the time. The season premiere had a total of 8.47 million viewers, ranking it first for the hour and in all key demographics. The Tuesday, July 12 episode of the series saw a total of 8.8 million viewers. The Thursday, July 14 eviction episode had a total of 7.9 million viewers, slightly down from previous episodes of the same season. For that week, Big Brother 6 came in tenth place in terms of ratings. The Tuesday, July 19 episode had a total of 8.3 million viewers, despite being delayed by 11 minutes. The Thursday, July 21 eviction episode had a total of 8 million viewers, ranking first for the night. This episode featured a 5.2 rating and a 10 share. The Tuesday, August 16 episode had a total of 9 million viewers, winning in numerous key demographics. The Thursday, August 18 episode featured a total of 8.4 million viewers. For that week, the series came in eleventh place in terms of average viewers. The Tuesday, August 23 episode had a total of 8 million viewers. The Thursday, August 25 episode had the same number of viewers, and ranked first in the hour. The Tuesday, September 6 episode drew in 8.1 million viewers, and came in first for the night. The special Friday, September 16 episode of the season had a total of 7.1 million viewers. Critical reception The season received critical acclaim from fans and critics with people praising the dynamics of the cast and the unpredictability of the season. Controversy & criticism In the second week, Eric Littman and Michael Donnellan got into a confrontation regarding comments Michael made about Eric's family. Earlier in the evening, Rachel, who was eavesdropping on Janelle and Michael in the Gold Room, overheard Michael make a poor joke about Eric's grandparents to Janelle. Rachel told Eric that she heard them badmouthing his family. Later that night, Eric and Ivette were outside discussing the incident when Michael went outside. Eric provoked Michael who retorted, calling Eric "a midget with a small penis." Eric lost all control going after Michael. The other HouseGuests blocked Eric's attack at Michael. Big Brother intervened, telling Eric to go to the Diary Room, and telling Michael to go to the storage room. Shortly afterwards, Ivette told Kaysar he had no respect for women, attacked Kaysar's beliefs, and made racial remarks. Big Brother intervened again, giving warnings to all HouseGuests.