Big Brother 2

The second season of Big Brother, the American reality TV show aired twenty-nine episodes during the summer of 2001 from July 5 to September 20. The show marked a major change in format and rules from the previous debut season.

Changes

Changes introduced in this season included:

* Though not a rule, twelve contestants appeared on Big Brother 2, opposed to ten on Big Brother 1. * The HouseGuests no longer gave nominations that were voted on by the public. Instead, they competed to become Head of Household (HoH). The winner of this position was given a separate bedroom and the right to nominate two HouseGuests for eviction. With this format turnaround, contestants were highly encouraged to talk about gameplay, strategy, and especially nominations, making the American series the first to do such, unlike other international formats, where contestants are warned or severely punished for exposing their nominations to another.

* The ultimate winner of the show was determined by a vote of the ousted HouseGuests rather than the public. During this season, and season three only, however, all ousted members of the house, became voting members of the jury while in future season only those HouseGuests who lasted until the final weeks became jury members. In addition, all HouseGuests were allowed to immediately return to their regular lives (and watch the show) upon being evicted, returning at the end to cast their jury votes. Beginning with season four, all jury members are now sequestered until the end of the show. Justin Sebik, who was expelled, did not return for the finale and did not play a part in the final vote. * In a special twist this season, the two remaining HouseGuests got to decide which HouseGuest's vote they could void, in hopes that their vote was for their opponent, and that they would gain an advantage over the other player.

* During this season, the food competitions were introduced. HouseGuests competed against each other for the right to win food, and the losers were put on a diet of only Peanut Butter and Jelly for all their meals for the week. The Peanut Butter and Jelly punishment diet lasted through until Season 7 when it was replaced with the "Slop" punishment diet. * This season marked the end of the free internet feeds that the public had access to during the show's first season, and CBS introduced a paid user fee system.

* The house itself was renovated. Evicted HouseGuests did not exit into the outside world as in Season One. Instead, they exited into the outside world for 5 seconds, walking about 20 feet outside to a closed studio where they were interviewed by Julie Chen. After their interview with Julie they would meet up with family members or friends in a feature that was dropped in later seasons. * The announcer from Season 1 returned to narrate the opening to episode 2 of Big Brother 2, but was thereafter replaced by another announcer.

Memorable events

* About two weeks before the end of the second season, the September 11 attacks pre-empted television for an entire week. In a move away from the rule of not letting the HouseGuests in on information from the outside world, the three remaining HouseGuests were told of the news. Contestant Monica was told, in the diary room by executive producer Allison Grodner that her cousin Tamitha was presumed missing at the World Trade Center. The week after the attacks, the game continued as normal. * In week two, HouseGuest Justin Sebik placed a knife to the throat of fellow HouseGuest Krista, asking "Would you get mad if I killed you?" Both competitors were under the influence of alcohol, but Justin was disqualified from the show and evicted immediately. The HouseGuests were notified the following morning via the voice of executive producer Arnold Shapiro, who asked them to gather up Justin's belongings to be sent home.

* The first true strategic alliance of any Big Brother season was formed when contestants Mike and Will formed the "Chilltown" alliance, which was later expanded to include Shannon. * Volatile HouseGuest Shannon became known for her temper. In one memorable moment, she was chastised by the producers when she angrily scrubbed the toilet with the toothbrush of HouseGuest Hardy, after they had had a fight. In another encounter, she placed a bag of potato chips on HouseGuest Autumn's pillow to insinuate that she was fat, causing her to sob uncontrollably.

* The HouseGuests received a short visit from some contestants of the other CBS reality show Survivor. Gervase Peterson and Susan Hawk from Survivor: Borneo and Alicia Calaway and Jeff Varner from Survivor: The Australian Outback visited the house for a few hours in an episode that aired on September 5. * On finale night, the audience was updated that former HouseGuest Sheryl was diagnosed with breast cancer and needed to undergo chemotherapy, as well as the news that Monica's cousin Tamitha had died at the World Trade Center.

* During the show's final episode, contestant Mike "Boogie" proposed marriage to fellow contestant Krista, with whom he had a romance on the show. They would later break up.

HouseGuests 

Autumn

Autumn Daly is a 28 year-old single mother and aspiring singer from Irving, TX.  She was evicted from the house in week two by a vote of 7 to 0.  

Bunky

Bill "Bunky" Miller is a 36 year-old technical writer from Harrisburg, NC. He made it to the final five, but was evicted in week 8 in a week when Head of Household, Hardy had to make a tie-breaker vote. Big Brother's first openly gay HouseGuest, he was also known for frequently crying. 

Hardy

Hardy Ames-Hill is a 31 year-old account executive from York, PA. He was Head of Household more than anyone else (3 times), made it to the final four before being evicted in week 9 when Will cast the sole vote against him.  

Justin

Justin Sebik is a 26 year-old bartender from Bayonne, NJ. He was expelled from the House on Day 10 because of the "The Knife Incident", where he threatened others and held a knife to the throat of Krista after a night of heavy drinking. Most HouseGuests were asleep at the time and only learned of the incident the next day.  

Kent

Kent Blackwelder is a 46 year-old mortgage broker from Powell, TN.  He was evicted in week 5 by a vote of 4-0.  

Krista

Krista Stegall is a 28 year-old divorced mother and waitress from Opelousas, LA. She was evicted in week 6 by a vote of 3-0. She was involved in a romance with Mike, who proposed to her during the show's finale. They would split up soon afterward, however. 

Mike

Mike "Boogie" Malin is a 30 year-old bar owner from Los Angeles, CA  He was evicted in week 4 by a vote of 4-1. He memorably proposed to Krista during the show's final episode. Malin was a member of the Chilltown alliance. He would later return in 2006 for Big Brother: All Stars, where he became the eventual champion.  

Monica

Monica Bailey is a 40 year-old candy store manager and adult literacy teacher from Brooklyn, NY. She made it to the final 3 before being voted out by Head of Household Nicole. During the show, it was revealed that Monica's cousin was missing after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. Monica was told of the incident but not in detail.  

Nicole

Nicole Nilson Schaffrich is a 31 year-old personal chef from Atlanta, GA. During the first week she annoyed the other HouseGuests for being bossy, and she was immediately put up for eviction. But after surviving that vote, she gradually became an influential and powerful player, partly through her alliance with Hardy. She made it to the finals, where she lost to Will by a vote of 5-2. 

Shannon

Shannon Dragoo is a 29 year-old realtor and boat captain from San Antonio, TX. She was a member of the Chilltown alliance, but was voted out in week 3 by a vote of 6-0. She is best known for her toilet scrubbing incident with Hardy's toothbrush. 

Sheryl

Sheryl Braxton is a 43 year-old divorced mother and interior decorator from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. She was the first HouseGuest evicted by a vote of 5-3 in week 1. 

Will

Will Kirby is a 28 year-old physician from Miami, FL. Known as "Dr. Will" and a member of Chilltown alliance, his strategy was to combine charm with lies. Despite being nominated four times, his strategy worked and Will was crowned champion of Big Brother 2, defeating Nicole by a final vote of 5-2. In 2006, he appeared on Big Brother: All Stars, where he finished in fourth place.

Highlights

A weekly summary table of tasks, evictions, major events, and other notable moments in the Big Brother house follows.