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The Biggest Loser  

(Note: This is NOT an official NBC website)

O.K., so I'm a fan of the show and all-too-fond of spouting off my opinions and observations about it so I figured maybe I'd throw up a page on it so that other people could be bored with my opinions and observations.

 Week 10

Editor's Note: It's late and I'm tired so I'm just going to cut to the chase here and I'll fill in the rest as I can.

This week was NFL week and the contestants were joined by NFL Hall-of-Famers Steve Young and Jerry Rice.  For their first challenge the contestants had to run an obstacle course set up by the NFL players.  They ran the course, for time and then had to run it again.  The winner was the person whose time improved the most between the two runs.  Vicky, the consummate game-player, sandbagged the first run and thus didn't have too much trouble making a big improvement on the second.  She won.

Redemption? Vicky got a LOT of 1-shots on camera this week and she was portrayed MUCH more sympathetically than in weeks past.  One has to wonder if the overwhelming negative buzz in the fan community prompted the editors to either stop making Vicky seem so hard or, more likely, to take some efforts to try and make her seem sympathetic.  It may have softened her a bit, but ultimately there is still such strong negative feelings towards her she's probably beyond redemption in the eyes of the fans.

Product Placement - I realize the ratings on the show aren't great and so maybe the producers are feeling the pressure to increase product placements in order to make their revenue targets.  It could also just be perception on my part but it seems like the product placements in the show have just gone over the top.  The contestants can barely take a Nike step in the Biggest Loser Hidden Valley Ranch without being reminded to look at the Sony cameras, flash a Colgate smile and remind the Baked Lays TV audience how much they really enjoy Aquafina.  I keep expecting Bob Harper to tell us that if we just chew 11,000 packs of Extra gum that we can make our own medicine ball!

Welcome back Rocco - Rocco is back to show the contestants how to cook a reduced calorie Thanksgiving feast.  He's got some great tips and some interesting recipes, and the show wastes few opportunities to show us that the lady contestants (which is almost all of them) are drooling over the hunky chef. 

Challenge

For this week's challenge the contestants went to a football stadium, dressed up in shoulder pads and jerseys and had to catch footballs fired at them from a pitching machine 50 yards away.  They'd chase down the ball then run to the endzone and put it in racks labelled for the other contestants.  If a contestant got 10 balls in their rack they were done and had to sit out.  Not surprisingly the blue team ganged up on the black team and put Michelle and then Renee out in quick succession.  Then they finally had to turn on each other.  Amy C. went after Ed and finished him off (Michelle and Renee got him started) before Heba and Vicky took down Amy C.

Then it was down to Heba vs. Vicky and Vicky one - with Heba actually helping her to the finish with the final football.  For her prize Vicky won tickets to the NFL Pro Bowl.  Vicky being a big football fan was just overjoyed, of course.

Weigh In

This week's weigh-in was especially dramatic.  The black team was really up against it, totally outnumbered, and they knew they were fighting for their lives.  They weighed in last and...
....dropped HUGE numbers.  Renee lost 8 and Michelle lost an incredible TEN.  Wow.  That meant that it was Amy and Heba falling below the yellow line this week.

Strategy

I hate it when I'm right.  Last week I said that Amy C. cut her own throat by voting Colleen off and keeping Vicky.  This week that proved to be true.  Amy and Heba fell below the yellow line and even though Vicky was trying to act like it was a tough decision I think it was clear that her "best friend" Heba was going to stay and Amy was getting her vote to go home.

Interesting contrast - Amy seemed to think she and Vicky were cool after last week.  Vicky said she still doesn't trust Amy.  And Heba came right out and said Vicky was still out for Amy.  No surprise there.

With two blue team members below the yellow line it came down to personal alliances.  Both of the black team members voted for Heba.  Ed, naturally, voted for Amy.  It came down to Vicky.  At least she managed to not smirk as she sent Amy packing.  But I noticed that they showed Amy hugging everybody goodbye...everybody except Vicky.  Could be that was just edited out.

But what might have been?  If Amy sends Vicky home last week then Colleen is the swing vote this week.  Anybody think Colleen votes to keep Heba in the house? No.  Next week COULD have been Michelle, Renee, Colleen, Amy C. and Ed...but since Amy sent Colleen home last week...she's home this week.  And is it possible that Amy could have been so naive?  At one point she said she didn't know of any Blue Team alliances?  What?  If that's true she's the only one in America who didn't know.

Bye Amy.  Sorry!  I really liked ya.

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