Thoughts on Vicky
Perhaps no contestant in Biggest Loser history has inspired more dislike, heck outright hatred, in the show's fans than Season 5's Vicky. Fan forums are just overflowing with people calling her all kinds of terrible names, wishing her ill and actively rooting for her expulsion from the house. I even saw one or two who thought the producers should kick her off the show and not wait for a contestant to vote her off.
Make no mistake, I don't like Vicky either. I think she's mean, hateful
and self-centered. And I was absolutely rooting for Amy C. to send her
home in Week 9. But I don't go so far as to wish her to gain weight or
think that the producers should act outside the game to punish her. What
she's doing is distasteful, yes, but it is within the rules of the game.
But I think what gets Biggest Loser purists so riled up is that Vicky is an overt game player. She makes no bones about the fact that she's there for the cash, pure and simple and anything else is apparently just pretense. Biggest Loser is different from all of the other reality shows because it's a bunch of likeable people pursuing a noble goal...they're losing weight, getting healthy, becoming good role models for their kids...for Vicky to suddenly come in and make the show all about the Jello $250,000 Grand Prize (which it always has been about, honestly) and to do so in such a nasty way is causing a lot of grief for Biggest Loser fans. She tarnishes the perceived "purity" of the show.
She's not a good sport. When she wins she is smug and boastful. Her antics when she learned Phil had been sent home were despicable; even Brady tried to get her to tone it down. When she loses she's whiny and spiteful. I think Biggest Loser fans like to think that these people we let into our homes and cheer for every week for three or four months are really good people; people we'd like to invite over for a, healthy, dinner. (followed by a nice walk around the block, of course)
In the past we've had players who raised ire - the Black team last year started off widely disliked for being very competitive and direct. But by the end of the series the biggest complaint about Mark was his constant crying. Few people thought he wasn't a good guy. Vicky, by contrast, just doesn't seem to be a good person. And Biggest Loser purists are terrified that a nasty game-player like Vicky might actually win the game. That her behavior could actually be rewarded!
I'm going to make a slightly outrageous statement here...Vicky is actually good for the show. She's good for the show BECAUSE she inspires such strong reactions. Admit it, you were glued to the set for the elimination vote this week. So was I. And that's because you actually WANTED Vicky gone. You had an emotional stake in it. People are getting caught up in it and that's driving ratings. Vicky has become the J.R. Ewing of The Biggest Loser - she's the woman we love to hate. There are folks in the fan forums who are watching every move she makes, just looking for more proof that she's somehow evil. "She didn't cry when she saw her kids on TV!" one avid watcher complained. Star Wars without Darth Vader just isn't that much of a movie. You have to have an antagonist. A villain. Otherwise the show is just 16 heavy people eating celery and jogging and who wants to watch that for very long?
Vicky adds drama. And along the way everybody in the house is continuing to drop a lot of weight, make great changes in their lives and keep us tuning in.
At the end of the show they're ALL winners. They've all changed their lives and dropped massive amounts of fat. What's so off-putting about Vicky is that she seems to be the first contestant we can remember who so overtly seemed to think that the only victory on the show is to win the money.
But I still hope she gets sent home. Vicky may add intrigue but I'd still rather see somebody like Michelle or Amy, who really do seem like good and likeable people, claim the big money.
Week 12 Update...
The last two episodes, and Week 12 (Makeovers) especially, the editors have taken a much different track with Vicky - either with or without her compliance. It appears they've tried really hard to soften her - in previous weeks all she could do was smirk and spew bile at other competitors. But in Week 12 she couldn't go 5 minutes without weeping on camera and talking about becoming a better person, etc. It's probably too late to redeem her in the eyes of the shows fans, most of whom seem to want to beat her with the broom they think she rode in on, but it's interesting to see the extreme shift in the way she is being portrayed. And again...I don't know how much of that is editing versus how much of that is Vicky simply showing a different side to herself.
Vicky, remember, is the consummate game-player though. She proudly admits to that. So if this IS Vicky showing a different side to herself you have to give serious thought to whether or not it's genuine or if it's just Vicky putting on an act to garner support or otherwise work a game strategy.
In Week 12 the competitors faced a challenge where they had to wedge themselves into boxes suspended 15 feet or so above a pool. Vicky was the first one to lose, but she refused to drop down into the pool; choosing instead to hang onto the scaffolding acting quite frightened of the drop. Every other competitor, in turn, dropped into the water without any problem but Vicky refused. Finally Ed had to jump back into the pool and swim out to where she was to encourage her to jump in - which she eventually did. It made for an unusual scene on TV but, cynic that I am, I had to suspect that it might be an act by Vicky to appear weak and sympathetic -- setting up a possible elimination room scenario where she had fallen below the yellow line with either Ed or Heba and she would need the black team to decide who was the bigger threat and whom they wanted to keep around.
Too cynical? Perhaps.
Related Articles
- The Biggest Villain on The Biggest Loser - An article from Yahoo! TV about Vicky. One observation that really rings true...Bob early on called her conniving. If *BOB* who is Mr. Positive Yoga Man has something negative to say about a contestant then you'd better believe it's serious.
- An Interview with Vicky at RealityTV.com - A lengthy and interesting interview with Vicky about what she says really went down. They asked direct questions - did they get direct answers?
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