The Biggest Loser

'The Biggest Loser' Review: I'm Giving You A Makeover

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:57:17 GMT

The past couple of weeks on The Biggest Loser has been a little bit about the game, of people getting bitten because of overplaying it, and people who do the same thing despite the warnings. But that gets banished tonight, sort of: it's makeover week! Perfect time to look at the six remaining contestants in a different way, from people who are constantly sweaty after their workouts, to those who exude confidence... but still have to be sweaty after their workouts.

This season's makeovers are courtesy of Tim Gunn, who we all know from Project Runway, and Tabatha Coffey, who we all know from, well, Tabatha's Salon Takeover. The makeovers are necessary: they have to do some motivational speeches at an event, so why go out there and talk about stuff looking your worst, right? It's actually funny seeing that Rudy was really, really, reeeally excited for makeover week. (I expected the reaction from Rebecca, but hey, I'll take what I can get.) The appearance was a quick one, however, because the next thing we know, the makeovers are done. Must be the advantages of a 90-minute episode.

The Biggest Loser: Previewing Episode 8.10

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:45:00 GMT

Well, here it is: makeover week! It's that tradition on The Biggest Loser where the contestants who were lucky enough not to be eliminated early get a new look from fashion and style experts--and, as for us, we get a new way at looking at these people whose change has brought them a pretty long way. And not just us, too: there's always the bit at the end when the contestants show off their new looks to family and friends, and it's bound to be pretty emotional.

Tonight, the six remaining contestants--Allen, Amanda, Danny, Liz, Rebecca and Rudy--will be giving speeches about their weight loss journey at an event for TV Guide Magazine, and they have to look their best, of course. Cue Project Runway fashion guru Tim Gunn, and Tabatha's Salon Takeover host Tabatha Coffey, who come in to give the usual makeovers and prepare them for the event. And then they see their loved ones at the end, and you know what happens next.

The Biggest Loser: Daniel Admits Still Struggling with Binge Eating

editor@buddytv.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:03:33 GMT

Daniel Wright's a pretty big presence on The Biggest Loser--and no, it's not supposed to be a pun. After all, he was part of the show last season, and joined again this season, vowing to finish what he had started. This time, however, things didn't exactly go well, and as his weight loss began to fluctuate unlike the others, his fellow contestants began to consider voting him off since he's already been given his second chance. Still, his elimination last night was pretty drastic, too: he was cut after dropping below the newly-introduced red line.

Elimination is, of course, something that Daniel didn't want. "I was getting so close that I was getting a taste of being a finalist," he told People. "It was never something I wanted when I went the first time."

'The Biggest Loser' Review: Getting Jumpy Over A Red Line

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:40:03 GMT

For a moment, I thought, Tracey's elimination on The Biggest Loser last week would mean the end to devious game-playing tactics this season. Well, I was wrong. This week saw some tactics that would usually put a frown on my face.

This week is, of course, double elimination week, which provides enough reason for the remaining contestants to panic. And then Alison drops another bombshell by revealing the addition of what she calls the red line. We know how the weigh-in goes. Go below the yellow line and you're up for elimination. Go below the red line, and you're eliminated on the spot.

The Biggest Loser: Previewing Episode 8.09

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:45:00 GMT

If it's any consolation, in the end, Tracey regretted her decisions to rile up The Biggest Loser. Then again, that breakthrough moment she shared with Jillian, the this-is-not-just-a-game moment, probably came in too late.

So, after meeting politicians (air time!) and the White House chefs, the remaining contestants return back to the ranch for tonight's episode. Usually after a vacation you get to rest a bit after the stresses of travel. Well, this is The Biggest Loser, and it's not exactly known for resting.

The Biggest Loser: Previewing Episode 8.08

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:30:00 GMT

From this moment onward, the nation's capitol is your ranch.

On The Biggest Loser tonight, the nine remaining contestants head to Washington, D.C. and, well, do a lot of stately working out. There's a lot of touring, a lot of sightseeing, and a lot of people-meeting, including senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Robert Casey, who'll discuss the need for better health and nutrition education in schools, as well as White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford and chef Sam Kass.

'The Biggest Loser' Review: It's A Face-Off, Record Breaker

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:04:52 GMT

For all the flying tempers this week, it all ended up being an emotional episode.

The Biggest Loser enters face-off week this week, with members of the Blue Team facing off against the members of the Black Team just to stay safe in the competition. The catch this time around, is that one team gets to choose who they face off against. It's a challenge that's a bit like limbo, but not really--but what the heck, the important bit is, the Blue Team won, albeit barely, since the whole thing was pretty close.

The Biggest Loser: Previewing Episode 8.07

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:45:00 GMT

First up, the expected stuff: New York Yankee Peter Jeter will pop up on tonight's episode of The Biggest Loser, giving everybody in the ranch a pep talk before they get into a pretty crazy baseball challenge. Whoever wins that challenge gets a treat from another guest--oh, the ever-so-reliable Curtis Stone, and one of his scrumptiously healthy Mediterranean meals.

And then there's how the weigh-in will come down this week: each contestant will be facing off against someone from the opposing team. You know how it goes. Whoever wins each match-up wins a point for the team, and whoever ends up with the least number of points has to send someone home.

'The Biggest Loser' Review: For A Week, It's Home Not-So-Sweet Home

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:26:16 GMT

There's not much of the this-is-freaking-annoying drama on The Biggest Loser this week: instead, we get the usual aww-shucks moments, thanks to the challenge. Well, maybe we have to mention Tracey crying after the Blue Team returned minus Mo, who was eliminated last week. Sure, he wanted to leave too, but I still think it's got deeper undertones. Oh, the tears, Tracey.

The challenge, and this episode in general, was pretty straightforward. Alison had the teams dig around the beach looking for four keys that will unlock the prize inside a treasure chest. The Blue Team wins it easily, thanks to Allen and Rudy, who've been a lot of help. The prize: tickets back home, so they can visit their families for a week. The catch: they're still pretty much in the game, so they have to return to the ranch in time for the weigh-in and shed a couple of pounds. Oh, and they don't get Bob and Jillian, too. The Blues decided to pass the tickets to the Blacks.

The Biggest Loser's Jillian Michaels Gets Own Show

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:48:26 GMT

Well, it was somehow meant to happen, right?

NBC has announced that they're giving The Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels her very own show, which will launch next year. Losing It with Jillian Michaels sees her going across the country providing her own brand of life coaching. She's going beyond weight loss and fitness, tackling other issues such as finances, career goals, and relationships, of the usual or the more intimate kind.

The Biggest Loser: Previewing Episode 8.06

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:30:00 GMT

Just when I thought we'd see Bob and Jillian working together for the entirety of this season of The Biggest Loser, we get a split. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. And while we still have a lot of moments to be glad about (what Liz did to Danny, for one) we still have some reason to feel frustrated, to put it gently. I mean, what the hell, Tracey?

I don't see the girl with the crazy eyes making more of an impact on tonight's episode. But if there's one thing, it's a competition between the teams--and while back then, it's just a perceived battle, this time, it looks a little bit more real. Alison gets the teams to dig around, literally, for buried treasure, and the group that finds it first will have a chance to reunite with their loved ones back home.

'The Biggest Loser' Review: Another One Bites (Witch?) Tracey's Dust

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:35:32 GMT

It's been a pretty tumultuous week on The Biggest Loser--a given, because it's time to let go of the original pairings and form Jillian's black team and Bob's blue teams. No pressure, right? But here comes Alison again, giving everyone a chance to control who goes to what team.

It's another temptation, but it's actually harder now that we've seen it. Whoever decides that they're up for it will face surprise under silver platters. It's either there's food inside, or a thousand bucks, or that ever-so-elusive golden ticket. Four players took a chance and got those calorie-rich foods. And then there's Tracey, the person we should've expected to take that chance. She picks a platter and gets the golden ticket.

The Biggest Loser: Previewing Episode 8.05

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:30:00 GMT

I think Alison Sweeney's having a lot of fun with these critical choices.

The Biggest Loser enters golden ticket week: it's goodbye to the old teams, and hello to the Jillian's black team or Bob's blue team. It's not really a big deal--well, perhaps for the fact that we have to say goodbye to the two trainers working together in the past month or so--because it's something that always happens. But of course, here goes Alison dangling those choices again.

'The Biggest Loser' Review: Eating Out Is Not An Easy Thing

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:28:56 GMT

Where I stand, I always have to eat out. No wonder watching The Biggest Loser tonight made me feel whatever's found its way to my belly. Not that I'm really fat.

This week, the contestants found themselves with a locked-up kitchen: chained cabinets and locked-up fridges meant another challenge of sorts from Alison. The entire week, she says, everybody has to eat out for each of their meals. Makes sense, actually, since it's a chance to learn about how to choose healthily when they're not at home and all that. I never really thought of checking whether something I eat has too much this or too much that, which made me feel the problem that the contestants had when they had their first meals out--but, as Bob and Jillian taught all of us, it's about controlling your environment and checking the number of calories your food has.

The Biggest Loser: Previewing Episode 8.04

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:30:00 GMT

Last week's episode of The Biggest Loser was peppered with a-smattering of choices, and it proved to either be a disaster or a winning streak for one of them: Tracey, otherwise crazy Tracey. Imagine breaking on promises and playing the game like there's no tomorrow. Yeah?

The season has been full of choices and dares: two weeks ago there was the chance for everyone to stay if they all lost a combined 150 pounds, which happened, and then some. Last week, there's the temptation, for the chance to control the weigh-in, and Alison's other dare for a weight advantage in exchange for Bob and Jillian's services for that week.

'The Biggest Loser' Review: Crazy Tracey Was (Unfortunately?) Above The Yellow Line

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:40:12 GMT

If last week was about getting to a seemingly impossible goal, this week on The Biggest Loser was about getting... how exactly do you describe it? Politics? It's a scary line in a show like this, where in theory everybody ends up getting something good even if you win by name or not. Fine, I'll settle with politics. Never mind the euphoria that was last week's "we kicked week two in the ass!" feeling.

Alison's at it again with a dare: she's offering a two-pound advantage at weigh-in, but in exchange of Bob and Jillian's services for the week. If you don't take the two-pound pass, the stakes get higher. Someone did take up the challenge: Tracey, also known as the one who went to the hospital two weeks ago. Mo ain't happy, because it means he loses the trainers too, since they're teammates.

The Biggest Loser: Previewing Episode 8.03

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:30:00 GMT

After the pile-on of feel-good moments on last week's The Biggest Loser--Alison's challenge, the phone calls, the working together, the fact that everybody was safe for another week--it's back to the nitty-gritty. And by that, I mean a little bit of politics.

Well, not really. There is, after all, the inevitable game play aspect to the show: while some are only here to jumpstart their weight loss, others do a little bit more. Jillian, for one, will get very frustrated when she thinks one of the contestants is focused too much on playing the game rather than losing weight. I mean, you can still think of that, yet-unnamed contestant?

'The Biggest Loser' Recap: 150 Pounds? No Problem!

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:27:17 GMT

Seems they're really making the most out of the "second chances" theme for this season of The Biggest Loser. In a nutshell, nobody went home.

Because finally, they all recognized that the second week of the competition is always the hardest. Could be because they've settled in, could be because of the lack of water weight, could be because of other reasons, but nobody really loses a large amount of weight on the second week--and in some cases, some actually gain some pounds. At the very beginning, Alison posed a challenge to the remaining contestants. Lose a combined 150 pounds, and everybody is safe for another week. Lose less that amount, and two will be eliminated. Ouch.

The Biggest Loser: Previewing Episode 8.02

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:30:00 GMT

Last week was a pretty strong first week on The Biggest Loser, both in tearjerkers and in scary stuff. Yep, I'm referring to Tracey being brought to the hospital--and having to stay there--after collapsing in the challenge due to the heat.

Well, this season is about second chances, after all, so take heart in the fact that she gets better and will be able to return to the ranch in tonight's episode. Oh, yes. Mo can't weigh in alone, surely.

'The Biggest Loser' Recap: For A Batch As Big As This, Two Trainers Are Better Than One

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:51:47 GMT

They didn't call this season of The Biggest Loser the biggest for nothing.

Sure, we've mentioned it already: this season features the heaviest contestant the show has ever seen--that'd be Shay, who starts at 476 pounds--and, generally, the biggest contestants in the show. So big, in fact, that Dr. Huizenga decided to have them undergo additional tests for obesity studies.

The Biggest Loser: Season 8 Premieres Tonight

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:30:00 GMT

At the risk of sounding a bit off, it's back to the scales tonight. Well, of course, it's the return of The Biggest Loser, and from the looks of it, it's going to be quite a punch.

The theme this time around is "second chances", and it's pretty evident from the contestants. Shay Sorrells, for instance, is the heaviest contestant the show has ever seen, clocking in at 476 pounds. A bunch of them have heart-wrenching stories--surely you already know Abby Rike and how she dealt with the death of her husband and two young kids in a car crash. And then, of course, there's Daniel Wright, who began losing weight on the last season, and returns this time around now clocking in at 312 pounds.

The Biggest Loser: Of Trainer Tag Teams and Seriously Emotional Second Chances

editor@buddytv.com — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:15:00 GMT

The upcoming season of The Biggest Loser is about second chances, as has been said, but I should've realized that it means it's a more gut-wrenching emotional ride than past seasons.

"We have these contestants who have been to hell and back, to be quite frank," Jillian Michaels told E! Online. "The idea is how do we heal these old injuries and rehabilitate these contestants, not just physically, but emotionally."

The Biggest Loser: Damien and Nicole Tie the Knot

editor@buddytv.com — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:00:32 GMT

Remember Damien and Nicole? They were one of the pairs who took part in The Biggest Loser: Couples earlier this year, although they were booted out in the early stages of the competition, before the competition shifted to individual mode. (Or you might remember Nicole for returning in a twist in the last weeks, and surprisingly gaining weight during the weigh-in.)

Nonetheless I remember them for being one of the more likeable couples that season, amidst arguing best friends and tearful families. Now, the couple, who were engaged before joining the competition, finally tied the knot.

NBC Announces Fall Premiere Dates

editor@buddytv.com — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:00:00 GMT

NBC has already announced the premiere dates for its fall shows, kicking off the highly anticipated, The Jay Leno Show, on Monday, September 14 at 10pm---a week before the official start of the 2009-10 TV season. The Biggest Loser will also get an early start this fall as it kicks off the news season with a two-hour episode on Tuesday, September 15.

The Biggest Loser: Drug Use Allegations Weighed Down On 'Couples'

editor@buddytv.com — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:30:00 GMT

During the team switch on the recently-concluded season of The Biggest Loser: Couples, there was this moment when Jillian Michaels and contestant Filipe Fa had a big argument--when she refused to give him a one-on-one workout when he was suddenly assigned to her. Turns out, there's so much more than that.

Michaels now revealed that the flare-up actually resulted in an internal investigation from producers, after Fa alleged that the trainer was giving people drugs in order to help them lose more weight.

NBC's 2009-2010 Lineup: 'Chuck' to Midseason, Jay Leno Everywhere

editor@buddytv.com — Tue, 19 May 2009 09:48:44 GMT

After its initial announcement last month about the shows it would pick up, today NBC revealed its official 2009-2010 schedule and also made several official cancellations.

My Name is Earl and Medium are both gone, though there are possibilities that both shows could be picked up by rival networks.?? For My Name is Earl, it's especially difficult since the season ended with a cliffhanger.

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