Big Brother is wrapping up its 24th season, and this one has been compared to some of the best seasons that came before it. Not every season was so lauded, though. Big Brother 9, for example, is commonly regarded as one of the worst seasons in the show's history.
Big Brother 9 aired in the winter of 2008, but it's still considered a bottom-tier season even almost 14 years later. Here are a few of the reasons why Big Brother 9 was a terrible season and is often cited as the worst.
It Was Played In The Winter
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Big Brother 9 was the first of its kind as it was played in the wintertime instead of summer. This was due to a writer's strike.
Big Brother is synonymous with the summer. The house usually has a summer theme and the backyard is beautifully prepped for the warm weather. However, the ninth season did not have any of this. Some of the magic that Big Brother fans love was lost since it was played in February. It sometimes rained and made the backyard look uglier than it does in the summer.
The Couples Twist
The couples twist has been incorporated in a few seasons of Big Brother, but this was the first time. It only lasted for three evictions.
The couples twist is something that Big Brother fans usually advocate against. The game is at its best when it is every person for themselves. It is harder for a player to control their game if they are attached to someone else. This makes players hesitant to make big moves since they have another player's game in their hands.
The Houseguests Were Not Great
What makes a Big Brother season great is a good cast of houseguests who are entertaining and have a passion to play the game. These houseguests were disappointing in regard to the latter.
The houseguests on Big Brother 9 were not strategically sound. Some of them seemed like they had no idea how to play the game. This was clear when in week one Jacob started a pointless rumor about the HOH, in which he called him a snake. When the HOH Parker called him out on it, Jacob had no rebuttal. It was instances like this that showed some houseguests had no idea how to play.
Pre-Existing Relationships
Another twist in Big Brother 9 was there were two pre-existing relationships between the houseguests. One was Ryan and Jen, who were a secret couple outside the house, and Jacob and Sharon, who were exes.
Pre-existing relationships always screw up someone's game that does not deserve it. In this case, it was Parker. He had a solid first week as co-HOH and was set up to have a shot to go far. However, when the secret Jen and Ryan were a couple outside the house was discovered, he got screwed and was voted out simply because he was Jen's partner. The exes were also the first couple voted out of the house as well. The pre-existing relationships do not add anything to the game.
No Iconic Gameplay Moments
Iconic moments like Dan's Funeral and when Andy voted out Amanda are what make seasons memorable. Big Brother 9 had none of these moments.
Throughout the season there were some memorable moments that had nothing to do with the game, like some big fights or when Amanda needed medical attention. However, none of these moments impacted the game. No houseguest truly made their mark like so many others had before this season.
Neil Walked
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Neil was the first person to walk away from the game in Big Brother history. He left the game so quickly that he did not have any diary room confessionals air on the show.
Neil quit the game in quite a dramatic fashion since it was so early. The reason he left is still unknown. Big Brother fans do not fault Neil for leaving since it was probably an urgent family matter. However, it is still a shame that Neil was not able to impact the game at all. His absence made Sharon return to be Joshuah's partner.
The Final Four HOH Competition
Arguably the most famous moment of this season was in the final four HOH competition between Ryan, Adam, and Sharon. The competition saw one of the most infamous trick questions in the history of the show.
It was Sharon against the two other guys as she needed to win, or she would be in trouble. She was in the lead until the final question where Julie asked if there was a pre-existing relationship still in the house. Sharon answered false, while Ryan took a shot and answered true. The answer was true as the guinea pigs inside the house counted as a pre-existing relationship. This question angered many Big Brother fans and impacted the game directly. Sharon could have won it all if she wins this.
The Winner's Reputation
Big Brother 9's winner Adam was one of the most controversial contestants ever. He said some controversial things inside the house and was arrested after the season.
Adam worked with special needs children prior to appearing on the show. In the house, he made some derogatory comments about people with special needs. Adam was fired from his job after the show. Later, Adam was arrested when he used his winnings to fund a drug ring, according to RealityTVWorld. It is hard to love a season when the winner has a bad reputation like this.
Boring Competitions
Since the first couple weeks of the season were played in pairs, the competitions had them play together. This resulted in a few weeks of boring competitions.
Big Brother has a long history of competitions that missed the mark, and there were a few this season. Some competitions showed how compatible the pairs were with each other, which was not very exciting to watch. There was an endurance veto competition which was interesting, but other than that, the competitions when they were coupled up were dull.
Lack Of Close Votes
Some of the best seasons of Big Brother feature extremely close votes. Other times everyone just votes as a majority.
A majority of the votes throughout the season were not close. This made the season less exciting and more predictable, even though the house was relatively split. There were two votes where the HOH broke a tie, which is rare, but, overall, the season's evictions were expected and not too shocking to the viewer.