I was going to begin my review of Tuesday’s episode of The Biggest Loser with a rant. I was going to spew vitriol about how weight loss has taken a back seat to game play and drama perpetuated by producers who clearly feel as though getting a group of morbidly obese Americans thin isn’t interesting television. In doing some quick research this morning, I discovered this season’s players feel the same way I do.
TMZ is reporting that the remaining Biggest Loser players have walked off the set of the program because producers broke the news that eliminated players may be brought back to play for the grand prize. In other words, those who were booted from the competition would now have an equal chance in winning $250,000 as those who have been there for months.
Production of The Biggest Loser has been shut down while everyone tries to sort things out.
I understand the contestants’ fury at this latest twist. This season has been all about twists, from forcing teams of two to choose to train separately, to players leaving because they missed their families, to bringing back one eliminated duo who never made it on to the ranch in the first place.
That team’s return to the ranch a month later proved to be a disaster. Adrian and Daphne never connected with their teammates, leading to Adrian being booted for being a little too opinionated in his first two weeks on the ranch. Daphne, who felt Adrian had been unfairly targeted by Conda, sought revenge this week. The winner of Tuesday’s temptation challenge — after scarfing down over 1,800 calories at once — Daphne had the power to shake up the teams anonymously. She swapped siblings Conda and Jeremy, moving she to the black team and he to the red.
Though the move was anonymous, everyone knew Daphne was the culprit. That didn’t stop her from lying about it and feigning innocence, which further distanced herself from everyone on the ranch. Her team, seeking their own revenge, stuffed themselves full of bread and lost little or no weight in an effort to lose the weigh-in and vote Daphne off. They pulled it off, but Daphne contributed as well, by actually gaining two pounds. She was unceremoniously dumped.
The fact that the black team actually went out of their way to harm themselves to get rid of a player is deeply troubling, and I blame the producers for putting them in that position. I’m glad the remaining players have taken a stand against this latest — and ludicrous — twist. The Biggest Loser has enough drama packed into two hours with gym and physical challenge footage without the extra back stabbing.
This is a weight-loss series about surviving, not Survivor.
The Biggest Loser: No Excuses airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Omni/NBC.
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