Posted on April 30th, 2009 by Princess Kitty in Biggest Loser
Aired 4-28-09
We picked up immediately after the elimination of Kristin. Helen was thanking everyone for saving her – even though she knew it was only because they viewed her as less of a threat to win. Filipe was aware that he was now the only person left who could stand in the way of Mike winning the whole thing. He also knew that, without Kristin, there was no one left on the ranch he could truly trust.
This was followed by another scene of Ron & Mike being way too confident. Upon returning to their room, Ron hugged his son and said, “You just made the finale, buddy.” To his credit, Mike replied that he will be in the finale as long as he doesn’t “screw up.” Mike said in an interview that his dad has been playing the game perfectly and that, “He’s playing chess. Everyone else is playing checkers.”
Trainer Bob Harper was disappointed, but not surprised, to find Kristin gone. He was also upset that Ron wasn’t being completely truthful about his influence on Mike’s decision to vote Kristin off. Bob said, “I’ve gone through way too much with Ron for him to start being dishonest with me at this point.”
The group met up with host Alison Sweeney in the gym to watch a video of their first workout at the ranch. She also had another bombshell to drop. This would be their last week on campus. They were all about to head home. They went off to recreate their first workout still wondering what Ali’s announcement really meant.
Tara and Helen were chatting in Helen’s room about all they’ve accomplished when Tara mentioned how she used to buy clothes that were too small thinking that one day they’d fit. She brought a dress to the ranch that she bought years ago in London. It fit her perfectly. Helen pulled out her goal outfit as well – size 8 jeans and a leather jacket – and I gotta say, she looked great. It was something that Jillian would wear! They ventured down to the kitchen to show off for the boys. That inspired Mike to try on his black leather goal jacket. It fit and he also commented that his jean size had gone from a 56 to a 36.
The next day the group paid a visit to Dr. Huizenga to get an update on their health. Helen’s biological age has dropped from 60 to 50. They all were shown some brutally candid before and after shots of their abdomens. Ron looked at MRI shots of his midsection and saw how much less fat is encasing his organs now. He’s also off all his blood pressure and diabetes medications.
Challenge
Next up for the final five was meeting Ali at a sand and rock quarry for this week’s challenge. It was brutal. They were all given duffle bags filled with weights equal to what they’ve lost. They had to carry that weight over a course of 16 sand hills that represented each week they’ve been on campus. At the top of each hill they could discard the amount of weight they lost during that week. The prize was the winner’s choice between $10,000 and a one pound advantage. The person who came in second place would get the prize the winner turned down.
Filipe took the early lead with Mike close on his heels. Mike eventually pulled ahead of Filipe but by that point Tara had also caught up. By hill number 9, Tara had taken the lead and never looked back. It seemed fitting that the last challenge on the ranch would end the same as almost all the others. Mike stayed ahead of Filipe to claim 2nd place. Ron was in last place, as usual, and Mike went back to help him finish. I thought it was particularly sweet that Filipe also went back to help.
The first part of the last chance workout was “train the trainer” day. The five gleefully turned the tables on their tormentors, Bob & Jillian. Jillian Michaels was less than pleased. She said, “I hate it. It’s not my fault. I didn’t come here 400 pounds. Why am I getting my ass beat to hell?” Bob, on the other hand, was happy as could be at the idea of getting a workout AND “I get to see them try to push me and I also get to see Jillian scream, cry and jump up and down.” By the time Filipe and Ron were done with him, though, he wasn’t loving it all quite as much.
Weigh In
Ali began the weigh in with a reminder that the final five had arrived at the ranch 152 days before weighing a combined 1,733 pounds. Up to that point, they’d lost more than 600 of those pounds. Tara also stood as the only one never to have been up for elimination.
The rules for the weigh in stayed the same. The two people who lost the lowest percentage of weight would fall below the yellow line and the other three would decide which to eliminate. Ali asked Tara to choose her prize from the challenge. She took the pound and gave Mike the $10,000. Ron headed to the scale first.
Ron lost 9 pounds for a total of 3.02%.
Filipe lost 10 pounds for a total of 4.10%. He was ecstatic.
Helen lost 7 pounds for a total of 4.35%. She was in the final four.
Mike lost 11 pounds for a total of 4.68%. He pushed his dad below the yellow line but neither seemed to care. Mike was in the final four which was their goal all along.
Tara lost 8 pounds. With her one pound advantage it made her total 5.08%. Tara’s record of never facing elimination still stood.
Ron and Filipe were the ones in jeopardy. Back at the house, they both made rather low-key pleas to stay. The choice was basically to take the easy way out and keep Ron or challenge themselves and keep the bigger threat, Filipe. Helen and Tara were the wild card votes. Tara had never aligned herself with either man and Helen pointed out that both of them had previously voted to eliminate her.
In the elimination room, Mike cast the first vote and, of course, he voted off Filipe. Helen went next and decided to do what was in her own best interest and also voted for Filipe. For a man who had more than a few hot-headed moments on the show, Filipe handled it well. He knew it was pretty much a foregone conclusion. He said he couldn’t leave feeling sad because he’d accomplished all his goals.
Once Filipe left, Ali announced to the group that they were going home for 30 days. They would then come back for one final weigh in before the finale.
Filipe came home to a huge celebration that included a ton of really unhealthy looking foods. He had his work cut out for him and admitted to having some struggles. He hit a plateau for a while as he tried to cope with the stresses of everyday life at home. His dad then had a stroke which Filipe said was the moment that refocused him. He now hosts an exercise class at his house for his family and friends. The graphic at the end of the show said that Filipe’s dad is now attending the class and is on his way to making a full recovery.
Next Week: We follow everyone home and it looks like we’ll be voting again on the third member of the final three.
Full episodes and bonus clips are available at NBC’s website here:
The show opened with the encore dance we expected – Team Tango. It may have been even better the second time around.
Ty had the best line in the performance recap. In response to judge Len Goodman’s comment that it was time for Ty to “hit the trail”, Ty responded, “I know I’m not doing great in Len’s world, but I’m doing better than he’d be doing in mine.”
The show’s running gag was a collection of clips showing the “endorsement deals” that the cast has received since joining DWTS. The first segment was a take-off on the Bud Light “Real Men of Genius” series called “Ballroom Dancers of Genius” complete with the raspy voiced singer. It was rather inspired.
Musical Guest: Robin Thicke singing “When I Get You Alone” with Edyta Sliwinska, Cheryl Burke, Kym Johnson, Dmitry Chaplin, Tony Dovolani and Alec Mazo dancing.
In a Samantha Harris interview, Melissa said that she’s started a new treatment for her rib injury and she’s feeling optimistic that it will work.
The first couple safe (in no particular order):
Lil’ Kim & Derek Hough
Montage: How to build the perfect celebrity partner. Eh. It was pretty pointless.
The next couple safe to dance again:
Ty Murray & Chelsie Hightower. Well, that makes things interesting. I’m guessing the couples left just got a whole lot more nervous.
Celebrity Endorsement: “Dance Match” a take-off on the eHarmony commercials with Melissa as the matchmaker and Chuck & Julianne as the adorable couple.
Robin Thicke was back performing “Sidestep” with dancers Pasha Kovalev and Anya Garnis. Robin had a few smooth dance moves himself in this number.
The next couple safe:
Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke
Celebrity Endorsement: A take-off on PETA’s “I’d Rather Go Naked” campaign for “People for the Ethical Treatment of Dancers”. I think it was my favorite:
Pro-Dancer Competition: The two dancers cut after last week’s vote were Snow Urbin and Brent Borbon. Mayo Alanen and Anna Demidova were still paired together and Genya Mazo was now paired with Afton DelGrosso. Genya & Afton danced the Quickstep. We learned in the rehearsal clip that it’s been a while since Genya has done Ballroom so that might hurt him going forward. Next week the three remaining competitors will be paired with former DWTS celebrity dancers. Mayo & Anna danced the Jive. Both dances were great with the only visible mistake being that Afton didn’t land squarely on the judges’ desk at the end of the Quickstep. It looked like it must have hurt. The judges loved all of them so they were no help. I preferred Mayo & Anna’s Jive so I’m still leaning towards one of them to win. Mayo, in particular, is such a completely different physical type (Carrie Ann said he was 6′3″) that it would make the pairings next season more interesting.
The next couple safe:
Shawn Johnson & Mark Ballas
That left Chuck Wicks & Julianne Hough and Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani. One was going home but the other wasn’t necessarily in the bottom two. The pair leaving was Chuck & Julianne. They seemed disappointed but OK with it. Melissa was a bit of a mess. I think she really thought it was going to be her and Tony leaving. Chuck said he thought the team dance did them in and I have to agree. It was the reason Ty ended up ahead of him in the judges’ scores.
I didn’t want to see anyone go, so the result was going to bum me out no matter what. I just hope Melissa can do a full out performance next week or this will have been really unfair to Chuck.
Full episodes of DWTS are available at ABC’s website here:
“Access Hollywood” has a collection of post show interviews including one with Tony Dovolani in which he gives more info on Melissa Rycroft’s injury. It looks like she will be OK and “Entertainment Tonight” is reporting that Melissa will be on the show tonight.
Oh,oh! Tony came down the staircase by himself! Host Tom Bergeron informed us that Melissa was having complications from an injury suffered earlier in the week and wouldn’t be able to dance during the show. He told us that more info would be coming later so we had to wait until almost halfway through to find out if Melissa was staying in the competition. Thankfully, she is. As they did earlier in the season when Steve-O got hurt, the judges scored based on a rehearsal video. I’m assuming they only did this because they are sure Melissa can continue. I really like Melissa, and she deserves to stay, but not if there’s any chance that she won’t be able to perform next week.
This week also saw the return of the team dances. Each couples’ final score will be determined by adding their individual and team scores together.
Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke: Gilles’ shoulder was acting up again and we watched as he visited the doctor and got a cortisone shot. While I don’t doubt the visit and the shot were real, I do think the show really saw it as another “shirtless Gilles” opportunity. Not that I’m complaining – ’cause I’m not. Especially since the outfit Gilles had on for the performance managed to do what I thought was impossible. It took away the sexy! All of it! Their Lindy Hop was fine (albeit a little out of sync in places) but I want my sexy back. The Salty Old Dog said that I now know how he felt when Edyta showed up last week with all those clothes on. Head judge Len Goodman really liked it and said the Lindy Hop could be added to the list of things the French are known for. Bruno Tonioli really appreciated the versatility Gilles showed by doing comedy but added that there was an unfortunate mistake in the middle. Carrie Ann Inaba said it was fantastic and also liked seeing a different side to Gilles. Scores: Carrie Ann – 9, Len – 9, Bruno - 9 for a total of 27.
Lil’ Kim & Derek Hough: Kim was really disappointed that they fell from 1st place to 5th last week. Derek wanted to bring out Kim’s full “Queen Bee” in their Paso Doble. Kim was definitely at her fierce best. Plus her costume looked fantastic during the dance. Bruno proclaimed that “the bitch is back and she means business!” Carrie Ann said the Paso was a perfect match for Kim’s personality but it also demonstrated how she’s grown as a dancer. Len said he was worried about how Kim would cope with the Paso but, while he was expecting ‘Oh, no!’, he got ‘Ole!’ Scores: Carrie Ann – 9, Len – 9, Bruno – 10 for a total of 28.
Audience Alert – Lance Bass!
Chuck Wicks & Julianne Hough: Chuck was finally feeling like a real contender after getting three 9’s last week. Their rehearsal clip was all lighthearted fun. It was a good omen for their Cha Cha Cha. Something happens to Chuck when he puts on a satiny shirt. He was really moving those hips! Carrie Ann said Chuck is definitely in the game now. She added that he just needed to pull in his chin a bit and the 10’s would start coming. Len said it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish and Chuck is getting stronger and stronger. He just needed to work on his arm movement. Bruno declared that Chuck had “great bum action” but agreed with Len about his arms needing more fluidity. Scores: Carrie Ann – 9, Len – 9, Bruno – 8 for a total of 26. Chuck said it felt really good – until they got to Bruno. Tom noted that even Carrie Ann booed Bruno’s score.
Shawn Johnson & Mark Ballas: To help Shawn get the more feminine moves of the Samba, Mark called in his mom, Shirley Ballas, to assist. No wonder Mark is so cute. Mama is quite the hottie. And speaking of hotties, last week was no fluke for Shawn. She now seems very comfortable with the sexy Latin dances. I thought their Samba was great. Len said that, while he didn’t think Shawn would ever dance badly, he didn’t think it was her best dance. Bruno thought it was a good Samba but Shawn hadn’t yet grown into a wild child. Carrie Ann, on the other hand, saw the same dance that I did. She said it was a great performance, with solid technique, and was exactly what she was looking for. Scores: Carrie Ann – 10, Len – 8, Bruno – 9 for a total of 27. I’m with you on this one, Carrie Ann!
Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani: Poor Melissa. In her rehearsal clip she went from being overjoyed at her first place finish to not being able to stand up straight from the pain in her side. She has a hairline fracture in one of her ribs. She can dance but they have to be careful. The tape shown was of their orchestra rehearsal from that morning and it was clearly just a run through for both of them. The judges felt terrible about having to score based on a rehearsal and their comments were basically an apology for what they had to do. Tony completely understood but he was also clearly upset about the circumstances. Frankly, this is the best shot he’s ever had at winning this show. Scores: Carrie Ann – 7, Len – 7, Bruno – 7 for a total of 21.
Ty Murray & Chelsie Hightower: To get Ty ready for the Salsa, Chelsie pulled out all the tricks. She brought Dmitry Chaplin in to consult, dressed Ty is a satin top, and got him a spray tan. The clip of him getting sprayed, with the little hairnet thingy on his head, is now one of my all-time favorite DWTS moments. By the way, Ty without a shirt is a beautiful thing. I was nervous as Ty walked on stage to open the number because he can’t help but walk like a cowboy. Then, for the umpteenth time, he shocked me. Yes, he’s the weakest dancer left in the competition but the man has really become good at this. Carrie Ann was squealing. She loved it and said Ty’s upper body strength made up for what his knees lacked. Len said Ty’s done much better than he ever thought but, unless he really performed in the group Tango, it was time for him to hit the trail. Bruno said Ty went wild and was using Chelsie like a lasso. It wasn’t a perfect Salsa, but he enjoyed it. Scores: Carrie Ann – 9, Len – 7, Bruno – 8 for a total of 24. Len! Stop being mean.
Audience Alert: Roslyn Sanchez going crazy for Ty!
Team Mambo – Shawn & Mark, Chuck & Julianne and Tony with Lacey Schwimmer subbing for Melissa: Their Mambo was done to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” which meant it would be fun but also pretty heavily dictated what the dance had to be like. Of course, they incorporated the video dance and, yes, they went with Justin Timberlake’s SNL bit of putting the guys in leotards. It was predictable but still very good. I do think that having to be out there with four pros made it tougher on Chuck and Shawn and they did get a bit overwhelmed. Len gave credit to Lacey for having stepped in with about 20 minutes to learn the number but she and Tony had to be ignored. Len thought it was fun, entertaining and tight in the group section. Bruno called the guys forward and said it was nice to see men willing to shop in the ladies department. Carrie Ann thought the music overpowered their performance. Scores: Carrie Ann - 8, Len – 8, Bruno – 8 for a total of 25.
Team Tango – Gilles & Cheryl, Ty & Chelsie and Lil’ Kim & Derek: I loved it! And not just because of the beefcake at the beginning. One more time, I underestimated Ty. I figured he’d be the weak link but he had no trouble at all keeping up. The group section at the end was spot on. Bruno said Team Tango was “like a pack of voracious raptors.” The end sequence gave him goosebumps. Carrie Ann said Team Tango took it because the unison work at the end was flawless. She did note, however, that Kim had a little mistake in the solo section. Len said it was a shame Kim had the blunder, and Gilles’ footwork was atrocious, but Ty did what he had to do and nailed it. As a group, he thought they were fabulous. Scores: Carrie Ann – 9, Len – 9, Bruno – 10 for a total of 28.
The final results were:
1) Lil’ Kim & Derek with 56.
2) Gilles & Cheryl with 55.
3) Shawn & Mark with 52 tied with
Ty & Chelsie with 52.
5) Chuck & Julianne with 51.
6) Melissa & Tony with 46.
I don’t want anyone to go home this week!
Full episodes of DWTS are available at ABC’s website here:
Posted on April 27th, 2009 by Princess Kitty in Amazing Race
Aired 4-26-09
I think it’s worth noting that in host Phil Keoghan’s recap of the previous episode, he described Kisha’s actions as “nervous laughter”. It seems to me that the show is trying to establish that Margie & Luke jumped to the wrong conclusion when they accused Kisha of ridiculing Luke’s use of sign language.
At the Pit Stop in Guilin, China, sisters Kisha & Jen were the first to depart at 1:48PM. The teams had to fly over 1000 miles to Beijing. Once there, they had to travel to a foot massage spa. The sisters proclaimed that they were over the incident with Margie & Luke and were going to move on. Siblings Tammy & Victor were the second to depart at 1:49PM. They had been to Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics and speak the language so they felt they had a tremendous advantage over the other teams.
Mother and son, Margie & Luke, left in the third spot at 1:50PM. They were not so over the confrontation with the sisters with Luke saying he wanted to “kick their ass.” The last team to depart was best friends, Jaime & Cara at 2:12PM. They were frustrated that they had yet to finish first in any leg of the race.
Tammy & Victor stopped at a travel agency on the way to the airport and booked tickets on a 5:10PM flight to Beijing. Margie & Luke were the first team at the airport and were arranging to get on that same flight when Kisha & Jen got in line right behind them. The sisters overheard the ticket agent tell Margie that their counter couldn’t accept international credit cards and pointed towards a ticket agent who could. Kisha & Jen then made a beeline to that counter and got the tickets first. Margie & Luke were offended but I have no doubt they, or any other team, would have done exactly the same thing. It was all for naught as the four teams ended up on the same flight. Tammy & Victor did use their language skills, though, to talk their way into seats at the front of the plane giving them an advantage once they landed.
While the others waited at the gate, Kisha & Jen wandered off on their own. This left Margie & Luke and Tammy & Victor to relate the story of the Pit Stop confrontation to Jaime & Cara. I’m going to give Victor some credit for making a point of saying that Kisha had apologized and didn’t mean to offend but Margie still wasn’t having any of it.
In Beijing, Tammy & Victor raced off the plane and were the first to get a taxi and head to the spa. Tammy was dreading the thought of having to give someone a foot massage and did a great job of describing feet in a way that would make anyone squeamish. Yuck!
After many legs full of whining about (and yelling at) their cab drivers, Jaime & Cara got a speed demon and ended up getting to the spa first. They found a Roadblock.
Roadblock
One team member had to take part in a traditional Chinese curative to heal the body – a foot massage. It sounded lovely. It wasn’t. They had to drink a cup of tea (which apparently did not taste good), have someone’s knuckles driven into the soles of their feet for 10 minutes, and then drink a second cup of tea. If the pain got to be too much, they could cry “uncle” but then would have to start all over again. Cara agreed to do it. Kisha & Jen arrived in second place and Kisha went for it. She found Cara writhing in pain and actually crying. Tammy joined the group and declared that she would have preferred massaging other people’s feet. She was the least vocal about the pain but she did end up holding hands for a while with Luke, who was the last to join in.
Cara finished, wiped away the tears, and got the next clue. It instructed them to travel to the Guangcai Natatorium. Outside, there was a long line of taxis but no drivers who knew where the Natatorium was. It took long enough that all four teams were done with the massage before the first team was able to leave. Kisha & Jen left first. Tammy & Victor and Jaime & Cara had a little battle over the second driver who knew the location with Jaime saying the siblings were always using some “trickery”. Victor was annoyed that the girls had stiff-armed them after he and Tammy were the ones who told the driver the location in Chinese. Tammy then had my favorite line of the episode saying that she didn’t want to get in a fight with Jaime because, “She scares me.” You and a world of cab drivers, Tammy.
The siblings still managed to be the first to the Natatorium clue because they were able to get their driver to take them directly to the correct entrance. They found a Detour.
Detour
The choice was between “Sync” and “Swim”. In “Sync”, the teams had to perform synchronized diving. In order to get the clue, they had to jump from a 3 meter diving board and hit the water at the exact same time. In “Swim”, the teams had to don a Speedo laser suit and complete a 400 meter relay. Each team member had to complete 200 meters. The siblings chose “Sync” because Tammy had only learned to swim a couple of weeks before the show began. Kisha & Jen were next and also chose “Sync” because Jen was not comfortable with swimming saying, “I just think of drowning automatically so I won’t put myself in situations where I would drown.”
Jaime & Cara went for the swimming as did Margie & Luke and that seemed to be the best call. Both teams moved quickly through their relays while Tammy & Victor made jump after unsuccessful jump. Meanwhile, Jen got out to the end of the diving board and then realized that she couldn’t make the jump. They switched to the relay. Kisha went first and, as it turns out, she isn’t much of a swimmer either and ended up pulling herself along by the lane dividers for most of her laps.
Jaime & Cara were the first team done and got the clue taking them to the Pit Stop at the north gate of the Drum Tower. Margie & Luke followed close behind.
When it came time for Jen to do her laps, she told Kisha they needed to switch back to the diving. They found poor Tammy & Victor still at it. It looked like Jen was able to do three dives before it all became too much and she started sobbing saying that she just wanted to go home. I was feeling really badly for her. It had to feel very hopeless at that point. Kisha told Jen that she still wanted to finish strong and eventually convinced her to go back to the swimming challenge. They gave Jen a big life vest to wear and Kisha donned one too so her sister would be more comfortable. We then watched as Margie & Luke gloated a bit over beating Kisha & Jen as their taxi travelled towards the Pit Stop. The show didn’t do them any favors by sandwiching that scene between scenes of Kisha trying to comfort her distraught sister. As Jen began her laps, Kisha started crying saying, “I’m glad she’s finishing strong. I think she feels like she let me down but she didn’t. I’m proud of her right now.” For her part, once they were done, Jen was able to say that she appreciated her sister hanging in there with her and not letting her quit.
Meanwhile, Tammy & Victor had switched over to the relay, completed it, and headed out to the taxis. They got delayed, though, because every time Victor tried to get in the cab, his legs cramped. When they were finally on their way, Victor said, “The race is humbling. Even though we had a communication advantage, we’re still at the mercy of the local taxi cab driver knowing where to go and the Roadblocks and challenges that we’re not comfortable in.”
To triumphant music, Jaime & Cara tearfully arrived first at the Pit Stop. A stern faced Phil greeting them and then pulled a clue envelope from his back pocket. He announced that the leg wasn’t over yet. He actually looked a little nervous as he presented them with the next clue and I don’t blame him. Jaime has lost her mind over much less and, this time, I wouldn’t really blame her for flipping out. Honestly, Phil, that was just mean!
So, the final four will still be at it next week. I’m glad for Jen because it gives her a chance to pull everything back together but I really fear for the next innocent cab driver that crosses paths with Jaime.
Next Week: The teams have to eat “nasty” local delicacies and Jaime is again frustrated that the whole world doesn’t speak English.
Full episodes and bonus clips for TAR can be found at CBS’ website here:
In case you had any question (even after seeing his huge smile when told he was eliminated), “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Lawrence Taylor made his feelings about leaving the show clear to the TV Guide Network. L.T. seems to be a man who just loves being retired.
Posted on April 23rd, 2009 by Princess Kitty in Biggest Loser
Aired 4-21-09
We opened immediately following Laura’s elimination and her teammate, Tara, was a mess. She actually curled up on the couch, in the fetal position, and sobbed. She was shocked to find how dependent she’d become on her friend. We’ve seen evidence in the past that Tara can go off the deep end a bit and Laura appears to have played a bigger role in keeping Tara together than we realized. She commiserated with Helen while the original Bob alliance (Ron, Mike, Filipe and Kristin) gathered in the kitchen. They marveled that, of the 6 remaining in the house, Tara was the only one who had never been up for elimination. In an interview, though, Kristin pointed out that the real strength in the house was the Brown Team. Father and son, Ron & Mike, were the only pair left intact and Kristin knew Ron would do anything to see his son make it to the end.
Trainer Jillian Michaels knew there was going to be trouble with Tara so she sought her out immediately. Apparently, as Jillian was exiting from the last weigh in, she told Mike to vote off Laura. Tara knew this. Jillian said it was a situation that went beyond the game. Laura was seriously injured and would be at risk if she stayed on campus and it wasn’t fair to everyone else. Jill went off on Tara and told her that, while she understood that she was lonely and scared, she needed to stop being so selfish. It wasn’t all about Tara. Jillian said there were reasons why Laura went home and one of them was so Tara could focus on what was going on with herself.
Fellow trainer Bob Harper met up with his team dreading that Kristin would be gone. To his great relief she was there. He held her back from the group so they could talk one on one. He wanted to know where her head was at because there was no time for self-doubt. She was afraid that if she embraced her desire to win, the chance would be taken away from her. Bob told her she was what BL was all about and she did deserve to win.
Pop Challenge
This week’s Pop Challenge featured Rosemary Ellis, the editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping, and a quiz on nutrition facts. Whoever had the most correct answers after four questions would win an all expense paid trip to New York City.
The first question was, according to the packaging, how many servings were in a 7 inch pizza? The choices were 1, 2, 4 or 8. My guess was 2 and I was way off. It was 8 – which was ridiculous AND it had a total of 1944 calories. No one got it right. Rosemary cautioned that one has to be careful when reading nutrition labels because “serving size” has become the new trick.
The second question asked which of the following fats were the heart-healthiest: butter, vegetable oil, olive oil or trans-fat free margarine. This was a no-brainer. Everyone said olive oil except Ron who went with the trans-fat free margarine. Ron was wrong.
Question three asked which of the following ground meats has the least fat: extra lean ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey breast, ground veal or lean ground turkey. The answer was ground turkey breast. The surprising part was that ground chicken actually had the most fat because they grind the skin up with the meat. Ron, Mike and Kristin got that one right.
Question four was how many extra steps do people who wear a pedometer walk daily? The choices were 150, 700, 1100 or 2000. I thought it was 700 but the answer was really 2000! Ron, Helen, Mike and Kristin got that one.
Mike and Kristin were tied so host Alison Sweeney moved to the tie-breaker: How many calories are in a fast food fried fish sandwich with tartar sauce? I had no clue although I did know that fish sandwiches are one of the worst fast food options. Mike added up all the ingredients and guessed 635. Kristin went with 435 and was supremely confident she’d win when she saw Mike’s guess. She thought 635 was much too high. It wasn’t. The sandwich had 640 calories. Kristin shot Mike a look and said, “Are you even old enough to go to New York by yourself?”
Bob was less than pleased to find out that, by week 16, his team couldn’t smoke a nutrition quiz. He gave them a video camera and told them to record everything they ate for a day so he could make sure they were on the right track.
Meanwhile, Jillian came into the kitchen to find Tara and Mike working on -
Product Placement Alert One: Using “Ziploc Zip and Steam Bags to make our meals quick and easy!”
Challenge
In the evening, the contestants gathered outside with a very bundled up Alison for this week’s challenge. She was by a giant contraption that had cages hanging from it (pictured above). They had to get in the cages, be hauled up 40 feet in the air, and hold on to a rope that supported their own body weight. If they let go, they’d fall (only a few feet) and be out of the game. Whoever held on the longest would win their choice of $10,000 or a one pound pass at the weigh in. As they were hauled up, Helen and Kristin started freaking out. I didn’t blame them. I would have hyperventilated.
Hey, Bob’s doing a commercial for the Honda Insight hybrid car! It was actually a pretty nice spot.
In a change of pace, Ron was not the first to bail on the challenge. That distinction went to his son Mike. Mike said he just couldn’t handle the height. Filipe spent the challenge being, well, Filipe only dialed up several notches. He chattered away and kept trying to make the whole rig shake in an effort to make the others lose focus. Ron was the next to fall although it didn’t really look like he was bothered by Filipe. Ron said the rope just slipped out of his hands. Filipe continued to carry one but it didn’t help as he was the third to fall. Kristin went next leaving Helen vs. Tara. Bless her heart, Helen tried, but no one is more focused or driven than Tara in a challenge. She won after more than an hour and 15 minutes and, frankly, she looked like she could have gone on much longer.
Bob met up with his team to watch their video food diary and his reaction to it was hilarious. He thought they’d all lost their minds. The specific foods they chose were fine but they were being way too restrictive on the amounts. With how much they were working out, their bodies needed more fuel. They also were not having enough protein which gave us -
Product Placement Alert Two: Biggest Loser Protein Mix.
Trainer Tip: This one sounded both cool and daunting. Jillian said to use a deck of cards to structure your workout. The number on each card indicates the number of repetitions and face cards equal 10 while aces mean a one minute break. Diamonds = push-ups, Hearts = lunges, Spades = crunches and Clubs = reverse crunches. She said to keep going until you work through the entire deck.
During the last chance workout, Jillian noticed some emotions welling up in Mike. She said it is soul crushing to be a 300+ pound teenager and it comes with a lot of anger and hurt. She encouraged him to talk to his dad about it so they can start to create a new family dynamic before they go home. Mike timidly did. Ron didn’t run away from any of his responsibility. He told Mike it was OK to be mad at him because he had it coming. We found out that Ron’s wife had also been heavy until about 8 years ago when she decided she’d had enough and lost the weight. Ron explained that, for him, weight was his problem just like its smoking or drinking for others. He said he couldn’t change the behavior of Mike and his younger brother until he got a grip on his own. He was hopeful that, because they have now got control, they can help son Max back home. It wasn’t the confrontation depicted in the show’s promo. This father and son actually had one of the show’s most grown-up conversations.
Weigh In
To begin the weigh in, Ali asked Tara for her decision on taking the $10,000 or the one pound. Tara surprised me by taking the money. Helen thought she was crazy but Jillian supported it. Jill thought it showed that Tara had confidence in herself.
Tara lost 5 pounds for a total of 2.75%. She was feeling great.
Ron lost 4 pounds for a total of 1.32%. He was at 298 pounds and was under 300 for the first time since his early teens. Mike was beaming with pride.
Helen lost just 1 pound for a total of 0.62%. She was devastated.
Mike lost 8 pounds for a total of 3.29%. He was feeling flush with confidence.
Filipe lost 3 pounds for a total of 1.21%. He was in trouble.
Kristin (who only lost 2 pounds the week before) gained a pound. There was shock all around. Kristin said it made no sense and Bob was also at a loss. Kristin could only think that she had put too much pressure on herself.
Kristin and Helen were up for elimination. Back at the house, the two made their cases to stay and then Kristin asked to speak to Ron alone. She wanted to know if he was going to keep his word and not write her name down. Ron replied that he promised her mother that he would protect her and he was not going back on it. She then asked about Mike and Ron said he didn’t know what his son was planning but he’d talk to him about it. We were then treated to audio of the conversation between Mike and Ron and good ole’ Ron made it clear to his son that he was OK with Mike voting for Kristin because she was the bigger threat. Yep, the godfather was still in control.
In the elimination room, the first 3 votes went as expected. Tara voted for Kristin and Filipe and Ron voted for Helen. It was up to Mike. He voted for Kristin. Since it was a tie, the person with the lowest weight loss for the week was eliminated and that was Kristin. Oh, Mike. I can’t really blame him for voting in his own best interest but I was hoping for more integrity from the Brown Team. Little Kristin didn’t go quietly. She called Mike on taking the easy way out. Ron said he didn’t know Mike’s vote ahead of time but Kristin wasn’t buying that either. She announced that Mike already thought he had the show won. Ali asked him if that was true and Mike said it was. Ron then concurred. Guys! Don’t you know Reality Show 101? The overconfident are always the next to go! I like Mike a lot. He really is a great kid but this was not a great moment for him or his dad.
Kristin, who has always loved to talk like a motivational speaker, was shown being just that in her where they are now clip. She spoke in front of a large crowd at what seemed to be a hotel meeting room and looked fabulous. I got a kick out of seeing that she put the highlights back in her hair – although they’re a bit more subtle than her original streaks. So far Kristin has lost a total of 132 pounds.
Next Week: It’s the last week on campus and the finale is just two weeks away!
Full episodes and bonus clips of BL can be viewed at NBC’s website here:
It was one more week without the dance-off. Perhaps it’s gone for good?
The encore dance was the group 60’s number. Sadly, Chuck was sans wig.
Montage: Why are these people getting so beat up? Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Nutritionist Christine Avanti and Dr. Glenn Pfeffer basically told us that it’s because they are working their butts off at a sport they aren’t used to. There was some interesting trivia: Lil’ Kim is burning about 6,600 calories a week dancing while L.T. is burning about 15,000.
Musical Guest #1: Natasha Bedingfield singing “Soulmate”. Lacey Schwimmer and Dmitry Chaplin accompanied her and they were hot. Natasha sounded pretty good too.
There was no Macy’s Stars of Dance this week. It seemed odd because the next act to perform was the cast of “Burn the Floor” and they would have been very appropriate for that spot. I guess Macy’s didn’t want to spend any sponsorship money this week. Anyway, it was a great number.
The first three couples safe to dance again (in no particular order):
Chuck Wicks & Julianne Hough
Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani
Shawn Johnson & Mark Ballas
Pro-Dancer Competition: Hosts Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris introduced the show’s new segment in which the audience will choose a new professional dancer to join the cast for season 9. The competition will run for 5 weeks and you can read the rules for it here: http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars/index?pn=prodancers
The contenders this week were:
Afton DelGrosso (sister of Ashly) and Brent Borbon, who perform together in Le Reve in Las Vegas, danced the Cha Cha.
Anna Demidova and Mayo Alanen, who both look about 7 feet tall, did the Waltz.
Snow Urbin (love the name) and Genya Mazo (brother of Alec) danced the Rumba.
Even though they were dancing as couples, they are all competing separately. That put them in the odd position of trying to stand out while also blending with their partner. This only seemed to cause tension in rehearsals between Genya and Snow. All of the dancers were fantastic, of course, and I feel grossly under qualified to be making this choice. The judges didn’t score the dances and I don’t think their comments were all that helpful. The only one who got any kind of criticism at all (and it was minimal) was Brent. They seemed to particularly gush about Genya and the poor guy did get smacked in the face during his dance with Snow. To his credit, I didn’t even notice when it happened. At this point, I think I’m pulling for either Anna or Mayo because they are both a different physical type than any of the current pro dancers.
Musical Guest #2: Celtic Woman with guest dancers Eric Luna and Georgia Ambarian (pictured above). They did “You Raise Me Up” and, while they sounded lovely, no one can compare to Josh Groban. The dancers, though, were unreal. Her feet barely touched the floor. He just carried and flipped her around all over the place.
The next two couples safe:
Lil’ Kim & Derek Hough
Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke
That left just Lawrence Taylor & Edyta Sliwinska and Ty Murray & Chelsie Hightower – but they weren’t necessarily the bottom two.
The pair going home was Lawrence & Edyta. You never saw such a broad smile on the face of someone who’d just been eliminated! Tom told L.T. he was the worst actor they’ve ever had on the show. Lawrence said he had a great time and was blessed to have Edyta as his partner – and then promptly announced his next tee time to his buddies in Miami.
It was the right call, America, and L.T. would be the first to tell you that.
Full episodes of DWTS are available at ABC’s website here:
