Big Brother 3

In the third season, of Big Brother, the American reality TV show, which aired thirty-two episodes during the summer of 2002 from July 10 to September 25, a new twist was added to the game, in that the houseguests could compete for a Power of Veto. At a weekly meeting, the winner could decide to veto a houseguest that the Head of Household had placed on the nomination block. In this season, it was not possible for a nominee to use the veto on themselves.

To date, it is the only version of the US Big Brother series to be released in its entirety on DVD.

Another twist was called Expect the Unexpected, in which, for the first time, a houseguest would be allowed back in the house by a group vote. The first four evictees competed against one another in a series of questions asked by host Julie Chen; subsequently, the choices were narrowed down to two: Eric Ouellette and Amy Crews. The swing vote, unbeknownst to the audience before the live vote, was Lisa Donahue, who had developed a romantic alliance with Eric. Lisa voted for Amy and she was allowed back in the game. Some houseguests tried to kick Amy out immediately, in a plan called Operation Revolving Door. Amy won Head of Household the first day back, and the plan failed.

Marcellas was also involved in one of the most shocking moments of the third season. The Head of Household that week, Jason Guy, had nominated Marcellas and Amy in a week where five contestants were reduced to four. In the final twist of the season, the last Power of Veto competition to be played had a special rule. If the nominee won the contest, they could save themselves from eviction, a rule that would become a staple in future seasons. When Marcellas won the veto contest, he had the option of saving himself. Trusting an alliance he seemed to have with Danielle Reyes, he chose not to use the veto. When Lisa Donahue and Danielle finally voted, Amy and Marcellas were tied 1-1, which meant Head of Household Jason had to break the tie. Jason voted to evict Marcellas, meaning had Marcellas used the veto, that outcome would have kept him in game and kept alive his chances at winning $500,000.

This season featured a guest appearance by singer Sheryl Crow in a special two-hour edition of the show that aired on August 21. Sheryl Crow and her band performed three songs for the houseguests in the backyard. This came as a big surprise for them with about a month left in the game.