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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

And so it begins

Biggest Loser logo

Season 8 of The Biggest Loser started tonight, complete with drama and tragedy, heart-wrenching stories and gut-busting workouts. The average age of the contestants is 32 years old. Five of them weighed more than 400 pounds.

Thanks to the previews online and the commercials on TV, there were very few surprises. Daniel from last season returned, 150+ pounds lighter, but still with plenty of weight to lose. In true Daniel fashion, he showed just how much heart he has by choosing Shay as his partner because she is where he was, the biggest contestant in Biggest Loser history. Shay weighed 476 pounds at the first weigh in.

Competing with Daniel for crowd favorite will be Abby. Her story -- losing her husband, 5 year old daughter and 2 week old son in a car accident -- is absolutely tragic. Her motivation for losing weight is different than many of the others.

"Death doesn't scare me," she said. "It would be easier than living." But she believes she is here for a greater purpose and she wants to regain her health to fulfill that purpose.

Speaking of death, two of the contestants had to be taken to the hospital from the first challenge, a 1-mile walk on the beach. Coach Mo was kept overnight and returned to the ranch to compete. Tracey collapsed and was airlifted out by helicopter (possibly for dramatic effect?) and never returned for the rest of the episode.

At the ranch, Bob and Jillian did the training together and if you ask me, there was too much screaming and cursing and flying "F" words. The softer side of Bob eventually made an appearance, but it was almost not enough of a contrast to Jillian's nastiness.

Jillian was screaming at someone about being pathetic and not being strong (there are too many contestants to really keep track of right now). I thought the girl might take the weights and bash Jillian in the head with them -- and I'm not sure anyone would have blamed her.

Jillian did say something to Shay that stuck with me. Telling Shay that the story in her head was her own recording, Jillian told her "Make a different choice. No one else can do this for you."

Though I'm not a stranger to them, I thought there were also too many lingering camera angles on fat bellies and flesh rolls, mostly during the weigh ins.

I think there shouldn't be a weigh-in and elimination in the first week. But there was. Alexandra, a college student who lost 13 pounds, was voted off. I'm not too sad. And really, she shouldn't be either -- she's lost 60 pounds since leaving the ranch!

I'm not going to pick a favorite tonight, though I'm a little sweet on Coach Mo. You can visit the Biggest Loser website to check out all the contestants.

So, tell me your thoughts about tonight's season opener...

9 comments:

Old Woman said...

Hey girl - have been absent from blogging myself - but was looking forward to your reviews of BL and maybe to get inspired to blog agin - not about BL, I'll leave that to the pro. Also thought that I would join your BL challenge, I didn't last time, but would be inspired now .... if you are going to do it again?

BTW hows the soccer thing going?

Shauna said...

My husband and I watched it last night. I cried every time Abby talked about her husband and two kids. I can't even imagine that pain. And when she said "death doesn't scare me" I nearly lost it. I'm rooting for her, I think she is an extremely strong person.

I also love Coach Mo! I hope he does well. I was really glad that he was able to lose enough weight to keep the purple team there.

It's been a while since I've watched BL. I tend to feel extremely guilty about my own habits, but I think this season I'll turn that into motivation. ;)

-Shauna

Sharon said...

Excellent review!

Loved the show. Coach Mo also made a place in my heart last night. Abby, too. I cried like a baby. Oh my goodness, how sad. And to see Jillian tear up! I screamed at the tv "Jillian is human!" LOL.
Does Jillian ALWAYS scream & curse at the contestants that much? It just might make me not enjoy shredding as much. :( Jillian is kind of ghetto.

Bob is kinda cute. I like his softer approach much more. Is he straight?

I agree on sending someone home the first week, but I'm glad it was the girl. I didn't like her trash talking and complaining that her partner "only" lost 13 pounds. A loss is a loss, and she should have been more supportive, imo.

Awesome show! Can't wait for the next episode. :) Wish I could watch it with you!

Jessica McCoy said...

I think it's going to be a great season! As of now Abby is my favorite. Not really because of her story but because of her inner strength. I love her smile and how she is so confident in herself. I wish I had just a tiny bit of her strength.

There was way too much cussing, imo. I'm not sure I could take all that if I was on the show.

I'm glad Alexandra went home too. I'm happy that she was able to lose 60lbs but she bugged when she blamed her partner for them being in the bottom two.

Can't wait until next week!

Joanne said...

Amy I was hoping you would do a recap. I have never seen so much crying during a Biggest Loser episode and I am not talking about the contestants I am talking about me. Pass the tissues. I cried when they all came back to help Tracey - cried during the stories etc etc.

I am hoping against hope that they all remain nice people - I loath nasty contestants.

Also do you think that they teamed Bob and Jillian up to stop the competition between them - that to me was overshadowing the real reason for Biggest Loser.

I would rather watch nice people than nasty - if I want nasty I will turn on Survivor (ok I do that too)

Marine Wife said...

I thought Jillian showed a softer side, just not in front of the contestants! when she and Bob discussed giving Shay more time after she left the gym.

And when Abby made Jillian cry -- awesome!

Shannon @ Gabi's World said...

Coach Mo lives in my neck of the woods over here! My favorites so far are Daniel (of course I was rooting for him last season), Shay (I relate to her), Sean (love his attitude and love that he is a youth pastor), of course I am a sucker for Abby (because of her story and her uplifting attitude... I would love a happy ending for her), and Mo (since he lives in Louisville).

I cried so much during this episode! I can't get over Abby's story and perseverance!

Annie said...

I finally got around to watching it last night and I thought it was pretty good. Like you said, not many surprises thanks to all of the trailers, but still good. I thought the Tracy incident looked a bit staged, too. Scare people into getting fit, maybe? I wasn't sad to see Alexandra go, either. She looks great so far doing it on her own! I had my own little revelation last night while watching it. I said after the brunette pink team girl weighed in, "I don't think I'm big enough to lose....however many pounds it was she lost...in a week." Then I looked again and realized I'm bigger than her! Whoa. So as soon as I'm done reading a few other blogs, I'm off to work out this morning while my little guy's a preschool!

Joanie said...

Here I am! Better late than never!

Great review, Amy! Yeah, hey came off too tough I think. We'll see how it goes this week.

I wasn't sad to see Alexandra go home. She was real quick to push blame on her partner (I forget his name) for not losing more weight. I'm glad she's still losing on her own though.

I also don't have a favorite yet. And let's see how long efore the gloves come off and the fangs appear on the contestants.

I think I'm glad it isn't couples this year. Couples are too quick to gang up on folks who don't play by their rules.