The Biggest Loser: Couples 2 - Episode One
Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper Return for a Seventh Season
Jan 7, 2009
Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels are on a mission to help American live a healthy life and to train 22 new players for a chance to become the Biggest Loser. The new teams gather in a hotel awaiting the news of if they have made the show when host Alison Sweeney arrives and informs them that they will be the cast of the seventh season of this hit reality show.
Arriving at the Biggest Loser Ranch
When the new competitors arrived at the Biggest Loser Ranch, they are taken to the gym. Alison Sweeney informed them that their first workout would be without the trainers. What the contestants didn’t know was that trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels were watching from another room and sizing up what kind of knowledge all the players had already.
Bob and Jillian burst into the gym to the applause of the teams. However, their introductions and celebration is cut short as Jerry Hayes begins to have trouble standing. His color changes and speech begins to slur before he collapses on the floor in the arms of a Biggest Loser medical technician. Jerry is taken to the hospital for tests and his wife stays behind at the ranch.
Choosing Teams and Weighing In
The contestants assemble and the trainers are told they can choose their teams. Jillian chooses first and selects the white team because of their obvious need to lose weight. She also picks the black, green, orange, and yellow teams. Bob chooses second and ends up with the silver, blue, red, pink, and brown teams. The purple team faces the rejection that many overweight children face, and was the last team left. However, in this case it ended up a blessing as Alison told them they could choose their own trainer. Mom Cathy Skel chose Bob, much to the delight of her daughter Kristine Steede.
The contestants have their first workout with the trainers before they are taken to the weigh-in room to find out their starting weights. Many Biggest Loser records were set by the competitors this season. Orange team contestant Daniel Wright is the heaviest player in Biggest Loser history, with a starting weight of 454 pounds. Kristin was initially the biggest woman to appear on the show, but Carla Triplett topped her weight as well.
The Challenge: Racing for Immunity
The contestants meet host Alison Sweeney at a bridge, and are told that their challenge involves running across the bridge and up a hill of sand. Both teammates must make it to the other side and then return to the starting line. The first five teams to finish will race a second time. The top two teams from that heat will race a third time, and the winning team will receive immunity at the weigh-in.
In the final race, it was down to the black team, Blaine Cotter and Dane Patterson, and the yellow team, Aubrey Cheney and Mandi Kramer. It was a photo finish, with the black team winning by mere inches.
A Twist at the Weigh-In
Alison Sweeney meets the teams and trainers at the weigh-in. She tells the group that there will not be elimination that night, but Bob and Jillian know she isn’t finished. She declares that nine people will be going home. Besides the black team and the team that wins the weigh-in, every other team will have to choose a player to leave. However, it is not hopeless for those players. If their teammate is still on the Biggest Loser Ranch thirty days later, they can return.
Well over 300 pounds were lost between the 22 contestants. One surprise victory was Jerry Hayes. After his initial health scare, he went on to lose 25 pounds. The white team stayed in the lead for most of the weigh-in, but was eventually beaten by father and son, Mike and Ron Morelli of the brown team. Ron lost an astounding 32 pounds, which set a new Biggest Loser record.
The Elimination Room
Nine of the eleven teams headed to the elimination room after deliberating. The teams each chose the member who they thought had the best chance of winning to stay at the ranch and compete. In the end, Aubrey Cheney (yellow), Carla Triplett (silver), Cathy Skel (purple), David Lee (orange), Estella Hayes (white), Laura Denoux (green), Nicole Brewer (red), Shannon Thomas (pink), and Sione Fa (blue) were eliminated from the game. However, they will be back if their teammate can remain in the game for the next month.
The Biggest Loser: Couples 2 airs Tuesday nights at 8 PM on NBC. Stay tuned to see who falls below the yellow line next week.
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