Big Brother 4

In the fourth season of Big Brother, the American reality television show, aired thirty-three episodes during the summer of 2003 from July 8 to September 24. This season winner's was Jun Song, who beat her on-off ally Alison Irwin in the Final 2 by a 6-1 vote. This season holds the record for largest premiere at 9.69 million viewers. Also the 31st episode, which features Robert's eviction, holds the record for largest single episode viewership in Big Brother history at 10.99 million. Major alliances of this season include the Elite Eight (Dana, Alison, Jack, Erika, David, Jun, Nathan, Scott), the Three Stooges (Justin, Jee, Robert) which extended to Jun to make the Dream Team, and the girl power group that Alison, Jun, and Erika formed near the end.

Rule changes

X Factor

The big twist for the year was The X-Factor. Eight HouseGuests were introduced, only to have five HouseGuests' exes compete against them in the game. This quickly became messy, as Scott, a HouseGuest who had his ex-girlfriend (Amanda) move into the house, had a violent outburst, and subsequently told the House that he had a sexually transmitted disease. He was disqualified and evicted from the game.

Golden Power of Veto

Another twist, introduced in the last veto contest of Big Brother 3, was the Golden Power of Veto, in that if a nominated person won such a veto, they would be allowed to take themselves off consideration for voting, which was not allowed when the veto was introduced originally the year before.

Event ordering

Yet another twist in the game occurred when Jun won HoH in Week 8 of the competition. The veto competition would be held before Jun would make her nominations. The reason being was that Jun, as HoH, won a special trip outside of the Big Brother House to attend the 20th Annual MTV Video Music Awards. Her disappearance (as she entered the Diary Room and never returned) played a part in the veto Competition, as the HouseGuests had to guess where Jun was.  Jun returned, and nominated Jee, her ex-boyfriend, and Alison. However, Alison won the veto, and used it on herself, forcing Jun to put Robert in her place. Despite Robert being a replacement for Alison, Jee was unanimously evicted 2-0.

Jury

One last twist to the format included a jury of seven who would decide the outcome of the game. When the game got down to nine players, the evictees formed the jury. The jury format eliminated America's need to break a tie if necessary, as done before in Season 3 (though Lisa won 9-1). The sequestered jury was introduced after many outcry among fans when Danielle lost season 3 arguably due to evicted HouseGuests seeing her diary room sessions. From season 4 on, the sequestered jury saw only competitions, veto and nomination ceremonies, and evictions.

Memorable events

* This season featured the first act of sex between HouseGuests on the show when contestants Amanda and David had sex under the covers in the Head of Household room. The DVD that was released featured uncensored moments from the season that weren't allowed for broadcast, including this encounter. * For the second time in four seasons, a Big Brother HouseGuest, Scott, was removed from the show when he was talked to on day 8 after he had a violent outburst in the house; then he chose to leave after the house guests did not accept his apology. * At 19, Michelle is the youngest contestant in the show's history while Jack, at age 58 remained the oldest until Big Brother 10, which had 75-year-old Jerry.

HouseGuests

Alison

Alison Irwin (born August 7, 1980, in Pennsylvania) was a 22-year-old retail sales manager from Meadville, Pennsylvania. Her ex-boyfriend Justin Giovinco appeared on the show with her as part of the X-Factor twist. She was announced the runner-up of the season on day 82, losing to winner Jun Song in a 6-1 jury vote. Alison received $50,000 USD for being the runner-up of the season. In 2004, Alison appeared on The Amazing Race 5 with her boyfriend, Donald Patrick. She was also chosen to appear on Big Brother 7: All Stars in 2006. She was the first one evicted on Day 11. 

Amanda

Amanda Craig (born 1978) was a 25-year-old bar manager from Chicago, Illinois. As part of the X-Factor twist, Amanda appeared on the show as the ex-girlfriend of contestant Scott Weintraub. Amanda and David were the first people to have sex on the U.S. version of Big Brother Amanda was evicted from the house on day 12 in a 9-0 vote.  

Brandon

Brandon Showalter (born June 9, 1975) was a 28-year-old computer engineer from Newport Beach, California. Brandon was disqualified from the show prior to entering house for allegedly contacting his girlfriend during sequester. He was replaced by Jee. 

Dana

Dana Varela (born in 1975 in Queens, New York) was a 28-year-old karate school manager from Queens, New York. She was evicted from the house on day 33 in a 6-0 vote. In 2006, Dana was selected as a candidate to appear on Big Brother 7: All Stars but was ultimately chosen not to compete on the actual show.  

David

David Lane (born 1982) was a 21-year-old former Army ranger from Deerfield Beach, Florida. His ex-girlfriend Michelle Maradie appeared on the show with him as part of the X-Factor twist. David had sex in the Big Brother house with Amanda, while Michelle was also a houseguest. He was evicted on day 26 in a 5-2 vote.  

Erika

Erika Landin (born December 5, 1970) was a 33-year-old Pilates instructor from Los Angeles, California. Her ex-boyfriend Robert Roman appeared on the show with her as part of the X-Factor twist. She was evicted on day 68 in a 1-0 vote. Erika was chosen to compete in Big Brother 7: All Stars in 2006, where she was the runner up and received $50,000, although after the All Stars finale, Erika quickly found out that she was being played by fellow houseguest, Mike "Boogie" Malin (Big Brother 2). Although many people believed that she was also playing him.  

Jack

Jack Owens, Jr. (born November 19, 1944, in Gatesville, Texas) was a 58-year-old retired FBI agent from Birmingham, Alabama. Jack was evicted on day 54 in a 2-1 vote. Since the show, Jack has been a frequent poster at the Revenge of the Houseguests blog at CBS.com. At the time of the show, Jack was the oldest contestant ever to have participated on Big Brother. As of Big Brother 10, the record for the oldest HouseGuest to play Big Brother was shattered by Jerry, who is 75.  

Jee

Jee Choe (born 1980) was a 23-year-old bookkeeper from Elmhurst, New York. As part of the X-Factor twist, Jee appeared on the show as the ex-boyfriend of eventual winner Jun Song. He was evicted on day 61 in a 2-0 vote.  

Jun

Jun Song (born July 19, 1975, in Seoul, Korea) was a 27-year-old investment manager from New York City, New York. Her ex-boyfriend Jee Choe appeared on the show with her as part of the X-Factor twist. Jun was declared the winner of the show on day 82 in a 6-1 jury vote. As the winner of the show, Jun received the $500,000 USD grand prize. She often posts on the Revenge of the Houseguests blog at CBS.com.  

Justin

Justin Giovinco (born January 3, 1981) was a 22-year-old headhunter from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He appeared on the show as the ex-boyfriend of Alison Irwin for this season's X-Factor twist. He was evicted on day 47 in a 3-1 vote.  

Michelle

Michelle Maradie (born 1984) was a 19-year-old college student from Boca Raton, Florida. As part of the X-Factor twist, Michelle appeared on the show as the ex-girlfriend of contestant David Lane. She was evicted on day 19 in a 6-2 vote, having never been taken too seriously by her fellow houseguests due to her naive nature, and admission that she was a virgin.  

Nathan

Nathan Marlow (born October 2, 1979, in Tulsa, Oklahoma) was a 23-year-old personal trainer from Edmond, Oklahoma. He was evicted from the house on day 40 in a 5-0 vote. 

Robert

Robert Roman (born 1970) was a 33-year-old restaurant manager from Los Angeles, California. He has a daughter named Elena. Robert appeared on the show as the ex-boyfriend of Erika Landin for this season's X-Factor twist. He was evicted by eventual runner-up Alison Irwin on day 75.  

Scott

Scott Weintraub (born 1970) was a 33-year-old waiter from Chicago, Illinois. His ex-girlfriend Amanda Craig appeared on the show with him as part of the X-Factor twist. He was talked to on day 8 after he had a violent outburst in the house; then he chose to leave after the house guests did not accept his apology.

Highlights

Final outcome

The final veto competition occurred at the final four, not at the final five like the previous year. The Diamond veto was of the utmost importance to the game. At the competition, Alison emerged victorious, winning the power to remove herself from the nomination block and casting the sole eviction vote. Despite having promised both Jun and Erika to take them to final two, Alison chose to evict Erika. The Diamond Veto was carried over to the next season, however it was simply called the Veto. It is still in use as of the current season.

The final Head of Household competition was in three parts. Alison beat Robert in the first part (the endurance portion) after having promised to take him to the final two. In the second part, Jun easily beat Robert by completing a mental challenge based on events that had taken place in the house. Therefore, Jun and Alison faced each other in part three of the competition, with both having pledged to take the other to final two. After eight questions based on their ex-boyfriends Jee and Justin, the women were tied on four correct answers apiece. The tiebreaker question was "How many days did you date your ex for?", to which Alison answered zero days and Jun answered one million. Therefore, Alison emerged as the final Head of Household for the season and chose to evict Robert from the house.

The jurors stated their disgust and disappointment with the conduct and gameplay of both Alison and Jun. Despite Alison's prowess in competitions, the jury in the end voted Jun as the winner of Big Brother 4 in a 6-1 vote. Jun received votes to win from Dana, Justin, Jack, Jee, Erika, and Robert, while Alison only received a vote from Nathan. Both finalists never had a single vote to evict over the whole season; Alison wasn't even permanently nominated once.