Men have been ruling the roost of late on Big Brother, making up the last four season winners. Since the early days of the eleventh season are likely to be dominated by the usual testosterone battles, let us pay tribute here to the women who have helped make the show watchable since 2000, even if their antics and bad judgment don't always qualify as good gameplay.

Meet the new cast of Big Brother 11

This ranking of the top 10 women of Big Brother was achieved using a secret formula that combines likability, strategic smarts, survival in the game, personality quirks, and (most importantly) my own opinion:

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10. Erika (Seasons Four and Seven): She has to be mentioned for finishing as the runner-up in all-stars and in the top half of her original season, although her primary strategy seemed to be coming across as not dangerous enough for other players to bother with. Docked a few spots for making the occasional bigoted remark, and for falling for Mike Boogie.

9. Alison (Season Four and Seven): Like Jun, whom she lost to in the Season Four finale, Alison's primary contribution to Big Brother lore was playing the men in the house for suckers -- a skill that rarely gets exhibited on the show, which has always been more apt to cast females who put flirting ahead of the game. Alison's unapolegetic love of money wasn't geared to make her popular, and it proved to be a major reason why she was the first one out in all-stars, but you can't deny that it worked.

8. Daniele (Season Eight): By the end of her season, she was blatantly riding the coattails of her father Dick -- the primary reason she lost to him in the end. But for much of Season Eight, Daniele seemed like the superior player: doing well in challenges, maintaining decent relations with "enemy" players, and even getting many in the house to believe that she and Dick were estranged and not really allied. But man, did she like to whine.

7. Diane (Seasons Five and Seven): During her appearance in the all-star season, Diane came across as jaded and beaten down by life in Hollywood, and clearly didn't have her heart in things. But she was a powerhouse in Season Five, unemotionally working to take down what seemed like an unstoppable boys' alliance. Her Achilles' heel was trusting the wrong boy, and she suffered the indignity of having her house squeeze Drew vote her out.

6. Nicole (Season Two): For much of her season, Nicole looked like a great underdog story: she had to fight like a dog to avoid being the first out of the house, but a month later was co-leader of the house's primary alliance. In the end, she was simply too emotional and made too many enemies, but her antics helped make Big Brother, which had just barely survived its first season, a summer fixture.

5. Janelle (Seasons Six and Seven): Although I have always found her appeal to be mysterious, Janelle pulled off the enivable feat of being the most popular player with viewers in two consecutive seasons. She was probably the best BBer ever at challenges, which is the main reason she was able to finish third in both her seasons despite being targeted from the beginning both times. But she proved susceptible to picking questionable allies and to putting popularity with males ahead of her best interest in the game, so I can't rate her any higher.

4. Danielle (Season Three and Seven): Danielle is primarily responsible for a major change in the game, the beginning of jury sequestering. The players she outlasted in Season Three were so upset to learn that she was the major string-puller in the house, and was gleefully telling all to the TV audience in her Diary Room sessions, that only her ally Jason voted for her to win. But her primary strategies -- pick one and only key ally, and stay out of the early line of fire -- should be copied by many more players.

3. Lisa (Season Three): The first female champion of Big Brother, Lisa is best remembered for what might still be the most awesome thing ever seen on the show: casting the deciding vote that prevented her house boyfriend Eric from re-entering the game. While she mostly hitched a ride on Danielle's train, the ability to get to the end while making as few enemies as possible is every bit as valid a qualification for winning as owning key strategic moves.

2. Maggie (Season Six): She was probably the least popular champion ever, and there's good reason for that -- her alliance was smug and Maggie in particular had no sense of humor. But only three women have won Big Brother, so she must have done something right. Standing at the front of a powerful and unusually close alliance and making sure everyone in it had their primary loyalty to her made her one of the most deserving champions ever. That doesn't mean we have to like it, or her.

1. Jun (Season Four): Jun isn't as widely remembered as she should be, likely because one, she did not participate in all-stars; and two, she had a fulfilling life both before and after Big Brother. But she demonstrated an excellent path to success for women on the show: stay out of drama, don't get too tied in with one alliance early, make yourself useful as the house cook (the kitchen is a great setting from which to spy), and for heaven's sake, don't put boys ahead of winning the game.

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