Archive for the ‘Discussion’ Category

I’ve put the Facebook Connect button back on the comment form, for people who want to use that option to login to Disqus and comment here.
I’m reasonably confident it will no longer break the individual pages in Internet Explorer now but if it does, please do email me to complain. I won’t know if nobody says anything!

Note that you still need not login to Disqus at all, commenting is open to anyone. But please do bear in mind that this is an unofficial fansite and the chances of any messages being seen by people on the show are slim at best. So while people telling Shannan he’s hot is endlessly amusing, he’s probably not going to read that and fall madly in love with you. ;-)

Sooo apparently I broke a lot of people’s ability to read my recaps and other pages here in Internet Explorer?

Sorry about that! I’ve no idea how long it’s been broken for, either, as the thing that was causing the problem (the Facebook Connect for the Disqus comments) has been there a good long while and I didn’t think it was causing a problem…

I think this makes for another great argument as to why you should all swap to Firefox. ;-)

I’ll try and take this issue up with the appropriate people so I can return the Facebook button, in case anyone uses it. If you have been, you ought to be able to login via the Disqus site and then come back to comment without issue… I think.

Anyway, if you notice things what are broken, please let me know and I’ll try to make them be unbroken. :-)

There’s been a bit of a kerfuffle related to the US version of the show, unlike ours which is totally kerfuffle free…

Apparently as one of the puff pieces they do about how awesomely fit contestants end up becoming they had a camera crew on hand to film a contestant running a marathon.

Only that isn’t exactly what happened, according to a variety of people who were actually there.

According to David Kleeman, a read of the blog at TV Barn:

I’m also big into the marathoning community and knew back in January that one of the members of the Black team (either Blaine or Dane) had attempted a marathon in Arizona, but did not complete it. Instead, he had been picked up by a van along the course and dropped back down somewhere prior to the finish and then he crossed the finish line and collected a medal a la Rosie Ruiz.

Apparently when the show aired that segment it made the claim that Dane had finished the entirety of the marathon and included footage of him crossing the finish line and receiving his medal and so on.

In actuality he was disqualified when the deception was discovered and thus is not on the list of runners to have finished the race.

The producers have since fessed up… kinda. They’re blaming unspecified parties for not telling them that the story they told them to go out and shoot was not exactly what they went out and shot.

In a more recent blog update Dane is quoted claiming to have gone back and run the missing 3 miles later in the day, alongside the producer’s apology.

It would seem that a contestant completing a marathon – even if it was a bit slow – would be achievement enough. But apparently not a good enough story for the producers of the show.

Just another reminder to be a little skeptical when it comes to what you see on TV… or the internet!

Well, if you’re a Melbournite, you’re in luck! Saturday’s Herald Sun purchasers can claim one from their newsagent, if they are interested in such a thing. It looks to be a digital contraption and has a Biggest Loser logo printed across the side.

No sign of this offer being made in other states but if you’ve nothing better to do on a Saturday morning, why not take a walk to your local newsagent and check for yourself?

Those in Melbourne and Adelaide may want to do so before 10am though. I hear it’s been getting a little warm lately.

The official website has put up the episode schedule for season 4 of The Biggest Loser Australia… and it looks exactly the same as last year’s schedule.

For those who have yet to see it:

• Sunday: Weigh-in
• Monday: Elimination
• Tuesday: The Warehouse
• Wednesday: Temptation
• Thursday: The Walk
• Friday: Major Challenge

For the uninitiated, each contestant weighs in on Sunday. In previous seasons the team which lost the least weight, based on percentage of their total weight, would face Elimination on Monday night. Expect something similar this year, with a Couples-y twist!

The Warehouse was a new addition last season and one which was widely regarded as pointless and a waste of the timeslot. Will they have taken the criticisms on board? Last year The Warehouse involved one team getting their choice of food for the week from two available options. They may have had to choose between red meat and white meat, for instance. The idea being that the teams would have to discuss the pros and cons of each choice, helping to inform the general public. In reality it lead to more bickering between the teams and many of the “choices” were no-brainers like canned goods versus fresh produce.

Temptation is where the contestants are tempted with some unhealthy foods in exchange for a prize, or a chance at a prize. Prizes have ranged from televisions to personal chefs and massages and even the much-prized immunity from elimination. It’s dramatic virtually every week and those who succumb to Temptation give great TV when their trainers put them through punishing exercise routines in response.

The Walk is another unique part of the Australian version of the series and is even more widely reviled than The Warehouse, yet it is apparently returning this year. The Walk lets one contestant pick up a random stone which has a hidden message written on it. Sometimes these messages can be fairly benign – one team gets a catered dinner. More often they completely circumvent the general course of the game by offering the power of instant elimination to the rock chooser or the ability to add 5 or even 10 kilograms to a team’s weight. The only instance of The Walk not being a cynical manipulation has been its use to select which reserve contestants would be put into the main game after a couple of contestants were forced to drop out due to health issues.

Friday night brings us the “major challenge” of the week. Past challenges have included tugging airplanes across the tarmac in a race between the teams, scaling all the stairs in a very tall office building, climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a variety of slugfests at the house such as lugging lumber or running on the treadmills for hours on end. Always a great way to end the week!

And just a note to go out on – the Season 4 Contestant pages are up here on the Recap. You can access the very sparse profiles from the menu above. There’s very little information available on the official site as yet but once more becomes available I’ll get them updated.

Two more sleeps!