Big Brother 4 (U.S.)

Big Brother
 ◄
► 
Season 4 (2003)
center|180px

Big Brother 4 is the fourth season of the reality television series Big Brother. The format of the program remained largely unchanged from previous seasons: a group of contestants, referred to as HouseGuests, are enclosed in the Big Brother House under the surveillance of cameras and microphones. Each week, the HouseGuests vote to evict one of their own until two Houseguests remain on finale night. The winner will be decided by the last seven evicted HouseGuests, collectively known as the Big Brother Jury. Julie Chen returned to host this season. The winner of the series won a $500,000 grand prize, while the runner-up won $50,000. This season was promoted as the "Ex-Factor". This season was also broadcast on E4 in the United Kingdom, beginning near the end of that country's fourth series.

Runner-Up, Alison Irwin and fellow Houseguest Erika Landin returned to compete in Big Brother 7: All-Stars.

Contents

Format

HouseGuests are sequestered in the Big Brother House with no contact to or from the outside world. Each week, the HouseGuests take part in several compulsory challenges that determine who will win food, luxuries, and power in the House.[1] The winner of the weekly Head of Household competition is immune from nominations and must nominate two fellow HouseGuests for eviction. After a HouseGuest becomes Head of Household, he or she is ineligible to take part in the next Head of Household competition.[2][3] HouseGuests also take part in food competitions in which they must win in order to eat regular foods. Losers of the competition are put on a peanut butter and jelly diet. The winner of the Power of Veto competition wins the right to save one of the nominated HouseGuests from eviction. If the Veto winner exercises the power, the Head of Household must then nominate another HouseGuest for eviction.[3][4]

On eviction night, all HouseGuests except for the Head of Household and the two nominees vote to evict one of the two nominees.[3] This compulsory vote is conducted in the privacy of the Diary Room by the host Julie Chen. In the event of a tie, the Head of Household must cast the deciding vote, announcing it in front of the other HouseGuests.[5] Unlike other versions of Big Brother, the HouseGuests may discuss the nomination and eviction process openly and freely.[3] The nominee with the greater number of votes will be evicted from the House on the live Thursday broadcast, exiting to an adjacent studio to be interviewed by Chen.[5] HouseGuests may voluntarily leave the House at any time and those who break the rules may be expelled from the house by Big Brother.[6][7] The final seven HouseGuests evicted during the season will vote for the winner on the season finale. These "Jury Members" will be sequestered in a separate house and will not be allowed to watch the show except for competitions and ceremonies that include all of the remaining HouseGuests. The jury members will not be shown any Diary Room interviews or any footage that may include strategy or details regarding nominations.[8]

HouseGuest

Main article: List_of_Big_Brother_(U.S.)_HouseGuests

Thirteen HouseGuest were cast for this season of Big Brother. One of the original selections, Brandon, was kicked off of the show during the sequester period, after it was revealed he had communicated with his girlfriend. After his removal from the game, Jee was sent in as his replacement. As part of this seasons twist, five of the original eight Houseguests were shocked to find that an ex would be playing the game with them, as part of the "Ex-Factor" twist. The exes were Jun and Jee, Alison and Justin, Erika and Robert, David and Michelle, and Amanda and Scott.

Rule changes

X-factor

The big twist for the year was The X-Factor. Eight HouseGuests were introduced, only to have five HouseGuests' exes compete against them in the game.[9]This quickly became messy, as Scott, a HouseGuest who had his ex-girlfriend (Amanda) move into the house, had a violent outburst, and subsequently told the House that he had a sexually transmitted disease. He was then disqualified and immediately expelled from the game.[10]

Golden Power of Veto

Another twist, introduced in the last veto contest of Big Brother 3, was the Golden Power of Veto, in that if a nominated person won such a veto, they would be allowed to take themselves off consideration for voting, which was not allowed when the veto was introduced originally the year before.

Event ordering

Yet another twist in the game occurred when Jun won HoH in Week 8 of the competition. The veto competition would be held before Jun would make her nominations. The reason being was that Jun, as HoH, won a special trip outside of the Big Brother House to attend the 20th Annual MTV Video Music Awards. Her disappearance (as she entered the Diary Room and never returned) played a part in the veto Competition, as the HouseGuests had to guess where Jun was.[11] Jun returned, and nominated Jee, her ex-boyfriend, and Alison. However, Alison won the veto, and used it on herself, forcing Jun to put Robert in her place. Despite Robert being a replacement for Alison, Jee was unanimously evicted 2-0. There was also a mixed-up order of events when Jee was HOH, as the Veto competition was held before nominations were made. Each houseguest was taken into the diary room one by one and offered the golden veto in exchange for forcing all of the other houseguests to eat peanut butter and jelly for different lengths of time. None of the houseguests took the deal except Jee who made everyone eat PB&J for a week. He received the veto to keep his nominations intact.

Jury

One last twist to the format included a jury of seven who would decide the outcome of the game. When the game got down to nine players, the evictees formed the jury. The jury format eliminated America's need to break a tie if necessary, as done before in Season 3 (though Lisa won 9-1). The sequestered jury was introduced after many outcry among fans when Danielle lost season 3 arguably due to evicted HouseGuests seeing her diary room sessions. From season 4 on, the sequestered jury saw only competitions, veto and nomination ceremonies, and evictions.

Highlights

Events Competitions Winners
Week 1
  • On Day 1 eight people entered the house, followed by the other five contestants (Robert, Jee, Michelle, Amanda, Justin), exes of five of the other eight. The first eight to enter immediately banded together and vowed to play against the other five, labeled as "the exes".
  • Nathan, a member of the central alliance of eight, and one of the three houseguests to not have an ex, won the first Head of Household competition.
  • Nathan nominated Jee and Amanda, two exes, for eviction, with Amanda as the preferred target. He felt that she was sneaky, but Amanda expressed she thinks this is a cover and he's doing someone else's bidding.
  • Scott was talked to on day 8 after he had a violent outburst in the house; then he chose to leave after the house guests did not accept his apology.
  • A change was applied to the Power of Veto starting this season: a nominee could use it on him or her self.
  • Dana won the Veto and elected not to use it.
  • Amanda was evicted from the house by a unanimous vote.
  • Food: X Marks the Spot
  • Luxury: Shiny Hiney
  • HoH: Who's Ya Chum?
  • Food II: Spud!
  • POV: Feeling Knotty
  • Food: Allison, Dana, David, Erika, Jack, Jun, Nathan and Scott
  • HoH: Nathan
  • Food II: Everyone
  • POV: Dana
Week 2
  • Jee became deadset on getting Erika out, and nominated her. He used Michelle as a pawn, oblivious to the Elite Eight alliance.
  • After repeatedly telling Michelle he would support her this week, David did not use the veto.
  • The Elite Eight stuck together and Michelle was evicted in a 6-2 vote. Jee's friends, Robert and Justin, also unaware of the Elite Eight, voted for Erika.
  • HoH: Majority Rules
  • Food: Clash of the Casseroles
  • POV: Duck Ball
  • HoH: Jee
  • Food: Allison, Justin, Erika, Jack, Jun
  • POV: David
Week 3
  • Dana turned a page in the game when she went against the Elite Eight alliance and nominated Allison and Jack, with the former as her target.
  • Nathan saved Allison from eviction by using the veto on her, therefore sorely offending Dana and going against her wishes. She nominated David as Allison's replacement.
  • Perceived as the bigger threat, David was evicted 5-2. Erika and Allison voted to keep him.
  • HoH: Everything in 3's
  • Food: Paratroopers
  • Luxury: The Spin-O-Matic
  • POV: Niagara Balls
  • HoH: Dana
  • Food: Everyone
  • Luxury: Allison (Nathan)
  • POV: Nathan
Week 4
  • Allison targeted Dana for eviction as revenge. Jun, Dana's best friend inside the house, was put up alongside her to prevent the possibility of her winning the veto and then using it on Dana.
  • Robert won the POV but didn't use it.
  • Dana was evicted from the house in a 6-0 vote. The alliance of Justin, Jee, and Robert did not pay Dana back for sparing them the previous week.
  • HoH: Around The Water Cooler
  • Food: Laying Pipe
  • POV: Snake In the Grass
  • HoH: Allison
  • Food: Jun, Justin, Nathan and Jack
  • POV: Robert
Week 5
  • Justin nominated Jack and Nathan for eviction. He felt Nathan was his biggest threat and put Jack up as a pawn to get Nathan out.
  • Robert won the POV for the second time in a row and didn't use it.
  • Nathan was evicted from the house in the second consecutive unanimous vote (5-0).
  • HoH: Who Said It?
  • Food: 50 Ways to cook a HouseGuest
  • Luxury: Foam Party
  • POV: Quoridor
  • HoH: Justin
  • Food: Everyone
  • Luxury: Everyone
  • POV: Robert
Week 6
  • Erika nominated Justin and Robert for eviction. She felt that the alliance of Jee, Justin, and Robert was a big threat to her and plus she wanted Robert (her ex) out since Day 1.
  • Jun won the POV and did not use it.
  • Justin was evicted from the House in a 3-1 vote. Jee voted to keep him.
  • HoH: Steel Cage Match
  • Food: Clambake from Hell
  • POV: Video Veto
  • HoH: Erika
  • Food: Everyone
  • POV: Jun
Week 7
  • Jee nominated Erika and Jack. He felt Erika was once again a threat and put her friend Jack up as a pawn.
  • Jee won the POV securing his nominations and he did not use the POV. He is the second person in Big Brother USA history to hold HoH and the veto at the same time. The first was Jason from the previous season.
  • Jack was evicted from the house in a 2-1 vote, and once again Jee's plan to evict Erika failed.
  • HoH: Black HoHle
  • Food: Revenge of the Gnomes
  • Luxury: Fashion Fire Pit
  • POV: An Offer You Must Refuse
  • HoH: Jee
  • Food: Jee
  • Luxury: Everyone
  • POV: Jee
Week 8
  • Jun nominated Allison and Jee for eviction. She felt that because Alison put Jun up for eviction in Week 4 that Allison saw Jun as a threat, so Jun then saw Allison as a threat and Jee was put up because Jee is Jun's ex and she did not want him in the house since Day 1, much like Erika with her ex in Week 6.
  • Allison the won the POV so she was no longer up for eviction. Jun then put Robert up as Allison's replacement.
  • Jee was evicted from the House in a 2-0 vote.
  • HoH: Disappearing Act
  • POV: Where in the World is Jun Song?
  • HoH: Jun
  • POV: Allison
Week 9
  • Robert nominated Allison and Jun for eviction. He felt Alison was sneaky and underhanded and that Jun was two-faced and didn't trust her.
  • Alison won the POV and used it on herself again. The POV was actually the Diamond POV which meant whoever won it was safe from eviction and got the sole vote to decide on who should be evicted. Robert then had to put Erika in Allison's place for eviction by default.
  • Erika was evicted from the House as Allison had the sole vote on which Houseguest should be evicted.
  • HoH: Dearly Departed
  • Food: Mexotic Dinner
  • Luxury: Escape From the Big Brother House
  • POV: The Diamond Veto
  • HoH: Robert
  • Food: Everyone
  • Luxury: Allison, Jun
  • POV: Allison
Week 10
  • Since Alison became HoH she then by default put Robert and Jun up for eviction. There was no POV this week as the HoH had the sole decision on who should be evicted.
  • Alison picked Robert to be evicted from the House. Jun and Alison were then automatically in the final two.
  • HoH Part 1: On the House
  • HoH Part 2: Unexpected Relations
  • HoH Part 3: The X-Factor Statements
  • HoH Part 1: Allison
  • HoH Part 2: Jun
  • HoH Part 3: Allison
Week 11
Finale
  • The jury of seven former Houseguests included: Dana, Nathan, Justin, Jack, Jee, Erika, and Robert. The other eliminated players, except for Scott, were all present at the finale.
  • Dana, Justin, Jack, Jee, Erika and Robert all voted for Jun to win because they felt she played the better game by drifting around the house and alliances more than Alison, even though they were not impressed by either of their underhanded techniques.
  • Nathan was the only Houseguest who voted for Alison keeping their former alliance together in the house alive.
  • Jun won the $500,000 in a 6-1 vote, while Allison won $50,000 for being runner-up.
  • No Competitions
  • Jury Members: Dana, Nathan, Justin, Jack, Jee, Erika and Robert
  • Runner-Up: Allison
  • Winner of Big Brother 4: Jun

Final outcome

The final veto competition occurred at the final four, not at the final five like the previous year. The Diamond veto was of the utmost importance to the game. At the competition, Alison emerged victorious, winning the power to remove herself from the nomination block and casting the sole eviction vote. Despite having promised both Jun and Erika to take them to final two, Alison chose to evict Erika. The Diamond Veto was carried over to the next season, however it was simply called the Veto. It is still in use as of the current season.

The final Head of Household competition was in three parts. Alison beat Robert in the first part (the endurance portion) after having promised to take him to the final two. In the second part, Jun easily beat Robert by completing a mental challenge based on events that had taken place in the house. Therefore, Jun and Alison faced each other in part three of the competition, with both having pledged to take the other to final two. After eight questions based on their ex-boyfriends Jee and Justin, the women were tied on four correct answers apiece. The tiebreaker question was "How many days did you date your ex for?", to which Alison answered zero days and Jun answered one million. Therefore, Alison emerged as the final Head of Household for the season and chose to evict Robert from the house.

The jurors stated their disgust and disappointment with the conduct and gameplay of both Alison and Jun. Despite Alison's prowess in competitions, the jury in the end voted Jun as the winner of Big Brother 4 in a 6-1 vote. Jun received votes to win from Dana, Justin, Jack, Jee, Erika, and Robert, while Alison only received a vote from Nathan. Both finalists never had a single vote to evict over the whole season; Alison wasn't even permanently nominated once.

Memorable events

Voting history

A record of the votes cast, stored in a voting-table, shows how each HouseGuest voted to evict throughout his or her time in the house. The Head of Household and the nominees are not allowed to vote, but in the event of a tie, the Head of Household will break it. Twists to the normal nominations process are noted, such as immunity from nomination and eviction (referred to as "exempt") and double evictions. The last seven evictiees of the season are part of the Jury of Big Brother 4. The seven Jury Members vote for the winner during the Finale.

Ten HouseGuests entered the house with an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend, with whom he or she broke up prior to the show. These exes are indicated by matching colors in the chart. Beyond the personal effects of their histories and relationships, there was no direct effect on the mechanics of the game; exes were free to work with or against each other as they saw fit.

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Eviction votes received
Finale
Head of Household Nathan Jee Dana Alison Justin Erika Jee Jun Robert Alison (none)
Nominations
(pre-veto)		 Amanda
Jee		 Erika
Michelle		 Alison
Jack		 Dana
Jun		 Jack
Nathan		 Justin
Robert		 Erika
Jack		 Alison
Jee		 Alison
Jun		 Jun
Robert
Veto Holder Dana David Nathan Robert Robert Jun Jee Alison Alison (none)
Nominations
(post-veto)		 Amanda
Jee		 Erika
Michelle		 David
Jack		 Dana
Jun		 Jack
Nathan		 Justin
Robert		 Erika
Jack		 Jee
Robert		 Erika
Jun
Jun Amanda Michelle David Nominated Nathan Justin Jack Head of Household Nominated Nominated Winner
$500,000		 0
Alison Amanda Michelle Jack Head of Household Nathan Justin Jack Jee Erika Robert Runner-Up
$50,000		 0
Robert Amanda Erika David Dana Nathan Nominated Erika Nominated Head of
Household		 Evicted
(Day 75)		 Jun 2
Erika Amanda Nominated Jack Dana Nathan Head of Household Nominated Jee Nominated Evicted
(Day 68)		 Jun 4
Jee Nominated Head of Household David Dana Nathan Robert Head of Household Nominated Evicted
(Day 61)		 Jun 2
Jack Amanda Michelle Nominated Dana Nominated Justin Nominated Evicted
(Day 54)		 Jun 4
Justin Amanda Erika David Dana Head of Household Nominated Evicted
(Day 47)		 Jun 3
Nathan Head of Household Michelle David Dana Nominated Evicted
(Day 40)		 Alison 5
Dana Amanda Michelle Head of Household Nominated Evicted
(Day 33)		 Jun 6
David Amanda Michelle Nominated Evicted
(Day 26)		 5
Michelle Amanda Nominated Evicted
(Day 19)		 6
Amanda Nominated Evicted
(Day 12)		 9
Scott Expelled
(Day 8)		 0
Notes See
note 1		 None See
note 2		 See
note 3		 See
note 4		 See
note 5
Expelled Scott None
Evicted Amanda
9 of 9 votes
to evict		 Michelle
6 of 8 votes
to evict		 David
5 of 7 votes
to evict		 Dana
6 of 6 votes
to evict		 Nathan
5 of 5 votes
to evict		 Justin
3 of 4 votes
to evict		 Jack
2 of 3 votes
to evict		 Jee
2 of 2 votes
to evict		 Erika
Alison's choice
to evict		 Robert
Alison's choice
to evict

Alison
1 vote
to win

Jun
6 votes
to win

^Note 1 : Scott was expelled on day 8 after he had a violent outburst in the house, however nominations and evictions continued as usual. The Golden Power of Veto, introduced in Season 3, replaced the regular veto beginning with this season.
^Note 2 : In Week 8 the veto competition was held before Jun made her nominations, Jun won a trip outside the house and as part of the competition the other HouseGuests had to guess where Jun was.
^Note 3 : The Diamond veto was introduced, Alison won the Diamond veto and the power to remove herself from the nomination block and casting the sole eviction vote.
^Note 4 : In the final week, the HoH is the only HouseGuest eligible to vote for eviction since the other two HouseGuests are up for eviction by default.
^Note 5 : Votes in the finale are cast for the HouseGuests choice to win, not for who to evict. This season introduced the jury of seven; when the game got down to nine players, the seven evictees formed the jury. This eliminated the need for America to break a tie.

References

  1. ^ "Episode One". Big Brother 12. CBS. July 8, 2010. No. 1, season 12. 00:25 minutes in.
  2. ^ "Episode Two". Big Brother 11. CBS. July 12, 2009. No. 1, season 11. 35:57 minutes in.
  3. ^ a b c d [|Pickard, Ann] (August 19, 2009). "Why is Big Brother so big in the US?". Guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2009/aug/19/why-big-brother-big-us. Retrieved May 25, 2010. 
  4. ^ "Episode Three". Big Brother 11. CBS. July 14, 2009. No. 1, season 11. 39:20 minutes in.
  5. ^ a b "Episode Four". Big Brother 11. CBS. July 16, 2009. No. 1, season 11. 33:20 minutes in.
  6. ^ Dehnart, Andy (February 12, 2008). "Cast member leaves Big Brother 9 house". Reality Blurred. http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/big_brother_9/2008_Feb_14_neil_out. Retrieved May 25, 2010. 
  7. ^ Lang, Derrik J. (August 19, 2009). "'Big Brother 11' Addresses Chima's Expulsion". ABC News. The Associated Press. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wirestory?id=8360182&page=1. Retrieved May 25, 2009. 
  8. ^ Powell, John (August 23, 2003). "'Big Brother' twist unveiled". JAM! Showbiz. http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/TV_Shows/B/BigBrother4/2004/12/14/782371.html. Retrieved May 25, 2010. 
  9. ^ "Brace Yourself". CBS Official Site. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/bigbrother4/show/w01/tues02.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
  10. ^ "Ana Wins Power of Veto, Scott Expelled". CBS Official Site. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/bigbrother4/show/w02/tues01.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
  11. ^ "Ali Wins PoV, Jun at VMA's". CBS Official Site. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/bigbrother4/show/w08/fri01.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 

External links

Big Brother in the United States
Seasons
1  · 2  · 3  · 4  · 5  · 6  · 7  · 8  · 9 · 10  · 11  · 12  · 13  · 14
Companion Shows
Current
Previous
Presenters
Current
Julie Chen (2000–present)
Previous
Gretchen Massey (2004–2008)  · Marcellas Reynolds (2004–2005)
Winners
Notable Contestants
Related Articles