Big Brother 10 (American season)

Big Brother 10 was broadcast on CBS from July 13, 2008 to September 16, 2008. This season lasted a total of 71 days, making it the shortest season of the series to date. This season initially featured no changes to the schedule that was used in the previous edition, with episodes airing on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sunday each week.[15] The Wednesday episode, which aired at 8 pm Eastern Time, featured the live eviction and subsequent Head of Household competition taking place. During the live eviction, the show was hosted by Julie Chen. The Sunday episode, which aired at 8 pm Eastern Time, featured the food competition and nomination ceremony, as well as some highlights from the previous days. The Tuesday episode, which aired at 9 pm Eastern Time, featured the Power of Veto competition and the Power of Veto ceremony, along with more highlights of recent events in the game. Some changes to the scheduling format were made. Before the third eviction, it was announced that the eviction episode would be moved to Thursday, matching the schedule previously used in Big Brother 8.[16]

Much like the previous editions, the live feeds were also available again for this season. HouseGuests enter the house a few days before the premiere, and the feeds are not live for the first few days.[17] They later go live after the broadcast of the launch episode. This season saw the return of the spin-off series House Calls: The Big Brother Talk Show.[18] The series featured a different co-host each week, as it had since the seventh season. The web series aired thirty-minute episodes on weeknights, and allowed fans to call in and express their opinions on the events of the game.[19] Evicted HouseGuests were also interviewed on the series following their eviction.[20] This season also saw the return of the Big Brother: After Dark spin-off series, which aired on Showtime Too nightly from midnight to 3 a.m. Eastern Time.[21] The show served as a live feed into the house, and was edited only for slanderous statements and music copyrights. Much like the previous season, Big Brother 10 is available for digital purchasing on iTunes and Amazon.com.[22][23]

The house used for Big Brother 10 had a "classics" theme, with areas such as the kitchen being decorated in the style of an old diner. The outside of the house is decorated to look like a standard two-story home. One bedroom features a black and red color theme, while another was decorated with items promoting peace and love. A third bedroom featured props such as a stuffed poodle for a HouseGuest to keep. The living room features several green colored couches. The living room is connected to the kitchen, which is connected to the HoH stairway and a hallway. There is one door in the hallway, which features a spa available to the HouseGuests. The hallway then leads to the bathroom. Workout equipment can also be found outside in the backyard, and is available for use at any time. There are also multiple lawn chairs that the HouseGuests may use to lay out in the sun, along with a swimming pool and a hot tub. The washing machine and dryer are also outside for the HouseGuests to use. There is also a large couch under a roof by the sliding glass door that the HouseGuests may use in case of rain.

The format remained largely unchanged from previous seasons. HouseGuests were incarcerated in the Big Brother House with no contact to and from the outside world. Each week, the HouseGuests took part in several compulsory challenges that determined who would win food, luxuries and power in the House.[24] The winner of the Head of Household competition was immune from nominations and was instructed to nominate two fellow HouseGuests for eviction. After a HouseGuest became Head of Household he or she was ineligible to take part in the next Head of Household competition.[25][26] The winner of the Power of Veto competition won the right to save one of the nominated HouseGuests from eviction. If the Veto winner exercised the power, the Head of Household then had to nominate another HouseGuest for eviction.[26][27]

On eviction night all HouseGuests except for the Head of Household and the two nominees voted to evict one of the two nominees.[26] Before the voting began the nominees had the chance to say a final message to their fellow HouseGuests. This compulsory vote was conducted in the privacy of the Diary Room by the host Julie Chen. In the event of a tie, the Head of Household would break the tie and reveal their vote in front of the other HouseGuests.[28] Unlike other versions of Big Brother, the HouseGuests could discuss the nomination and eviction process open and freely.[26] The nominee with the most votes from the other HouseGuests was evicted from the House on Thursday and interviewed by Julie Chen.[28] HouseGuests could voluntarily leave the House at any time and those who broke the rules were expelled by Big Brother.[29][30] The last seven evictiees of the season form the Jury that voted for the winner on the season finale, they were known as the jury members. The jury members were sequestered in a separate house and was not allowed to watch the show except for segments that included all of the HouseGuests. The jury members were not shown any Diary Room interviews or any footage that included strategy or details regarding nominations.[31]

On Day 1, the thirteen HouseGuests met for the first time outside of the house.[33] Before being able to speak to one another, they were required to cast their vote for the HouseGuest they would most like to see win the title of Head of Household.[34] Without the results being revealed, the HouseGuests entered the house. That night, the HouseGuests competed in the "Buggin' Out" food competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests split into teams and had to get into separate replica cars suspended on a zip-line. The teams were required to travel from one end of the backyard to the other, dropping off one HouseGuest each time they did so; the last HouseGuest remaining in the replica would win a new car, and earn their team food for the week.[36] Ultimately, Memphis was the winner of the car while April, Brian, Jerry, Keesha, Libra, and Ollie were placed on the slop diet for the week.[37] Upon returning inside, the HouseGuests learned that Jerry had been crowned the first Head of Household of the season.[38][39] Shortly following this, Brian, Dan, and Ollie formed an alliance with the goal of making it to the end together.[40] That night, Jessie and Renny engaged in an argument when he alleged that she was being loud, thus preventing him from sleeping.[41] The following day, Brian formed an alliance with Jerry, and later attempted to get him to nominate Jessie and Renny for eviction due to their conflict.[42] On Day 2, Jerry chose to nominate Jessie and Renny for eviction, citing their early conflict as the main reason for this. [36] When picking player for the Power of Veto competition, April, Memphis, and Michelle were selected to compete; Angie was selected to host. On Day 5, HouseGuests competed in the "Sweet Dreams, Honey" Power of Veto competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests had to crawl through honey and dig through pillows in an attempt to find five stuffed bears; the first HouseGuest to do so would be the winner.[43] Jessie was the winner of the Power of Veto.[44][45] Following this, April, Keesha, and Libra became suspicious of Brian, feeling that he was making too many alliances in the game.[46] Upon confronting Ollie about his friendship with Brian and Dan, Ollie told the girls about his alliance with them.[47] The girls and Ollie then began to rally the house up against Brian, with Angie, April, Jessie, Keesha, Libra, Memphis, Michelle, and Ollie forming an alliance before holding a meeting with Jerry to convince him to nominate Brian.[48] On Day 6, Jessie chose to use the Power of Veto to remove himself from the block, with Jerry nominating Brian in his place.[49][50] On Day 9, Brian became the first HouseGuest to be evicted from the house in a vote of nine to one.[51][52][53]

Following Brian's eviction, HouseGuests competed in the "Majority Rules" Head of Household competition.[35] For this competition, the HouseGuests were asked a series of questions about which of two HouseGuests would adhere to certain situations. The object was not to base the answer on personal opinions, but how they thought the majority would answer.[54] The minority of the voters were eliminated each round; if there was a tie, none of the HouseGuests would be eliminated. Jessie was the winner.[55][56] Jessie expressed interest in nominating Renny that week, however, the other members of the eight person alliance pressured him to nominate Dan and Steven due to their close friendship with Brian.[57] On Day 10, HouseGuests competed in the "Stop Your Wining!" food competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests split into two teams and were required to fill up wine bottles from wine that was pouring out from barrels suspended in the air; the team with the most wine in their bottles at the end would be the winners.[58] The team of April, Jerry, Keesha, Libra, Memphis, and Renny were the losing team, thus were placed on the slop diet for the week.[59] Later that day, Jessie chose to nominate Dan and Steven for eviction, with Steven being his main target.[60][61] Realizing that the alliance of eight would soon fall apart, Angie, Jessie, Memphis, and Michelle formed an alliance outside of the group.[62] The other members of the alliance of eight began to fear that Keesha would use the Power of Veto to save Steven, due to their friendship; Keesha later told Steven that she would use the Power of Veto to remove him from the block.[63] On Day 11, HouseGuests competed in the "License to Veto" Power of Veto competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests were shown various license plates with portions of a phrase on them, and had to determine which three plates made up a specific Big Brother phrase. If a HouseGuests answered incorrectly, they were eliminated; the last remaining HouseGuest would be the winner.[64] Michelle was the winner of the Power of Veto.[65][66] Following this, Steven attempted to convince Jessie and Michelle to use the Power of Veto and backdoor Libra that week, a plan which they initially were receptive to.[67] On Day 13, however, Michelle chose not to use the Power of Veto on either nominee.[68] On Day 16, Steven became the second HouseGuest to be evicted from the house in a unanimous vote of nine to zero.[69][70][71]

Following Steven's eviction, HouseGuests competed in the "Alien Abduction" Head of Household competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests were asked questions about objects that had been "abducted" from the house. They faced off two at a time, with the winner of each round selecting the next two to face off; the last HouseGuest remaining was the winner.[72] Keesha was the winner.[73][74] Soon after winning, Keesha decided she would be going against the alliance of eight, with the goal of avenging Steven's eviction.[75] Her alliance of April, Libra, and Ollie were supportive of her decision, and the four decided to target Angie that week.[76] On Day 17, HouseGuests competed in the "BB Valley High Sock Hop" food competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests split into couples and had to communicate with each other from opposite sides of a wall in an attempt to find matching socks. When the couple found a match, they could place it anywhere on the board, though the location they placed them in determined what food they earned for the week.[77] Later that day, Keesha chose to nominate Angie and Jessie for eviction, with Angie being her main target.[78][79] When picking players for the Power of Veto competition, Libra, Memphis, and Ollie were selected to compete; Dan was selected to host. On Day 18, HouseGuests competed in "The Garden of Veto" Power of Veto competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests dressed as flowers and led in a bed of soil with water being poured on them. The HouseGuest to remain in their bed for the time closest to an hour without going over would be the winner.[80] Keesha was the winner of the Power of Veto.[81][82] Following this, Jessie attempted on numerous occasions to convince Keesha to use the Power of Veto and nominate Libra, as Jessie felt the other HouseGuests would evict her.[83] On Day 20, Keesha chose not to use the Power of Veto on either nominee.[84] Following a vote from the viewers, Dan was given the title of America's Player for the upcoming week.[85] On Day 24, Angie became the third HouseGuest to be evicted from the house in a unanimous vote of eight to zero.[86][87][88]

Following Angie's eviction, HouseGuests competed in the "Livin' On the Edge" endurance Head of Household competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests stood on the side of a building wall that was slanted towards the ground.[89] The HouseGuests had only a bar to hold onto, and the last HouseGuest remaining would be the winner.[90] April was the winner.[91] During the competition, April convinced Michelle to drop out of the competition when she promised both Michelle and Jessie safety for that week.[92] Due to the endurance competition, there was no food competition for this week. On Day 25, April chose to nominate Jessie and Memphis for eviction.[93][94] When picking players for the Power of Veto competition, Michelle, Libra, and Jerry were selected to compete; Renny was selected to host. On Day 26, HouseGuests competed in the "Slap Shot" Power of Veto competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests attempted to hit a hockey puck into the center of a goal, and the HouseGuest furthest away each round was eliminated. The eliminated HouseGuests could claim a prize, however, a prize could be stolen from a HouseGuest.[95] Libra was the winner of the competition, however, chose to take a prize and allowed Jerry to win the Power of Veto.[96] On Day 28, Jerry chose not to use the Power of Veto on either nominee.[97][98] Following this, April insisted that her alliance keep Jessie in the house, in an attempt to honor her word to Michelle.[99] Due to Jessie's various arguments with the other HouseGuests, Keesha and Libra began plotting to evict him, thus dividing the HouseGuests into two groups.[100] With Keesha, Libra, and Renny wanting to keep Memphis, Jerry, Michelle, and Ollie wanted to keep Jessie in the game.[101] It later became apparent that Dan would have the deciding vote, causing both sides to attempt to sway him; as America's Player, Dan was required to vote however the viewers chose.[102] On Day 31, Jessie became the fourth HouseGuest to be evicted from the house in a vote of four to three.[103][104][105]

Following Jessie's eviction, HouseGuests competed in the "Rude Awakening" Head of Household competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests were asked true or false questions about fan-submitted messages they had heard the previous night; an incorrect answer resulted in elimination, and the last HouseGuest remaining was the winner.[106] Michelle was the winner.[107] Following these events, an argument between all of the HouseGuests (except for Dan) erupted, with HouseGuests April, Jerry, and Michelle attacking Dan's religious beliefs.[108] Though April and Michelle ended the conflict, Jerry went on to continuously insult Dan's religious and personal beliefs weeks afterwards.[109] On Day 32, HouseGuests competed in the "In the News" food competition.[35] For this competition, previously evicted HouseGuest Brian returned to host the competition, while one representative from each previous season returned to participate.[110] The current HouseGuests would select one of the returning HouseGuests to give them news from the outside world, and had to determine if they were being truthful or not; a correct answer earned the house food for a specific day of the week, while an incorrect answer placed them on the slop diet for that day.[111] Later that day, Michelle chose to nominate Keesha and Libra for eviction, with Libra being her main target.[112][113] When picking players for the Power of Veto competition, April, Jerry, and Memphis selected to compete; Ollie was selected to host. On Day 33, HouseGuests competed in the "Cry Me a Veto" Power of Veto competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests were required to chop up onions with the option of three different techniques, and were then required to place their chopped onions into a box; they could place them into either their Veto box or their prize box. The HouseGuest with the heaviest Veto box at the end of the competition would be the winner of the Power of Veto, while the two HouseGuests with the most weight in their prize box would win prizes.[114] Jerry was the winner of the Power of Veto.[115] Despite Jerry's attempts at convincing Michelle to nominate Dan should he use the Power of Veto, she was reluctant about doing so as she wanted Libra evicted that week.[116] On Day 35, Jerry chose not to use the Power of Veto on either nominee.[117] During his speech, Jerry infamously referred to Dan as "Judas" due to his vote the previous week.[118] That night, Dan and Memphis made a deal to get to the end together, thus forming The Renegades alliance.[119] On Day 38, Libra became the fifth HouseGuest to be evicted from the house in a unanimous vote of six to zero.[120][121][122] She became the first member of the Jury of Seven.

Following Libra's eviction, HouseGuests competed in the "Diary Room Confessionals" Head of Household competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests were given quotes made by the first four evicted HouseGuests and were required to be the first to correctly guess who had made the comment; a correct answer allowed that HouseGuest to eliminate someone from the competition, while an incorrect answer resulted in their own elimination.[123] Renny was the winner.[124][125] On Day 39, HouseGuests competed in the "Big Brother Rock, Paper, Scissors" food competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests competed in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, with these being replaced with Slop, Pig Ears, and Crickets. The winner of each round would have to eat the food to earn a point for their team; the team with the most points at the end of the competition would earn food for the week. The team of Jerry, Memphis, and Ollie were placed on the slop diet for the week.[126] The viewers chose to rewards the HouseGuests on the slop diet with lollipops, which they could eat while on the slop diet.[127] Renny, hoping to evict April that week, debated nominating Dan or Memphis as a pawn against her in an attempt to keep Jerry and Ollie from being mad at her.[128] Her alliance with them and Keesha, however, attempted to talk her out of this plan.[129] Later that day, Renny chose to nominate April and Jerry for eviction.[130][131] When picking players for the Power of Veto competition, Dan, Keesha, and Ollie were selected to compete; Michelle was selected to host. On Day 40, HouseGuests competed in the "Haunted Yard" Power of Veto competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests had to determine the quantity of an object used to make an object. Each round, HouseGuests could either stay or fold; folding would allow them to continue in the game, but could not get a point whereas the HouseGuest with the answer closest to the correct one would earn a point, though the farthest was eliminated.[132] Dan was the winner of the Power of Veto.[133][134] Dan, upset with Renny's decision to not nominate April and Ollie together, later debated using the Power of Veto to save Jerry.[135] On Day 42, Dan chose not to use the Power of Veto on either nominee.[136] On Day 45, April became the sixth HouseGuest to be evicted from the house in a vote of four to one.[137][138][139] She became the second member of the Jury of Seven.

Following April's eviction, HouseGuests competed in the "King of the Jungle" endurance Head of Household competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests held onto rope swings in the backyard in an attempt to be the last one remaining.[140] Dan was the winner.[141] During the competition, Dan promised both Ollie and Michelle safety and also stated he would allow Ollie to choose one of the nominees as well as the replacement nominee should the Power of Veto be used.[142] Ollie later decided he would like to see Memphis, though Dan was fearful of this due to his Renegades alliance with Memphis.[143] On Day 46, Dan chose to nominate Jerry and Memphis for eviction.[144][145] Jerry later won a public vote that allowed him to receive a phone call from home.[146] When picking players for the Power of Veto competition, Keesha, Michelle, and Renny were selected to compete; Ollie was selected to host. On Day 47, HouseGuests competed in the "One Giant Leap" Power of Veto competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests were required to travel across a zip-line in an attempt to gather puzzle pieces and be the first to complete the puzzle; the HouseGuests competed in heats, with the winners of the first two heats facing off in the final round.[147] Memphis was the winner.[148][149] Ollie later informed Dan that he would like Keesha to be nominated in the place of Memphis, as part of his deal with Dan stated he could choose the replacement nominee.[150] On Day 49, Memphis chose to use the Power of Veto to remove himself from the block, with Dan nominating Michelle in his place.[151] Dan's decision led to much controversy inside and outside of the house when Ollie engaged in numerous arguments with the other HouseGuests.[152] On Day 52, Michelle became the seventh HouseGuest to be evicted from the house in a vote of three to one.[153] The HouseGuests learned that it would be a Double Eviction week, and that another HouseGuest would be evicted within the hour.[154] HouseGuests then competed in the "Big Brother Headlines" Head of Household competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests were questioned over which HouseGuest the viewers felt would most fit a specific news headline; the HouseGuest with the most points after seven questions would win.[155] Keesha was the winner.[156] Keesha chose to nominate Jerry and Ollie for eviction.[157] HouseGuests then competed in the "Veto In a Haystack" Power of Veto competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests dug through barrels of hay in an attempt to find two Veto medallions; the first to complete this would be the winner.[155] Dan was the winner of the Power of Veto; Dan then chose to not to use the Power of Veto on either nominee.[158] Minutes later, Ollie became the eighth HouseGuest to be evicted from the house in a unanimous vote of three to zero.[159][160][161] He became the fourth member of the Jury of Seven.

Following Michelle and Ollie's eviction, HouseGuests competed in the "Days Go By" Head of Household competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests were given an event in the house, and they were required to figure out which day this event occurred; they would roll a skee-ball up a ramp in an attempt to make their ball land on the date that the event occurred. The number of days they were incorrect would earn the HouseGuests a penalty point, and the HouseGuest with the lowest amount of penalty points was the winner.[162] Jerry was the winner.[163] In an attempt to keep their Renegades alliance intact, Dan and Memphis agreed that Memphis should make a deal with Jerry to keep himself safe.[164] The two then decided that Memphis needed to win the Power of Veto, allowing them both to be safe and decide who would be evicted.[165] On Day 53, Jerry chose to nominate Dan and Keesha for eviction.[166][167] On Day 54, HouseGuests competed in the "Rock A Bye Veto" Power of Veto competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests had to correctly figure out which two faces of the HouseGuests made up a set of faces. The HouseGuest who finished the competition in the fastest amount of time was the winner.[168] Memphis was the winner of the Power of Veto.[169][170] On Day 56, Memphis chose to use the Power of Veto to remove Dan from the block, with Renny being the only eligible HouseGuest to be nominated in his place.[171] On Day 59, Renny became the ninth HouseGuest to be evicted from the house in a unanimous vote of two to zero.[172][173][174]

Following Renny's eviction, HouseGuests competed in the "Freeze Frame" Head of Household competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests were asked questions about images of previous competitions that they had been shown beforehand; the HouseGuest with the most correct answers after seven questions was the winner.[175] Dan was the winner.[176][177] Upon returning inside, the HouseGuests found a sumo wrestler inside who would sit up and down and random times; the HouseGuests later discovered he was sitting on an envelope, which revealed to the HouseGuests that they would begin a luxury competition that same day.[178] Previously evicted HouseGuest Jessie later returned to host the competition, which required the four to attempt to guess a phrase based on various clues in an attempt to win a trip to a luxury island; Dan was the winner.[179] In the Diary Room he learned he could bring either a current HouseGuest or a Jury Member on his trip with him, and he chose to bring Michelle; he later lied to his fellow HouseGuests and stated he chose to bring nobody with him.[180] Dan and Memphis later decided he should nominate Memphis for eviction in a further attempt to hide their Renegades alliance.[178] On Day 60, Dan chose to nominate Jerry and Memphis for eviction.[181] On Day 61, HouseGuests competed in the "Stairway to Veto" Power of Veto competition.[35] For this competition, each HouseGuest had their own staircase, with two facts on each step. The first HouseGuest to figure out which HouseGuest went with the facts and completely finish their stairway would win the Power of Veto.[182] Memphis was the winner of the final Power of Veto competition.[183] On Day 64, Memphis chose to use the Power of Veto to remove himself from the block, with Keesha being the only eligible HouseGuest to nominate in his place.[184] Minutes later, Keesha became the tenth HouseGuest to be evicted from the house when Memphis cast the sole vote against her.[185][186]

Following Keesha's eviction, HouseGuests began competing in the "On a Wing and Prayer" Head of Household competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests stood atop of model airplanes in an attempt to be the last one remaining. Dan was the winner.[187] On Day 65, Jerry and Memphis competed against one another in the second round of the final Head of Household competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests were required to knock over cardboard cutouts of the thirteen HouseGuests, leaving only the Head of Household and final nominees from the week standing; the HouseGuest to finish in the fastest time would be the winner. Memphis was the winner.[188] On Day 66, Dan and Memphis competed against one another in the "Jury Statements" final round of the final Head of Household competition.[35] For this competition, HouseGuests were asked to finish a sentence made by one of the six members of the Jury of Seven. Dan was the winner, thus became the final Head of Household of the season.[189] Dan then cast the sole vote to evict Jerry from the house, making the Renegade alliance the Final Two.[190][191] On Day 71, Dan was crowned the winner of Big Brother 10 in a Jury vote of seven to zero.[192][193][194][195]

The voting table below records whom each HouseGuest voted to evict during his or her time in the House. The Head of Household ("HoH") and nominees are not allowed to vote, unless the vote is tied, in which case the Head of Household breaks the tie. The last seven evictees of the season are the members of the Big Brother 10 jury, who vote for the winner during the Finale.

Viewers (from Canada and United States) have control over a player. From July 29 to August 7, Dan, after accepting the offer by America to become their designated player, was asked to complete various tasks that America specifies (via text messaging or voting on CBS.com) for a chance to win $20,000 at the end of the week. Viewers were able to vote on tasks from the end of an episode until midnight Pacific Time. Once Dan received the tasks, he made meaningful efforts to complete the tasks in any way he could.

• Big Brother – official American site
• Big Brother – official Canadian site
• Big Brother – list of episodes at IMDb
• List of Big Brother season 10 episodes at TV.com