Big Brother 9 (also known as Big Brother: 'Til Death Do You Part) is the ninth season of the American reality television series Big Brother. It premiered on CBS on February 12, 2008, and concluded with its season finale on April 27, 2008; it was scheduled as a midseason installment of the series as replacement programming due to the Writers Guild of America strike.
The season's main twist saw the 16 HouseGuests being initially paired into couples with their "soulmate" (two of which being a pre-existing relationship); the couples partook in challenges, votes, and evictions together for the first three weeks of the competition, after which the HouseGuests competed as individuals for the remainder of the season as normal.
Big Brother 9 premiered to a total of 7.33 million viewers, the lowest premiere numbers for any season at the time. Overall, the series averaged 6.56 million viewers, making it the lowest rated season of the series at the time. The season ended after 81 days, in which HouseGuest Adam Jasinski was crowned the winner, and Ryan Quicksall the runner-up.
Format
The format remains largely unchanged from previous seasons. HouseGuests are sequestered in the Big Brother House with no contact to or from the outside world. Each week, the HouseGuests take part in several compulsory challenges that determine who will win food, luxuries, and power in the House. The winner of the weekly Head of Household competition is immune from nominations and must nominate two fellow HouseGuests for eviction. After a HouseGuest becomes Head of Household, he or she is ineligible to take part in the next Head of Household competition. HouseGuests also take part in competitions to earn food for the week. The losing team will be forced to eat Big Brother Slop for the week. This is the third season to feature Slop as the punishment food, as it was originally peanut butter and jelly. The winner of the Power of Veto competition wins the right to save one of the nominated HouseGuests from eviction. If the Veto winner exercises the power, the Head of Household must then nominate another HouseGuest for eviction.
On eviction night, all HouseGuests except for the Head of Household and the two nominees vote to evict one of the two nominees. This compulsory vote is conducted in the privacy of the Diary Room by the host Julie Chen. In the event of a tie, the Head of Household must cast the deciding vote, announcing it in front of the other HouseGuests. Unlike other versions of Big Brother, the HouseGuests may discuss the nomination and eviction process openly and freely. The nominee with the greater number of votes will be evicted from the House on the live Thursday broadcast, exiting to an adjacent studio to be interviewed by Chen. HouseGuests may voluntarily leave the House at any time and those who break the rules may be expelled from the house by Big Brother. The final seven HouseGuests evicted during the season will vote for the winner on the season finale. These "Jury Members" will be sequestered in a separate house and will not be allowed to watch the show except for competitions and ceremonies that include all of the remaining HouseGuests. The jury members will not be shown any Diary Room interviews or any footage that include strategy or details regarding nominations.
This season featured numerous twists to the format. The main twist this season saw the HouseGuests competing as couples; they competed as couples, were nominated as couples, and were evicted as couples. This twist went on until the third week, when the couples were told they could officially play as individuals. Another twist this season saw a previously evicted HouseGuest returning to the game on Day 35, with the returning HouseGuest decided partly by the HouseGuests themselves. This season also introduced the Power Couple twist, in which the winners of this title were required to evict one couple from the house in a matter of a few days.
HouseGuests
The cast was revealed on February 6, 2008. In the cast of 16, two prior relationships were included as a cast twists. Firstly, Sharon Obermueller and Jacob Heald previously dated before the season, and were forced to pair together in the couple twist. Secondly, Ryan Quicksall and Jen DiTurno secretly date when they enter the house; however, they aren't partnered in the couples twist.
Name Age on entry Occupation Residence Day entered Result 29 Public relations manager Delray Beach, Florida1 WinnerDay 81 27 College student Columbus, Ohio Day 81 45 Former model Reseda, California 23 Real estate broker Olathe, Kansas 7 28 Bikini barista Salem, Oregon 1 21 Cyclist Sarasota, Florida 35 1 25 Advertising media buyer Dallas, Texas 21 College student Cedar Falls, Iowa 23 Roofing foreman Charlestown, Massachusetts 28 Pharmaceutical sales representative Boston, Massachusetts 24 DJ company owner Staten Island, New York 23 Paralegal Fridley, Minnesota 26 Bartender Columbus, Ohio 26 Paparazzo Northridge, California 29 Realtor Los Angeles, California WalkedDay 7 23 Electrician Dallas, Georgia
Future appearance Matt McDonald participated in a food competition in the following season, which featured a representative from each previous season. Matt McDonald also participated in Season 6, episode 16 of Fear Factor. Parker Somerville and Alex Coladonato attended the premiere of Big Brother 20.
Summary On Day 1, the original sixteen HouseGuests entered the house. HouseGuests Jen and Ryan, a couple outside of the house, were aware of each other's presence while ex-couple Jacob and Sharon were surprised to find one another in the house. Following their entrance, the HouseGuests learned of the season's twist, in which they would be partnered with their "soulmate" and compete as a couple. The HouseGuests then learned the identity of their soulmates; Adam & Sheila were paired together, while Alex & Amanda, Allison & Ryan, Chelsia & James, Jacob & Sharon, Jen & Parker, Joshuah & Neil, and Matt & Natalie were paired together. HouseGuests Adam & Sheila immediately began to clash, annoying their fellow HouseGuests. The couples then learned of the Power Couple twist, in which the winner of this title would choose to evict one of the couples from the house in a matter of days. HouseGuests then competed in the "Falling For You" Power Couple competition. For this competition, one person from each couple was hooked onto a zipline, while their partner had to hold onto them while being suspended in the air. The last couple remaining suspended without falling would be the winning team. Midway through the competition, it was revealed that if a couple managed to get a pillow laying below them and went on to win the competition, they would earn a $10,000 prize. Ultimately, Jen & Parker won the Power Couple competition, as well as the $10,000 prize. On Day 2, in an attempt to cause drama, Jacob began telling some of the HouseGuests that Parker was a "snake" not to trust him. When Jen found out, she informed Parker of this, leading to a confrontation during which Jacob claimed he had been told this by another HouseGuest. Sharon, in an attempt to save herself and her partner, implied to Parker that Ryan had made the statement. Fearing that Parker would vote to evict Ryan, Jen informed Parker that she and Ryan were a couple outside of the house; Ryan then told Allison, as he felt it was unfair for her not to know. On Day 3, Jen & Parker cast the sole vote to evict Jacob & Sharon from the house.
Following Jacob & Sharon's eviction, HouseGuests competed in the "Do You Know Your Partner?" Head of Household competition. For this competition, Big Brother 8 HouseGuests Eric Stein and Jessica Hughbanks returned to host. The HouseGuests were required to answer questions about their partners preferences in a relationship; the team with the most points at the end of the competition would be the winner. Alex & Amanda were the winners, becoming the first couple to win Head of Household. Fearing Allison was going to tell the house about Jen and Ryan's relationship, Jen & Parker decided to tell the other HouseGuests about their relationship. Though believing the others would appreciate their honesty, the HouseGuests were upset by their relationship. Following this, Alex & Amanda and Matt & Natalie formed an alliance, vowing to be the last remaining couples. Allison and Sheila, believing Allison would be evicted that week, lied to Joshuah and Chelsia stating that they were a lesbian couple, and had known each other before entering the house. On Day 7, Alex & Amanda chose to nominate Allison & Ryan and Jen & Parker for eviction. Later that day, Neil chose to walk from the game due to an unspecified urgent personal matter; Joshuah was given the option to bring either Jacob or Sharon back as his partner, and he chose Sharon. When picking the fourth couple to compete for the Power of Veto competition, Matt & Natalie were selected to compete; Joshuah was selected to host. On Day 9, HouseGuests competed in the "In Sickness and in Health" Power of Veto competition. For this competition, one member of each couple was strapped to a spinning heart while holding onto a button. Their partner was required to spin the heart, and the first couple to reach 300 spins without letting go of their button would be the winning couple. Matt & Natalie were the winners of the Power of Veto. On Day 11, Matt & Natalie chose not to use the Power of Veto on either nominated couple. On Day 14, Jen & Parker became the second couple to be evicted from the house in a vote of three to one.