Thanks for the Memories

When a school year ends, the students receive a yearbook full of superlatives like "best dressed" and "most likely to succeed." Now that season eight has come to a close, it's only fitting that we dole out some superlatives of our own.

Best Alliance: Dick said it himself, no other alliance in Big Brother history has been able to achieve what he and has daughter have. Even more impressive, unlike most great alliances--i.e. Jason and Dani--there was nothing covert about the Donatos bond. Jen said it best at the finale, there were several opportunities to out them, but they failed to do it.

Most Memorable Meltdown: Amber's full-fledged freak-out toward Eric was all sorts of explosive, but we all know it's Jen's ugly-photo moment that people will still talk about during Big Brother 24.

Worst Alliance: How sturdy is a four-person alliance when only one member makes it past week five? Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.

Strongest Competitor: Each member of the final three proved to be adept at competitions, but none more so than Daniele, who rivals All-Star Janelle as Queen of the Veto. Remember when she hid the veto-card in a pot of slop? Very slick.

Most Egregious Self-Promotion: How relieved are you that we didn't have to suffer through one of those movie night competitions? You know, the ones where the houseguests compete to watch some forgettable film and spend 10 minutes talking about the subtle nuances of Vin Diesel's performance? Instead, this season we were exposed to the Power of 10. I don't know about you, but if given the choice I'd take Neil Patrick Harris (season 7) and Sheryl Crow (season 3) before Drew Carey.

Cutest Couple: Although Big Brother desperately tried to sell us on the legitimacy of Nick and Daniele's relationship, we all know the real romance was between Jess and Eric. To use Nick terminology, Eric was "one smitten kitten" because Jessica was "the bee's knees."

Worst Competitor: When Jessica was betrayed, Eric swore he would avenge her. The determination on his face at the HoH competition minutes later backed up his words. But sadly, Eric couldn't get it together in that challenge...or any other.

Coolest Competition: There were some memorable veto challenges this year--the Dick vs. Mike stare-down provided excitement early on, and the one that resulted in bunny suits and leotards was even better. But what could top the 7-1/2 hour battle of wills between Zach and Dick for the final HoH?

Biggest Rivals: Dick tormented just about everyone in the course of the summer, but he was particularly merciless when it came to Jen. For the most part Jen was solid as a rock and did not let him break her spirit, but everyone has a breaking point. The cigarette incident was by far the most difficult moment to watch this season.

Most Shocking Moment: For viewers, it was shocking to see one person after the other get backdoored. For the houseguests, it was most shocking to learn of the America's Player twist. Fortunately for Eric, most of them seemed to be good sports about it.