Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The Biggest Loser Returns

With the Olympic flame extinguished, we got back to episodes of The Biggest Loser this week. The show started off where we left off, in the midst of the challenge between Cheryl and Darrell. In the end, Darrell lost and went home.

The contestants, including Darrell's daughter, Drea, didn't have much time to think about it though as they were faced with a temptation challenge that would yield control of the game for the winner. Drea and Michael were the only two contestants who volunteered to take part in the challenge that was a big game of memory. But each wrong guess meant having to consume calorie-laden foods like chocolate chip cookies, doughnuts and bagels with cream cheese. Though Drea's memory helped her make several matches, forcing Michael to end up consuming 2,310 calories, Michael ended up matching up the two golden tickets for the win. By winning, he was able to pick who would be on the new blue and black teams and who would have immunity this week.

As is typical, he made choices that made his fellow contestants angry. Right off the bat, he split up Sam and Koli. And Daris and Cheryl. He did give O'Neal the immunity, but he stacked the blue team with the contestants who typically lose more weight. The black team was made up mostly of women, many of them the smaller ones. Their only guy was Sam, but I had to smile when Sam painted his fingernails black just like all his female teammates.

When Bob and Jillian acted surprised at the choices Michael made, ones that clearly were for his own benefit, I had to think to myself, "Seriously?" Sometimes I think the surprise they exhibit is manufactured. While it might not be "fair" the way Michael split up the teams, he had it right when he challenged Bob and Jillian. He shot back that they were always telling him to think about himself. When he did that, they had to admit he had a point.

In a reward challenge, the teams had to lift their team's banner up a several-story hotel. The blue team, with more guys, won and were rewarded with letters from home.

Dr. Huizenga was back to check up with the contestants, to give them updates on how their work was paying off. Ashley had regained an amazing 8 years of her life for 7 weeks of work. And Sam's workouts, plus giving up smoking and drinking, lowered his real age from 51 to 46. Dr. Huizenga said that would improve even more if Sam stayed away from the alcohol and cigarettes for a year.

I am the first to admit I love an underdog story and tend to root for the underdog. And this week, the black team was the underdog and they knew it. And they worked so incredibly hard, determined to show Michael that they weren't going to be the automatic losers at the weigh-in, that Jillian was even impressed. And it paid off. They did, indeed, win the challenge, sending the blue team to the elimination room where Miggy was voted off. It was a close race though. The blue team lost 2.7% of their team's weight, while the black edged them with 2.82%.

This week's big losers at the weigh-in were Michael (15 pounds), Ashley and Koli (10 each), and Sam and Stephanie (8 each). Even O'Neal, who was immune, lost 9 pounds. He never slacks off even when he has immunity. That's someone who is serious about weight loss.

We got to check in with both Darrell and Miggy at the end of the show. Darrell is down to 293 pounds from his starting weight of 413 and can now fit into the jacket he wore 27 years ago when he met his wife. Miggy, who admitted that she was a very stressed person when she came to the ranch, has embraced meditation, which has helped her to lose weight. She's down to 179 from 240.

What were your thoughts about this week's episode? And do you think there will be any romances to come out of this season? I started thinking about that tonight when I saw that several of the younger, single people are still on the ranch.

6 comments:

Michelle Butler on March 3, 2010 at 9:18 AM said...

I did wonder if the show's director or producer had told Jillian to go off about the two teams. It does seem like if you are going to go for the power of making decisions, you should use that power - at least the way this game is set up and played. Now, the rest of the contestants almost always resent it - but if you're not playing a social game - or can't for some reason - go for it. Mike has a huge target on his back for being so big anyway.

It was kind of funny to see the two teams. However, the petite/short woman who was very overweight often wins this game. It's all about who has the potential to lose more than half of their original weight. She can or a really big guy can most of the time. The "underdog" team may continue to kick butt.

I was sad to see Miggy go. I've always had a soft spot for her - with all her "warts". I thought it was wonderful that she has started meditation and has continued to lose weight. I hope the meditation is helping her work out her anger and other emotions.

Does anyone have any favorites now? I don't really yet. It's always more fun when you do.

Michelle Butler on March 3, 2010 at 9:47 AM said...

From The Programming Insider:

Earlier in the evening on NBC was young adult-driven The Biggest Loser at a 5.7/ 8 from 8-10 p.m., with the half-hour breakdown as follows:

The Biggest Loser (NBC)
8:00 p.m.: 5.4/ 8 (#3)
8:30 p.m.: 5.5/ 8 (#3)
9:00 p.m.: 5.8/ 8 (#4)
9:30 p.m.: 6.1/ 9 (#4)

Trish Milburn on March 3, 2010 at 1:40 PM said...

Yeah, the so obviously staged aspects of the show like some reactions and those annoying product placements make me want to scream.

I like lots of the people on this show. To me, there's not really a "villain" this time, at least not yet. I think Cheryl is sweet, and I like Sam and Koli.

Michelle Butler on March 3, 2010 at 2:06 PM said...

OK. I thought the villianess was the wife in the red team. Yes, I know she had her fans (including readers of this blog), but I was not one of them. I think other readers of our blog thought Miggy was the villianess (though I always had a big soft spot for her.) Currently, I don't feel too negatively about anyone - or too positively. The two-week break probably hurt with that.

If I think about it more, I really like Oneal and Sunshine. They have big hearts - and I love how they went home and succeeded and came back. Sam and Koli remind me so much of past contestants.

I'd like Shannon to do very well. It sounds like her dad really did a job on her psyche. Honestly, I'd like all of them to do well - including miss red - it just makes it more fun to watch when I'm rooting for and against a bunch of them. I just love, love, love the last show and the end of the season when the transformations become so apparent and powerful.

Trish Milburn on March 3, 2010 at 2:59 PM said...

Do you mean Ashley? I don't think there is a contestant named Shannon. And I can't believe I didn't mention O'Neal and Sunshine. I really like them too.

Michelle Butler on March 3, 2010 at 3:05 PM said...

Shannon was probably on the last season. I've watched all the seasons and there are "character types" now. :) I do mean Ashley - the 27-yr-old Blonde woman. Thanks!

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