Too much too soon?  We had only a few weeks off in between seasons 4 and 5 of The Biggest Loser.  Does anyone remember that season that the show doesn't even count when they worked with families?  If you didn't, don't worry about it because it was awful.  I'm not sure how I feel about this season, where contestants compete in duos and no team works exclusively with Bob and Jillian.  There seems to be more drama than usual, more fighting, more whining.  I never like when family members compete together on reality shows.  It's what I can't stand about Big Brother's Dick and Daniele Donato or The Amazing Race's Ronald and Christina Hsu.  I don't need people with daddy issues on my television set, work it out in counseling.  However, despite my minor disappointment thus far in season 5 of The Biggest Loser, I've still picked favorites to win the season and least favorites I'd like to go home as soon as possible.

I really like the purple team, Jenn and Maggie a lot.  Unfortunately, they've been putting up very low numbers at the weigh ins and find themselves constantly below the yellow line.  What is fortunate for them is that there's always another team that doesn't deserve to stay or doesn't have the personality that meshes with the other contestants.  The purple team have gotten more than their fair share of chances and are really going to have to step it up in order to stay.  Needless to stay, I think their bodies are just having a slow start and I expect big things from them at the live finale.

I may go out on a limb and pick strangers Bernie and Brittany as this season's winners and here's why.  They're a solid team that performs well consistently.  They don't have the baggage that the other teams have in working with someone you are so close to.  Lastly, their biggest competitions, Mark and Jay and Dan and Jackie, have bigger targets on their backs.  Both the black and orange teams are physical and weight loss champs with attitudes that rub their competition the wrong way.  This can allow Bernie and Brittany to get on a roll and just run with it while other teams are picked off.

The good news about this season is that I expect everyone to do well and look great at the finale.  Once teams are booted off, they have something special - a person who went through the same experience that they did and can support them like no one else can.  These duos train together, learn together, and laugh and cry together.  This should be big motivation once teams find themselves back home with the cameras turned off.


- Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of NBC)