Has it been a massive week in reality television, or has it been a massive week in reality television?!
We’ve had two premieres, a few big twists, our first super-bitch and to top it all off, rumours of one of the biggest moves ever undertaken for a reality television series. More on THAT later.
So where do we start? Usually I begin to recap the show that began the week the earliest, but all three shows this week began at the same time!! But by far my favourite would have to be The Biggest Loser: Singles!
The week began with a shock elimination. After the white and blue teams lost the least percentage of weight, it was decided that white team member Selena and blue team member Hamish would face the chop. Both deserved to stay, and there was a chance they both COULD! Hayley announced that for the first time ever, and possibly the only time this year, the contestants could choose not to show their vote. If no one showed their vote, both would stay. But as luck would have it, Margie did.
Claiming this person did not pull her weight, negatively affecting her own time in the camp, Margie voted for Selena to leave. This led to other contestants hesitantly showing their own votes due to the fact the twist was now void.
Hamish got a few votes, but controversially, it was the deaf Northern Territorian who was sent home first. It led to uproar, with all trainers lashing out at Margie for her somewhat selfish decision.
But there was little time to waste- these guys had a contest to get to. The first one of the year saw them balancing several items in a test of endurance. Shane, Michelle, Lydia and Luke all competed for their respective teams. While Shane was an early bet to drop out, Lydia dropped the ball (literally), leading to a semi-meltdown for the deflated farmer.
A somewhat composed Michelle didn’t last in the second round, eliminating herself early on- leaving the two boys to compete in a tightly contested and long running third round. Lasting over 20 minutes holding telephone books in a praying mantis position, Shane came out as underdog winner against Luke, and got to take the walk!
It was back! The Walk gave Shane either one of three powers. One had to do with training, one had to do with food and one was a complete mystery. As you do, Shane chose the mystery power which, to Margie’s disgust and the other red team member’s relief, was to bring back an eliminated contestant which at this point, had to be Selena.
The matter was not touched on for the rest of the week, and we can expect her to return on Monday or even Tuesday.
Instead, we headed straight onto the temptation. Each contestant was given 5 minutes in a room full of candy and other high-calorie foods. The person to eat the most calories would win $30,000. James, who came so close to taking temptation last week to his team’s chagrin, gave in this week and won the $30,000.
But if anyone remembered last year when Leigh undertook a similar temptation, the $30,000 came at a cost. If James took the money, he would have to leave CBL forever, and the prize money would drop to $220,000 (which hey, is still more than the prize money from last year). If he didn’t take the money, he would be rewarded with immunity.
He will have until weigh in to decide what he will do, but in the meantime, he must have the briefcase containing the gold bullion handcuffed to his hand.
While his team was fuming, Shannan understood why James was tempted by the money. But can Shannan persuade James to continue in the competition? So far, he has talked to James about how Leigh’s family won the family prize fund at the end of the season as the family who lost the most weight. Assuming that twist is no longer in play this year (there are no families and no variation has been mentioned as of yet), James would have to rely on actually winning the game to secure some money.
To take their mind off things, it was time for the challenge. This week, contestants had to go team v team in a sheep herding challenge. The team who could herd seven sheep in the fastest, or the most sheep in after 20 minutes, would win the competition and move on to the final round. Against the white team, the red team won. Against the blue team, the black team won. So now it is red against black in the final round. Who will win? Tune in Monday!
So from weight loss show to weight loss show and Excess Baggage debuted this week in a bid to take down TEN’s long running staple. Did it succeed? Not quite. It may have done more damage! But more on that later.
The contestants met each other for the first time and bonded over a ‘spirit’ walk. Here, the ordinary Australians received meaningful items. They met trainer Christian for the first time who then proceeded to send them through their first fitness test, and they met Joanna, who have them a pep talk on nutrition.
It was then onto the first check in and the results weren’t good. To help with this, contestants were asked to participate in training courses and challenges to lose that excess baggage. Kevin Federline succumbed to the outback sun and was rushed to hospital, meaning him and his partner Renae had to sit out of most challenges. During a blindfolded obstacle course, a fight erupted between Darryn Lyons, Lisa, Matt and Ajay Rochester about Darryn’s attitude towards Lisa.
Brant and John ended up winning that challenge, earning eight points. Kate and Sarah came second, earning six points. All other teams, except an absent Renae and Kevin, earned 2 points.
To bring the feuding teams together, Christian put the contestants through a ‘breakthrough’ experience. Led by psychologist Tim, contestants had to wade through a pond of crocodiles. On a 40 degree day, heck, even I’d do that! Sarah and Nathan almost didn’t, but soon gave in and had a go. They were all the more proud for it. To top off the first week, contestants had to drop one item of symbolism (anything from an empty pizza carton to a yoyo) into a suitcase as Excess Baggage, finishing off what could be the only week this show makes it to air.
Of course, there are now rumours floating that this show will be moved to a later timeslot or to a digital channel by as early as Monday. While I think Nine will let the show play out another week longer as is, a move may greatly affect my blogging for the show.
If the show is moved to a timeslot later than 9.30pm, I will be unable to blog it, however for fans out there, if an alternative solution is reached, rest assured I will continue to blog it.
But enough of all that, let’s move on to My Kitchen Rules- the real winner of the week.
It launched Monday with Steve and Helen from NSW cooking a Greek meal. Their efforts saw mixed reactions and they ultimately landed third for the round (this result may alter as other teams enter the kitchen).
On Tuesday, it was all on the bubbly girls for WA, Angela and Justine. Their combination of duck, pork and a dessert to die for did not go unnoticed by the other contestant and judges, all giving them a score of 78/110. That beats Helen and Steve’s score of 75.
Up until this point, the girls from SA have been less than impressed. Leigh isn’t too vocal, but Jennifer or Princess Yeah as The Tiser is now calling her, has been extremely critical of the other dishes and mock-restaurant set ups.
On Wednesday, it was their turn to plate up and overall, the contestants were pretty amazed. I don’t know if it was the lack of ‘negative’ vibes coming from the table (now that Leigh and Jen were safely locked up in the kitchen!) or whether it was purely a great experience, but the guests seemed to love it…yeah!
The only let down was the dessert, which was a BIG let down. The dismal scores the girls got were enough to nearly make Leigh pass out. In the end, they managed to beat Helen and Steve to a 76.
The week finished off in Auckland as the first ever Kiwi couple, Meg and Simon. Their oven didn’t fire, meaning their cooking didn’t either. To top it off, they went out of their way to cook a pavlova! I’ve always seen Pavlova as a New Zealand dish anyway, so it didn’t bother me, but the other contestants were surprised that they’d even attempt such a dish. They were delighted when it didn’t turn out for the couple. Their criticism was softened when they heard of the oven hardships.
It wasn’t enough to secure the team a big score, and they were left with a dismal 58/110 and a last place position.
So that was the week in reality television. Look below for the library where all blogs on this week’s episodes will be kept.
Next week, with or without Excess Baggage will also be big. The MKR contestants undergo a few more kitchen cook-offs to complete that list.
The Biggest Loser will feature yet another ‘shock elimination’, but the real question is, what will James decide to do? Keep the cash and leave, or leave the cash and stay with immunity and some guilt? And what will Selena’s re-arrival do to the game dynamics? Juicy.
And if Excess Baggage stays around longer, the teams will head to the beautiful Whitsunday’s for more challenges and more check ins. I quite like the quaint little show, so I do hope it gets a following.
That’s all from me, keep on watching!
THE LIBRARY
Monday
The Biggest Loser: Singles Season Seven – Weigh In & Elimination #1
Excess Baggage Season One – Launch
My Kitchen Rules Season Three Episode One – Helen & Steve
Tuesday
The Biggest Loser: Singles Season Seven – Contest #1
Excess Baggage Season One – Check In #1
My Kitchen Rules Season Three Episode Two – Angela & Justine
Wednesday
The Biggest Loser: Singles Season Seven – The Walk #1 & Temptation #2
My Kitchen Rules Season Three Episode Three – Leigh & Jennifer
Thursday
The Biggest Loser: Singles Season Seven – Challenge #2
Excess Baggage Season One – Endurance Challenge & Breakthrough Experience #1
My Kitchen Rules Season Three Episode Four – Meg & Simon
*oh, and an apology, I keep calling Kate Ceberano, Kate Cebrano. Oopsies!
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