Big Brother 8 (American season)

Template:Spoiler-blankTemplate:Future television episode Template:Big Brother housemates

Big Brother 8 is the eighth season of the US version of the reality TV-show Big Brother on CBS. The season was announced on February 1, 2007. Julie Chen returned for this season as host. Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan have been announced as executive producers. Arnold Shapiro stepped down as producer following last season's All-Stars edition, but serves as executive consultant on the show. Casting calls ran until May 5, 2007. A preview was shown on the The Early Show on July 5, 2007, the day of the premiere. The show airs three times a week; Sundays at 8 p.m. (EDT), Tuesdays at 9 p.m., and Thursdays, which is broadcast live, at 8 p.m.

CBS' cable/satellite premium network Showtime Too is carrying a spinoff of the series called Big Brother: After Dark, which airs nightly live from 9 p.m.—12 a.m. (PDT). This program features house activity happening between those times, and is edited only for slanderous statements and music copyrights.

It has also been confirmed that former HouseGuest and presenter of the online talk show, House Calls, Marcellas Reynolds, will not be returning to host the daytime chat show after CBS announced budget cuts, although his co-presenter, Gretchen Massey, will continue as host of the program. The program broadcasts live at cbs.com every weekday at 1 p.m. (EDT), where viewers call-in with questions and discussion about the show. On Fridays, the evicted houseguest will appear on the show.

Chronology

Main article: Big Brother 8 (US) highlights

Each week in the Big Brother House is summarized in the table on the main page. A typical week begins with the Head of Household competition during the live Thursday episode and ends with the eviction of a houseguest during the following Thursday's episode. The next "week" immediately starts after the eviction with the next Head of Household competition. Evictions, competitions, and other noteworthy events for a particular week are noted. Some of the events listed may not be in order of sequence.

Note: Please see America's Player section for the list of Eric's tasks.

HouseGuests

The twist this year is "Biggest Nemesis", as six of the HouseGuests have moved into the house with their enemies, and have been revealed as Joe/Dustin (ex-boyfriends), Daniele/Dick (estranged daughter/father), and Carol/Jessica (ex-best friends). The other twist is HouseGuest Eric as "America's Player".

Amber

Amber M. Tomcavage (born March 17, 1980) (maiden name Siyavus) is a 27-year-old cocktail waitress at Caesar's Palace casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is a divorced mother (she said she was married April 11, 2000 and divorced after four years of marriage), and says her ex-husband is one of her best friends. She is also known to be very emotional, most notably crying at situations and in-house events such as after most nomination ceremonies, veto competitions, veto ceremonies, and evictions, sometimes for seemingly no reason at all, even if she did not really like the person. She at one point even referred to herself as "ridiculous" for all the crying she does, and realizes that she needs to be less emotional or it could cost her the game.

Carol

Carol M. Journey (born March 3, 1986) is a 21-year-old student from Lawrence, Kansas, born and raised in Haysville, Kansas. Carol attends the University of Kansas and is part of their dance team. She is the daughter of Kansas State Senator Phil Journey. Jessica and Carol were best friends as young teens, but had a falling out and went their separate ways. She was the first HouseGuest evicted in a 10-1 vote in favor of Amber.

Daniele

Daniele Donato (born August 20, 1986) is a 20-year-old Hooters waitress from Huntington Beach, California. Dick is her estranged father, with whom she hadn't spoken for two years before entering the house. Daniele's budding relationship with HouseGuest Nick was not well received by her father Dick. Daniele lied by telling the HouseGuests she was 21-years-old on Day 1, while she will not actually turn 21 until August 20. She became the fifth Head of Household on day 34 in an Endurance competition.

Dick

Richard Louis "Evel Dick" Donato (born June 24, 1963) is an Atheist 44-year-old bar manager from Los Angeles, California. Daniele is his estranged daughter. Dick has claimed to be an acquaintance with numerous famous celebrities, one in particular being Cher, with whom he claims to have had dinner. He has stated that he has dated Jerri Manthey of Survivor fame, and although he broke up with her, he says they remain friends.

Dustin

Dustin Simon Erikstrup (born January 21, 1985) is a 22-year-old shoe salesman from Chicago, Illinois. Dustin and Joe used to be a couple, and had a bitter breakup. Dustin was the fourth Head of Household for the season. His actions during that week's Power of Veto competition drew criticism from Amber and Jameka who called his taking of $5,000 and a holiday to Barbados selfish. Dustin has made an appearance on Elimidate.

Eric

Eric S. Stein (born January 25, 1980) is a 27-year-old talent management assistant from New York, New York. He grew up in Yorktown Heights, New York and attended Boston University. He is "America's Player".

Jameka

Jameka Linette Cameron (born July 20, 1978) is a 29-year-old school counselor from Waldorf, Maryland and attended Elizabeth City State University. Fellow houseguest Dick wrote in his Head of Household blog that he felt Jameka was smart and trusting. Jameka has consistently been seen as deeply religious, believing that God wanted her to save Jen from eviction in Week 4. Dick criticised Jameka's devotion to God with Jameka eventually attacking his atheistic principles in the Diary Room.

Jen

Jennifer Marie Johnson (born April 25, 1984) is a 23-year-old nanny from Beverly Hills, California. She is also a bikini model. Her previous television appearances include playing for the NY Euphoria in the 2006 Lingerie Bowl. While in the house she has been criticized for being very vain and only thinking of herself. She also took down the only picture of her mother from the wall in her HoH room because Jen thought that she (herself) looked bad in it. Jen became the second Head of Household of the season, stunning the other HouseGuests. Jen's family and friends have told producers and the public that Jen is "playing dumb" in the house and is quite different in real life than she acts in the Big Brother house.

Jessica

Jessica L. Hughbanks (born December 22, 1985) is a 21-year-old Wichita State University student, Wichita Wild Indoor Football and Wichita Thunder dance team member from Haysville, Kansas. Jessica and Carol were best friends as young teens, but had a falling out and went their separate ways.

Joe

Joe Barber (born September 28, 1983) is a 23-year-old receptionist from Chicago, Illinois. Joe and Dustin were a couple but had a bitter breakup. He was the second HouseGuest evicted. Joe once made an appearance on MTV's Elimidate.

Kail

Kail Lucille Harbick (born October 5, 1969) is a 37-year-old business owner from McKenzie Bridge, Oregon who works as a real estate agent for Prudential Financial. Prudential Real Estate Agents In addition to her estate business, she and her husband own a bar in Blue River, Oregon. A devout Christian and fan of Big Brother, Kail had previously applied for Big Brother 5, 6, and 7 (though this was not accepted because it was an All-Star season). On Day 34, she told Big Brother that she wanted to leave the house and walk. She was talked out of it by the show's producers.

Mike

Michael S. Dutz (born August 20, 1980) is a 26-year-old painting contractor from Three Lakes, Wisconsin, and is a model with BMG Model & Talent Agency. He has appeared on the Lifetime show Gay, Straight or Taken?. Mike was known in the Big Brother house for being quiet and not connecting with the other houseguests. Mike was nominated alongside Kail by Dick. Very quiet inside the House, fellow HouseGuest Dustin said, "Mike, I'm sorry, you've been in the house for three weeks, and I know four things about you: You're from Wisconsin, you like planes, you're a model, and you eat a lot of meat." Mike was evicted with seven of the nine votes recorded on Day 27.

Nick

Nicholas Anton Starcevic (born March 5, 1982) is a 25-year-old former college American football player from Kimball, Minnesota, and was once crowned MTV's "Spring Break King" while on vacation in Cancun. Nick has worn t-shirts of his former teammate and former Eagle Jake Young, having last played for EWU's Big Sky Conference championship teams in 2004 and 2005. He spent time playing football for a Finnish team Seinäjoki Crocodiles in a European Federation of American Football (EFAF). Nick was nominated alongside Kail on Day 31 in place of Jen, being evicted on Day 34 by a six to two vote.

Zach

Zachary Joseph Swerdzewski (born April 17, 1977) is a 30-year-old graphic designer from Burbank, California, and owns a company called Dolphin Crash. On the show, he has been seen wearing shirts with the company's name and logo, and sports the logo as a tattoo on his upper-left shoulder on his back. His fellow housemates expressed their dislike for him in diary room sessions. Zach once made an appearance on an episode of E!'s Style Court.

Big Brother House

The houseplan of the Big Brother 8 house.

House pictures were released on June 27, 2007. The house has an Alice in Wonderland theme and contains an oversized bedroom and a small bedroom. The small bedroom features a very small doorway and five beds which are only five feet long, while the oversized bedroom features shoulder-height beds and enormous drawers which need a ladder to reach. The backyard contains animal shaped topiaries and a spinning teacup,while the bathroom's shower features a showerhead shaped like a lion's head.

Interactive options

This year, there are two options for viewers of Big Brother to become more involved with the game. They are CBS' "America's Player" and Canadian broadcaster Global TV's "Big Brother interactive." It is unknown whether "America's Choice" used in previous seasons will continue this year.

America's Player

At the end of each show (starting July 8), Eric is asked to complete a task that America specifies by voting on CBS.com or by text messaging, and for every five tasks Eric completes, he is rewarded with US$10,000. Viewers are able to vote on tasks from the end of an episode until midnight (PT). The Thursday task is pitching nominees to the HoH, the Sunday task is something interesting but might not affect the strategic game play, and the Tuesday task is who to vote to evict (the eviction tasks are only considered successful if the nominee of America's choice is evicted from the house). Despite the title "America's Player," Canadians will still be allowed to vote online. Allison Grodner, the executive producer, chuckled while telling Global TV "We are certainly not trying to exclude any of our viewers so we will call this...the 'Canadian-American Player'."

Task #	Date given	Description	Options	America's selection	Result
1	Sun, July 8	Eric is going to show his soft side. Decide which HouseGuest Eric must tell a made up lie of a sorrowful story about his past life to.	All other HouseGuests	Kail	Successful
2	Tue, July 10	Which one of the two nominees should Eric vote to evict?	Amber, Carol	Carol	Successful
3	Thu, July 12	Decide which of the HouseGuests Eric must persuade Jen to put up for eviction.	All other HouseGuests	Jessica	Failed 1
4	Sun, July 15	As every HouseGuest has their quirks, Eric will now have his own. America must decide which house guest's bed Eric will sleepwalk to. *He did it, but did not stay long enough*	All other HouseGuests	Joe	Failed 2
5	Tue, July 17	Which one of the two nominees should Eric get evicted?	Dick, Joe	Joe	Successful
6	Thu, July 19	Even though Eric is not HoH, decide a HouseGuest Eric must try to persuade Dick to put up.	All other HouseGuests	Jen	Successful 3
7	Sun, July 22	It's time for Eric to cause a little drama in the house. Decide which HouseGuest Eric must target (their property).	All other HouseGuests	Jen	Successful 4
8	Tue, July 24	Which one of the two nominees should Eric get evicted?	Mike, Kail	Kail	Failed 5
9	Thu, July 26	Who should Eric convince Dustin to nominate for eviction?	All other HouseGuests	Jen	Successful 3
10	Sun, July 29	Eric must now start up a catch-phrase inside the house. Which catch-phrase should Eric start in the house?	"Sweet Chicken" "Booyakah" "I'd do that for a dollar!"	"I'd do that for a dollar!"	Pending 6
11	Tue, July 31	Which one of the two nominees should Eric get evicted?	Kail, Nick	Kail	Failed 5
12	Thu, August 2	Who should Eric get nominated for eviction?	All other HouseGuests	-	Pending 7

Template:FnbJen nominated Daniele and Dick rather than Jessica.

Template:FnbEric did "sleepwalk" into Joe's bed, but chose to leave rather than wait for Joe to kick him out.

Template:FnbJen was originally nominated, but was vetoed and therefore was not one of the final nominees.

Template:FnbEric squirted mustard on Jen's pillowcase and one of her shirts. He later told Dustin and Jessica.

Template:FnbAlthough Eric voted this way, the house did not, so he failed in this task.

Template:FnbIn order to succeed, Eric has one week to get 3 people to repeat the phrase on 5 separate days.

Template:FnbIf Daniele (the HoH) is the highest vote getter, the second highest vote getter will be Eric's target. Eric cannot push for his own nomination; that is not a choice for public voters.

Big Brother interactive

This year Canadian Broadcast network, Global TV, will be introducing an interactive Two-Screen Solutions game on their website, Big Brother 'In The House', using NanoGaming technology. Viewers will be able to make real-time predictions as well as answer trivia and instant recall questions while watching the show. The Big Brother fan with the most points each week will win a TV, and the fan with the most points throughout the season will win tickets to the wrap party.

Ratings

Big Brother 8 will air episodes three times a week, with shows airing Sundays at 8 p.m. (EDT), Tuesdays 9 p.m., and Thursday 8 p.m. The first episode premiered on July 5, 2007 with 7.401 million viewers (4.8/9 viewing audience), down from last year's 5.2/9 launch. However, the following show on Sunday did much worse in the ratings, scoring a 3.9/7 viewing figure, losing nearly 1 million viewers since the previous episode. The first Tuesday's show, however, was more successful with viewers, managing a 4.5/7 rating. The following Tuesday's show had the same rating. Tuesday shows are typically the highest rated among the three episodes every week, with Thursday in second and Sunday, a competitive night in television, in last among all three recap shows. As with the previous seasons, live streaming video feeds are available for purchase through RealNetworks. All ratings are from Nielsen Media Research and Zap2it.

	Week 0 (Launch)	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10
Sunday	no show	6.05m 3.9/7	6.51m 4.2/8	6.51m 4.2/8	6.36m 4.1/8
Tuesday	no show	6.98m 4.5/7	6.98m 4.5/7	6.98m 4.5/8	7.29m 4.7/9
Thursday	7.401m 4.8/9	6.51m 4.2/8	7.29m 4.7/9	7.076m 4.5/9	7.13m 4.6/9
Weekly average	7.401m 4.8/9	6.51m 4.2/7	6.93m 4.4/8	6.86m 4.4/8	6.93m 4.5/9
Running average	7.401m 4.8/9	7.180m 4.6/8	7.055m 4.4/8	6.958m 4.4/8	6.910m 4.4/9
Season average	6.910m 4.5/9

Voting history

Template:Spoiler-blank

The following is a table showing how each HouseGuest voted to evict throughout his of 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.

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10	Results
Head of Household	Kail	Jen	Dick	Dustin	Daniele
Nominations (pre-veto)	Amber Carol	Daniele Dick	Jen Kail	Jen Kail
Veto Winner	Daniele	Daniele	Jen	Jameka
Nominations (post-veto)	Amber Carol	Dick Joe	Kail Mike	Kail Nick
Amber	Nominated	Joe	Mike	Nick
Daniele	Carol	Joe	Mike	Nick	Head of Household
Dick	Carol	Nominated	Head of Household	Nick
Dustin	Carol	Joe	Mike	Head of Household
Eric	Carol	Joe	Kail	Kail
Jameka	Carol	Joe	Mike	Nick
Jen	Amber	Head of Household	Mike	Nick
Jessica	Carol	Joe	Mike	Nick
Kail	Head of Household	Dick	Nominated	Nominated
Zach	Carol	Joe	Kail	Kail
Nick	Carol	Joe	Mike	Nominated	Evicted (Day 34)
Mike	Carol	Joe	Nominated	Evicted (Day 27)
Joe	Carol	Nominated	Evicted (Day 20)
Carol	Nominated	Evicted (Day 13)
Nomination note	See note 1	See note 2	See note 3	See note 3
Evicted	Carol 10 of 11 votes	Joe 9 of 10 votes	Mike 7 of 9 votes	Nick 6 of 8 votes

• Template:Fnb The nemeses (Dick, Dustin, and Jessica) were unable to participate in the Head of Household competition. Therefore, they were exempt from nomination but still able to vote for eviction. They were able to view the competition and selected Kail to win as she and Eric were the two finalists in the competition. America's Player, Eric, will have to vote which HouseGuest to evict (Amber or Carol), by votes from the viewers. The public voted for Carol.

• Template:Fnb America's Player, Eric, will have to vote which HouseGuest to evict by votes from the viewers. The public voted for Joe to be evicted. However, in order for this to count as a completed task the HouseGuest that America wants Eric to vote for eviction must leave.

• Template:Fnb America's Player, Eric, will have to vote which HouseGuest to evict by votes from the viewers. The public voted for Kail to be evicted. However, in order for this to count as a completed task the HouseGuest that America wants Eric to vote for eviction must leave.

See also

• Big Brother: After Dark

External links

• CBS Official Site
• Global Official Site
• Big Brother Live Video Feeds