And so The Biggest Loser (Couples) comes to an end, with twelve weeks of Ten regretting having gotten rid of Big Brother, and so making up for it by putting TBL contestents through more and more ridiculous challenges.
I said at the beginning of this season that it looked like it was going to be the most gimmickiest of the entire lot, but as time went on it became clear that, not only was it the most gimmickiest, it was also going to be the one that was most manipulated by the producers. This is, of course, the one thing that lead to the downfall of BB, and so it was the one thing you'd think the producers would attempt to avoid.
Nonetheless as the game progressed it became clear that the producers had favourites that they were determined were not going to be leaving the show, and it was clear that Nathan was at the top of this list, as despite being voted off the programme twice he was returned both times.
This year seemed to be the year of catchphrases, as "the game was about to change forever" and "we've come to the pointy end of the game" were trotted out with monotonous regularity. Seriously though, unless the game was suddenly changed to "the contestent with the biggest weight gain is the winner" how exactly would the game change forever? I do remember, rather entertainingly, that on one walk, Nathan was told that the power he had was unprecendented in the history of The Biggest Loser. I can't remember what that power was (it was so memorable), but I do remember Sharif commenting, on Nathan's return, that he had no power whatsoever. So much of TBL was a case of build it up, because it's nothing.
It was nice to see that Bob and Jillian weren't remotely associated with the show this year, and it gave Shannon and Michelle the chance to really make their claim on the programme. I'm not entirely certain why, but obviously the producers decided that they needed more to make the programme work, and so aside from Shannon and Michelle, and the always entertaining Commando, we were given Emazon, who, quite frankly, was the most pointless person on the programme. Her workouts were not as terrifying as the Commando's and, aside from constantly shooting her in the dark, she wasn't even as terrifying as Michelle on a bad day.
Then, of course, we had the contestents, given to us in couples, which could have provided a bit of tension if you liked one half of the couple, but not the other, but at the end of the day, if you liked one, you would invariably like the other, and the feelings for hate were similar.
I couldn't stand first couple Tania and Ramses who were kicked out after a week and then bitched and moaned everytime we saw them again, even banging on about how they were going to kick arse when they had the chance to return. As it transpired they not only failed to kick arse, but also failed to lose much weight and it was a very poor final weigh in for them.
However, my feelings of hate for Tania and Ramses were nothing compared to the vitrolic loathing I had for bogan friend mothers Jodi and Jeda. Good god, could there be a more unlikable couple in the house? It seemed that they were going to take up the mantle of moaning and bitching from Tania, and then some. I was so pleased to see the back of them, and even more so, after they complained that they shouldn't be going, Sharif put them in their places. And then, after being told we'd be seeing two hot chicks in the finale, we still just saw two fat bitches.
I had something of a rollercoaster ride with Nathan and Andrew, initially liking them because of their blunt honesty about the way they played the game, but this turned to dislike when it became clear that they - or Nathan at the very least - were pricks in the way they played it. It was extremely entertaining when they attempted to manipulate Holly and Mel and it completely backfired. What shat me even more was how they kept on about the intention to get rid of the pair, and then turned about face. However, once the two were separated, it was interesting to see that Andrew became a whole lot more likable, and Nathan found his home having his arse repeatedly kicked by the Commando every day. And, to their credit, they looked fantastic at the final weigh in.
Holly and Mel were the most annoying couple in the show this year, sniping at each other and making no friends througout the entire show. However, what irked me even more was that they twice said they wanted to leave the game. Look, girls, if you want to go, SOD OFF! Don't wait til you're voted off - pack your bags and walk out the door. At the finale, Mel looked atrocious with hair that looked like she'd taken styling tips from the Jackson 5 (and complained that she still weighed the same as she did on the return weigh in - you chose to leave rather than continue to workout you stupid BITCH!), while Holly looked fantastic. Shame she didn't have the personality to go with it.
Amanda and Stewart had the most to lose, Amanda being an incredible 170 kilos, and yet by the end had managed to get that down to below 115, so big power to her. I felt for the two of them, although they were both a bit mercenary at times, and Amanda did come across as feeling a little bit sorry for herself. Stewart's weight loss was incredible, and Amanda, despite the fact that Ajay seemed to call on her to do it everytime she looked sideways, had a voice that was simply phenomenal. I hope she does get somewhere as an opera singer because she deserves to.
Sammi and Cameron didn't impress me to start with, and this was the one pair that did actually split opinion. I quite liked Sammi, but Cameron was a miserable, negative git, that just moaned for the entire twleve weeks. He finally managed to pull his act together, but still he seemed to chuck a tantrum in the final week. At the end of the day the pair were really non-entities, but I was glad to see Sammi ignore her father and friend and, when given the choice of evicting Sharif or Stewart, she followed her heart and got rid of Stewart, rather than her friend.
Ben and Sean were non-entities for the majority of the time they were in the show as a couple, though I do recall the week they had to have takeaway food for the entire week and Ben chucked the shits because he thought it was counter-productive. Quite frankly I was in complete agreement with him and it makes you wonder why the show does this to these poor bastards. Happily, after Ben left, Sean stepped up and became a quiet little powerhouse. At the final weigh-in I was astonished at how much weight Ben had lost as he looked amazing, but was utterly pleased as punch that Sean won the eliminated contestants prize as he the amount of effort he put into working out was incredible. It was also good to see he got rid of that godawful gap in his teeth.
Tears seemed to be the order of the series with Sean bursting into them every five minutes, but when he wasn't crying it was Julie. Julie and her daughter Meaghan represented the old woman and the hot woman. Meaghan was clearly a bit of a stunner and when she turned up in the finale she looked absolutely hot as. However, it turned out she was a bitch and far more manipulative than anyone claimed - indeed although Julie said Meaghan played honestly, it was clear that that was anything but the case. Julie, on the other hand, sobbed her way to the final five, and most hilariously, when meeting Emazon, walked into an empty room and burst into tears. I felt bad for her as she clearly had issues, but dear oh dear...
My favourite pairing from the outset were Sharif and Teresa, not just because Sharif was 180 kilos (always back the biggest), but because they were fair, honest and determined. From the outset they lead the way, helping others who couldn't quite keep up, and taking the lead in a quiet and effective way. I cheered all of them, and was devastated when Teresa was sent home, but more so when it was Sharif - sent home on Meaghan's whim rather than a proper elimination. When Sharif got the chance to return I was exteremely happy. The weight loss on both of them by the finale was amazing, and they both looked fantastic - Teresa, actually, looked hot. This was the pair everyone should have aspired to, and they really were fantastic role models.
Finally there was the winning combination of Bob and Tiffany. Bob, the oldest contestent ever, was like the energizer bunny, never giving up and just giving it his all from start to finish. His final weight loss (55% of his body weight!) was absolutely incredible, but the fact he was such a decent and nice guy made me glad he won the competition. Tiffany, seemed a bit of a wishy-washy character and never really established a particularly strong personality, but she was clearly determined and I was just as glad to see her get into second spot. Credit to her.
I didn't find TBL to be compulsive viewing this year, and I don't think I watched a single friday night episode as they are becoming more and more reduntant - stupid challenges which aren't resolved until the Sunday anyway. The producer's interference in the show is getting too obvious and unless they want to go down the BB path they really need to pull back from that. Perhaps just going back to the old days of fat people working out and losing weight might be a better idea for next year?
I said at the beginning of this season that it looked like it was going to be the most gimmickiest of the entire lot, but as time went on it became clear that, not only was it the most gimmickiest, it was also going to be the one that was most manipulated by the producers. This is, of course, the one thing that lead to the downfall of BB, and so it was the one thing you'd think the producers would attempt to avoid.
Nonetheless as the game progressed it became clear that the producers had favourites that they were determined were not going to be leaving the show, and it was clear that Nathan was at the top of this list, as despite being voted off the programme twice he was returned both times.
This year seemed to be the year of catchphrases, as "the game was about to change forever" and "we've come to the pointy end of the game" were trotted out with monotonous regularity. Seriously though, unless the game was suddenly changed to "the contestent with the biggest weight gain is the winner" how exactly would the game change forever? I do remember, rather entertainingly, that on one walk, Nathan was told that the power he had was unprecendented in the history of The Biggest Loser. I can't remember what that power was (it was so memorable), but I do remember Sharif commenting, on Nathan's return, that he had no power whatsoever. So much of TBL was a case of build it up, because it's nothing.
It was nice to see that Bob and Jillian weren't remotely associated with the show this year, and it gave Shannon and Michelle the chance to really make their claim on the programme. I'm not entirely certain why, but obviously the producers decided that they needed more to make the programme work, and so aside from Shannon and Michelle, and the always entertaining Commando, we were given Emazon, who, quite frankly, was the most pointless person on the programme. Her workouts were not as terrifying as the Commando's and, aside from constantly shooting her in the dark, she wasn't even as terrifying as Michelle on a bad day.
Then, of course, we had the contestents, given to us in couples, which could have provided a bit of tension if you liked one half of the couple, but not the other, but at the end of the day, if you liked one, you would invariably like the other, and the feelings for hate were similar.
I couldn't stand first couple Tania and Ramses who were kicked out after a week and then bitched and moaned everytime we saw them again, even banging on about how they were going to kick arse when they had the chance to return. As it transpired they not only failed to kick arse, but also failed to lose much weight and it was a very poor final weigh in for them.
However, my feelings of hate for Tania and Ramses were nothing compared to the vitrolic loathing I had for bogan friend mothers Jodi and Jeda. Good god, could there be a more unlikable couple in the house? It seemed that they were going to take up the mantle of moaning and bitching from Tania, and then some. I was so pleased to see the back of them, and even more so, after they complained that they shouldn't be going, Sharif put them in their places. And then, after being told we'd be seeing two hot chicks in the finale, we still just saw two fat bitches.
I had something of a rollercoaster ride with Nathan and Andrew, initially liking them because of their blunt honesty about the way they played the game, but this turned to dislike when it became clear that they - or Nathan at the very least - were pricks in the way they played it. It was extremely entertaining when they attempted to manipulate Holly and Mel and it completely backfired. What shat me even more was how they kept on about the intention to get rid of the pair, and then turned about face. However, once the two were separated, it was interesting to see that Andrew became a whole lot more likable, and Nathan found his home having his arse repeatedly kicked by the Commando every day. And, to their credit, they looked fantastic at the final weigh in.
Holly and Mel were the most annoying couple in the show this year, sniping at each other and making no friends througout the entire show. However, what irked me even more was that they twice said they wanted to leave the game. Look, girls, if you want to go, SOD OFF! Don't wait til you're voted off - pack your bags and walk out the door. At the finale, Mel looked atrocious with hair that looked like she'd taken styling tips from the Jackson 5 (and complained that she still weighed the same as she did on the return weigh in - you chose to leave rather than continue to workout you stupid BITCH!), while Holly looked fantastic. Shame she didn't have the personality to go with it.
Amanda and Stewart had the most to lose, Amanda being an incredible 170 kilos, and yet by the end had managed to get that down to below 115, so big power to her. I felt for the two of them, although they were both a bit mercenary at times, and Amanda did come across as feeling a little bit sorry for herself. Stewart's weight loss was incredible, and Amanda, despite the fact that Ajay seemed to call on her to do it everytime she looked sideways, had a voice that was simply phenomenal. I hope she does get somewhere as an opera singer because she deserves to.
Sammi and Cameron didn't impress me to start with, and this was the one pair that did actually split opinion. I quite liked Sammi, but Cameron was a miserable, negative git, that just moaned for the entire twleve weeks. He finally managed to pull his act together, but still he seemed to chuck a tantrum in the final week. At the end of the day the pair were really non-entities, but I was glad to see Sammi ignore her father and friend and, when given the choice of evicting Sharif or Stewart, she followed her heart and got rid of Stewart, rather than her friend.
Ben and Sean were non-entities for the majority of the time they were in the show as a couple, though I do recall the week they had to have takeaway food for the entire week and Ben chucked the shits because he thought it was counter-productive. Quite frankly I was in complete agreement with him and it makes you wonder why the show does this to these poor bastards. Happily, after Ben left, Sean stepped up and became a quiet little powerhouse. At the final weigh-in I was astonished at how much weight Ben had lost as he looked amazing, but was utterly pleased as punch that Sean won the eliminated contestants prize as he the amount of effort he put into working out was incredible. It was also good to see he got rid of that godawful gap in his teeth.
Tears seemed to be the order of the series with Sean bursting into them every five minutes, but when he wasn't crying it was Julie. Julie and her daughter Meaghan represented the old woman and the hot woman. Meaghan was clearly a bit of a stunner and when she turned up in the finale she looked absolutely hot as. However, it turned out she was a bitch and far more manipulative than anyone claimed - indeed although Julie said Meaghan played honestly, it was clear that that was anything but the case. Julie, on the other hand, sobbed her way to the final five, and most hilariously, when meeting Emazon, walked into an empty room and burst into tears. I felt bad for her as she clearly had issues, but dear oh dear...
My favourite pairing from the outset were Sharif and Teresa, not just because Sharif was 180 kilos (always back the biggest), but because they were fair, honest and determined. From the outset they lead the way, helping others who couldn't quite keep up, and taking the lead in a quiet and effective way. I cheered all of them, and was devastated when Teresa was sent home, but more so when it was Sharif - sent home on Meaghan's whim rather than a proper elimination. When Sharif got the chance to return I was exteremely happy. The weight loss on both of them by the finale was amazing, and they both looked fantastic - Teresa, actually, looked hot. This was the pair everyone should have aspired to, and they really were fantastic role models.
Finally there was the winning combination of Bob and Tiffany. Bob, the oldest contestent ever, was like the energizer bunny, never giving up and just giving it his all from start to finish. His final weight loss (55% of his body weight!) was absolutely incredible, but the fact he was such a decent and nice guy made me glad he won the competition. Tiffany, seemed a bit of a wishy-washy character and never really established a particularly strong personality, but she was clearly determined and I was just as glad to see her get into second spot. Credit to her.
I didn't find TBL to be compulsive viewing this year, and I don't think I watched a single friday night episode as they are becoming more and more reduntant - stupid challenges which aren't resolved until the Sunday anyway. The producer's interference in the show is getting too obvious and unless they want to go down the BB path they really need to pull back from that. Perhaps just going back to the old days of fat people working out and losing weight might be a better idea for next year?
2 comments:
I didn't watch it from the start.
Tania and Ramses - I agree, they got kicked out, then they tried to get back in and couldn't. At least they looked embarassed compared to everyone else when they weighed in.
The only thing I saw of Jodi and Jeda was Jeda being a bit nasty to Tania when they all had the opportunity to come back. She seemed like a scrag.
Nathan and Andrew seemed ok from what I saw. They certainly lost a lot of weight and were machines at the end.
Holly and Mel looked alright at the end, didn't see em much so can't comment. Seemed like they would be bitchy chicks tho.
I felt sorry for Amanda with her shoulder thing, and intially for Stewart as everyone was against him. But then I kind of understood why they were against him. Both Did really well considering.
Sammi was nice, I agree with you on when she picked Stewart to kick out. Cameron was whinging early in the show when I saw him, but by the end he was pretty obviously pleased with himself, and he did a champion job of losing the weight when he finally got over himself.
Ben and Sean were amazing, I honestly thought Ben might beat Sean, They lost so much weight and looked so healthy and fit. Bastards :-) More power to em.
Julie and Meagha. Meaghan was a bit of a bitch when I saw her... otherwise they both seemed ok.
Teresa and Sharif, I can't comment too much on Teresa, but I liked it when she made Sharif work during the weight holding competition. That was pretty freaking awesome. Sharif was a good bloke. Obscurely they had him on TripleJ cause Marike Hardy is a fan of the show and thought he was a spunk. Anyway, he was really good about it and talked about some of the lead up stuff before the game etc, it was quite interesting and he certainly came across as a good guy. I was dirty he had the nothing bracelet tho.
Tiff and Bob were great. Bob was such a champion, and Tiff was hot as. I almost wanted her to win, just to see the first female biggest loser, but Bob was impressive.
I think overall from what I saw, it was a good BL. I kind of liked the couples thing.
Anyways
I read a review of Uwe Boll's films recently that stated that they were 'mind-bendingly unwatchable'. I felt the same way about Jodi and Jeda.
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