Oh, brother.

This season of "Big Brother," that CBS summertime guilty pleasure, has stood out for a bunch of reasons. This eighth edition of the show features the first-ever penalty vote issued by "Big Brother" producers, houseguests citing divine intervention, a twist that's allowed viewers to guide one player throughout the sneaky game and many remarks made by contestants about race, sex, religion and sexual orientation that have sparked controversy on the Internet.

With the live "Big Brother 8" finale not slated until Sept. 18 and seven houseguests still competing for the $500,000 grand prize, asap wonders: Could anything top these five most-talked-about moments?

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CODE YELLOW

Controversy: As "America's Player," Eric Stein is secretly instructed to perform tasks created by producers and voted on by viewers. During Week Three, he sprayed mustard on contestant Jen Johnson's clothing after viewers were asked to select someone whose personal property Stein should "covertly target."

Reaction: "In retrospect, I think the producers know it was silly to demand Eric to destroy her property," says Lynette Rice, an Entertainment Weekly senior writer who covers "Big Brother." "Saying 'Oh, it's just mustard that will rinse out' is sort of a cop out. I think they know they made a bad call."

Also: Weeks later, Johnson was admonished by producers for trashing Dick Donato's stash of cigarettes. Executive producer Alison Grodner says Stein was permitted to tarnish Johnson's clothing because it was an "America's Player" task. Johnson contends that producers said she could destroy the cigarettes.

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IN THE NAME OF GOD

Controversy: During week four, player Jameka Cameron was randomly selected to compete for Golden Power of Veto, which allows houseguests to save a contestant nominated for eviction. Cameron won the competition and used the Power of Veto on Johnson because Cameron said that's what God wanted her to do.

Reaction: "I do believe there are people, like Jameka, who genuinely believe God follows them everywhere, including into a house for a reality show," says Rice. "Yes, it's kind of weird, but I think that's truly Jameka."

Also: God apparently isn't just on Cameron's side. Siyavus said she saw a vision from God during week seven that she would win the Golden Power of Veto. She didn't -- but Danielle Donato did and used it to remove Siyavus from the chopping block.

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BANNER BANTER

Controversy: Producers couldn't stop the sequestered houseguests from seeing an airplane banner that flew over the house during week five attacking Stein, Amber Siyavus and the Late Night Crew alliance. The banner read: "We (heart) Nick! Amber and Eric are liars! LNC is the nerd heard."

Reaction: "This season, the show has been most interesting because of things that happened externally, such as that banner that flew over the house calling Eric and Amber liars," says Andy Dehnart, blogger for realityblurred.com.

Also: After seeing that oh-so-revealing banner during an endurance challenge in the backyard, many contestants began speculating about Stein and Siyavus' true intentions. This led contestants Dick and Danielle Donato, an estranged father and daughter duo, to target Stein for elimination.

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ALWAYS LISTENING

Controversy: On the live Internet feeds, Siyavus told fellow contestant Cameron that Jewish people tend to be "really money hungry" and "selfish." YouTube videos of the conversation ignited a firestorm on the Web, prompting CBS to issue a statement condemning her remarks and refusing to air them in prime-time.

Reaction: Rice says, "You really have to be in your own insulated world to think, 'Gee, I can start spouting off about New York Jews on camera. It's not that big of a deal.' That's just cluelessness. I really think they think there's nothing wrong with the way they are. Isn't that pitiful?"

Also: Those aren't the only contentious comments. Dick Donato has made several quips that have been called "sexist," "misogynistic" and "homophobic" by fans on the Internet. Dustin Erikstrup used the n-word to describe his black dog. And Stein made a jab about incest, referring to Dick and Danielle Donato.

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WHERE THERE'S SMOKE

Controversy: After Dick Donato blew smoke in her face during week seven, Johnson repeatedly swatted at the lit cigarette in Donato's hand and kept telling him to stop trying to burn her. While the physical altercation was included in prime-time, it was originally censored on Showtime Too's "Big Brother After Dark."

Reaction: "It was clearly disturbing," says Dehnart. "It seemed out of left field as we watched it on TV because Jen has been mild mannered all season long on TV. It ignored the fact that she's essentially been abused by Dick and others for weeks and weeks, and she finally snapped."

Also: Although two houseguests have been removed from "Big Brother" in seasons past after physical behavior, both Johnson and Donato were allowed to remain in the house following theirs. After her eviction, Johnson said Donato "definitely should've been kicked out."

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Read Jen Johnson's post-eviction interview on The Slug, asap's pop-culture blog:

http://asapblogs.typepad.com/theslug/2007/08/chatting-with-j.html

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Derrik J. Lang is an asap reporter in New York.

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