Archive for the ‘The Biggest Loser’ Category

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!

Following on from yesterday’s allegations Shannan Ponton has responded in the papers today to deny that he was ever verbally abusive towards Jaime Wright and that he would ever be physically violent towards a woman.

“I live by the same respectful values that were instilled in me by my mum and dad, who were the best role models a man could have,” the 35-year-old said in a statement.

“I am deeply disappointed that anyone would insinuate otherwise. Ending a relationship is always difficult and upsetting for all parties concerned. I choose to keep my personal matters private.”

Fremantle and Channel 10 are now seeking legal advice over the possibility of a defamation suit, though it’s unclear from the article whether they’ve consulted with Shannan. It would be significantly more difficult to prove Shannan did not say the things Jaime has claimed without his cooperation so if he’s looking to move on it may not go far.

However if Shannan is involved in the process that’s a pretty clear indication that he believes he can prove she’s not telling the truth.

Either way it seems like we’ve not heard the last of this.

[Source: NEWS.com.au]

According to today’s Daily Telegraph Shannan split with his girlfriend of six months after she couldn’t take his emotional and verbal abuse any longer.

Speaking exclusively to The Sunday Telegraph, Wright said she left The Biggest Loser TV show’s trainer because she feared he would become physically violent if their relationship continued.

“Pathetic bitch’ was his favourite thing to call me,” Wright said.

“He would be very aggressive, in my face and screaming, telling me I was a liar and a nobody with no friends. He told me everyone liked him because he is a TV star.”

Ponton has so far declined to comment. Fans of Shannan should read that as him choosing to remain classy.

Haters? It’s all true and he’s ashamed of himself.

Fencesitters… actually, everyone should remember that this is only one side of the story and not immediately convict Shannan of being a scumbag. He may very well have done as Wright has claimed but when the first we hear of something is a bunch of onesided mudslinging it’s worth remembering that there is always two sides to a story and often a good reason why only one is splashed across Page 3 and the other is kept private.

[Source: The Sunday Telegraph]

Residents of the Duffy’s Forest area of Mona Vale where The Biggest Loser’s “White House” is located have kicked up a stink over, among other things, the stink emanating from the sewerage system that is so heavily used during production of the show. They wanted the show to be denied permission to film yet another season at the iconic White House and they were recently granted their wish.

More than 100 submissions made by residents to Warringah Council included complaints about odours from the on-site sewerage systems, lighting, traffic and an overall disruption to the leafy residential area of Duffy’s Forest, west of Mona Vale. [Source: news.com.au]

Sydney is certainly not short on gigantic houses and assorted other venues in which the show could be filmed but after three seasons at The White House it’s likely to throw a spanner in the works at this late a stage. Filming for the new series was expected to start this month but that now seems unlikely.

I shudder to think of the rivers of sweat should they start filming in December. Unless they go deep into the Blue Mountains where the weather remains relatively mild, things could get ugly!

Though she was again not in court on Tuesday, Ajay has plead guilty to fraudulently claiming Centrelink’s Single Parent Payment from December 2001 to December 2005.

She’ll be sentenced on the 13th of January next year and faces possible jail time, which may rule her out as host of The Biggest Loser or may just mean a temporary replacement may have to take over during filming.

In my unexpert opinion I suspect she won’t actually go to jail over this, it will probably be a community service order plus having to repay the money and go on a good behaviour bond. But I could easily be wrong…

Stay tuned for the next 2 months to find out!

[Source: The Daily Telegraph]