Excess Baggage

Seven are now ramping up their coming soon and sneak peek ads for their new renovation show – House Rules. House Rules is Seven’s version of Nine’s The Block where complete strangers renovate poeple’s houses room by room over 6 weeks. Seven have now also thrown in “state vs state” into the advertising.

Sound familiar? It is – Nine’s first promos for 2013′s regular season of The Block – The Block Skyhigh – promoted the show as “state vs state” as well. In Skyhigh, there will be 5 couples competing instead of the usual four. Continue reading »

In a surprise move, Nine have renewed Excess Baggage for a second season.

The weight-loss reality series which had its finale last Thursday (March 29), will air again in 2013 in a new and revised format.

Excess Baggage was rushed to air January 30, 2012, and scheduled against Ten’s The Biggest Loser, now in its seventh season. Nine had high hopes for the show, with major advertising campaigns leading up to its launch.

In its first week on air, ratings quickly dropped off to settle around the 500,000 mark, before Nine were forced to move Excess Baggage to GO! as the 2012 ratings survey got underway, after its second week on air on the main channel.

On GO!, Excess Baggage enjoyed a regular 6.30pm Monday-Thursday timeslot. Despite attracting less than 100,000 viewers per episode, the series played out in its entirety, as originally planned.

The finale on Thursday night attracted an average audience of 95,000 and peaked at 214,000 viewers on GO!

A source claims Nine have learnt from their mistakes with Excess Baggage this year and hope to build on that next year with a new and revamped show – dubbed Excess Baggage 2.0.

A name change could be possible, while the format will be reviewed and improved to keep viewers interested in the second incarnation.

A casting call for potential contestants will go out later in the year.

THIS IS OF COURSE – AN APRIL FOOLS’ STORY! Happy April Fools’ Day

For us reality television nerds out there, we FINALLY got a grip this week on how close Easter is, as two reality television shows finished up for the year, ahead of non-ratings period. Excess Baggage and My Kitchen Rules could not have been bigger polar opposites, but they did share one thing in common- a finale last week. So let’s go through all the twists and turns.

We’ll do My Kitchen Rules first, because I usually save it until last, and that’s just not very fair is it. Considering it is the highest rating reality television show around, it should get first mention. This week, only three episodes aired; but these were the most highly anticipated episode to date.

The first two episodes were the finale decider semi-finals round. On Sunday, SA’s Leigh & Jennifer went head to head with TAS’s Megan & Andy. In what would be the trend, it was SA’s own florist and princess who progressed the finale, leaving the Islander state team to leave the competition.

On Monday, SA’s other team, Nic & Rocco versed off against Carly & Emily. It may have been hard for Rocco to keep his eye on the ball and not on Emily (or was it Carly he is dating?), but he seemed to pull something out of the bag, as he and his friend Nic completed the all-SA (and I wouldn’t have it any other way) finale, knocking Victorian’s Carly & Emily out of the competition. Well, a South Australian knocking out a Victorian- that, my friends, was the sweetest victory of all!

On Tuesday was the big finale. The SA girls went up against the SA boys, and for a while there, it looked like Nic & Rocco were going to beat the girls to the prize. But a few last minute 10/10’s for the girls proved to be their saviour, and they went on to become the competition’s third winning pair.

My Kitchen Rules returns in 2013.

Excess Baggage also had a final week. 2.6 million of you tuned in for the MKR finale- but only 95k tuned in for Excess Baggage. This week, the teams were in Melbourne. For their last spirit challenge, they had to collect ‘Excess Baggage’ from sites around Melbourne, and rush back with as many bags as they could carry to Federation Square. I swear there were more people cheering them on in the square than there were people watching the episode.

Dipper & Lana continued their winning streak, beating this competition. It was then onto the final Breakthrough Experience, where the orange and purple teams had to be submerged in a makeshift helicopter cockpit, and fight their way to the surface again with no breathing gear. It was a shock to the system for Lana, but she eventually did it! Good on her.

On Wednesday, it was time for the last endurance challenge. Here, using cryptic clues, contestants had to find bags of puzzle pieces littered around a train yard. With their recovered bags (four in total), they had to construct a puzzle. The purple team triumphed here.

The finale then took place on Thursday, where each team competed in a finale challenge which involved completing mini-versions of some challenges featured in the season. Then, it was on to the final check in, where Ajay & Matt took home the split $100,000.

Excess Baggage will NOT return in 2013.

Then there’s The Biggest Loser- which will continue throughout Easter non-ratings. After a heated elimination, which saw Lisa leave, it was a week of events! First off, the eliminated contestants returned to be trained by ousted trainer, Shannan. They also found out about the bunker, which they can use at their disposal.

Next, the contestants were treated to a makeover. After the brilliant event, which transformed the contestants, they all had a night on the town, which brought back a flood of emotions for Michelle.

Lastly, the contestants still partook in a weekly challenge, where they had to raft their way across a river. Lydia, who used to be a brownie, didn’t do so well with partner Kasey. They came last, and are now locked up in a bedroom lockdown until weigh in. Uh, oh!

Alex & Michelle however, won the challenge, earning themselves a 1kg weight advantage.

And that ended the week in reality!

So what’s going on next week? Well, not much I’m afraid, but The Biggest Loser is now also coming to an end, which should prove eventful. This weigh in on Sunday seems to be quite interesting, but it indicates poor numbers will be dealt- which I don’t usually like- I LOVE change on this show- but we’ll see.

The eliminated contestants will also be revealed- but who will take the news poorly? All of them? Well, I wouldn’t be surprised.

So as we head into non-ratings for two extra weeks, don’t worry- soon enough we will have a barrage of new reality titles coming our way. MasterChef Australia, The Block, Celebrity Apprentice Australia, The Voice, The Amazing Race Australia AND Dancing With The Stars are all set to debut soon after April 15 (if not April 15), so keep that penned in your diary.

With that, enjoy your week, and I shall see you all back here Easter Saturday!!

 

THE LIBRARY

Sunday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – Weigh In & Elimination #9

My Kitchen Rules, Season Three – First Semi Final!

Monday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – Boot Camp

Excess Baggage Season One – Finals Week Part #1

My Kitchen Rules, Season Three – Second Semi Final!

Tuesday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – The Makeovers

Excess Baggage Season One – Finals Week Part #2

My Kitchen Rules, Season Three – Grand Final! The Princess Becomes Queen of the Kitchen

Wednesday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – Makeover Night Aftermath & Challenge #10

Excess Baggage Season One – Finals Week Part #3

Thursday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – Thursday Night #1

Excess Baggage Season One – Finale

 

Previous episode: Excess Baggage Season One – Finals Week Part #3

This is it- the reality television event of the year- oh, who am I kidding, it’s a pity, but I think Nine will be celebrating the end of this failed experiment come 8pm tonight. Anyway, the last thing to do is find out who wins; Darryn & Lisa, Renae & Kevin, Matt & Ajay or Dipper & Lana? Let the battle begin!

We begin the episode with a lovely recap of the series that was. Kate welcomes us to the grand finale where one contestant will take home $100,000. We review the tight scores from yesterday.

The contestants are heading to their finale challenge and we hear some of their thoughts. Renae thinks she and Kevin will be friends for a long time. Dipper looks around to see everyone has changed. Ajay and Matt are just so happy to have made it to the final week.

Darryn & Lisa are just trying to stay focused as so they can win this.

On the beach, Kate, Christian, Tim and Jo welcome them to their finale. Christian points to Bear Island across the strait and tells them that this will be the location of their final challenge. Winners here will get eight points, with the points cascading for each place down from that.

Here, they will be tested with all they have learned so far. First, they have to run over the bridge to the island and use bits of code to find locked boxes around the island. In order to unlock them, they have to complete mini challenges- which will be miniature versions of challenges they have done before.

Once they have obtained all four bits of code, they must go to a code cracking station. The messages have been written by the judges and Kate herself. With that, they begin their final challenge. Over the bridge they go and onto the island. They have no maps and they can only run across the reasonably large island.

Darryn heads to the built up area and finds a mini-milk challenge, like the one from the Southern Highlands. Kevin & Renae make it to the water weight challenge from Tasmania. The difference is that they must complete the 4L water challenge four times to fill up four beakers with keys in them. This was good for them.

They open their lock in no time.

Lana and Dipper head to their first challenge, which is the Gold Coast leg-rope challenge where they have to unknot ropes to obtain the key. Lana thinks they could have saved time if they chose a rope that is easier to untangle; but they get straight in.

Opinion point: What was your favourite week this year?

After the break, the challenge continues. Ajay and Matt are working on the water station while Renae and Kevin move onto their next station. Darryn & Lisa work on the milk station, the challenge from the Southern Highlands.

Darryn thinks about the girl’s challenge and thinks he needs to pour milk, not knowing that the amount of milk required is the actual combination to the lock. They head off to the Balloon bursting challenge, first featured in the Hunter Valley week. They have to burst balloons until they find the right key. They get it right the first time, heading off to station 3.

Blue and purple teams have only completed one station and the orange team are still competing on their first challenge which was that rope challenge; the station of which is now being converged on by the other three teams!

The orange team are annoyed to hear that other people have completed a challenge each. Darryn & Lisa are working on their rope and it is Lisa’s time to shine as they untangle their rope first and grab their third clue.

Lana finds this frustrated, but she doesn’t know how far they’ve come. The orange team finally finish the station and head to round two. Purple team also finish their problem. Lana and Dipper scream through the milk bottle challenge while Darryn & Lisa head to their last challenge- the water weight challenge, which stumped Darryn the first time round. He thinks they’ll finish this one quick.

The blue team are onto their balloon challenge and grab their third clue quickly. They head to the milk money station and Kevin gets it so quickly. They are first to the final part of the challenge- code cracking!

Ajay & Matt get to the milk challenge and complete it quickly. They are now onto the code-cracking challenge.

Meanwhile, Darryn & Lisa aren’t going so well at their water weight challenge. Darryn pretty much confirms that he is out of this challenge.

Opinion point: Who deserves to win Excess Baggage?

Team orange end up at the last challenge and they are on their way to third place.

After the break, Ajay and Matt are cracking their code- having unlocked ‘Dear Ajay’. Lana is feeling good as she feels she can work this one out. Dipper stuffs things up to begin with and Lana is getting annoyed because he isn’t listening.

They finally get the combination, and they are off in third place. The judges are discussing the challenge, which is stumping the red team. They put it down to Darryn’s impatience. They finally fill it up and head to the code-cracking challenge.

Kevin & Renae are working through this slowly and they are getting somewhere. Ajay and Matt are both doing one half of the puzzle to speed up quick.

Darryn is not happy about the code at all, and they get into a world of problems. Dipper & Lana are working slowly, but that may be because Dipper keeps forgetting the code.

The blue team finish their message, get Christian to check and he declares them winners of the finale challenge! Their message was from Tim.

Ajay & Matt finish their message, which was from Joanna, and they come second, earning seven points.

At one point, Darryn & Lisa drop their board into the mud, giving Dipper & Lana a third place win with six points.

Christian wrote the red team’s letter and he gives them their five points for coming fourth.

Opinion point: What do you think of having a finale challenge?

With that, the contestants head off to their fitness test- their final ever opportunity for points. But we hardly get anything from it- no personal bests being broken, no achievements whatsoever!

After the break, we are in the finale check in, where the past contestants and family and friends are waiting. Kate welcomes them all to the event. With a few introductions, Kate brings in Dipper & Lana- the orange team.

Oh, they’re all glammed up!

Next up are Ajay & Matt; followed by Kevin & Renae and Darryn & Lisa.

The crowd go wild, but one close up shot shows a woman very unenthusiastically applauding.

With that, we see a VERY extended recap/movie/feature film on the series that was. I’d recap this, but if you read my recaps of every episode before this, you should know what is going on.

With that, Tim begins to talk about all the changes each of the eliminated contestants have gone through since they were eliminated.

John has lost 5.1% BPF and 13cm off his waist. Ben has lost 5.4% BF and 3cm off his waist. He has submitted an application to the Police academy.

Christine has lost an additional 3.9% BF and 4.5cm off her waist. She is stunned. She comes out front and she looks amazing- probably the best looking one there.

Collectively, they have lost 3.6m from their waist (all 16 of them) and 302kg of fat.

Opinion point: Who, out of the eliminated contestants, looks the best?

After the break, we take a closer look at the orange team, Dipper & Lana. We see a recap of their time and what they were like before the series.

Lana, today, says she is more confident and feels it has been the perfect environment to learn about herself. Her mother, Marie, is a little emotional, loving how she has gotten confidence to come home and not worry about her family so much.

Ajay & Matt of the purple team are next to receive the same treatment. Ajay tells them thank you and Matt says it is like winning the health lottery.

The blue team, Kevin & Renae, are next. Renae says she has now learnt to relax and enjoy life while Kevin thinks he has given his kids a ‘healthier him’. Victoria, his girlfriend, has noticed so many changes.

After the break, it is time to see how the red team went. It’s a nice story that seems to touch everyone in the room. Lisa offers Darryn a tissue. Lisa saw the video and thought she was weak and down; compared to now, where she is up; with Darryn! Lisa says Darryn gave her love and determination and how to not let people push her around.

Darryn says it has always been about Lisa and thinks her journey has been extraordinary. Lisa then grabs a gift for Darryn. He opens the box to reveal a pair of rings by the look of it which has the word’s ‘love forever’ and ‘dickhead’ on them!

They then check in.

We review the scoreboard after the finale challenge. Ajay & Matt are on 21; Dipper & Lana are on 20; Darryn & Lisa are on 19 and Kevin & Renae are on 18! Wow, nice pattern there.

Kate reminds us of the scoring system again, before the orange team come up to check in. Tonight, they are talking about the change from week one to now.

Lana’s BFP was 47.9%. It is now…38.3%, a change of -9.6%. Her WC was 123.5cm. It is now…97.0cm, a change of -21.5%. Her FTS was 3.7. It is now…7.1. Her check in score is 38.2 overall. Dipper’s turn.

Dipper’s BFP was 33.3%. It is now…19.5%, a change of -13.8%. His WC was 126.0cm. It is now…103.0cm, a change of -18.3%. His FTS was 5.9. It is now…8.3. This gives him a score of 40.4. This gives them an overall combined score of, 98.6, which is now the score to beat.

Opinion point: Are you surprised by Dipper & Lana’s final score?

After the break, it is time for the blue team to check in. They need at least 80.7 points to beat the orange team.

Kevin’s BFP was 38.8%. It is now…28.8%, a change of -10.0%. His WC was 118.0cm. It is now…98.5cm, a change of -16.5%. His FTS was 4.8. It is now…8.1! This gives him 34.6 as a check in score. Renae now needs to get the other 46.1 points to win.

Renae’s BFP was 46.7%. It is now…36.1%, a change of -10.6%. Her WC was 113.0cm. It is now…88.0cm, a change of -22.1%. Her FTS was 2.8. it is now…7.8, giving her an overall score of 40.5, and gives the blue team an overall score of 93.1, and puts them behind the orange team, who are still in it to win it!

The next team to check in will be the red team. To beat the orange team, they need 79.7 points. Darryn’s BFP was 33.5%. It is now…23.9%, a change of -9.6%. His WC was 106.0cm. It is now…88.5cm, a change of -16.5%. His FTS was 6.4. It is now…8.0; giving him a score of 34.1. Darryn is feeling really happy about those results.

Lisa needs to score 45.6 points to get red the top position. Lisa’s BFP was 50.6%. It is now…38.0%. That’s a change of -12.6%. Her WC was 136.5cm. It is now…101.0cm, a change of -26.0%. Her FTS was 3.4. It is now…7.3! This gives her an overall score of 45.9, giving the red team a combined overall score of 99.0 points, putting them at the top, and knocking the orange team to second and the blue team to third.

Opinion point: Surprised by the blue and red team’s performance?

The purple team then step up to weigh in. They need to score 78.1 points to win the game. Matt’s BFP was 40.8%. It is now…27.1%, a change of -13.7%. His WC was 139.0cm. It is now…107cm, a change of -23.0%. His FTS was 3.1. It is now…6.8! This gives him a score of 43.5! He is so proud of himself, and so he should be.

Ajay’s BFP was 44.8%. It is now…36.8%, a change of -8.0%. She still needs 26.6 points to win. Her WC was 109.0cm. It is now…83.5cm, a change of -23.4%! Do the maths; she just needs 3.2 on her FTS. Her FTS was 3.9. It is now…6.9, declaring them the winners!

AJAY & MATT HAVE WON EXCESS BAGGAGE! Matt wins $50,000 and Ajay wins that for her charity. They win with over 102 points!

Their families come in to celebrate this win.

Kate then wraps the season up with a short monologue. A fitting end.

The finale was pretty much like any normal Excess Baggage episode. The challenge was well presented and a great reminder of the season that has been. There was a fair bit of recap, but the film of the best bits was really quite well done. Still, a tad too long and a tad too dry with those individual team videos.

The check in was suspenseful and finally, we saw all the results in full! God knows what would have happened if we didn’t.

And despite this show’s downfall, it was still quite an emotional end. Not the type of emotion you’d get with MasterChef; but it was still there, and they should be proud of that.

To the series itself, and while it hasn’t always been smooth sailing, it most certainly didn’t deserve the viewer drop off it got. Yes, production was inferior compared to the Biggest Loser. Yes, at times, check ins got confusing. Yes, it wasn’t ever going to be a smash hit.

But while all of these problems were very evident, to see it bow out with well under 100,000 viewers is very devastating.

But, with that, Nine’s first reality venture of the year has come to a close- time to bring on The Block!

This is the final episode of Excess Baggage Season One to air. Thank you to all my readers who have kept up to date with this show by reading my posts. I appreciate each and every one of you!

 

EPISODE VERDICT

Production Values (visual and audio techniques, overall ‘bling’ of the show):4.6/5

‘Sell-out’ factor (Cross-promotion and product placement free?): 2/2

Entertainment Value (emotional feel, storyline, eventful?): 2.9/3

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.5/10

 

EXCESS BAGGAGE SEASON ONE OVERALL VERDICT

Production Values (visual and audio techniques, overall ‘bling’ of the show):4.4/5

‘Sell-out’ factor (Cross-promotion and product placement free?): 1.8/2

Entertainment Value (emotional feel, storyline, eventful?): 2.7/3

Courtney’s Verdict: 8.9/10

Previous episode: Excess Baggage Season One – Finals Week Part #2

Only two episodes remain, but it’s going to be a slog to the finish with one more endurance challenge. If the spirit challenge and breakthrough experience are anything to go by, this is going to hurt! But, they’re finalists- so they need to fight for their prize! Let that fighting…begin

We’re still in Melbourne for the very last endurance challenge. At the Newport rail yards, Kate is waiting to tell us all about the final endurance challenge. They will be given four clues;

 

OIL WATER AND WINE

FUEL FOR THE FIRE

TICKETS PLEASE!

 

All three of these will be common to all teams. The fourth will be different from team to team. Bags of puzzle pieces are hidden throughout the railyard which make up a montage of all the contestants. It’s every team for themselves.

With that, the contestants rock up to their new challenge, where Christian awaits them with Joanna and Kate. Kate tells them that they have to make the most of this challenge because it’s nearly all over. We recap Kevin’s back problem from yesterday before being told he won’t be able to do anything strenuous.

Christian then tells them what to do. Ajay doesn’t know how she will do in this puzzling challenge- or does she? She apparently is known as the puzzle queen!

Darryn thinks there is only one brain in his team (Lisa apparently has no brain).

The winners will get eight points, with runner up getting seven, third place getting six and fourth place getting five.

We see a picture of the completed puzzle, which is a montage of the final four teams competing in different tasks.

With that, they begin their challenge. They read their clues and get moving. Renae is feeling very confident about this challenge. Ajay and Matt’s strategy is to read the clues and go for the most obvious ones. Lana & Dipper are a bit cluey about the clues.

Opinion point: What are your thoughts on the final endurance challenge?

After the break, the contestants are, of course, still competing! Joanna is on hand to explain the clues. ‘Fuel To Fire’ should point them in the direction of the coal, which Darryn & Lisa find out. The teams follow them and they all dig! Dipper & Lana find their bag in five seconds.

Darryn then finds his bag, leaving the purple and blue team remaining. The blue team give up, and head somewhere else. The purple team keep digging to Ajay’s disagreement. In a couple of minutes, Matt finds a bag.

‘Wine, Oil & Water’ is the next clue and it points them in the direction of barrels full of ice water. The contestants pick this up straight away.

The last clue, ‘Tickets Please’ points them onto the trains themselves. This is the final clue all teams have in common.

Some bags are ‘furfies’, which contain no puzzle pieces. Christian discovers that the blue team have uncovered one of these bags.

‘DIY’ is actually a clue just for the orange team. It takes them to a tool box. The blue team head onto ‘Interstate Shipment’ individual clue, and in the midst of looking for their puzzle, they uncover the orange team’s puzzle.

Lana and Dipper are looking for that missing bag, which Kevin dejectedly gives back to them. ‘In the pits’ is a clue for the purple team, which is located under a train.

Darryn finds his individual pieces, giving him another win. The blue team find their ‘Tickets Please’ bag. Meanwhile, Darryn & Lisa are assembling their puzzle. Darryn gets annoyed at Christian at one point. Lisa wants to separate the pieces based on what teams feature on them, but they argue!

Dipper & Lana are also working on their puzzle but they find out that they have a furfie. Maybe that’s the team that Christian mentioned before. Woops, sorry!

The purple team come back with perfect pieces, but need to get a bag from the barrels of ice. Wait, hang on, no, the blue team also has a bag of furfies! They have to go diving again, but they can’t find the right bag!

Opinion point: Who had the best advantage?

Renae finds the proper bag, finally, but they still have another bag to find. They have to find their individual bag- which they find straight away! Now, all contestants are working on their puzzle. The red team aren’t doing well, but they are in front.

Matt and Ajay are working really well and they seem to have some sort of strategy to separate by colour and shape of edges.

The blue team apparently have one more clue to go. They still have to dig in the coal! Not good, not good at all! That’s going to make you dirty. Sorry, but Kevin doesn’t look like he’s doing anything.

The purple team have finished half their puzzle but the red team are falling behind.

The blue team seem to be going well, but they’re so far behind. Darryn is just getting annoyed at Lisa- saying she is demonstrating ‘brain neglect’. Lana and Dipper are nearly done, but the purple team finish first.

It’s now a race for second place.

Opinion point: Did the purple team deserve that win?

The orange team put their hands up but they are incorrect, to the relief of the now overly frustrated Darryn.

After the break, Darryn & Lisa continue with their bickering, but are on the way to second place. Can they get there? Well Dipper and Lana finish their puzzle by changing something- however the red team JUST score second place.

Dipper & Lana are still wrong, and third place is still up for grabs. The blue team are in a good position to knock them into fourth, but Dipper & Lana call one more time. They’re correct! Blue team score last place.

We then see the scores combined across both challenges;

AJAY & MATT: 14

DARRYN & LISA: 14

DIPPER & LANA: 14

KEVIN & RENAE: 10

Could not have been closer.

There is still a finale challenge, a fitness test and a health check in to alter the scores. Anyone can still win this.

Opinion point: Which of the final remaining teams have competed the best in challenges?

Then, instead of a family dinner- they have something special planned- makeovers! Hmm, coincidental!

The girls walk into a room full of makeup and clothes. Must be heaven for them after this challenge!

They think about the boys and their makeover session with Lana suggesting Dipper to trim his moustache.

The boys are at the barbers. Dipper does not want his moustache gone, but Kevin is happy to cut off his long hair. With that, it’s time for them to dress up!

We see a few before and after shots, which puts things into perspective. Many of them do look very nice and very different! Lisa surprises me.

Opinion point: What did you think of the makeovers?

With that, they head to the family dinner and the boys wait for the girls. Darryn thinks he should have donned a suit rather than wear his ridiculous costume. With that, Joanne and Kate come up and introduce the girls.

Ajay comes up first, and she looks wonderful. Renae is a knockout, and Lana is stunning! Lisa isn’t wearing the most flattering of dresses, but she does look much thinner. Lisa wasn’t too flattered by Darryn’s look, however.

With that, they have their last supper. Kate wishes them well, and may the best team win!

To end the episode, we see one contestant’s video diary on how excited he is about the prospect of winning.  Yep, Matt cannot sleep!

So the penultimate episode is nigh, and it was quite a feat. The makeovers weren’t as extravagant as they are on The Biggest Loser, and production was very choppy, but overall, the episode was great in terms of visual techniques.

Storyline; well, I didn’t think much of that endurance challenge- seemed to be a bit of a non-event there. In a way, it threatened to make the show boring. Luckily, it didn’t quite get there.

Excess Baggage next airs Mar 29 at 6.30PM on GO!

Production Values (visual and audio techniques, overall ‘bling’ of the show):4.5/5

‘Sell-out’ factor (Cross-promotion and product placement free?): 2/2

Entertainment Value (emotional feel, storyline, eventful?): 2.5/3

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.0/10

 

Not only do we have to endure countless coming soon ads, on screen advertising and NRL commentary team cross promotions for new shows coming to Nine after Easter, but now we are about to be hit by a wave of newspaper, outdoor and bus ads, as well as anywhere else Nine can shove an ad in front of potential viewers.

After being whipped in the 2012 ratings race so far by Seven, Nine are sure trying to make us stand up and take notice of what is coming to Nine “soon” – or, to be more accurate, after the Easter non-ratings period, which concludes April 14.

The picture above is an ad for The Block on a billboard at a train station, below an ad for The Voice on a Sydney bus.

The Voice premieres on Nine Sunday April 15, at 6.30pm, while The Block will air at 7pm weeknights from April 16.

But lets not forget… they did the same for Excess Baggage. Ads everywhere. Buses, trains stations, billboards, on air – and look how that show went…

No matter how much viewers are bombarded by ads, a show will either perform or not perfoem on its own merits. But there is also always the risk of over-exposure and over-promotion – which Nine are dangerously close to reaching.

Previous episode: Excess Baggage Season One – Finals Week Part #1

The series is quickly coming to a close, and tonight, it is the final Excess Baggage Breakthrough Experience. If you ask me, if there are still ‘throughs’ waiting to be ‘broken’ at this stage of the game, I would question this show’s method at…well, doing things. Still, being locked in a helicopter and submerged in a tank must be fearful for a sizeable amount of you lot! Luckily all we have to do is sit back and watch!

We begin with Kate showing us how contestants will be submerged in a simulated cockpit of a helicopter. It looks claustrophobic and Aquaphobic.

The contestant’s rock up and Lana is trying so hard not to cry. Tim welcomes them to the centre and tells them how scary the breakthrough challenge is. The need to make stressful decisions, the water, the claustrophobia- it will require a minor miracle to get Lana in that helicopter.

Dipper has had scuba diving problems in the past and wants to try this. An emotional Ajay is also going to be going through with it. To make Lana’s decision a little easier (or attempt to), they show contestants what will happen. Dipper did not realise that they will be lowered into the water- thinking they will start submerged.

The contestants are further freaked out when the cockpit flips over. Meanwhile, the red and blue teams are going rock climbing! They are all surprised by the height of the wall- they are five stories high.

Kevin and Renae are reminded of their Tasmanian abseil but Renae is a little more pessimistic about climbing. Darryn says he would be happy to climb if someone is holding the rope at the bottom. He is shocked to hear that Lisa would be holding the rope.

Well, actually, she will ALSO be able to go up, as she has a fear of heights. With that, they harness up and are given crucial information.

Meanwhile, the orange and purple teams are also being briefed with information for their dive. Gosh, my heart is beating just hearing about it.

With that, they gear up and get ready to give their decisions. Dipper, Ajay and Matt decide to go, but will Lana?

Opinion point: Going for a helicopter dive or rock-climbing? What would you pick?

After the break, she says yes, implementing mind games to help calm herself down. The purple team go first and Ajay just looks terrified. They hop into the water, board the helicopter and are lowered into the water. They have no breathing devices- they have to hurry!

But, despite the difficulty, they escape in seconds. With that, it’s Lana’s turn. She cannot swim and ‘doesn’t do water’. She is panicked and Tim is on hand to calm her down. As the helicopter is raised, Lana is unconvinced she can do it. She has to settle down otherwise she won’t be able to be submerged.

Then, it begins! I feel for her. But, as we all know, she gets out fine! So that was only the first part of the challenge. They now have to do it again, upside down!

Meanwhile, back at the rock-climbing wall, Kevin is going up. His back is hurting and after making it 15-20 feet, he has to come down.

Darryn is next and he says he is ready as he’ll ever be ‘to die’. He doesn’t make it up too high before Lisa begins to giggle and insinuate he isn’t safe. Darryn sees the man with Lisa, but doesn’t trust him either, haha. I have to say though; this could be dangerous if she doesn’t watch it.

When he wants to come down, Lisa holds the rope, disallowing him to do so.

Opinion point: Last breakthrough experience- should everyone have competed in the same thing?

After the break, it is time for phase two- an upside down dive. They are all going in together. The boys are quick to the cockpit. Ajay is in the pool, but Lana isn’t. Tim says she has had her success today, and that this would be a cherry on top.

She says she wants to do it, before having a breakdown, before going up again and then finally diving to give it a crack. This is the third part of the challenge apparently- so I’m guessing the purple’s attempt and the orange’s attempt before counted as two rounds.

Meanwhile, back at the rock-climbing, Darryn decides to come down, and Kevin thinks Darryn & Lisa’s attempts were the comedic points of the day. Renae is just annoyed as she wants to climb it. She says she didn’t get the opportunity to do that.

Lisa goes up and then surprisingly begins acting like a Matrix-wall walker- surprising and scaring everyone. With that, they all head over to see how the other half of the team are doing.

The helicopter is going under. Short story- they all make it! Surprise! While she is in tears, oh what a joyful moment for Lana. I don’t know about Kate talking to her like a three year old, but she did it nonetheless.

Opinion point: The breakthrough challenges as a whole- was it a good element to the show, or did they aid in the show’s demise? If so, how?

After the break, they all dry off and head back to their accommodation after a hard day. Well, not quite. For the divers, they now get to go for a real helicopter ride around Melbourne. At least they know what to do in an emergency. Ajay is a bit nervous, but Lana is happy.

Ajay actually thinks this is groundhog day. Surely she is fine with flying now. How else has she gone from location to location week after week?

The views are stunning, but we get more views of the contestants than the city. Up in the air, Ajay is not scared, and she sees the benefit of constantly stepping outside her boundaries. With that, the reward is over and they head back to the Crowne to celebrate their journey with the other contestants.

Tim tells them that he has something special planned for them- different site sessions for the contestants. What could this be?

Opinion point: Do you think the reward was sufficient for the task?

After the break, Lana and Dipper head to a Greek restaurant where Dipper’s daughter and Lana’s father is waiting for them.

Lana is emotional, and Dipper’s daughter hugs Lana as she reads through a letter. Dipper’s daughter promises to talk her through Dipper’s shouting. She tells her to just give it back. She says she hasn’t eaten with her father for a while. Her name is Candice.

Jim, Lana’s father, cries when talking about his daughter and her sister, who has autism. He finally realises what the condition of Lana’s sister is having on Lana.

They toast.

Meanwhile, Darryn and Lisa head to a beauty spa, with Lisa given the opportunity to ‘beautify’ Darryn. Darryn is comically shocked, and intimidated! He is a bit confused as to where the cucumber is going!

Lana gives him a shampoo and massage. At one point, Darryn jokes about her body odour, but she does well. It looks relaxing. Darryn doesn’t know why she stopped it in the first place!

As a token of appreciation, Darryn gives her a necklace from…some place.

Opinion point: After ten weeks of something like what the contestants go through on Excess Baggage, what would you like to be rewarded with?

Meanwhile, Kevin and Renae head to Ministry of Dance to reconnect with their passion. Renae is given the challenge to teach Kevin some ballroom, while Kevin has to teach Renae hip hop. They both do well, but Kevin wasn’t so sure about future ballroom escapades.

Meanwhile, Matt & Ajay are given the task to write a letter to their kids about their regrets. They then have to read out their letters. Matt’s letter was very emotional, but Ajay herself was emotional as she read out her honest letter.

See, this is pure emotion. Because we know what is happening- we know how Ajay is feeling because this show has shown us that. When this show edits everything, we get nothing back emotionally. But today, we did.

She is so sorry to her kids for her eating obsessions. Hopefully they learn something from this, and become a bit more confident.

So with that, the episode ends and those last few scenes, clearly showing some true emotion- like Ajay’s tears and Darryn’s humour, really gave us insight to these contestants. Too little too late? For this episode individually, not so.

But still, they had a good opportunity for nice shots of Melbourne in that helicopter, to show the viewers what the teams were experiencing, and I feel they missed this opportunity.

The challenge itself was wonderful, if not a little short. It has intensity and emotion, and really packed a punch as the final breakthrough experience- putting the other experiences to absolute shame.

Great episode, great time!

Excess Baggage next airs Mar 28 at 6.30PM on GO!

Production Values (visual and audio techniques, overall ‘bling’ of the show):4.8/5

‘Sell-out’ factor (Cross-promotion and product placement free?): 1.9/2

Entertainment Value (emotional feel, storyline, eventful?): 3/3

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.7/10

 

Previous episode: Excess Baggage Season One – Check In #8 & Elimination #4

This is it! Channel Nine’s attempt at the weight loss reality genre is coming to an end, and this is the last week that you can catch the likes of Darryn Lyons, Ajay Rochester and Kevin Federline punch, run and kick their way to fitness!

We’re in Melbourne for this final leg and Kate welcomes us to finals week. In just a few days, we will have a winner! Who will get that $100,000? We see a brief recap of the journey so far before we see the contestants head to their first challenge for the week.

Lana is pleased to finish the competition in Melbourne. Christian and Kate are there, with a bell boy trolley. Christian tells us that this is the last spirit challenge- where they will collect Excess Baggage from the Melbournian CBD’s streets and alleyways- and bring them back. Ajay should be good at this!

There are a few stations that they can visit- and it is up to them how many they visit and how many bags they pick up- however they must carry their bags on their person. Kevin cannot compete and because this is finals week, there will be no advantages for Renae. Umm, this show has NEVER given out advantages. Renae is in tears to hear that Kevin was not going to be able to compete- she is pretty much screwed. They have 45 minutes to collect as many bags as possible and with that piece of information- their challenge begins!

The contestants head off to grab their bags. They have suitcases to help them compete. As they run through the city streets, they catch the attention of screaming females. What is this, a One Direction concert?!

Ajay & Matt decide to not go to one of the closer stations out of fear they may not get any bags with everyone else there.

Renae and the orange team seem to head to the same place (don’t ask me the name). Dipper thinks the smaller bags will be further away. They are in Birrarung Marr Park; for those playing at home.

Renae and the orange team grab as many bags as possible before heading off. Again, that fan-club continues to follow them.

Meanwhile, Darryn & Lisa head to Campbell Arcade/ Chinatown which includes three different locations that they can grab bags from. Darryn heads to Campbell Arcade- but he’s in a derelict alleyway! Not quite there, I’m afraid.

Opinion point: Go for the sites further away or closer to the drop-off zone- what would your strategy be?

After the break, the orange team and Renae are heading to their second trolley. The purple team are still heading for their first while Darryn & Lisa continue to look for Campbell Arcade. They cut their losses and head to Chinatown, but they find Union Lane and their first trolley!

They load up, and it’s a free for all with no other team breathing down their neck. They are off.

Meanwhile, Dipper and Lana are heading towards the Treasury Building. Lana is now disorientated, despite being a local however Dipper is confident as to where he is going…supposedly. Renae isn’t having good luck…until she gets to Flinders Street Station and finds an un-raided trolley.

She drops off bags she feels she can’t carry before heading to station three with 30 minutes to go. Purple make it to Treasury Gardens and their first trolley- finding it untouched as well. They hit the jackpot in what Ajay calls ‘shoppers delight’. They pick what they can and leave.

Dipper & Lana are closing in and they realise that purple team have already raided it- so they get to the Old Treasury Steps for a bonanza of small bags- it seems the strategy is working. Lana thinks the weight is getting too heavy however as they head to the Dr. Sun Statute, Dipper is hurrying her across the roads. Yeah, coz that’s not dangerous.

Darryn & Lisa head to Croft Alley and Darryn threatens to rob a handbag store, haha. They decide not to. He, like Dipper is with Lana, annoyed with Lisa’s slowness. They find another untouched trolley and load up.

They dump some bigger bags for some smaller bags and soon enough, after a bit of arguing, they head out of there. Renae heads to Campbell Arcade and down the Subway station- however it is closed. She seems very lost. She reads her map for another location- but surely one trolley won’t be closed off by a closed Subway station. Maybe it’s closed BECAUSE of the challenge? I doubt it.

She heads to Union Square, but finds nothing, and decides to head to the finish line.

Ajay and Matt are leaving the Treasury Garden, having taken everything. They are the furthest away, and are overloaded. So, should they head home? Matt and Ajay argue as to whether they should head to the finish line with Matt thinking they have enough bags. Ajay wants to pick up smaller bags, but Ajay gives in with 20 minutes to go.

Opinion point: Which contestants should do the best here?

After the break, some contestants are now heading back with what they have. Renae and the purple team in particular. Red and orange are risking another trolley raid. Darryn & Lisa make it to the Dr. Sun one and begin raiding.

Again, Darryn & Lisa are stacking up before heading home. Darryn sees Dipper head towards their trolley, and finds the moment to be ‘golden’. The power team are now a little stuffed. They head to Croft Place, but we know that Darryn & Lisa have been here. They’re wasting time and getting nothing. They pick up some of the bigger bags that remain. It’s getting a lot heavier- and can they get home? They actually consider another stop!

There’s 20 minutes to go- so paranoid Lana wants to go back. Dipper concedes that this is the best option.

Heading home and Matt hits a snag. His struggling is to the delight to passer byers, who find this so funny.

It begins blowing heavily, flinging those bags everywhere. 15 minutes to go, and Matt needs to regroup. Ajay asks someone to push a pedestrian light button- oh this is gold!

Dipper & Lana are at closing in to Fed Square, and Lana is annoyed that Dipper isn’t telling her the accurate time. Lana now has to keep up with Dipper; otherwise it will be her fault if they’re too slow. They are in danger of not making it.

With 9 minutes to go, Renae is struggling. That must be hard. Have you ever been in a position where you are carting heavy bags to a hotel room on holiday? That must be ten times THAT feeling- horrible! All through Melbourne.

Renae makes it first and Darryn & Lisa are close- but arguing as usual.

Luckily, they make it.

With eight minutes to go, Dipper & Lana also make it in time!

Opinion point: What are your personal thoughts on the challenge?

Darryn & Lisa and Dipper & Lana run for the finish line. If one team has the same amount of bags as another, the person who gets there first wins the points. Lana is only a little bit in front of Lisa, and she is catching. Darryn makes it to the finish line, just ahead of Dipper and Lana. Lisa comes in the back, meaning the orange team are in second.

The purple team are in last place and have only 5 minutes to get back. They see the square and run for it. Matt can’t run though! The other three teams are hoping the purple team don’t make it.

3 minutes to go and they drop their bags. Oh god, how will they make it?!

They come up the stairs with 2 minutes to spare- can they make it?

The crowd are back. Haha.

They make it just in time- with one minute to spare. No team know who has won.

Christian begins counting.

Renae has…9 bags!

Darryn & Lisa have…28 bags!

Dipper & Lana have… 31 bags!

Ajay & Matt have… 27 bags!

They then head over to the scoreboard.

DIPPER & LANA: 8

DARRYN & LISA: 7

AJAY & MATT: 6

KEVIN & RENAE: 5

Opinion point: Any surprises?

After the break, the contestants head to their accommodation and Lisa reflects on all her problems with Darryn, knowing they have made it despite all odds. Ajay is making a shirt for Lisa who has the words ‘Mrs Paparazzi’ written on it. They are dressing up as the boys, and they make quite good impressions. I like Lisa’s the most!

The boys are relaxing in the foyer as the girls come down. It’s a bit of a ruckus, but I think Ajay is taking it a bit far. I’m surprised she hasn’t been kicked out yet!

The next day, they all head to Hawthorn Football Club- Dipper’s home. Dipper will be running this training session, as expected.

It must be so comforting for him. He is so proud to be able to run this session for them. They go through all the nostalgic stuff before the training session begins.

After the break, we see that training session, where Dermott Brereton is waiting for them. Ajay had a crush on him for her entire life.

With that, they go through a training session fit for the AFL.

Afterwards, the contestants cool down, before hearing about their breakthrough experience- which Christian is glad he isn’t doing it. Two teams will be confronting a bunch of fears. Ajay goes cold with fear. She should have gone skydiving.

They’re going helicopter underwater escape training. They will be chained to a cockpit of a helicopter, submerged underwater. Their goal is to get out. I believe this was done on that ONE reality show, Poker Star. Don’t ask why- a patience task or something.

The orange and purple team will be going and again, she thinks this will be an interesting day, and the drama begins, as Matt says.

Dr. Tim and Kate will be there to make sure they survive.

Well, the episode ends, and I was very impressed with the production. Not as good as Biggest Loser, mind you, but still extremely impressive for this show. I’m very impressed with the effort they put into a show that was bumped to a multi-channel.

Other than that, not much else to say- just looking forward to a ripping episode tomorrow.

Excess Baggage next airs Mar 27 at 6.30PM on GO!

Production Values (visual and audio techniques, overall ‘bling’ of the show):4.8/5

‘Sell-out’ factor (Cross-promotion and product placement free?): 2/2

Entertainment Value (emotional feel, storyline, eventful?): 3/3

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.8/10

 

It’s been another shell-shocking week in reality television! Biggest Loser had an emotional elimination; Excess Baggage went gangbusters on its challenges and My Kitchen Rules just got rid of half the competition in a one week swoop! So let’s slowly digest all of this and get around what went down last week!

Excess Baggage spent the week in the Southern Highlands. The first challenge saw the contestants milking 5L of juice out of cows and delivering certain amounts (determined by answering a maths riddle) to four different stations.

Ajay won the challenge for team purple, and proceeded to help the other four competing teams how to work out the riddles. While Christine worked on her own, Renae, Lana and Lisa formed a trio in order to help each other claim the most points. The three helped each other out adequately enough, leaving Lana, Renae and Lisa in second, third and fourth place respectively. Christine came last, which will be a common occurrence in a horror week for the yellow team.

The breakthrough experience saw contestants, and Tim, take to the skies for a skydive! Ajay, Kevin, Lisa and Christine were given this opportunity, but Kevin gave his spot up for Renae (who seemed to want to go), and Ajay, having confronted her fear of flying earlier in the season, sat this one out. Tim took her place. From there, every contestant took part.

On Wednesday, it was a dramatic endurance challenge, where one person from each team had to run up a hill and collect, one by one, horseshoes. They then had to deliver them back down the hill to their other team member who would then try to throw the shoe into one of three sand pits, each pit corresponding to either one, two or three points.

At the end of a fifteen minute period, the game was halted, contestants had to freeze and the lowest-scoring team would be eliminated.

The game didn’t last fifteen minutes before Kevin and Lisa were ruled out on exhaustion. Darryn was unable to run for the red team, inactivating them from the competition, but apparently, it was legal for the red team to compete if people scored points for them. Why would someone do that?

Co-incidentally, a fight had erupted between Matt, and everyone, causing Lana and Renae to help the red team and send the purple team out of the race. What I ask is, assuming the red team were out, and if no one helped them and they scored bottom of the list at the end of the fifteen minute period, would they be the eliminated team for that round; or would they be recognized as inactive, sending the lowest scoring active team to the bench?

The red team were eliminated, but I still feel their involvement in the competition was bizarre and out of order.

Christine from the yellow team, who again flied solo, Darryn & Lisa, Ajay & Matt and Renee & Kevin were all eliminated, scoring Dipper and Lana another win!

To the check in, and this far into the competition, is it just me, or do some of these contestants look the same as when they entered? Nonetheless, there were some surprises, like Darryn & Lisa slipping into the bottom two. They faced the yellow team, who after a disastrous week, were sent home, with Nathan unable to find reason in saving himself over the red team.

It was a high intensity week, but for The Biggest Loser, producers tried to not deviate away from the basic rules too much. The biggest event had to be the elimination of Simon, after facing his lover Lisa in the bottom two.

Lisa wasn’t going to let this beat her though, and after winning a contest which saw contestants avoid noodles attached to a rotating machine, she took the walk and won the right to have exclusive access to Michelle for the week.

Meanwhile, the Commando helped find the inner-anger of Graham after his confrontation with the trainer in the weigh in. Speaking of training, I recommend watching the training session which saw some contestants (notably Margie) trapeze, and the others (notably Alex) rock climb.

Temptation was a rather French affair; but after eating an 850 calorie V8 cake, Michelle took immunity. She’s managed to burn off the calories, but she runs the risk of gaining weight at the next weigh in. Hayley, for the first time this season, mentioned the immunity-losing penalty, suggesting that Michelle may gain that dreaded weight.

This all culminated in the challenge, where contestants had to stack ten tyres onto a pole, take them off, stack them onto another pole, and repeat that process ten times (in total). Margie wins the challenge by a long shot, earning a 1kg advantage. Lisa, who has been struggling with weight for a while now, and is finally having a good week, lost the challenge, earning her a 1kg disadvantage. For a contestant who regularly loses less than 2kg, this is massive.

And My Kitchen Rules, who can forget? It’s been elimination week this week; and the competition sought out to cull the competition by half. The first casualty was Simon & Meg, the Kiwi competitors. On Monday, we said goodbye to the bubbly Angela & Justine. Tuesday was even less kind, making us lose David & Scott. The week pretty much ended on Wednesday with the loveable Steve & Helen departing. This left SA contestant’s Nic & Rocco and Leigh & Jennifer, TAS couple Megan & Andy and VIC sisters Carly & Emily left to battle it out next week.

Speaking of next week, and with a week to go until the Easter non-ratings period (that time already?!), it’s time for the main cream of the crop to finish up with the end of quarter one, 2012!

Excess Baggage has four contestants left- Darryn & Lisa, Dipper & Lana, Ajay & Matt and Kevin & Renae- and one of them will be crowned the winner by Thursday in a NINETY minute episode to air on GO!

The Biggest Loser has possibly its biggest week yet. To begin with, another weigh in and elimination. Shannan also catches up with Luke. It is also Makeover Week, one of the highlights of a Biggest Loser season (who will look the MOST stunning?!). To top it all off, who’s that coming back???!!!

My Kitchen Rules also heads into its semi-finals ahead of its Tuesday Night Final. Leigh & Jennifer head off against Megan & Andy with Nic & Rocco going up against Carly & Emily to determine the two teams who will have to cook a five course meal to win the competition.

So as you can see, as we head towards Easter, things are really starting to heat up. Make sure you stay tuned, because if you miss anything this week, you’ll be stuffed!

And to finish, a BIG thank you goes out to AliciaB who has helmed the blogs of this year’s season of My Kitchen Rules. She’s done an amazing job, and has freed up time for me to make sure I can put in the most effort to the other two shows.

 

THE LIBRARY

Sunday

My Kitchen Rules. Season Three – Episode Thirty: The Trans Tasman Battle

Monday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – Weigh In & Elimination #8

My Kitchen Rules. Season Three – Episode Thirty One: The Week of Eliminations Begin!

Excess Baggage Season One – Southern Highlands Week Begins (Spirit Challenge #8)

Tuesday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – Contest #6

My Kitchen Rules. Season Three – Episode Thirty Two: The Soldiers Take on the Princess!

Excess Baggage Season One – Breakthrough Experience #7

Wednesday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – The Walk #6 & Temptation #9

My Kitchen Rules. Season Three – Episode Thirty Three: It will be bitter!

Excess Baggage Season One – Endurance Challenge #8

Thursday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – Challenge #9

My Kitchen Rules. Season Three – Episode Thirty Four: Showdown to the Semi Finals

Excess Baggage Season One – Check In #8 & Elimination #4

 

Friday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – Friday Night #6

Previous episode: Excess Baggage Season One – Endurance Challenge #8

Another week is almost over; but the fun hasn’t even begun! Tonight; five teams become four in another emotional elimination; but not before some hopefully good news from the check in. Who will make it to the final week?

The sun rises in NSW as the teams wake up to elimination day. They are all having breakfast. The girls are preparing for the big day. Ajay is talking about her troubles with Matt to Renae. We look at a flashback of Matt’s obnoxious behaviour yesterday.

Ajay is very angry at Matt and wants an apology. Lana steps in and talks about her struggles with Matt.

We then review Nathan’s troubles which has landed Christine in all challenges solo. The yellow team will not be competing in today’s fitness test, which will be one of their last fitness tests. They are all pushing for a personal best.

After the 1.6km run, everyone has made a personal best- except for Dipper, who didn’t quite smash the 7 minute mark. He is disappointed, but it lights him up for other parts of the test.

Renae impresses in one test, while Darryn seems to go well in the push up test. He isn’t happy with Lisa, who missed the 60 push up mark by 4 push ups. Lisa goes off, saying he does her head in. This relationship is so weird. Sometimes they are such best friends, and then this happens.

Darryn gets a bit of karma when he does some pull ups and damages his nerve endings. He is now sidelined from this fitness test. Lisa will have to carry the weight.

In the hangar, Kate tells us that this check in will be momentous as it will be the last check in before finals week.

We are reminded of last week’s elimination, which saw the end of the pink team. Next week, four teams will go head to head in finals week for $100,000.

The contestants head to the hangar and they are all hoping for a good score.

Opinion point: Who has set themselves up best for this event?

After the break, it is time for the penultimate check in. Joanna notices how the girls have glammed up for today; notably Ajay and Lana. They do look very nice.

Joanna levels the playing field- four of them will head into the final week and one of them will win the hundred grand.

We see the scoreboard; but I’ll update you on that later. The purple team are first up today with Ajay having to do most of the work this week due to Matt’s back injury.

The team discusses this week’s fallout where Matt unleashed on Ajay and forgot to congratulate her. Ajay wants an apology and Christian acknowledges that Ajay did carry the team this week despite the fact that Matt has carried the team in the past.

Matt says he did try to apologise, but Ajay didn’t want to talk to him at this time. He says he approached her before the scoreboard reveal but she says he didn’t. She says sorry is an easy word to say but Matt calls her cold.

Tim asks if they could be a fighting force in the final week and Ajay says they could if Matt apologises however it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.

Ajay’s BFP was 39.5%. It is now…37.8%, a change of -1.7%. Her WC was 84.5cm. It is now…84.5cm. Her FTS was 6.5. It is now…6.6; giving her a score of 8.3. To Matt now.

His BFP was 29.5%. It is now…28%, a change of -1.5%. His WC was 112cm. It is now…109cm, a change of -2.7%. His FTS was 5.3. it is now…5.3, giving him a score of 9.5. This gives them an overall score of 31.8.

The orange team are next. Lana’s BFP was 40.3%. It is now… 39.2%, a change of -1.1%. Her WC was 100.5cm. It is now…100.5cm, no change. She gets annoyed at the slow change. Her FTS was 5.9. It is now…6.7! This gives her a score of 7.8. She is reminded that her FTS was 3.1 in the Kimberley’s.

Dipper’s BFP was 21.8%, it is now…20.5%, a decrease by 1.5%. His waist is 0.9% smaller as well. His FTS was 7.8. It is now…8.1, the first time over eight. This gives him a score of 10.3. This brings their total score to 33.1, putting them in first position.

The yellow team are next to check in. Nathan has not been able to exercise all week with his illness.

Christine’s BFP was 29.6%. It is now…28.6%, a loss of 1%. Her WC was 89cm. It is now…87cm, a loss of 2.2%. Her FTS stays at 7.1, giving her a 10.3 score.

Nathan’s turn now. His BFP was 30%. It is now…30.8%, a change of 0.8%. His WC was 112.5cm. It is now…110cm, a change of -2.2%. Joanna explains that he has lost a lot of muscle, so he hasn’t actually put fat on, just lost muscle.

His FTS remains at 6.7, giving him 8.9 as a check in score. Their total score is therefore 27.2, putting them in third and saving Dipper & Lana who will now enter the final week.

Opinion point: Are you happy that Dipper & Lana are safe?

After the break, it is time for the red team to check in. We recap their week, which could affect their score negatively.

Darryn’s BFP was 26.2%. It is now…25.1%, a change of -1.1%. He loses 0.5% off of his waist, but remains at 8.0 for his FTS. This gives him 9.6 as a result.

Lisa’s BFP was 40.1%. It is now…39.7%, a change of -0.4%. Her waist is a centimetre smaller. Her FTS was 6.7. It is now…7.0, giving her a score of 8.3, one of her lower scores. She expected a little bit more.

Darryn is asked to say some lovely things to Lisa, and he compliments her attitude and beauty on the inside. He can’t believe they are now friends, compared to how they were at the Kimberley’s.

They get 27.9, putting them in third, meaning the purple team are safe and through to finals week. The yellow team have fallen into elimination. They will face either the blue or red team. The blue team must score 15 points in the check in.

Kevin’s BFP was 29.4%, and decreases by 0.6%. There is no change in his waist. He gets 8.1 for his FTS, equal to Dipper’s. He gets 8.7 for a score. Renae needs to score 6.3 to take her team up above elimination.

Opinion point: Blue or red; who deserves to face elimination more?

After the break, it is Renae’s time to shine. Her BFP was 39.8%. It is now…38.3%. Her WC was 97.5cm. It is now…91.5cm, a change of -6.2%! Her FTS was 7.7. It is now…7.7, giving her a score of 15.4!

That brings their total to 37.1, putting them on the top! This means that the red team will face elimination with the yellow team.

With this, Nathan drops a bombshell. He can’t plead a case to say when Lisa has put in effort. I think that’s what he’s said to Christine. The judges talk to the two teams directly before asking for their final pleas.

Lisa is clever; asking the judges to give her a reason why she shouldn’t be there- they can’t.

Nathan tells the judges that he can’t ask them to keep him there over Darryn & Lisa.

He’s sorry to Christine, but thinks the red team deserves to stay. Christine thinks she can’t say anything to help her stay if Nathan thinks this, and it is actually quite an emotional scene. Maybe a bit too emotional- I’m hearing Bold & The Beautiful. But who will go?

Joanna tells Nathan that he shouldn’t see others as being better than him, and start celebrating his own achievements before the judges send the contestants off as they deliberate. Pros and cons for both teams are discussed.

Opinion point: Who deserves to stay more?

The contestants head back into the room for the verdict.

Christian wishes for the red team to stay.

Joanna decides to keep the red team also. No chit chat, the yellow team have been eliminated. Christine feels disappointed, but not disappointed at the same time. Nathan thanks Christine for her support and we see a recap of their time on the show. Christine really did push, didn’t she!

With that, Kate officially says goodbye to them and they hug their fellow team members’ goodbye before leaving the hangar.

With that, Kate congratulates them on making the final four, and this time next week, one of them will have won.

Kate tells them that the final week will be staged in the city where four seasons fall in one day- Melbourne!

With that, the episode ends. And it was a good finish to the week; especially after last night’s episode! Tonight saw a lot of emotion and a much easier to follow check in process- however it was still sped up in places, which wasn’t needed at all.

Kate featured quite heavily in this episode, which is really needed; but in terms of event, it doesn’t feel as if we’re heading into a finale week- must be the downfall of finishing early.

Excess Baggage next airs Mar 26 at 6.30PM on GO!

Production Values (visual and audio techniques, overall ‘bling’ of the show):4.7/5

‘Sell-out’ factor (Cross-promotion and product placement free?): 1.9/2

Entertainment Value (emotional feel, storyline, eventful?): 2.3/3

Courtney’s Verdict: 8.9/10