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Saturday, 02 June 2007 |
 The Biggest Loser is an NBC reality television show that began broadcasting on October 19, 2004. It involves twelve contestants (Season 1), fourteen contestants (Season 2) and 50 contestants (season 3) who are overweight to varying degrees participating in a contest to lose the most weight. For the first 3 seasons, the show was hosted by Canadian comedienne Caroline Rhea, who left in 2007 to be replaced by actress Alison Sweeney and is narrated by current Endurance host, J.D. Roth, who serves as creator and executive producer of the show. Bob Harper and Kim Lyons are personal trainers assigned to help the competitors. Jillian Michaels was a personal trainer for the first two seasons and the special editions, but was replaced with Lyons for season 3.
The reason for her departure, according to an interview in WHO magazine [1], is that she was unhappy with how she was portrayed. She is currently (February 2007) appearing in the second season of the Australian show with Bob Harper.
The Biggest Loser show got its start in the United States on the US network NBC and is entering a fourth season, and the show franchise has since been used in other countries, including Australia (2 seasons), UK (2 seasons), Netherlands (3 seasons) and Israel. Internationally, there have been a combined total of about 200 Biggest Loser contestants ranging from 167 pounds (75.8kg) to 477 pounds (216.3kg).
Premise
Overweight contestants compete to win $250,000. In the first season,
there were 12 contestants, which was increased to fourteen for season
Two. Contestants are housed on a ranch that offers plenty of space and
exercise equipment. Contestants are grouped into 2 teams, and each team
is assigned a trainer. In the first weeks of the program, there is a
weigh-in to determine which team has lost the most weight for that
week, either in absolute poundage, or in percentage of total weight
lost. The team that has lost the least during that week must vote off
one member of the team—usually someone who has been losing less weight
than average and is therefore seen as hurting the team, someone who has
been losing more weight than average and is therefore perceived as a
threat, or someone who is not a member of the most powerful alliance.
When the number of contestants has shrunk to a certain, smaller number,
the teams are dissolved, and contestants compete one-on-one against
each other, with the two people who have lost the least percentage of
weight being the ones who can be voted on for elimination. Episode
structure is similar to that of another reality show, Survivor.
The structure is as follows: 1. Temptation. Contestants prepare for the
first day of the week only to find a situation that involves
temptation. The temptation usually requires contestants to gamble by
eating or drinking delicious but high-calorie foods in exchange for
what they may deem to be a beneficial trade-off. The benefits may or
may not be known to the contestants in advance.
Examples include eating
sweet foods for a chance to call their loved ones. Another example is
eating a big slice of cake to win an unknown prize (which turns out to
be an exercise bike). Contestants are given a set amount of time before
the offer passes. 2. Reward challenge. Teams compete to win a prize.
After the challenge, viewers are shown the winning team savoring their
reward while the losing team bitterly accepts their loss. During
team-based challenges, in the event that one of the teams has an extra
member, the winning team can decide who should sit-out during the
weigh-in. If the challenges are individual-based, the winner of the
challenge is given immunity from being eliminated at the next weigh-in.
3. Weigh-in.
All contestants are weighed to determine the amount they
have lost relative to their total body weight. During team-based
competition, the team that loses the most percentage wins. The losing
team must vote one person off the ranch. When the competition becomes
among individuals, not teams, the two contestants who lose the least
percentage of weight are in danger of elimination. A similar setup to
individual-based weigh-ins happens when the two initial teams are
broken up into four teams of two, as happened in the second season. 4.
The vote. The losing team meets in a dining room that has refrigerators
labeled with each contestant's name, and filled with that contestant's
favorite tempting foods.
The name of each contestant is illuminated,
and as people are voted out, the light for their name is extinguished.
During the team-based competition, losing members each carry a covered
plate containing the name of the person they wish to vote out. In the
event of a tie, the other, winning team decides which member of the
losing team shall be voted out. During the individual-based
competition, the fate of the two contestants on the chopping block will
be determined by the other players. In the event of a tie, the one
contestant who lost the least percentage of weight is eliminated.
[edit] American Version
[edit] Season 1 Main article: The Biggest Loser (Season 1)
The contestants were divided into two teams: Red and Blue, and each
team was given their own personal trainer. Each week, the team that
lost the least weight was required to vote out one of their team
members. When there were 6 contestants remaining, the competition
became individual. The players were now competing for themselves to
stay in the game.
The two contestants who had lost
the least percentage of weight were eligible to be voted off. At the
finale, the contestant who lost the most weight and percentage of body
fat would win $250,000. As an added bonus, the show gave $100,000 to
the contestant who had lost the most weight and percentage of body fat
that didn't make it to the finale.
[edit] Season 2 Main article: The Biggest Loser (Season 2)
The contestants were divided into two teams: Men in red and Women in
blue, and each team was given a personal trainer, a man for the women
and a woman for the men. Each week, the team that lost the least
percentage of total weight was required to vote out one of their team
members. Jillian Michaels was on a talk show where she said the
contestants of The Biggest Loser (season 2) lost a combined 450
pounds... See reference below to watch video
[edit] Season 3 Main article: The Biggest Loser (Season 3)
Season 3 of The Biggest Loser began airing on September 20, 2006. The
Biggest Loser 3 involves the largest cast ever, with 50 contestants
initially beginning the show, one for each US state. The show has also
announced that Kim Lyons will be joining the show, replacing Jillian
Michaels as the Red Team trainer. After the initial group weigh-in and
exercise, 14 contestants were selected to stay on the ranch and the
other 36 contestants participated by losing weight at home. Later in
the season, at-home players who lost the most weight were brought back
to rejoin the cast on the ranch. [2]
[edit] Season 4 Main article:
The Biggest Loser (Season 4)
On November 28, 2006, NBC announced that The Biggest Loser had been
renewed [3]. The show has been seeing year-to-year gains. Casting for
The Biggest Loser 4 is currently taking place on NBC's website. In
February 2007, it was announced that Caroline Rhea will leave the show
and will be replaced by Days of our Lives actress Alison Sweeney.[4]It
is scheduled to premiere on September 25, 2007. [5] Confirmed as a
contestant for this season is Amber Walker, a paramedic from Pasadena,
Texas, who won a viewer vote among potential candidates on the April
23, 2007 edition of NBC's Today. [6]
[edit] Special Edition Main article: The Biggest Loser: Special Edition
A spin-off of The Biggest Loser, The Biggest Loser: Special Edition
features a team of people competing against another team, with each
competition airing in two one-hour episodes. They spend 11 days on the
ranch working with Bob and Jillian and then return home to continue to
lose weight. The announced groups included "family vs. family", where
two families with restaurants of different cultures competed to lose
weight, "engaged couple vs. engaged couple", and "Marines vs. Navy".
Each episode featured one of the mini-competitions from start to
finish.
[edit] UK Version
In addition to showing the US version, Living TV also produced their
own version, which aired in 2005.
Bob and Jillian were not involved but
they had their own trainers with similar styles. Angie Dowds
(contemporary to Jillian) uses a hard no-nonsense approach in training
the red team, while Mark Bailey (contemporary to Bob) trains the blue
team with a supportive caring approach. The show was hosted by Vicki
Butler-Henderson, a motoring journalist turned television presenter who
races cars and has hosted shows such as Fifth Gear.
The winner of the UK version may receive at least £100,000. Season 2 of
the UK version on Living TV began airing 11th October 2006. Season 3 of
the US version on Living TV will air in 2007.
[edit] Australian version Main article: The Biggest Loser (Australian
TV series)
[edit] Season 1 Main article: The Biggest Loser Australia (Season 1)
An Australian version of the program first aired at 7.00pm each
weeknight on Network Ten from 13 February, to the final episode on 27
April 2006 where the first Australia's Biggest Loser was awarded
AUD$200,000.
The program featured the same personal trainers as the US
version, Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels with Australian host AJ
Rochester. Over 6,000 Australians applied to take part, only 12 contestants
being chosen to compete, their starting weight ranging from 101kg
(Fiona) to 197kg (David). The first Australian biggest loser winner was
Adro Sanelli who lost 51.3kg (37.58% of his starting weight).
[edit] Season 2 Main article: The Biggest Loser Australia (Season 2)
The second season of the Australian version first went to air on Sunday
4 February 2007 on the Ten Network. It was introduced with personal
trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels, who were then taken over by
two new Australian trainers, Michelle Bridges and Shannan Ponton, with
one extra surprise trainer, Ex-SAS "Commando" Steve Willis. The
contestants starting weights range from 108kg to 216kg, the heaviest
competitor out of all versions of The Biggest Loser worldwide. The
beginning of this series marked some controversy with a contestant
quitting and a further two leaving on medical terms. New twists were
introduced including "The Walk" which gave individual immunity winners
power to change the outcome of the game and a second major twist of
introducing 2 new competitors as "The Outsiders" who had trained
outside of the game. Their entry caused some upset, especially with
Chris entering the competition as the 3rd biggest loser.
The final
three were Chris, Marty and Pati, Chris won with a 70.1 kg weight loss
(46.89% of his starting weight), and Michael won the runners-up prize
of AUD$50,000, losing 70kg (42.37% of his starting weight).
[edit] Indian Version
Channel Sahara One, in India, has also started airing a version of The
Biggest Loser, with the same name. The first season has started in the
month of May 2007.
[edit] Israeli Version
Channel 10, in Israel, has also aired a version of The Biggest Loser,
named there "Laredet Begadol" ("Too lose Hugely")[7].
[edit] Netherlands Version
There have been 4 seasons of a Netherlands version, which airs on SBS6.
[8] [9]
[edit] Contestants Main article: List of The Biggest Loser Contestants
There have been a total of 119 Biggest Loser contestants over 3 USA
full seasons, 2 USA special editions, and 2 Australian seasons.
This
figure does not include the 2 UK seasons, 3 Netherlands seasons and
Israeli season. The heaviest contestant to start in the game was Damien
Wicks from the second Australian season, starting at 477 pounds
(216.3kg) and the lightest contestant was Lizzeth from the first USA
season, starting at 167 pounds (75.8kg). The highest percentage loss
achieved from the first time being weighed on the show to the final
reunion weigh-in for a male was 52.58% by Erik and by a female was
50.43% by Poppi both from the third USA season. The highest weight lost
in one week was 34 pounds (15.5kg) by "Big Wal" on the first Australian
season, the highest female weight loss in one week was 21 pounds
(9.4kg) by Kristie Dignam also in the first Australian season and the
least lost in 1 week was 0kg (0 pounds) by female contestant Munnalita
Kyrimis in the Second Australian season. (Some contestants have also
put on weight.) The youngest contestant was Laura from the second
Australian season, age 20, and the oldest was Tracy Moores, age 44 from
the first Australian season.
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