Television: Big Brother 4 (2003)

 Big Brother 4 (2003)

Rules Changes

Golden Power of Veto - Golden Power of Veto became the default.

Reduced Jury - The jury would be reduced to only 7 evicted house guests instead of 9.

Sequester - The jury would be sequestered and only allowed access to certain information (The Danielle Rule)

 

Increased House Guest Pool - The number of house guests increased from 12 to 13. 

Diamond Power of Veto - Clear in color. Allows the winner to not only remove a nominee; including the veto holder; but also name the replacement.

Season Theme

The X-factor: 5 of the 13 guests were ex-lovers of the other 8

House Guests

Scott - Scott was the ex lover of Amanda and did not do very well with the X-factor twist. He was portrayed as being obsessed with her and went on the warpath when she was nominated in week 1. He became the second ever house guest to be evicted shortly before the first eviction

Amanda - Scott's ex bore the brunt of his BS as there was discussion of pulling her down and backdooring Scott; when he was evicted, Amanda's fate was sealed. She added nothing of value outside of showing exactly how uncomfortable the X-factor twist was making everyone involved.

Michelle - David's ex-girlfriend. Standard blonde college girl. She apparently is the youngest house guest in history as she was only 19 at the time. Don't remember anything about her as is the case with most vapid blonde house guests. She also was nominated as a pawn in week two.... all together now PAWNS GO HOME!

David - Michelle's ex-boyfriend. Had sex with Amanda in the house; the first time that full blown intercourse had taken place in BB history. Decent social player who was shown the back door out of the house.

Dana - First house guest of the original 8 with out an ex in the house to be eliminated. Dana was the typical skinny spitfire; borderline obnoxious personality of the season. She was in a showmance with Justin. Good enough player to be in the running for BB All-Stars; but not good enough to be selected.

Nathan - Take everything I said about Jason in BB3 and apply it here. He was a good player who made the tragic mistake of trusting Alison; inadvertently showing Dana out the backdoor. With Dana gone, he had no support to speak of. Nathan was the second house guest without an ex in the house to be eliminated.

Justin - Alison's ex. Jack had a tremendous man crush on Justin and wanted to recruit him for FBI service. Strong player physically and played the part of brainless meathead to perfection. In terms of who worked with their ex the best, Justin and Alison were probably among the best.

Jack - One of my personal favorite house guests. Jack is old school retired FBI. 58 years old at the time he is the second oldest house guest in history. He played the game exactly how you would expect a federal agent to play it; worked his social game with other strong players and did a really solid job of walking the line between being reserved and being an outcast. He was the third and final house guest who did not have an ex in the house to be eliminated. 

Jee - Jun's ex. Not sure if any player in BB history has ever done more with less. To call him a floater is to give him too much credit. Essentially he just hung around and flew under the radar until the the girl power alliance came together in the final weeks.

Erika - Ah Erika, tall Pilates instructor with some fantastic fake cans. Amazing social player; good enough to be asked back for BB All-Stars. Very close with Jack who brought her along for the ride in the early game. Ex Girlfriend of Robert; who I am certain must tuck it into his sock given how far out of his league Erika (and his GF at the time also) is. 

Robert - Erika's ex. Erika's game was thrown off considerably by his presence as they clearly did not part on good terms and had many unresolved issues between them. He was the first house guest in history to win PoV twice in a row and all three "America's Choice" rewards. He clearly has a lot of likeability and charisma that I just didn't see. I'm still going with the theory he's hung like Mr. Ed. Seems like a more likely explanation.

Alison - The one BB house guest, I'm 99% sure I know personally. I think she came to a few parties with my friends and I in the late 90's/early 2000's, but I obviously didn't keep in contact with whomever that girl was and I can't find anything online about this Alison spending time in Knoxville, TN. Everything about her says Pittsburgh. One day I'll care enough to ask those who might know, but today is not that day.

Alison is notorious for using her sexuality to manipulate everyone in the house not named Jack (partly because he's old enough to be her grandpa and partly because he's a FUCKING FBI AGENT!) The men were doe eyed and putty in her hands, the women were intimidated by her (even Erika, which was weird), with one notable exception....

Jun - Jun being a big brother winner is the reality television equivalent of picking up a turd by the clean end. The jury did not vote so much for Jun as they did against Alison and made no secret of their contempt for being forced to choose between the two. Her contribution to the house was that she was the best cook in the house and wasn't going to win anything (she won only one HoH and part two of the final HoH). She was the first non-Caucasian winner in history as an Asian woman. Outside of Jackson Michie many years later, I'm not sure any winner has been painted as a worse person to win.

Final Thoughts

Big Brother 4 was the season where they started trying to get too cute for their own good. The X-factor is one of those ideas that seems intriguing on paper; but literally from the beginning made everyone involved uncomfortable. The first two weeks felt like watching a reality TV version of Oz, as 10 of the 13 people in the building literally felt trapped in a prison. Eventually everyone accepted the fate, and in the case of Alison and Justin, both got much farther in the game because of it.It was the first, but not the last time they would tinker with it not being a house full of strangers.

Season Rankings (From Best to Worst)

1. Big Brother 3 (2002)

2. Big Brother 4 (2003)

3. Big Brother 2 (2001)

4. Big Brother (2000)