My family and I got hooked on NBC's The Biggest Loser during the summer as reruns from the previous seasons were airing on the Style Network. So when Tuesday night's premiere rolled around we were all glued to the set ready to check out the new season from day one. The show has been a big motivation to both my wife and I as we have tried to lose weight. We were all curious to see how this season was going to play out.
It was obvious looking over this year's crop of contestants that the producers were looking for people that had the potential to lose a lot of weight. Just about everybody was very obese. I don't think anyone was just slightly chubby this year. Last year, Erik Chopin went from 407 pounds down to 193 pounds in winning the grand prize. It's clear they are looking for those kinds of people as it does make for great television.
I like Allison Sweeney as the new host. She seems more empathetic that Caroline Rhea did maybe because Allison has struggled with weight issues of her own (something she mentioned in the opening episode). It will be interesting to see how she does as the season unfolds.
I'm glad Jillian Michaels is back if for no other reason than it adds intrigue to the show. The return of the "black team" to the campus next week after being eliminated by the other players will no doubt cause more than a few fireworks.
I'm not going to pick a winner now but I've got to like Jerry, the 62 year old grandfather's chances after an astounding 31 pounds lost in the first week. How did he do that? Think he's got something to show the younger contestants? You bet he does. It's also no accident he's on Bob's team. I don't know exactly how he does it but something about the way Bob trains his folks always gets great results even if the player has been eliminated and is left working out on their own at home. If I had to pick one of the three trainers, it would be Bob.
We also weren't surprised that Amber was eliminated in the first week. If we've noticed anything it is that you have to go in with the attitude of sticking with the program and working through the routines especially when you don't feel like it. It doesn't take long for players to realize this. It was encouraging, however, to see she had already lost 65 pounds after being eliminated. I'm curious to see how she looks at the finale and whether she's really been able to make headway in her weight loss.
A few years ago I read a book by Clay Jacobsen (one of my favorite novelists) called The Ultimate Reality Show. It's about a guy who gets whisked off to a Survivor-type game and has a shot at winning $10 million. It exposes many of the manipulative things that producers of reality shows do when they are making these types of programs. Maybe because I was more acutely aware of it after reading this book it was easy to see how the players and viewers are being manipulated for the sake of entertainment. It was more of a distraction for me than a deterrant for watching the show.
Anyway, we'll tune in again next week and see how things unfold. I'm hoping that we will at least learn something from these folks about weight loss and nutrition that we can use. That's where I have to tip my hat to the producers of the show. They know that they're not just entertaining folks. They are changing lives for the better.
By the way, be sure to check out my review of The Biggest Loser over at Blogcritics. Please leave a comment and let me know you stopped by.
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