In Case You Missed It:

The situation in the Big Brother house got better and better for the Stooges. After Justin nominated Jack and Nathan, Robert captured the Power of Veto.

Nathan spent most of the time wondering where Allison's priorities in the game where. To make matters worse, privately didn't take kindly to Nathan's prodding. Even allies Jack and Erika came to grips with the facts that Allison had become, like Dana, the stooge's latest foil.

It came to no surprise to everyone when Robert declined to take either Nathan or Jack off the block, and so tonight, the Big Brother house reaches a turning point. It will now have to go on without one of its top strategists. And, to sweeten the pot and to keep tensions in the house high, Big Brother has decided that starting tonight, the vote taking will be done LIVE!

With strategy within the house possibly coming down to the last moments before the vote, we wonder who will be the show's eighth place finisher. Find out now!

AND THEN, THERE WERE SEVEN

Julie Chen, sporting a pink tank-top like blouse and white pants with lots of tassels on them, welcomes us to Day 40 in the Big Brother 4 power struggle. Tonight, the field of eight is reduced to seven, and a second person joins Dana as the second juror sequestered in a seven person jury to determine Big Brother 4's champion.

A quick recap of recent events in the house shows Nathan trying hard to make a last second deal to stay in the house. Allison refers to the current state of the house as "Revenge Of The Nerds, Part II" and is willing to let the Stooges get rid of the scrap meat.

Nathan tries to stir the pot between Jun and Allie, which eventually gets back to Justin. Justin remarks that Nathan should take what's coming to him like a man. Later that evening, word gets back to Nathan about what Justin had said. While Nathan confers with the Stooges, he calls out Jun for being just as wishy-washy as Allison is.

In another clip, Nathan and Justin converse in the HOH. Nathan thinks the house would best be served by staying in the house, combining efforts to take down Alison, and promises to keep the Stooges safe.

When Julie grills the houseguests and ask Jun about Justin's turn as HOH and his revelry with the three stooges, Jun tells her the "boys" behaved as such. When Jee is asked about the laundry service and Justin's shorts, Jun jokingly balks that Julie is trying to make trouble.

Alison is asked if she has final thoughts for Nathan if he leaves tonight, and she plays nice, saying how warm and sweet Nathan's been.

In the second segment, Nathan is profiled by Jan, his mother, and sister Lindsey. When Jan first heard the houseguests speculate Nathan was gay, they were horrified, since he's always been in touch with his masculine side. Jan and Lindsey are also outraged by the turn Allison made on him, and promises a "pop knot" for the next houseguest to give him trouble!

Next, Julie interviews the outgoing HOH, Justin. Justin is unclear as to whether or not his side alliance with Allison will continue. He also thinks it's possible to play the game and not be deceitful, and finds his current alliance with Jee or Robert is on solid ground.

The third segment profiles the three women left in the contest, Jun, Erika, and Allison. Jun calls herself the queen of the house, being the cook. Erika considers herself the house's nurturer, while Allison is the house's professional tease, using her feminine side to gain favor with the men. Jun, on the other hand, thinks she's setting back the women's movement fifty years.

Time for last second groveling from the nominees to sway votes. Nathan wants to be known as a loyal, trustworthy person, while Jack knows if he leaves, it's not personal but strategic.

For all you newbies out there, let me briefly explain the procedure for live voting. Each houseguest is called into the diary room, and must say either "I vote to evict Jack" or "I vote to evict Nathan". When all five voting houseguests have cast their votes one by one, Julie will announce the votes to the nominees, and one of those two leaves the game.

Robert goes to the Diary Room first, and votes to evict...Nathan.

With the tally 1 to 0, Jee goes in. He votes to evict Nathan.

That makes the score 2 to 0, Nathan now one vote shy of eviction. Could Allison seal Nathan's fate?

YES SHE CAN! She votes Nathan, making the last two votes academic.

Jun and Erika each vote Nathan out, making it a 5 to 0 clean sweep.

Nathan is told of the vote by Julie shortly thereafter, and makes his way out of the house in 41 seconds. He gets hugs from a very subdued group. When the cameras look back inside, the spotlight is on Alison, who gets a quick hug from Robert. Erika is sniffling tears a little bit, much like when Dave was evicted. You can hear the whirring of the cameras as Julie starts to interview Nathan.

Nathan says he has no hard feeling about how Allison played the game, but was disappointed in how she played. When asked if he would honored deals he planned to make with the Stooges, he says his hopes were for another player he was tied to would win. Jee, Justin, Jun, Jack, and Allison make their farewells. Allison calls Nathan the most handsome man she's met in her life.

Time to kick off the sixth round with a Head of Household competition, a contest Julie hints will be the most critical yet. The houseguests, all sitting down in the living room, are told to go out to the back yard. They all mostly react with laughter when they see the cages. The contest is called "Steel Cage Match", and the houseguests are told to enter the set of cages.

The object is to move from the largest of three cages to the smallest. When three players have been eliminated, four advance to the middle cage. When two more are eliminated, the last two move to the smallest cage. The person who can stay in the longest wins.

Our opening America's Choice question is what houseguest should get letters from home. And this year, you don't have to phone in your vote, just visit CBS.com!

Julie tells us next Wednesday, the latest new twist will be unveiled.

Analysis:

Allison's vote to evict Nathan was the most stunning moment we've had in the game for a while. I thought for sure Nathan would get one vote to stay, but no.

There were a lot of "reaction shots" tonight of Julie, where when Nathan answered a question, you'd see Julie's facial expressions. Are the producers getting bored, and/or trying something new?

For the East Coast viewers, there was a brief technical glitch in the early moments of the show, where a portion of the "tease", the promotional segment of the show before the theme began, played over and over about six or seven times.

I got to give props to the producers for giving all of us the opportunity to vote on CBS.com on the America's Choice questions. The concerns I raised in BB3 have been heard!

And finally, let me take a moment to issue a New Twist Warning to our fellow Big Brother fans. Let the speculation begin as to what it is!