have a lame question....Has Eric kissed Jess again since that first time (not including the AP vote one)?

I found out on google, he owns an entertainment management business, and it had his picture, so I really wonder how Ben Stein feels about his boy being on BB8, considering how Stein is/was a political figure in the 70's.

editted because my spelling has worsened since I quit to be a stay at home mommy

I don't think that he is Ben Stein's son. I just checked IMDB, and Ben Stein has one son. In his mini-biography, it states that his son's name is Tommy.

They showed his whole family on one of the first couple eps, regular ole Steins only.

I find this very interesting and it jibes with something I've been wondering about the last few days. While we have seen Julie's Chenterview with Jess in which she squeeed over Eric, as well as (possibly manipulated DR footage) in which she discusses their upcoming wedding, we have yet to see any straight talk from Eric on the nature of their relationship. We know he thinks she's a "great girl" and that he has "no game" but have we seen him address if his romantic leanings are "legitimate" or not? The lack of Eric DRing on Jessica means to me that whenever they press him on it he says he's not really that into her, and BB won't show that because it will implode their showmance.

I also thought it highly unusual that after the one *shudder* macking session, neither one has shown interest in more than a few chaste pecks. In my experience, finally kissing someone you're majorly lusting after usually fuels the fire rather than dampening it. But then, I've never kissed Eric.

This is all so true. And yet, her best chance to win would be to stay with the JEDD alliance. I think she could win against Eric, but she'll have to win all the competitions to stay in it if they do truly go to Final 4 together. She'd be the first one out of those four.

Oh damn!! Is that promo real?!?!

Moved from Screencaps thread (re: CBS promo) -- Mags

Oh my goodness did ya'll see in the promo on the bookshelf behind her, there is a picture of her and the Ratfacedfinkboy. Poor Jess, she had been telling him all season she did not want to be another Ericka.

If this is true, Jessica's brother is going to come back from Iraq with his weapon loaded and shoot the hell out of Eric's "legitimate balls."

It will be interesting to see what she has to say. Is she a jealous ex? Is she trying to be a famewhore by association?