In Case You Missed It:
Three houseguest became two, when Alison scolded Robert for playing both sides against the middle before sending him on his way. And so, in five days, Robert joins Dana, Nathan, Justin, Jack, Jee, and Erika on the seven member jury that will examine the finalists with questions before rendering their verdicts. The winner covets a $500,000 grand prize, while the loser still gets a tidy sum of $50,000.
But tonight, we take a look back at the long road that's led us to this point. Find out why some Big Brother fans have called Big Brother's fourth American season..
THE SUMMER OF SNEER
The girls whoop it up after Robert's departure, and run around the house in celebration. Alison wonders about what the jurors are thinking about. This leads us to the Jury House in sunny Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
The jurors talk about the first night of the game when the exes made their first appearance, the night Alison and Michelle donned lettuce bikinis, games where potatoes were passed, and the infamous "sting" job in Round 2 where Justin, Jee, and Robert were played like fiddles. The others were playing possum, telling them that they would go along with Jee's wishes and evict Erika. But it was not to be, as Michelle went out of the house in eleventh place.
The jury is still talking at the dinner table during the second segment, which leads to clips of the lighter moments of the game. Another clip, previously unseen, shows how Jee got drunk the night Justin had won HOH. Erika talks about the night the then five houseguests played their sequestered partners as part of a home movie. Jack and Dana talk about Jee's in house ceremony honoring his father on the anniversary of his passing, which Jack thought was the most touching moment in the house.
We're still at the jury house in the third segment, where Justin and Erika discuss all the anguish the house has been through, with Alison and Erika leading the way. This led to a previously unseen clip where Alison was injured in one of the food competitions. Her ring got embedded in her finger, but the others, seeing no blood, thought Ali was just being a drama queen. Another clip showed Robert winning one of the America's Choices where he gets a letter from loving daughter Elena. Competition highlights are shown which highlight Jack's pratfalls and follies, one where he dresses as a strawberry, one during a luxury competition where he's spun around and loses his balance.
The "Clambake From Hell" is replayed, as well as Marcella's return to Big Brother for the gnome competition for McDonald's. This was followed by the "Shiny Heinies" competition from day two.
The fourth segment featured the top conflicts in the house, among them Alison's and Nathan's boxing match, Michelle and Dave's verbal jousting. Alison and Justin had a neat little verbal spat about lying, while Jee and Jun had a spat that was much ado about nothing. Nathan is shown arguing with both Jun and Alison, oddly enough. Then Jack discusses the various love nests in the house, such as Dave and Amanda. As many of you remember, Dave and Amanda had what many believe is the first sexual tryst in the American Big Brother series. Erika, meanwhile, believes the Justin and Dana relationship was the best in-house coupling. Jack talks about how many different guys Alison had been nice to, so to speak, in the house, and points out the only one she didn't treat with TLC was himself.
In the show's final segment, Jack talks about the show's twists, such as the peanut butter bribe for power of veto, which Jee accepted. The veto, which is now "golden" every week, marked a huge turning point in the game, when Nathan saved Alison during the third round. Dana still blames Nathan for it, even at the jury house!
The six members of the seven member jury are shown packing, ready to head back to Los Angeles for Wednesday night's final judgment.
Back at the house, Ali and Jun enter the storage room, where several goodies await them. Both feel confident that they can reign as Big Brother's next queen.
Analysis:
Tonight's "clip show" was much better then last year's, and it was a nice reminder of the game so far. A clip show seems a much better fit near the end of the game then it did at the midway point, as they did for Big Brother 3.
I got to tell all of you, I'm very much looking forward to Wednesday night and the grand finale. While it's true that these two women weren't by any means well liked by most, there isn't that much that separates them. And while I think Jun will win the game, being the lesser of two evils, you could make a good case for Alison. Alison did things in this game no one has dared to do, casting nine votes, eight of nine leading to that person's dismissal. She was the first houseguest NEVER to be sitting on the hot seat at the moment of possible eviction. All of these things are unprecedented in Big Brother's American history.
But the game is not all about statistics. Even so, one statistic is inescapable. Much like many of the NFL's Super Bowl games, all the Big Brother finals haven't been close.
In the show's four year run, the only thing that seems missing is that moment of high tension Survivor always seems to have, that moment where it all comes down to the last vote. In five nights, we might just see it finally happen. Maybe then, Big Brother can finally take a place at the table of Reality TV's great shows.