Recap, Week 10 (9/12, final episode)
BOOGIE BOUNCES PILATES PRINCESS Jury Taps Mike 6-1 Winner ‘Tis the season to be Boogie, fa la-la-la-la la-la la la. The boy scores big in this summer’s BIG BROTHER: ALL-STARS, adding the Grand Prize of half a million dollars to his already impressive load of booty, including a car, a trip to Aruba and a pimped-out plasma TV. The Pilates princess stretches her game as far as it will go, but this flexible femme cannot contort her way into a winning position and is pipped at the post in the Jury vote. Everybody’s All-American, Janelle, walks away with $25,000 as winner of America’s Vote. MEMORIES Host Julie Chen runs over some memorable moments of the season so far, reminding us all of the comedy and dramedy that has played out over the months. If the All-Star season has been one thing, it has been unforgettable, with a lineup of BIG BROTHER All-Stars culled from throughout the years. From showmances to bromances, bubble baths to bath-time puppet shows, the summer has definitely been entertaining. PAYBACK IS ALWAYS PERSONAL Probably missing some of the antics within the BIG BROTHER house, the former HouseGuests assemble outside their new digs to discuss who will be the addition to the Jury. On cue, Janelle joins the party, dressed to impress in a fire-engine red dress complete with her tiara and plenty of bling. George had to see Boogie instead of Janey, but Danielle was sure that it would be her blonde sister. “Hello guys,” Janelle purrs as she makes her jaw-dropping entrance. Marcellas screams his now-standard “No!” while the others greet her with hugs and kisses. Janelle takes a seat next to Dr. Delicious as James gets to the point. “Janey, so what happened?” he probes, as Janelle’s eyes twinkle with the back-story of her eviction. Will asks if he can guess, and nails the scenario with one hypothetical. Janelle sighs, “Erika’s a backstabbing b-i-t-c-h,” at which Danielle scoffs, “Uh, ya think? Warned you!” Janelle gets passionate about her next point--“The ultimate floater. Please, god, do not let Erika win”--then begs the fates, “Do not let a floater win this game.” Danielle makes a good point in defense of her former ally: Erika never lied about her position as a floater, and was obvious about it from the beginning. PLAYING THE PLAYERS Danielle makes another good point, accusing the Jurors of double standards when reviewing Boogie and Erika’s similar game-play. “When a female’s the villain, it’s disgusting,” she insists, “But Boogie did the same thing,” and yet they are not finding fault in Boogie’s behavior. Danielle reminds everyone that they had three chances to vote Erika out, but never acted on the opportunity. Danielle also takes issue with Janelle’s argument that Erika showed no loyalty throughout the game. “There’s no rule that says you can’t only be loyal to yourself,” Danielle smiles, as James backs her up. “We can say Boogie rode (Will’s) coattails, but Erika tried to ride everyone else’s coattails,” James asserts accusingly. “She didn’t orchestrate anything,” Unconvinced, Marcellas claims, “Boogie played a dirty game.” Will can’t help but make it personal, admitting he liked Erika’s game, but adds that personally, “Erika disgusts me.” Janelle stops the conversation for a moment, reminding everyone, “It is a game. (Chilltown) played a bigger game on us than we did on them, and shouldn’t you recognize (that)?” Never a man of many informative words, Howie suddenly defends Erika as having played them all, and the only people responsible for her being in the Final Two are the Jurors themselves. Danielle wraps up the meeting, asking one last pledge of her crew: “Do not make this personal.” SORRY IS THE HARDEST WORD The Jurors get a chance to quiz Boogie and Erika. Marcellas asks the pair what they think their best move has been in the game so far. Erika considers her deal with Janelle to evict Will her best play, whereas Boogie thinks keeping Janelle in the game so long helped him avoid being targeted. George poses his question next, and then Will makes a Chill call to his main-man. “Dude, are you in the Final Two?” The Chill boys laugh together, inspiring the others to join in, which provides a light moment before Janelle hits Erika with a curly question about her “kissing butt and throwing competitions.” Erika works the sympathy vote in her answer, careful to shed a rosier light on Janelle’s memory of events than the blonde recalls. James asks his question next, before Danielle plays Truth or Dare with Erika and Boogie: “Was it (Erika’s) or Chilltown’s decision to evict (Danielle)?” Both find their answers tough, but neither back down under the pressure. Howie’s question has Boogie doing his best impression of Fred Astaire, launching into a tap routine that digs him out of Hurricane’s big hole of resentment. Boogie does so well that he ends up impressing more than a few players with his honest, if reprehensible, admission of lying. His last words to the Jury is a mix of self-aggrandizing boasts and apologetic pleas: “There was one big (Chilltown) Alliance, and we were smart enough to keep you in the positions we wanted to, and when you started to figure it out is when you got evicted.” The Jury is left with some food for thought as the Final Two say good-bye for the last time before the Jury vote commences. Back in the house, Erika sighs, “I think they liked you more than me.” GAZING INTO THE ABYSS Julie announces that the BIG BROTHER Jury is in the house and welcomes each as they arrive to a round of applause. They take their seats stage right as the studio audience’s cheers crescendo. Julie announces that it is time for the vote. First to vote, Marcellas congratulates Boogie and Erika on their game, then inserts his vote key into the box. Howie is next, and his statement to the Final Two includes an attack on Boogie’s wealth and telling Erika that he thinks America hates her now. Danielle casts her vote next, basing her decision on the game-play, not on personal reasons. A slimmer George is next to vote, casting his support for the person who played the best game, and not the most in need of the money. Will is next, standing to catcalls from the audience. He casts his vote. Janelle is next, swearing that she is not voting out of personal reasons, and James follows her with the final vote, admitting that he is supporting the best player in the game. HINDSIGHT IS ALWAYS 20/20 After the Jury votes have been cast, Julie announces that selected Diary Room sessions are about to be shared with all the HouseGuests. Julie welcomes back the non-sequestered evictees, asking them a few probing questions. Kaysar is first to inform Janelle that James “came into the house with a chip on his shoulder.” Julie then reveals the clips wherein James damns himself with his own words. Hurt by his words, Janelle rises above the insults for the moment. Then in a quiet, smiling moment, Jase and Diane come clean about their Mr. and Mrs. Smith alliance. Yes, America, they really were an alliance. Julie then runs through the Chilltown finger-phone videos in which the boys reveal their master game-play. TRUTH HURTS Julie asks the non-sequestered All-Stars if the two finalists deserve to be there. No one speaks, and Julie is prompted to ask Nakomis who she feels should be in the finals if not Boogie and Erika. Nakomis doesn’t hesitate with her answer: “Janelle and Will.” When Julie asks Alison if she has any advice for Erika, Alison admits that she would love to tell Erika that she has been played all summer. Julie then informs Alison that she can tell her personally, and patches through the finalists to the studio. Alison greets the Final Two, then hits the pair with her opinion. “Congratulations, (Boogie), you played Erika the whole season long,” she points out, adding, “Erika, use that money and buy yourself some dignity.” Julie plays highlights from Boogie’s less-than-chivalrous Diary Room sessions as Erika and Boogie watch. When Boogie gets into details of how much he “used” Erika, Erika’s face pales noticeably. At the end of the replay, Boogie claims his comments were not taken in context. There is no comment from the audience or the HouseGuests. AND THE WINNER IS... It is time to reveal the Jury vote results. The air is tense as Julie wishes everyone luck and pulls the keys from the box. The first vote is revealed: Marcellas has voted for Erika. Howie has voted for Mike, as has Danielle. The next vote revealed is George’s, who voted for Mike. Will’s vote is next, for Mike, meaning that with four votes, Mike Boogie has won the $500,000 Grand Prize. Boogie walks through the door straight into Will’s waiting arms. As the men hug, he lets the BIG BROTHER: ALL-STARS house door swing shut behind him, leaving Erika behind in more ways than one. Julie reveals the winner of the $25,000 America’s Vote prize: it is Janelle. She is again the recipient of hugs and cheers as the HouseGuest who has captured America’s heart is rewarded with so much more than a monetary prize. Thus we come to the end of another season of BIG BROTHER, this time with an All-Star cast who played an All-Star season. There were plenty of cheers and tears, toasts and roasts, showmances and, for the first time, a bromance, making it an unforgettable and always entertaining year. Until the next BIG BROTHER adventure, have a great year, from CBS.com. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/bigbrother7/show/wk10/tue01.shtml

Big Brother: All-Stars, September 12 - It All Comes Down to This by Sandy Lamparello -- 09/13/2006 It’s time for the finale of Big Brother: All-Stars! It’s Mike against Erika. How brutal will the questioning be? Who makes the best jury plea in the history of Big Brother? How close will the final vote be? What do the non-jurors have to say about what went on after they left the house? And which juror will go home with a special prize? We’ve got all that and more right here! Previously on Big Brother: All-Stars, 14 houseguests from the first six seasons of Big Brother returned to the house. America voted for Janelle, Erika, Nakomis, Diane, Howie, Kaysar, James, and Jase. The producers chose Will, Danielle, Marcellas, Alison, Mike Boogie, and Chicken George. In order, Janelle & Jase, Kaysar, James, Janelle, Danielle, Janelle, George, Mike, Erika, Janelle, Mike, and Mike won HOH. Also in order, Janelle, Erika, George, Mike, Janelle, Danielle, James, Janelle, Janelle, Erika, and Janelle won the Golden Power of Veto, which was used nine times in a row! Alison, Nakomis, Jase, Diane, Kaysar, Marcellas, Howie, James, Danielle, George, Will, and Janelle have been evicted. Marcellas and everyone who followed him have been living in Casa Sequester (which had to be relocated from Cabo San Lucas when Hurricane John struck) and will serve as our jury to select tonight’s winner. Along the way, America recorded Wake-Up Calls for the houseguests, which were hated by most but really enjoyed by at least Diane. Some houseguests from seasons past returned in the Big Brother séance, and gnomes threw pies in the face of the All-Stars. Several houseguests won prizes along the way, but there are too many to list. The final two, of course, are showmance partners Mike and Erika. Voiceover guy recaps the season. Season six appeared to hold all the power but eventually lost it to Chill Town in week five. Janelle turned into the veto machine, winning several times to take herself off the block. Operation Double Date worked a little too well, but Chill Town played everyone else perfectly. After weeks of pulling the strings, Erika unraveled them. Janelle sent Will home, causing Mike to cry. Boo frickin’ hoo! Mike beat Erika in the final HOH competition and sent Janelle to a reunion with her flirtmance partner Will. Twelve houseguests have departed, and two remain in the house. Seven will return to make a difficult decision. Who will they vote to win the half million dollars? Cue the theme music! Of course we’re live again, and all of the houseguests are present. The seven jury members will decide live who wins Big Brother: All-Stars. Julie joins us, wearing what appears to be a cap-sleeved version of Seinfeld’s puffy shirt. It looks utterly ridiculous. She recaps the recap. Voiceover guy must feel very unappreciated… The jurors couldn’t wait to find out who would be the last to join their ranks. Once Janelle arrived, the fireworks began. Marcellas, George, Will, James, Danielle, and Howie sit in chairs on the patio. Marcellas says, “Alright, so who starts?” James says, “How about you?” Marcellas says he doesn’t want to see Janelle and Will and Danielle tell him that’s who he’ll be seeing. George says no, Mike Boogie is coming out. Danielle sounds surprised, and Howie looks ecstatic at the thought. Marcellas says, “If the girls have a brain…” and James laughs. Howie says Operation Double Date was not a success and he thinks they will send Mike packing. George says he agrees with Howie for once, but Will pipes up that it’s possible Janelle walks in and the success is still questionable. Everyone gets quiet as Janelle walks in, wearing a red dress and her tiara. She points at them and says, “Hello guys!” Marcellas screams, “NOOOOOOOO!” and stands up, clapping for Janelle. Everyone else welcomes her to the house as she hugs Danielle, Will, George, Marcellas, Howie, but conspicuously not James. She takes a seat next to Will, saying she will explain everything. James asks what happened, and Janelle says Erika took the first part of the HOH competition, and that she (Janelle) lost the second part. Will points out that this means Mike won. Will guesses correctly that for the third part they made a deal to let Mike win it and evict Janelle. Erika stabbed Janelle in the back and so it’s Mike and Erika in the finals. Janelle says Erika is a backstabbing bi**h. Except she spells it out instead of saying it. Will asks if she is sure, then thanks her when she says yes. Danielle says, “Uh, ya think?” Everyone laughs. Janelle proclaims Erika “the ultimate floater that I pray to God will not win.” Howie says, “So a floater is gonna win the All-Stars show?” Janelle says no, and begs them all not to let that happen. Danielle says they all act like that’s so horrible, but she made it to the final. They all knew it week one. Marcellas asks what the difference is between a floater and someone who has multiple alliances. OK, seriously, who kidnapped Marcellas and replaced him with the rational person who we’ve seen all season? Danielle agrees with him, as does James. Danielle thinks it’s amazing how they sit there and discuss how Mike played the game and how Erika played the game and it’s kinda similar. But when a female is the villain, it’s disgusting. Danielle says, “Been there, done that,” and Marcellas points at her. She continues, saying, “Yes, she was lying, yes she was floating, yes she was having deals left and right, but Boogie did the same thing. She’s in the final two. Everyone’s all pissed off, because we believed her and we didn’t take her out. That’s not her fault, that’s our fault!” James seems to indicate that he didn’t believe her. Marcellas points out that Erika was on the block a lot. Danielle says three times, and they had the chance to kick her out but they didn’t. Janelle says, “At least Mike was loyal to someone, he was loyal to Will. Erika was loyal to no one.” Will tries to ask a question but Janelle points out everyone who Erika was not loyal to. James says it was not a team sport though. Danielle says there is no rule saying that you can’t lie to people, there is no rule saying you can’t be a floater, and there is no rule saying you can’t only be loyal to yourself. Marcellas points out that not one person on the jury can say that they didn’t lie to someone. Danielle wants to talk about Mike’s game play. She asks Will to tell her about Mike’s game play. Will says he did exactly what he needed to do to be in the final two. He rode coattails when he needed to, he dodged bullets when he needed to, and he won competitions when he needed to. James says they can say that Mike rode Will’s coattails but Erika tried to ride everyone else’s coattails. She didn’t orchestrate anything. Will points at him. Marcellas says Erika played the game that she was presented with, and by rules that were set up by Mike and Will. They are all there because of the way that Mike and Will decided to play the game. Janelle concurs, saying that Chill Town ran the game, and it wouldn’t be fair for the jury to deny them a winner. They played a better game. Marcellas says everybody gets to decide how they want to vote and how they want the game to be played, and Mike played a dirty game. Will says he respects the way Erika played the game, and that she played a phenomenal game. However, as a person she just kinda disgusts him. He’s not sure why and he can’t put his finger on it. He’s absolutely biased, they played a very similar game but to him, Mike’s was superior. Marcellas is disgusted by the boys more than he is by the girls (his words, not mine folks, don’t send me hate mail), because he doesn’t think a boy should ever manipulate a girl into doing everything, especially using the lure of a relationship. Janelle reminds him that it is a game, and that Mike and Erika played a bigger game on them, and they are responsible for the eviction of everyone on the jury. Howie says Erika deserves to win the game, and Janelle interrupts, screaming, “No she does not!” Howie continues that Erika deserves to win more than anyone in the history of the game. I’m sure it’s not just Howie’s hatred of Mike talking either. Everyone looks shocked by Howie’s statement, but he explains that her game was so transparent, yet 13 All-Stars left her in the game week after week after week. Danielle nods as Janelle continues to say no. Marcellas nods as Howie continues that they left her in the game even after they knew what she was doing. George says that Erika’s best move was whispering in everybody’s ear. It was a simple strategy, but they believed her. Marcellas says one of the reasons they shouldn’t undervalue Erika doing whatever it took to get to the end of the game is because certain people came into the game alone. They didn’t have the benefit of their best friend to guide them, to help them, to lie for them, and to play tandem. Will says he knew this point was going to be raised. Yes it was an incredible advantage to come into the house with his best friend. But when two people who came into the house wearing Chill Town shirts, and told everyone they were the most brazen alliance, and still made it to the final four, that’s not luck. That’s a strategy that worked very well. Danielle says they’ve heard a lot of things tonight, they have two people to choose from, it’s a tough decision, and she is just asking and pleading with the jury to not make it personal. It’s not a good thing, and she knows how it feels. Everyone claps for her. The jurors have only seen nomination and veto ceremonies, competitions, and evictions. They have not seen personal conversations or diary room interviews. And coming up, the first five evictees—who are the only All-Stars to see the entire show—will reunite with the jury and tell everyone what they don’t know. We finally see Mike and Erika, seated in the nomination chairs, though I suppose they are now the final two chairs! It’s time for the beatings! Uh, I mean it’s time for Mike and Erika to plead their case before the jury. Each jury member was given the chance to ask Mike and Erika one last question, and then the final two got to make their argument for why they should win the half million dollars. The jurors are in Casa Sequester and Mike and Erika are on TV from the house. Marcellas asks them both the same question: Strategically, what do you think was your best move during the game? Erika says convincing Janelle to vote out Will. He was the one she needed to get out to position herself where she is now. Will smirks and Janelle rolls her eyes. Marcellas tells her it was a good answer. Mike says his best move was not using the special power that he had, and keeping Janelle in the game and aligning with her for the home stretch. He knew that if he did use the power, he would have to use it on Janelle or the rest of the house would figure out that they were woking with her. George congratulates them on finding the love of their lives as the jurors dissolve in laughter. He asks Mike if he will ask Erika’s hand in marriage on the live show just as he did with Krista on “Big Brother Number 2.” Mike thanks him and says he had a great time with Erika but he will not be proposing to her on the finale. Janelle claps as Mike says he has to keep up his bromance with Will. Erika says they know who his real love is. George asks Erika how she thinks he feels after she whispered in his ear that he was safe, and then voted him out of the game. Erika says the week after she told him he was safe, they didn’t have a deal and she knew she had to keep Mike in the game to help her go further. She feels horrible but she had to choose Mike over her at that point. She’s sorry and hopes he can forgive her. Mike, George, and Will make the funniest faces at her bumbling answer, as Janelle gives her the thumb’s down. Will makes one of his infamously stupid fake phone calls to Mike. He asks him if he is really in the final two as they dissolve in laughter. He doesn’t even bother asking Erika a question. Janelle asks Erika if kissing butt and throwing competitions was part of her strategy. Will looks a bit stunned by the question, as does Erika. She replies that the only competition she threw was to Danielle, because she knew that the two of them had a very similar agenda. Danielle looks perplexed. In terms of kissing butt, Erika had Janelle’s back and would have definitely taken her to the final two if she had the chance. Janelle does her best impression of Survivor Alicia, and wags her finger at that statement. It was awesome that they got together to try to get out Chill Town. Mike looks amazed at how big a hole Erika is digging for herself. She really should have practiced in front of a mirror or something. Her delivery needs a LOT of work. Erika hopes that Janelle understands and can respect how she played the game. No chance of that after looking at Janelle’s reaction. She does not ask Mike a question. Will just shakes his head. James is next. He says that in the house, Erika told him that during Big Brother 4 she thought Alison’s strategy was deplorable and that’s why she could not vote for her in the end, because she used the floating technique and the hook-up technique and flirtation to get to the end. How was her strategy different and why should he give her a vote. Erika says she didn’t really come into the house looking to flirt or hook up, she honestly just likes Mike. She says when she came in she didn’t have anyone but she didn’t want to be a floater. Janelle looks skeptical. Erika says she did what she had to do to get through the house and she once again hopes he can respect that. Danielle’s still not feeling the respect. Again, no question for Mike. Danielle’s first question is to Erika. She tells her to listen and answer carefully, because the answer to this question is going to decide her vote. She asks if it was Erika’s decision or Chill Town’s decision to get rid of her. Erika says honest to God’s truth, while she made Chill Town believe it was their idea, Danielle was the second strongest player in the house and she could not beat her in competitions. The only move she could make was to vote Danielle out. I’m impressed with the lack of stumbling through that answer. She must have anticipated the question. Janelle and Will shake their heads. Danielle tells Mike that he looked her in the face and said he was gonna be her Jason. She says Jason would have never done what Mike did to her, and asks him to justify himself. Mike makes her a deal. If she gives him her vote to win and he goes home and watches his TiVo and doesn’t see more than one Jason, he’ll give her half of the money. He thinks that James was also her Jason, as was Erika, and she was a dangerous player who just had to go. Danielle smiles and says, “Good.” Mike won’t apologize for it. Howie says Mike told him in the house that it was bros before hos. Didn’t Mike think that sending Howie “a-steppin’” was going to cost him a vote in the jury house? Mike wants to give Howie the evolution of his demise. When Mike saw him hang off the spider ropes he looked at his arms and they were bloody. He said to Will that they had to get him out of the house, and no one was talking about him. Will shakes his head yes. Howie was the most entertaining guy and he might never get nominated. Howie actually looks flattered by the answer. Mike says he deserves a lot of credit for getting Howie nominated; he did it on no notice in one minute’s time in the red room. Mike is sorry for Howie’s feelings but he deserves a lot of credit for making it happen when the opportunity presented itself. Chicken George gave them the opportunity, and Chill Town took it. Questioning over, it’s time for Erika and Mike to plead their cases. Erika says she came into Big Brother: All-Stars not really knowing strategically how she was going to play. She needed to go after the puppet master and she found that she couldn’t because he had lots of puppets protecting him. So she decided she needed to go into the final four and get the final four veto so she could vote him out herself. She didn’t get the veto, but she got Janelle to vote Will out instead. She then says, “In true puppet master form, I got his best friend to put him up and his best girl to vote him out.” I think I may be ill. If she thinks anyone believes that she engineered this whole season she is seriously delusional. She asks them if they would rather give the Big Brother: All-Stars crown to the person who did all of Will’s dirty work, or to the person who took him out. She sits through her whole speech, and actually looks very detached. Mike says the truth is, with the exception of Chicken George and Will, he lied to each and every one of them. I must note that Mike stands up when pleading his case, which makes him seem more sincere than Erika. He says they didn’t know it, but they were all one big member of Chill Town. There was one big alliance and they were smart enough to keep them in the positions they wanted them in, and when they each started to figure it out they were evicted. Mike has a lot of respect for all of them, and they each gave him something they probably didn’t even know. Marcellas motivated him, Howie entertained him, Janelle and James challenged him, Danielle and George inspired him, and Will did all of the above. He asks them to vote like All-Stars and reward his game play. He humbly and respectfully asks them to vote him the champion of Big Brother: All-Stars. Wow. Great job pleading his case! Mike and Erika say they miss the jurors and Erika adds, “We love you!” It’s time to welcome the Big Brother: All-Stars jury! Marcellas, Howie, James, Danielle, George, Will, and Janelle take their places on the stage. The crowd high-fives all of them as they walk out. Someone in the audience holds a sign that says, “How Would Howie Vote?” There are also Chill Town signs, and even a Bunky sign! Aww, how sweet, Erika’s family loves her! The Cheesewheel of Fate sits on the stage behind a protective screen. The jury will vote in just a moment, but first Julie congratulates Erika and Mike on making it to the final two, and says now the power is in the hands of their former housemates. I’m surprised she didn’t have to read that off of a cue card! Each jury member has been given a bag, inside of which are two Big Brother keys. One for Mike and one for Erika. Each of them will be asked to step up to the cheesewheel and insert the key for the person they would like to see win Big Brother: All-Stars. Without revealing their decision, each juror may make one statement to the finalists before casting his or her vote. Marcellas is up first, and everyone claps for him. Including himself. He congratulates Mike and Erika, saying it’s just a game and no hard feelings, he respects them both and he’s floored that either of them made it to the final two. It’s nothing personal, but he voted based on their last answer to his question. He puts his key into the cheesewheel but we see nothing. Howie says it’s hard to justify giving half a million dollars to someone who owns six restaurants and kind of bullied and threatened their way in a reality TV game show. He tells Erika they were friends when they moved into the house but he heard through the Big Brother grapevine that she hates him now, but he still loves her. Unfortunately he thinks America hates her. The audience groans. Howie inserts his key, saying that if they would like to continue this discussion with him later, they can chat with him at howiegordon.com. Everyone laughs as Howie sits down. They’re not giving me even a bit of a chance to peek this season. Boo, hiss! Danielle says she is not used to doing this and everyone laughs. She congratulates Mike and Erika and says it was a very hard decision because she lost Big Brother 3 when it got personal. But she realized the past winners played the perfect game. The winner in her book had a few things: strategy, winning competitions, devotion, deception, and last but not least ultimate floating. So that’s how her vote’s gonna go. She asks if they are scared, says she is scared, then blocks her key completely as she puts it in the cheesewheel. Julie says, “Very secretive vote!” and Danielle does what so many of us dream about doing during every episode of Big Brother, she tells Julie to shut up. George congratulates them and says Big Brother 1 was a completely different game, and he remembers watching a finale show at home and thinking, “Why don’t they just give the money to the person who needs it the most.” He played this game out of respect to the players and to the game. He has to give his vote to the player that played the best game. The audience applauds loudly as George tries to insert his key, but has some trouble. On the third try he gets it. There was my best opportunity so far for peekage but alas, no dice. Will steps up to more loud applause. He says five years ago Mike was instrumental in helping him win Big Brother 2, but a lot has changed since then. One thing that won’t change is he’ll always be one of Will’s best friends, regardless of what happens tonight. He asked Erika his nickname the other night and she was close, but for one last time she can still call him the puppet master. As if we think he’s voting for her over Mike! Please. His key is placed without any trouble. Janelle also gets a big hand from the audience. She congratulates them both and says though a lot of people will think her vote tonight is for personal reasons, it certainly isn’t. She simply had to vote for the best player of the two of them. In goes her key. No peekage. James is the last juror to vote. He also congratulates them, and says his last week he came to both of them for help. One person said they couldn’t help him for strategy reasons and the other person blamed it on everyone else. His decision will stand based on the person who played the game the best. He places his key in the cheesewheel of fate and I don’t even try to peek. But of course we don’t get to see the results just yet! Now that the votes are in, the jury can hear about some things they may not know, including what was said in the diary room about each other. Alison, Nakomis, Jase, Diane, and Kaysar have been at home watching the show, and they are coming up to tell them all about what went on. And we will get to relive some of the most shocking moments of Big Brother: All-Stars! But first, go to cbs.com to learn how to apply for Big Brother 8! Oh boy, I’m going to need to recover from this season first! The first five evictees are introduced. Kaysar’s hair has grown in nicely, and wow Nakomis has black hair! It’s a lot shorter than it was before too! Julie says it’s been a while since Kaysar has seen his season six alliance, Howie, Janelle, and James. He’s the only one of the alliance members who has gotten to see all of the Big Brother: All-Stars episodes. What would he like to reveal to his alliancemates? Kaysar laughs and says, “Well, Janelle, someone came in with a little chip on their shoulder this season. Look behind you.” Janelle does, and says, “James?” Everyone laughs. Kaysar continues that they were all there to play the game but James made it a little personal. Cue clips of James trashing Janelle and declaring their alliance over. He calls her a fat bi**h, and the dumbest player ever. Ouch! He protests that some of those clips occurred at three in the morning. Julie asks Janelle how surprised she is watching that. Janelle says at times she felt James didn’t like her, but she always felt he would have her back because they were in an alliance together. She says James is kind of a whiner so it didn’t really surprise her. Julie tells James to defend himself. He won’t get personal, and he did apologize to Janelle for those things already, because he is an emotional player. With her, Kaysar, and Howie making the promise that if he put up Jase they would put up Chill Town the next week, he had to realize that if his alliance had lied to him, were they really his alliance? Jase shouts his support for James. At that point, he realized that he had to find someone he could actually trust, and move on from there. It was all part of the game. Janelle accepts that. Jase was one of the first honorary members of Chill Town. What would he like the jury to know about Will and Mike? Jase says first of all, his mom has a Chill Town t-shirt. He then imitates a Will phone call, and Kaysar pretends to answer. He then “hands the phone” to Diane, telling her that it’s for her. Diane picks up the fake telephone and Jase says, “Hello Mrs. Smith!” Diane says, “Hey Mr. Smith!” Jase asks if she knew that the whole house thought that they were in an alliance together secretly. Diane asks why they would think that and Jase says, “Because we were!” They both laugh maniacally. I don’t buy it. Neither one of them admitted it in their post-eviction interview with RNO. Julie says it didn’t get him very far but it got at least one member of Chill Town very far. What did Jase think of their game play? Jase says he thought their game play was excellent. There is a mayor of Chill Town, and his name is Will Kirby. Jase gives credit where credit is due. Will is the most bada$$ player to ever play this game. Cue clips of Chill Town in action! Fake telephone calls abound. They’re just as annoying to watch the second time. Julie asks the non-jurors who thinks the most deserving players are sitting in the house right now. Nobody raises their hand. Julie says Diane is waffling and Diane says Boogie, kind of. But not Erika. Nakomis thinks Janelle and Will are more deserving, which is greeted with thunderous applause. Jase says even though they are both really ugly, they are great competitors. Ha! Julie asks Alison what she wants to tell Erika and Mike about what really has been happening this summer. Alison—whose voice STILL grates on me—would really like to tell Erika that she was played all summer long. Julie tells her that this is her chance, and opens up the mic so Erika and Mike can hear what is going on. She tells Erika that Alison would like to tell her something. Alison congratulates Erika for making it to the final two and representing Big Brother 4 well. She then congratulates Mike for playing Erika so well; he played her the whole season long better than he played the game. Alison tells Erika to take the money and buy herself some dignity. Cue clips of Mike playing Erika, calling her a ho, and joking with Will about how he would get her to give it up and then vote her out the following Thursday. This is brutal to watch. Mike and Erika could not look more uncomfortable. Julie asks how Erika feels after watching that, and Erika says she’s sitting there in the final two, so obviously she did, uh… and seems to realize what road she is walking down with that statement, so she finishes by saying they played each other and it’s part of the Big Brother game. Mike says some of the harshest comments were 10 minutes after she got Will evicted. I beg to differ; he made no bones about the fact that he was using her all summer long. He says to remember that it’s an edited television show. Uh huh, OK Mike! But yes, there was an element of playing each other. Julie has a very important announcement for the jury members. There is another prize up for grabs. America was asked to vote for which jury member they thought should win a $25,000 jury prize. Before I hear who won, I’m going to guess George. (No, I didn’t vote.) Danielle agrees with me! We’ll find out later who won. It’s time to announce the winner of Big Brother: All-Stars and bring this season to a merciful end! Julie stands at the cheesewheel of fate. She is about to reveal the votes, the winner will receive $500,000 and the runner-up will receive $50,000. They need at least four votes to win the game. Marcellas voted for Erika. Howie voted for Mike. Wow, that’s a bit of a surprise. Danielle voted for Mike. Chicken George voted for Mike. Will voted for Mike, making him the winner of Big Brother: All-Stars! Mike and Erika exit the house to cheers and applause. Will meets Mike at the door and hugs him. Hugs all around! Julie has lost all control of the situation and stands at the cheesewheel of fate laughing for a minute. Good grief! CBS, PLEASE don’t make us suffer through another summer of Chen. I’m begging you! When we return, Julie says that Janelle and James also voted for Mike, making the final vote 6-1. While Julie opens the envelope to reveal who America voted to receive the $25,000 jury prize, Will says he hopes it’s a Chill Town member. Based on Mike’s speech, that would be any of them, wouldn’t it? Julie reveals that America voted for… Janelle! OK no great surprise there, she definitely played a great game and deserves it. I would have liked to see George get it though. Julie asks Mike what he is going to do with the money, and he says he owes Will a gold chain and a jet ski from the last game, and he’ll buy some stuff for his family and friends. He is also opening three new restaurants in Atlanta, so he’ll invest some of it in those too. Sounds like Mike’s got a plan at least. Good for him! He is not sure who he will take to Aruba with him, and may give the trip to his business partner, since he’s been gone for a long time. Better check the CBS contract and see if that baby is transferable… (Sorry, I’m a lawyer—occupational hazard…) Julie says Erika is going home with $50,000 and congratulates her. Erika says she is very excited. Julie asks how she feels after being locked away in the house for 72 days and Erika says she is relieved that it’s over. Congratulations to all our All-Stars, and good night!