Big Brother 6 (US)

Big Brother 6 (US)
Season Information
Country	United States
Host	Julie Chen
Season	6
Prize Money	$500,000
No. of Houseguests	14
No. of Days	80
Winner	Maggie Ausburn
Runner(s)-up	Ivette Corredero
Returnees	Howie Gordon (BB7) James Rhine (BB7) Janelle Pierzina (BB7, BB14, BB22) Kaysar Ridha (BB7, BB22)
Production
Network	CBS RealNetworks (live feeds) CBS.com (HC)
Executive Producers	Allison Grodner Arnold Shapiro
Casting	Robyn Kass
Announcers	Don Wollman Clayton Halsey
Production Company	Fly on the Wall Entertainment Endemol USA
Season Run	July 7, 2005 - September 20, 2005
Filming Dates	July 3, 2005 - September 20, 2005
No. of Episodes	30
Viewership	7.24m
Companion Shows	House Calls: The Big Brother Talk Show
Cast
Opening Sequence
Series Chronology
Previous Season	Big Brother 5 (US)
Next Season	Big Brother 7 (US)

Big Brother 6 (US) is the 6th season of the broadcasted edition of Big Brother (U.S.). It began on July 7, 2005 and aired on CBS for 76 days, concluding on September 20, 2005 when Maggie Ausburn was crowned the winner with four out of seven votes from the jury.

This season is most notable for the controversial conflicts between the two power alliances: the "Friendship" and the "Sovereign 6."

Background

Development

In September 2003, following the strong ratings of Big Brother 4 (US), Entertainment Weekly confirmed that CBS had renewed the series through 2006, ensuring three additional seasons would air during the summer. Big Brother 6 was the second of these three seasons.

Amid speculation about a potential Big Brother All-Stars season, it was later confirmed that this was not the case for Big Brother 6. On the same day the cast was revealed, the "Summer of Secrets" twist was introduced to the public. Executive Producer Arnold Shapiro described the twist, stating, "This season we have what we are calling 'The Summer of Secrets,' meaning that because it is a brand new house, there will be multiple secrets uncovered throughout the summer that the HouseGuests will find." He further elaborated on the new two-story Big Brother house, which was recently built on the CBS Studio lot in California, saying, "The old house was torn down to make way for a state-of-the-art facility that will house CBS' two L.A. television stations."

Big Brother 6 also introduced a new feature: the Head of Household was allowed to blog while inside the house, a tradition that would continue in all subsequent seasons. The HouseGuests officially entered the house on Sunday, July 3.

Casting

Casting for the season began in late March, with producer Arnold Shapiro stating "Our goal this summer is to assemble the most colorful, competitive, and charismatic HouseGuests we’ve ever had. Right now, we’re seeking the most memorable and exciting competitors we can find." The fourteen HouseGuests for this season were revealed on June 30, 2005.

Twists/Changes

• Secret Partners: Each houseguest was paired with a secret partner in the game. Despite being partners, they competed, were nominated, and were evicted as individuals. These partners had known each other prior to entering the house. Each pair initially believed they were the only secret duo. If both members of a secret pair reached the final two, the winner would receive a $1 million prize, while the runner-up would receive $250,000.
• Secret Room: On Day 3, Rachel discovered a hidden room while examining the spy screen in the Head of Household bedroom. After searching thoroughly and following several clues, she found a new room that contained a key to the hot tub and three locked safes, which the houseguests did not yet have the keys to. The room was entirely gold-colored and featured three safe boxes.
  • On Day 27, during the "Matching the Munchies" food competition, houseguests attempted to match the names of food items to fill in the blanks of a given situation. Each correct match earned the group food for a specific day of the week. The houseguests succeeded in winning food for every day and earned the combination to one of the safes in the gold room. Inside the safe was a plate of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, one of which contained a "PB&J Pass," won by Janelle.
  • On Day 56, during the "Playing Dirty" Power of Veto competition, houseguests had to dig through mud to find keys to unlock Veto symbols. The first to unlock three Veto symbols won the Power of Veto, while a fourth symbol would grant access to the second safe in the bedroom. April won the Power of Veto, and Janelle once again claimed the prize in the safe: a trip for two to the Bahamas, which she could use after leaving the house.
  • In the first round of the final Head of Household competition, houseguests had to balance on a combination dial while holding onto a key above their head. If they let go of the key or stepped off the dial, they were eliminated. Ivette won the competition, which allowed her to open the final safe in the gold room, where she found two Vespa scooters.
• Two-Story House: A new, two-story house was introduced for the game.
• Previously Evicted HouseGuest: After the first four evictions, America voted for one of the evictees to return to the game.

Houseguests

Winner    Maggie

Runner-Up    Ivette

Jury: Ivette    Janelle

Jury: Maggie    April

Jury: Maggie    Howie

Jury: Ivette    Beau

Jury: Ivette    James

Jury: Maggie    Rachel

Jury: Maggie    Jennifer

Evicted    Kaysar

Evicted    Sarah

Evicted    Eric

Evicted    Michael

Evicted    Ashlea

Secret Partners

Big Brother 6 Pairings

Sorority Sisters		Ex-Roommates		Former Co-Workers
Friends	Best Friends		Dating		Neighbors

Voting History

		Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7		Week 8	Week 9		Week 10	Week 11
								Day 47	Day 49		Day 61	Day 63		Day 76	Finale
	Maggie	Ashlea	Michael			Sarah	Kaysar	Vetoed Jennifer	Rachel	James	Beau	Howie			Winner
	Ivette	Ashlea	Michael	Maggie	Kaysar	Rep	Kaysar	Rep	Rachel	James		Howie	Vetoed April	Janelle	Runner-Up
	Janelle	Kaysar		Eric	Rep	Sarah			Rachel	Vetoed James	Beau	Vetoed April			Ivette
	April	Ashlea	Michael	Maggie	Kaysar	Sarah	Kaysar	Ivette	Rachel		Beau	Rep	Rep		Maggie
	Howie	Ashlea	Michael	Eric	Kaysar		Kaysar	Jennifer							Maggie
	Beau	Ashlea	Michael	Maggie	Kaysar	Sarah	Kaysar	Jennifer		James					Ivette
	James	Kaysar	Michael	Vetoed Eric	Vetoed Janelle	Vetoed Ivette	Kaysar	Jennifer	Rachel	Rep					Ivette
	Rachel		Michael	Eric	Kaysar	Sarah	Vetoed Kaysar	Jennifer							Maggie
	Jennifer	Ashlea	Michael	Maggie	Kaysar	Sarah									Maggie
	Kaysar		Janelle				Rep
	Sarah	Ashlea	Michael	Eric	Kaysar
	Eric	Ashlea		Rep			Eliminated
	Michael	Ashlea					Eliminated
	Ashlea

Key:

Nominated

Rep: Replacement Nominee

HOH

Veto Winner

Re-Entry Voting

Evicted

Jury Member

• Note: Kaysar was evicted for Week 5, before being voted back into the house.

Game History

#	HOH	Initial Nominations		Veto Holder	Used?	Final Nominations		Result
Week								Houseguest	Vote	Finish
1	Rachel	Ashlea	Kaysar	Rachel		Ashlea	Kaysar	Ashlea	9-2	1st Evicted Day 12
2	Eric	Janelle	Michael	James		Janelle	Michael	Michael	9-1	2nd Evicted Day 19
3	Kaysar	James	Maggie	James		Eric	Maggie	Eric	5-4	3rd Evicted Day 26
4	Maggie	James	Kaysar	Sarah		Janelle	Kaysar	Kaysar	7-1	4th Evicted Day 33
5	Howie	James	Sarah	James		Ivette	Sarah	Sarah	6-1	5th Evicted Day 40
6								Kaysar	Returned Day 40
	Jennifer	Janelle	Rachel	Rachel		Janelle	Kaysar	Kaysar	7-0	6th Evicted Day 47
7	Janelle	Jennifer	Maggie	Janelle		Ivette	Jennifer	Jennifer	5-1	7th Evicted 1st Jury Member Day 49
	Beau	Howie	Rachel	James		Howie	Rachel	Rachel	5-0	8th Evicted 2nd Jury Member Day 54
8	April	Howie	Janelle	April		Howie	James	James	4-0	9th Evicted 3rd Jury Member Day 61
9	Howie	Beau	Ivette	Maggie		Beau	Ivette	Beau	3-0	10th Evicted 4th Jury Member Day 63
	Ivette	Howie	Janelle	Janelle		April	Howie	Howie	2-1	11th Evicted 5th Jury Member Day 68
10	Janelle	Ivette	Maggie	Ivette		April	Maggie	April	1-0	12th Evicted 6th Jury Member Day 73
11	Ivette					Janelle	Maggie	Janelle	1-0	13th Evicted 7th Jury Member Day 76
								Ivette	4-3	Runner-Up
								Maggie		Winner

Week 1

HOH POV    Rachel

Nominee 2 Votes    Kaysar

Evicted 9 Votes    Ashlea

All 14 houseguests entered the house with their secret partner. The members of the winning team from the food competition competed in an endurance competition against each other, which Rachel Plencner won. The seven members of the team that won the food competition promised to stick together for a few weeks, while Eric Littmann attempted to form a guys alliance with himself, Kaysar Ridha, Michael Donnellan and James Rhine. Rachel decided to nominate Kaysar and Ashlea Evans. At the Veto competition, Rachel was victorious and was awarded the Power of Veto. Though initially considering using the POV on Ashlea to nominate Jennifer Vasquez, Rachel ultimately chose not to use the POV. Ashlea was evicted in a nine to two vote.

Week 2

HOH    Eric

POV    James

Nominee 1 Vote    Janelle

Evicted 9 Votes    Michael

Following Ashlea Evans's eviction, Eric Littmann won the "Fast & Easy" Head of Household competition. Before making his nominations, Eric made a deal with every houseguest stating, that if he did not put them up for eviction, then they would "give him safety" for one week. Eric nominated Michael Donnellan and Janelle Pierzina in the house, who had formed a romantic relationship in the house. James Rhine won the "High and Dry" Veto competition. He chose not to use the Veto. Michael was evicted by a 9 to 1 vote.

Week 3

HOH    Kaysar

Pre-Veto Nominee POV    James

Nominee 4 Votes    Maggie

Post-Veto Nominee Evicted 5 Votes    Eric

Following Michael Donnellan's eviction, Kaysar Ridha won the "Majority Rules" HOH competition. Kaysar later nominated James Rhine and Maggie Ausburn for eviction. When talking with James, Kaysar revealed he knew that James and Sarah Hrejsa were partners, and after James confessed, Kaysar made an alliance with them. He then added Rachel Plencner, Howie Gordon, and Janelle Pierzina to the alliance, and they began to refer to themselves as the Sovereign Six alliance. The alliance came up with a plan to let James win the Veto, remove himself from the block and backdoor Eric Littmann. James won the "Knight Moves" POV competition. James later used the Veto to save himself, and Eric was named his replacement nominee. Eric was evicted in a five to four vote.

Week 4

HOH    Maggie

POV    Sarah

Pre-Veto Nominee    James

Post-Veto Nominee 1 Vote    Janelle

Evicted 7 Votes    Kaysar

Following her partner's eviction, Maggie Ausburn won the "Power Roller" HOH competition. After winning HOH, Maggie officially formed the Friendship alliance with Ivette Corredero, Beau Beasley, Jennifer Vasquez, and April Lewis. Maggie nominated Kaysar Ridha and James Rhine for eviction, feeling they were most responsible for Eric Littmann's eviction the previous week. The following day, Sarah Hrejsa won the POV and chose to use it on James. Maggie named Janelle Pierzina his replacement nominee. Kaysar was evicted in a 7 to 1 vote.

Week 5

HOH    Howie

Pre-Veto Nominee POV    James

Post-Veto Nominee 1 Vote    Ivette

Evicted 6 Votes    Sarah

Following Kaysar Ridha's eviction, Howie Gordon won the "Eliminator" competition and was crowned HOH. When talking with Maggie Ausburn, Howie learned that James Rhine had sworn on the bible to nominate Howie and Rachel should he win HOH. Not realizing James was lying, Howie nominated James and Sarah Hrejsa for eviction, causing a rift in the Sovereign alliance. James later won the "A Lotta Pinata" POV competition and used the Veto on himself. Howie chose to nominate Ivette Corredero as a replacement nominee. On Day 40, Sarah was evicted in a six to one vote. Minutes later, it was revealed Kaysar Ridha would be returning to the house, having earned 82% of the public vote over Eric Littmann and Michael Donnellan.

Week 6

HOH    Jennifer

Pre-Veto Nominee POV    Rachel

Nominee 0 Votes    Janelle

Re-Entered Post-Veto Nominee Evicted 7 Votes    Kaysar

Following Kaysar Ridha's return to the house, houseguests competed in the "Pressure Cooker" HOH competition. When the competition came down to Kaysar and Jennifer Vasquez, she promised Kaysar safety and said she would backdoor James Rhine from the house. He agreed, and Jennifer became the new HOH. Jennifer nominated Janelle Pierzina and Rachel Plencner for eviction and said she would backdoor James after the Veto was used. Rachel won the "Coast For the Most" Veto competition and used the POV on herself. Jennifer went back on her word and nominated Kaysar as a replacement nominee. Kaysar was re-evicted in a seven to zero vote.

Week 7

Round 1

HOH POV    Janelle

Pre-Veto Nominee    Maggie

Post-Veto Nominee 1 Vote    Ivette

Evicted 5 Votes    Jennifer

Following Kaysar Ridha's second eviction, Janelle Pierzina won the "Face the Facts" quiz based HOH competition. After returning inside, the houseguests learned that it was a Double Eviction week and that Janelle would immediately make her nominations. Janelle nominated Jennifer Vasquez and Maggie Ausburn for eviction after Jennifer nominated Kaysar as the replacement nominee the previous week. Janelle won the "Goal For It" Veto competition, which had a hockey theme. She removed Maggie from the block and nominated Ivette Corredero as her replacement nominee. Jennifer was evicted in a five to one vote, only receiving the vote of her partner, April Lewis.

Round 2

HOH    Beau

POV    James

Nominee 0 Votes    Howie

Evicted 5 Votes    Rachel

Following Jennifer Vasquez's eviction, Beau Beasley won the "On the House" HOH competition. Targeting the remaining members of the Sovereign Six alliance, he nominated Rachel Plencner and Howie Gordon for eviction. James won the "Get Your Pairings" straight Veto competition and left nominations the same. Rachel was evicted unanimously.

Week 8

HOH POV    April

Pre-Veto Nominee    Janelle

Nominee 0 Votes    Howie

Post-Veto Nominee Evicted 4 Votes    James

Following Rachel Plencner's eviction, April Lewis won the "High/Low" HOH competition. She nominated Howie Gordon and Janelle Pierzina for eviction, though secretly planned on backdooring James Rhine. April won the "Playing Dirty" Veto competition. After winning the competition, April used the Power of Veto on Janelle and nominated James as a replacement nominee. James was evicted in a four to zero vote.

Week 9

Round 1

HOH    Howie

POV    Maggie

Nominee 0 Votes    Ivette

Evicted 3 Votes    Beau

Following James Rhine's eviction, Howie Gordon won the "Playing It Straight" HOH competition. Upon returning inside, the houseguests learned it would be another Double Eviction Week, and Howie would immediately make his nominations. He chose to nominate Ivette Corredero and Beau Beasley, the last secret pair remaining in the house. Maggie Ausburn won the Power of Veto and chose to leave nominations the same. Beau was evicted in a three to zero vote.

Round 2

HOH    Ivette

Pre-Veto Nominee POV    Janelle

Post-Veto Nominee 1 Vote    April

Evicted 2 Votes    Howie

Following Beau Beasley's eviction, Ivette Corredero won the "Magnetic Attraction" quiz based HOH. Targeting the final two members of the opposing alliance, she nominated Howie Gordon and Janelle Pierzina for eviction. After Janelle won the "Morph-O-Matic" Veto competition, she removed herself from the block and April Lewis was named her replacement nominee. The vote came down to a tie, and Ivette cast the deciding vote to evict Howie from the house.

Week 10

HOH    Janelle

Pre-Veto Nominee POV    Ivette

Nominee 0 Votes    Maggie

Post-Veto Nominee Evicted 1 Vote    April

Following Howie Gordon's eviction, Janelle, the outcast of the house, won the "Before or After" HOH competition. This ensured her a spot in the final three. She nominated Maggie Ausburn and Ivette Corredero for eviction. Ivette won the "Missing Link" final POV competition and chose to remove herself from the block. She then cast the sole vote to evict April Lewis from the house.

Week 11

HOH Pt. 1 Winner HOH Pt. 3 Winner Final HOH    Ivette

Nominee 0 Votes    Maggie

HOH Pt. 2 Winner Evicted 1 Vote    Janelle

The final HOH competition is played out in three challenges, to give the remaining houseguests a fair shot at securing a place in the final two. During the first endurance HOH competition, Ivette Corredero won an endurance challenge. Days later, Janelle Pierzina beat Maggie Ausburn in a memory recognition challenge, meaning Maggie was nominated. At the live HOH part 3 competition, Ivette beat Janelle in a personality guessing quiz, claiming the final HOH. She then chose to evict Janelle.

Finale

Winner 4 Votes    Maggie

Runner-Up 3 Votes    Ivette

Jury

Maggie Jennifer

Maggie Rachel

Ivette James

Ivette Beau

Maggie Howie

Maggie April

Ivette Janelle

Trivia

• James Rhine was originally supposed to bring his friend Mike into the house as his secret partner, but Mike dropped out last minute without even telling James. James then picked his girlfriend, Sarah Hrejsa, to be his secret partner, which likely explains the imbalance of women to men in the house.
• This season has the largest variety of "winning" HouseGuests out of any Big Brother season. Twelve out of the fourteen HouseGuests won at least one individual competition during their stay in the house.
• This season holds the longest HOH competiton to date.
• This season has the most unique HOH winners in a row, going 8 weeks and 9 cycles before having a repeated HOH winner.
• This season features the most competition wins by females in Big Brother, with Ashlea Evans being the only female to not win a competition.
• This season was the first to have more than one person win HOH and POV in the same week. 
• This season, along with Big Brother 17, Over The Top, Celebrity 1, and 25 are the only seasons to feature more female HouseGuests than male HouseGuests.
• This season marks the first (and so far only) time the final 4 were all one gender, with this season's final being all female.
• This season had the most representatives in Big Brother 7 with 4 (Kaysar Ridha, James Rhine, Howie Gordon, and Janelle Pierzina).
  • Ivette Corredero was the only candidate from this season to not return for Season 7.
• This season had the most houseguests be evicted the week after they were Head of Household out of all seasons, with 5.
•  Prior to the first veto competition, it was announced that some veto competitions this season could result in no one winning the Power of Veto. However, this twist never came into play as all veto competitions were won. 
• This season is the only season to be represented in both All-Star seasons.

References

References