Excess Baggage

Previous episode: Excess Baggage Season One – Breakthrough Experience #7

A place of much action; the endurance challenge field never disappoints. It’s probably the best time for the contestants to try to lose those extra few centimetres off their waist ahead of tomorrow’s check in. Should be a good episode!

Kate tells us that today; this endurance challenge will take place on a slippery hill. The contestant’s rock up and it seems Nathan is still sick, so Christine has to pull her weight twofold!

Kate is waiting for them with Christian and they tell them that today will test their skill and speed. They can’t win without both of them. Christian tells them they must pick the fastest and strongest in the team. One person will be the runner, and one will be the thrower.

The runner needs to make their way through an uphill mud course, collect one horseshoe at a time and take it back to the thrower. The thrower then must throw their horseshoe into one of three sandpits. Depending on what sandpit they land their shoe in, they could win 1-3 points. If they don’t get the shoe into the boxes at all, they win no points. After 15 minutes, the team with the least amount of points will be eliminated.

The last team standing will be the winners and will get 8 points. The rest of them will get a cascading number of points depending on their place. Who will be the best tosser today? Darryn hopes he will be!

Christine will have to do both jobs, so she has a hard day’s work ahead of her. Matt wonders if Ajay can man up for the purple team this week. Their horn sounds and the contestants are off.

Ajay has a rough start whereas Dipper easily makes it first. Kevin, Lisa and Christine follow. Dipper is back first and Lana throws. She misses. Lisa is on her way down and she slips. Slightly funny. Christine and Renae both score 1 point. Kevin is next and also grabs 1.

Darryn throws and scores 1 point for his team. Dipper grabs another horseshoe and scores 2 points, putting her on the board. Renae throws again and grabs three points- sending them to four. Christine throws a dud, and remains on one point.

Matt gets a point, as does Darryn, taking them to two points. Renae takes it to five and Lana also gets 3 points for the orange team. There are points coming off left right and centre.

Kevin is having a break with his team in the lead with 8 points. May be a good strategy. The girls are also slowing down.

Five minutes remain and Lisa collapses on the ground.

Opinion point: What do you think of this challenge? Is it challenging enough?

People rush over to aid Lisa who is dizzy. Christian calls hold time as Lisa recovers. Darryn thinks she doesn’t know where she is, but she has a rough idea. She is later taken to the dock. Kevin is also getting medical attention.

While we wait, Christian reads out the scores:

KEVIN & RENAE/ DIPPER & LANA: 10

MATT & AJAY: 8

DARRYN & LISA: 6

CHRISTINE: 4

Christian tells them that Lisa has been ruled out, as has Kevin. As Darryn has a pre-existing injury, he can’t run, so the red team are out. It is up to Renae to complete the challenge on her own. Out of the blue, Matt wonders if a team should be ruled out if they started with two players. I don’t see his point though. The yellow team has only one player (Christine), having one player is a massive disadvantage and he’s already gotten an advantage with the red team being ruled out.

So where THAT came from is a complete mystery. Staged to make the show seem more controversial? Hmm, possibly. Renae is still shocked and Darryn puts him in his place. God only knows where it came from. Lana, who didn’t like Matt’s comment, schemes with Renae.

So before, Christian said that the red team are still in the game ‘as long as someone throws horseshoes into their sandpit’. I didn’t even bother mentioning this, because I wondered why anyone would do that and thought I heard wrong. Usually, the team would be out and no one would even think of suggesting such a stupid idea as to say that if other teams help them out, they are still in.

Now, in the first time in the HISTORY of reality television shows, it seems as if winning teams will now be helping out teams…that have been ruled out! Lana and Renae want to keep the unmanned red team in the competition to kill off the purple team!

This is all so very sketchy. As I write this, I wonder how this has all come together. If reds are out, WHY can they be helped out? It’s too convenient a way for everyone else to get rid of Matt, who has come out with comments that were out of the blue and unexplained on-camera.

This whole thing reeks of stagedness. I realise the red team are still in this round as effectively, they were competing for the most part, but at the point of Lisa’s collapse, they should have been out. How can a team be eliminated over a team who has been ruled out?!

What’s worse is that other team members, like the competitive Dipper, just happens to be happy about this!

The game resumes. Matt can see what’s happening and he isn’t happy. After time is up, Christine is told that she is out.

Round two begins. Their points aren’t wiped surprisingly enough, a good excuse to keep the red team ‘in’ this race. It is so bizarre. Ajay catches on. There is an alliance between orange, blue and red. Matt yells support out for Ajay, putting Lana off…or does it?! She brings her team to 20 points. The red team are in danger.

After the end of round two, the red team are ‘out’. Matt is so happy about this!

Opinion point: Should the red team have been able to keep competing with NO players?

It’s now the second to last round and it is purple v orange v blue! Tension is building up. Lana and Matt are still at each other’s neck. We are given a recap of the last round which aired…10 minutes ago! Useless.

Lana is smashing this, taking her team to 28 points. She keeps getting those three-pointers.

Matt is in last place, but he can stay in this with a 3-point shot. He scores it and bumps Renae in third. But Matt is getting angry and his throws are sloppy, keeping him in danger of being eliminated.

Matt keeps riling up Lana and soon enough he turns against everyone- even Ajay, who is politely asking him to calm down. He tells the ‘woman’ to shut up. I know Matt isn’t the most well received contestant, but why the hell are the producers turning him into a massive villain in the space of one episode?

It looks cheesy and undone. Not enough storytelling going on here- it’s all hot air!

In the end of the round, Lana scores Renae a round winning point, sending Matt off his nut and leading to Ajay breaking down. Matt is annoyed that after helping the other teams in the cow-milking challenge, they are turning against the ‘leading’ team now.

Opinion point: Do you agree with Matt’s logic tonight?

After the break, it is time for the final round. Renae is far behind, but is still challenging with a smile. Instead of the main competition, Christian adds in the challenge to Dipper to reach 50 points. If he does, Christian will do 150 push ups. Hilarious. Even Renae helps out and soon, they make it to 50!

The producers try desperately to get some shots of Kate into the episode, but it is as if she is standing 50km away from them all!

At the end of the challenge, which orange won, Kate debriefs with the contestants of the bet Christian made before getting Christian to do the push ups. He makes it to 150 despite Kate telling him he can stop at 100 if he wants to.

So, after the challenge, let’s see the scoreboard.

DIPPER & LANA: 15

AJAY & MATT: 14

KEVIN & RENAE: 13

DARRYN & LISA: 10

CHRISTINE & NATHAN: 8

Kate debriefs on this and brings up Matt’s troubles near the end. Kate asks if he has congratulated his teammate Ajay. He does, but Ajay implies that it was a bit too late. But she is now awaiting an apology.

Christine is crying and she says it is because her partner has not been well enough to compete.

Opinion point: Does Matt show enough support for Ajay?

After the break, it is time for Joanna’s nutrition session. Today, is myth busting! The first one is that they should drink 8 glasses of water per day. They all think it is a true fact, however Joanna says it a myth, saying it depends on how much they need. She pulls out some beakers of dyed water to represent different urine concentrations. Although, I hope it’s dyed water…

‘Meat takes two weeks to digest’- untrue!

‘Can Dairy’s make you fat?’- No, studies are showing that a small amount can help you lose weight.

‘Carbs turn to fat overnight’- no!

With that, it is time for family dinner time! Joanna has to speak at a conference like a true professional, so she won’t be in attendance.

After the break is family dinner time, and the contestants talk about their chances in tomorrow’s check in. Darryn is as confident as ever but Matt just does not know.

Lisa says she will continue to lose weight after the show in case she meets up with Darryn again. Christine thanks the girls for sticking by her when Nathan has been slacking off or being down with illness.

The second part of the evening then comes into play and a string fiddle band comes in. We can see it is quite wet outside. Kate sings a corny song about the red team. This is accompanied by a flashback. She does this with the purple team as well.

She then goes through the other teams with a bit of humour in some cases. She is a bit blue through Christine’s verse, but gets her to sing the chorus with her.

That ends an episode which has really disappointed me. That endurance challenge was a big farce- and there were some elements, such as the allowance of red to continue, that just shouldn’t have been included, or whose inclusion was not properly explained. The inclusion of Matt’s all-of-a-sudden tantrum was another aspect not properly dealt with.

Also, Kate’s lack of involvement in this episode wasn’t the problem tonight, but it was how they involved her. A few corny camera shots to show her reaction to a certain event in the challenge was not enough.

I will kudos that ending. It was quite a creative way to reflect on the series so far as we head into the final week.

Excess Baggage next airs Mar 22 at 6.30PM on GO!

Production Values (visual and audio techniques, overall ‘bling’ of the show):3/5

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

Entertainment Value (emotional feel, storyline, eventful?): 1/3

Courtney’s Verdict: 6.0/10

 

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

Breakthrough Experiences. They’ve taken us down the side of dams; they’ve led us into caves; they’ve sent us flying on a trapeze. But would they dare throw contestants out of planes? You betta believe it! Tonight; two teams are going skydiving- could this be the first time someone backs out?!

It’s a new day in the Southern Highlands, and Kate gives us a preview of the tandem skydive. She then heads into the contestant’s accommodation to tell them who will be competing. They are all discussing who could be picked. Kevin wants to conquer this fear.

Kate comes in and tells them that the contestants heading for the skydive will be…Kevin, Ajay, Christine and…Lisa. Yep, all individuals! As soon as she finds out, Lisa is very emotional; however she says she will be taking the opportunity. She can’t contain herself though.

She explains to Kate that she is scared of going up and then coming down in the way she will be made to. They look back at her unique journey in the competition and Darryn talks about how incredible this will be for Lisa.

Kate points out Christine as a good mentor for her. Christine thinks Lisa will definitely benefit from this experience. With that, they head off for their experience at the local airfield. Tim is there waiting for them and after a quick explanation, Kate tells them that they can back out.

While they are looking at some other people going down, they notice one man stack it and fall on his face. This causes Christine to wonder if someone would back out.

Opinion point: Is this the toughest breakthrough challenge featured on the show?

After the break, it’s time to find out if the contestants are still keen on jumping. Tim gives them a minute to discuss whether they want to do it. Ajay talks to Tim about it, saying she has conquered her fears in the aerobatics breakthrough challenge. Meanwhile, Christine tells Lisa and Kevin that she will be doing it.

Lisa is smiling as she says she will jump for her son and to get rid of her fears. Kevin is thinking about all he’s been through already and he doesn’t sound too keen on doing it.

Meanwhile, the other contestants are back at Gibraltar house where Christian tells them that the rest of them will be working out. With Dipper and Matt injured, they will be training in the pool. Speaking of water- here comes the rain…and hail!

Who cares? They are still training. The thunder begins and the rain and wind picks up- so they head into the smaller pool undercover. The training session continues. So basically, I’m sitting here thinking ‘oh, it’s raining and hailing and blowing a cyclone there- I wonder if the weather is any better at the skydiving site?’

No, no it isn’t. And the contestants are quite happy to be training in a spa than skydiving in this weather. They all think the contestants will be too scared. Dipper tells Christian that he will give him 100 push ups if Kevin doesn’t back out. Christian thinks Dipper will be doing those 100.

Meanwhile, Nathan is still not at training. Well, turns out, he’s sick from his stint at Kangaroo Island! He’s not too happy at being bedridden- and one week from finale (God, that time already?!), I don’t blame him.

Meanwhile, back at the skydiving session, Kevin backs out- opting to give Renae the opportunity to jump. The look on Christian’s face is priceless. He tries to get Kevin to do it to avoid the 100 push ups. Please, a guy like this could easily smash out a hundred push ups!

Ajay also opts out, but no one will be available to replace her. So to ensure someone has a partner, Tim will be going up!

Opinion point: Are you surprised that Kevin and Ajay backed out?

After the break, the storm clouds roll in as Christine, Lisa and Tim are practicing their skydive. Renae then rocks up as Tim’s partner. Tim is excited as this is something he has wanted to do for years. With that, they go get ready.

Back at the house, Christian begins his push ups. Christian thought Kevin was pumped, so he was surprised that he pulled out.

Meanwhile, the moment has arrived to Renae and Tim to go up. Lisa thinks Tim is a bit pasty; so Lisa gives him some support.

They go up, and it’s so funny to see Renae so excited. That must be quite a thrilling experience. It isn’t long before they are thrown out of the plane and into the storm! Everything is quiet, and serene music plays as they head down. She says it feels good, and is so happy to have done it.

Renae gets to the bottom, signalling Tim’s turn to fly. He says that sitting at the edge of the plane was the most terrifying moments of his life. He jumps, and it isn’t long before he too makes it to the bottom!

Tim is definitely looking pasty now! Lisa, who wondered if his hair was real or not, has finally found out that it is.

With that, it’s Lisa and Christine’s turn.

Opinion point: Who would you like to see thrown out of that plane?

After the break, Lisa and Christine are still preparing to go up. The storm clouds have passed. Lisa looks so white and Christine can’t look at her in fear of getting more anxious. She says it isn’t normal what she is feeling.

Tim says she is handling this a lot better than she did a few months ago. They go up and every minute they are up, they are getting more and more nervous. Lisa begins to lose it, and is panicking so much. The door opens and she is basically pushed to the edge. She cannot shut up, haha.

As she is thrown off, heartbeats play and the music intensifies. This must be a rush of a lifetime. She just wants to get down.

It is now Christine’s journey. She surrenders to it and the serene music is back as she begins to get addicted to the stuff she thought she’d be afraid of. She has a nice big smile over her face.

We look back at some of the other times she has been pushed out of her comfort zone. Even Lisa doesn’t think it was as bad as she thought. Lisa finally hits terra firma and she embraces Christine with giggles.

Opinion point: Are you proud of Lisa and Christine?

After the break, the contestants have a debrief where the skydivers talk about their experiences. Christine says it is better than sex. It is now time for Dr. Tim’s session. They head to a place called Wombat Hollow and there, there are photos of their old selves.

He asks what thoughts cross their mind when looking at them and Renae says it is good to see just how far she has come. Lisa didn’t realise how big she looked. Kevin never wants to go back to that again.

They then talk about their addictions and why they are addicted to them. Smoking is the main addiction, but Lisa tells them about her sweet addiction for lollies. Tim gives them some motivation to cut their addiction.

To the screen, and the loved ones of the contestants tell them how much they want them to cut their addictions out. Darryn’s girlfriend is first and wants him to cut out the smoking and details how she knows that this is affecting him.

He says it eats him up as he has tried almost everything.

Opinion point: Should contestants STILL be smoking at this stage of the competition?

After the break, Darryn is still emotional about his smoking. This may be his last hurdle, as suggested by Tim. He wonders how he may be able to bring other factors in that have given him success in other parts of his life.

Kevin’s girlfriend (wife?) is next and wants him to also give up smoking. She gets very emotional in asking him this. Kevin thought the video was horrible, but knows there are things he needs to do.

They have one final one for Lisa and she breaks down straight away. It’s her sister and she tells her that they are proud of her success, but didn’t know about her food addiction. Her daughter then comes on screen to give her support.

Tim recaps her video by saying that she must be ‘doing this’ for herself, but she needs to know that people will also benefit from her improvements.

The episode ends there- and it was another emotional one. There was a lot of intensity and the production was quite good in comparison to other episodes. In relation to the storyline side of things; as much as treating addictions may be important for some contestants right now; it isn’t for all of them, as we saw from the lack of video messages shown.

To make Tim’s sessions more important, they should have maybe focusses on some other element that affects all contestants at this point in time.

Excess Baggage next airs Mar 21 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?): 2.7/3

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.5/10

Dexter, 9.30pm, ELEVEN
Dexter and Lumen are distracted from their mission by an unexpected visitor. Deb, freshly reassigned to the file room, digs up new evidence on the Barrel Girls case.

Four Corners – Egypt: Children Of The Revolution:, 11.40pm, ABC1
In case you missed it – this is must see TV – Whatever happened to Egypt’s revolution? They wanted freedom, they overthrew a despot, but now the country is mired in conflict with the army calling the shots.

Smash, 7.30pm, W
Karen finds a new use for her acting talents as she joins Dev at a high-powered government party. The drama between Michael and Julia heats up, as Eileen and Tom’s ambitious assistant forge an alliance.

Australian Swimming Championships – Day 6: Semifinals & Finals (Live), 8pm, TEN
As the Australian Championships gets more exciting, born-again butterflyer Geoff Huegill takes a further step towards Olympic selection tonight, looking to secure a place in the 100m butterfly final.

What Not To Watch -

Excess Baggage, 6.30pm, GO!
Individuals, not teams are picked for the chance to jump out of a plane at 14,000 feet, in a tandem free-fall. But as always, the contestants can choose not to do it.

Previous episode: Excess Baggage Season One – Check In #7 & Elimination #3

With the team reeling from the elimination of Kate & Sarah; there’s no better time for them to move on to bigger and better things…in the Southern Highlands. The five remaining teams will battle it out in this picturesque region for the next week, and a grueling Spirit Challenge is, as always, on the cards to get the ball rolling.

The sun rises over the region, and we can already smell the hint of country life that will bestow the next week. The contestants are rolling through the countryside in their cars, gawking at all the sites. They reach Mayberry Farm (Berryderry Farm in Lisa’s book) and they know they’re about to be milking cows.

Christian is on hand to welcome them to the country. Ajay has grown up on the farm, but that was 26 years ago. This could be her lucky week. Christian explains that they have to milk 5L of juice out of cows and deliver the milk to four different stations will win.

They won’t know how much 5L is; just told that 5L is $25. This challenge is special as it involves something unique- it is a girls only challenge! Nathan is good at maths, but he’s not a girl. Lisa is bad at maths, but she IS a girl!

Renae is scared of the cows and how most of them are defecating and urinating all over the place. Christine gets a shitty-pissy tail whipped in the face. Lisa has no idea how to milk a cow, and Darryn assumes it’s like breastfeeding.

Some teams practice how to do it, which looks really weird. Anyway, the first part of the challenge- milking- begins. The good news is, points are on offer for everyone- so I assume the winner will get 8, second place will get 7, third place will get 6, fourth place will get 5 and fifth place will get 4.

Lana is having little success, with the cow kicking her cup over. Ajay tries calming the cow down and when she milks it, it all comes out! Lana and Christine are not coping well, but despite Darryn’s advice, Lisa is doing really well.

Christian comes over to Ajay and notes her very effective calming strategy. Soon enough, all girls are successfully milking. Renae however, is an exception. With the cow constantly kicking her, she is getting extremely scared and frustrated. She walks away in tears after one powerful swoop.

Opinion point: Can you possibly have a game-winning strategy in a challenge like this? If so, who has it?

After the break, we return to Renae’s problem.  Christian comes over and helps her calm the cow does. He continues to kick, but Christian tries to remind her that it is normal.

Ajay gets her 5L first (so they do know) and heads to the first of four stations. Oh, I see, it as a question, asking them to leave a certain dollar-worth of milk. That’s where the maths comes in. Christine is on the move in second place. Meanwhile, Ajay easily works out how much milk she has to leave at station one.

As Christine heads to station one, Ajay moves on to station 2. Can Christine have the same success? Well, she sucks at it, so this won’t be her forte.

Meanwhile, Lana gets the all clear, and heads off in third position. She has to take off in a hurry with Lisa not far behind. As Darryn says, Lisa can’t add, subtract or divide, so this will be the hardest part for her. Ajay is now at station two and answers the question, hoping she is correct.

Lana heads to station one and Christine panics as she is good at maths. Lisa gets their fourth and is panicking at the equation. In fifth place, Renae finally heads off to station 1.

Lana wonders whether she should help Lisa, but finds out that despite her knowledge in maths, she finds it hard to work it out herself. She finds a strategy, and shares it with the others bizarrely enough. Hopefully it’s right! With that, Lana is off. It sounds as if the formula is wrong.

Ajay is at station 3 and powers through to head off to station 4. Meanwhile, the other four are at station 2, struggling at the next equation. Ajay heads off to her last station with Matt standing by with the other contestants to cheer her along. Christian is there and tells her that her three previous equations and deliveries have been correct.

She then shows Christian how she quickly works out each equation before finishing in first place! She is rewarded eight points and Lana is next to reach the final station. There, Christian tells her that her previous formulas for ALL THREE stations are wrong. That means everyone’s formula for station 1 at least is wrong.

Opinion point: Should Lana have discloses her formula to the other contestants?

After the break, Lana heads back to her first station to rectify her mistake. Renae is next at the finish and also finds out that none of her equations have been correct. Even Christine and Lisa are COMPLETELY incorrect. Darryn wants no chit chat; she has to go back immediately.

Christine breaks from the mould and starts to rectify her mistakes from station 3. Lana feels she would work better if she had a partner, and she and Renae work out the equation together. When they are done, they share their answer with Lisa. Because Christine is working backwards, she is not privy to this information.

They also help each other for station two and three. They come up with a strategy to stick together with Lana, Lisa and Renae checking in first, second and third respectively at the end. Lisa trips over and empties her milk everywhere. In exchange for finishing ahead of Lisa in the trio, Renae gives her some of her milk.

At the top, Lana, Lisa and Renae find out that they are still wrong for stations 1 and 3. Ajay gives them a hint before they head down and try to help Christine, who opts to do this on her own. Heck, she may even come second.

Christine comes up to station four to find out that she has again got all of them wrong. Ajay then gives Christine her formula to help her out. Nathan is getting annoyed as he isn’t allowed to help as this is a teamwork show. Christian thinks it is a bit late after his lack of teamwork skills last week. Cue flash back.

Opinion point: Is it wrong for people to criticise Nathan for his show of teamwork because of his performance last week?

Christian goes down to check up on Christine but Nathan is still not happy.

The trio of girls go back up and Lana is told that she still has station 1 wrong. The other girls have the three equations right and Lana wonders whether they will break their line of winning. As the better mathematician, Lana was given the right to finish first out of the three- but this changes things!

Darryn wants Lisa to break ranks, adding to the pressure.

After the break, Renae reveals that she will not break ranks; however it seems as if Lisa is. Renae comes back up and we see that Lisa has in fact waited for Lana. Lana is then told that she got station 1 done and she patiently solves the last puzzle to claim second place.

Renae gets third place with Lisa scoring fourth place. It was a test of the friendship, and they all passed. Well, for now.

Christine is last but completes the challenge. With that, Christian debriefs on the challenge and we then look at the scoreboard, which looks like this;

AJAY & MATT: 8

DIPPER & LANA: 7

KEVIN & RENAE: 6

DARRYN & LISA: 5

CHRISTINE & NATHAN: 4

Nathan is not happy as this is not the best start to the week. With that, Christian lets the girls have a break by showing them their new accommodation- Gibraltar House. But, he will be there later for a gruelling training session.

With that, they head off to enjoy.

Opinion points: Who would have won if the boys were to compete in this challenge?

After the break, it’s time for the training session and for some reason, Nathan doesn’t turn up after his teammate competed for the yellow team in the challenge! Christian then invites someone back to join them for this training session- a much thinner John! He’s looking very well.

The teams reunite with their former teammate. He is there to give them encouragement for the training session. It will be a competition of sorts with no points, but a trophy on offer- one for the winning girl and one for the winning man. The fittest of the sexes will win the trophy.

Christine wins a tyre flip race while Dipper, who is competing only against Kevin (Matt & Darryn are sick with Nathan not there), wins for the men. Kevin is not intimidated by this.

The second challenge is a medicine ball challenge where the contestants to lift a medicine ball above their heads the most times in a minute will win. The female winner is Lana. The men have to throw a bag of rice three times. Dipper wins this competition.

There is also a wheelbarrow race in it for the girls which Christine wins. John then carries Darryn in a wheelbarrow and he comments on how thin they all look.

Opinion point: Was it good to see John again?

After the break, we find out that the winner of the strong man competition is Dipper. The winner of the strong woman competition is Christine! Again, pulling it for the yellow team. She is proud of this boost to her confidence.

Christine feels enriched by her experiences. With that, the contestants are told about tomorrow’s breakthrough experience. It will be one exciting day. Christian tells them that this week’s breakthrough is skydiving. Lisa becomes emotional over this. She hopes it won’t be her, but it is obvious she will be one of the two teams.

Christine reveals that a bit of pee came out at that point. Too much information?

We won’t find out who will partake in the breakthrough experience until tomorrow.

So a pretty good episode. Other than the standard run-of-the-mill production gaffs this show entails, and maybe the non-event feeling of an episode with no real point of difference, I did enjoy the challenge, as it provided us with some entertaining scenes.

The episode was well balanced and the training session was also a good addition, with John’s return a very pleasant experience. I really think they should do this with more contestants as unlike The Biggest Loser, this show doesn’t really show us what is happening to contestants on the outside.

Excess Baggage next airs Mar 20 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?): 2.9/3

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.5/10

 

As we hurtle towards Easter, contestant numbers in currently airing reality television shows are dwindling but action is at an all-time high! Let’s debrief on some of this now, and preview the week to come.

The Biggest Loser is first today, and in one of the biggest weeks of the year, the contestants were split up. Teams are no more; they are all now flying solo. That however didn’t happen until after Selena begged to be eliminated from the competition.

The contestants were then forced to run 400m laps carrying all the weight they’ve lost in the competition so far in weight vests. It was a race that Lisa eventually won, sending her on the walk. There, she picked the mystery twist, which gave her the opportunity to chain two contestants up for an entire week.

Faced with multiple choices, she chose Alex and Graham to do the deed. Alex was never fine with the idea, but when Graham came back from an emotional training session in his hometown of Carcoar, Alex gave up, and quit the dare, giving him a 2kg weight disadvantage at the next weigh in.

Temptation time drew and after a controversial spout with Simon and after consuming a few plates of sushi, Margie managed to take out immunity with other contestants earning prizes along the way.

To end the week, contestants were made to endure a massive 42km marathon without going anywhere. 21km on spin bikes, 10km on trainers, 6km on rowers and 5km on treadmills. It was a tough ask, and sent Simon, Graham and Michelle all crashing to the floor with Simon having to be dragged out on a stretcher!

Margie, who was initially fed up of the competition to begin with, has currently progressed to the final round with friend Lydia, and they are currently battling it out for results that will be revealed on Monday.

To a show with a more finite ending to the week, and Excess Baggage headed to Kangaroo Island! They were all forced to carry bags and bags of survival items up a gruelling hill hike in a massive spirit challenge. Here, despite all odds, Lisa won the challenge, proving to a sick Darryn, that she can prove her worth in the competition.

It was in this challenge that cracks formed in the yellow team, but more on that later. On Tuesday, it was the breakthrough challenge, where the yellow and blue teams faced their claustrophobic fears, and went caving! Even Christian was fearful of this, but they all seemed to enjoy it in the end.

The endurance challenge followed on Wednesday, and it was all kinds of rough! Contestants had to take it in turns to scour sand dunes for pieces of an equation that equalled 100. While most teams did OK at the challenge (the purple team won this), all hell broke loose when Nathan gave Kate DeAraugo some challenge-winning advice about the equation.

A simple mistake, it caught the furore of Darryn and the disgust of Christine. The backlash took its toll on Nathan, who absolutely lost it. The episode led to a depletion in apathy for the competition, which Christine slowly gave back to him through tough love.

In the check in, the yellow team were able to avoid elimination; but the blue and pink teams were not. After a somewhat unanimous vote, the pink team of Sarah and Kate DeAraugo were sent packing.

My Kitchen Rules was the other show on this week. To summarise briefly, the now-five day a week show spent most of its time in the tropics. After several challenges, Thomas & Carla found themselves up against Megan & Andy in a heated elimination which saw the villains (Thomas & Carla) sent home.

The contestants then headed back to kitchen HQ where they were made to cook a banquet for friends and family. It was decided that Steve & Helen had the least impressive spread, but after winning the people’s choice vote (as decided by the other contestants), the ‘prize’ of place-in-elimination went to Simon and Meg.

Unlucky for the NSW team however; they were placed up for elimination in the next challenge.

So what does all this mean in the next week?

Well, The Biggest Loser has had a massive week of pushing endurance, culminating in that excruciating challenge. This can only mean a huge weigh in with large number drops right? Well, from what promos show, it seems Graham’s loss for sure will be appreciated by himself, but not by the Commando. Hmm, mixed messages…

Also, Excess Baggage heads to the Southern Highlands with only five teams! Only two weeks of this show remains, which has to be a final flight to the finish in terms of pushing these contestants to their absolute limit to melt that fat right off of their bones. Something about the name ‘Southern Highlands’ screams pain.

My Kitchen Rules is also set to rumble with four eliminations guaranteed for the next week in preparation for the final weeks. Who will survive? Who will fall? We’ll just have to wait and see.

So that’s the week that’s been; to keep up to date, just keep it here!

 

THE LIBRARY

Sunday

My Kitchen Rules. Season Three – Episode Twenty Five: The Teams Go To Ingham’s Maraka Festival

Monday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – Weigh In & Elimination #6

Excess Baggage Season One – Kangaroo Island Week Begins (Spirit Challenge #7)

My Kitchen Rules. Season Three – Episode Twenty Six: Camping Cook Off

Tuesday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – The Contestants Split Up (Contest #5)

Excess Baggage Season One – Breakthrough Experience #6

My Kitchen Rules. Season Three – Episode Twenty Seven: The Moreton Bay Bug Challenge!

Wednesday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – The Walk #5 & Temptation #8

Excess Baggage Season One – Endurance Challenge #7

My Kitchen Rules. Season Three – Episode Twenty Eight: The VIP Challenge

Thursday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – Challenge #8

Excess Baggage Season One – Check In #7 & Elimination #3

My Kitchen Rules. Season Three – Episode Twenty Nine: The Death by Chocolate Showdown

Friday

The Biggest Loser Australia: Singles Season Seven – Friday Night #5

 

Previous episode: Excess Baggage Season One – Endurance Challenge #7

Since eliminations kicked in on this show, things have gotten better. Take this week for example; we’ve seen harder challenges, and more pressure; leading to record-breaking bust ups. But tonight; all that effort goes into the check in. One HAS to go; but who will it be? And who will improve the most?

We begin the episode by recapping the season that has been. Only two weeks remain before the finale.

The contestants meet Christian for the Kangaroo Island-fitness test. He knows it has been a big week but reminds them how crucial the fitness test is to their final result. We recap the close scores for this week. With that, we begin the fitness session.

During the session, we recap Nathan’s difficult week. We see how Nathan gives his all in the session and how he really doesn’t want to go home. How convenient to say that JUST before elimination. Gameplay I tellsya.

Christian admits that this was the most intense fitness session he has conducted this year. Ajay manages to beat her run time by over a minute. Renae manages stage seven in the abs test, which is an achievement for her and the blue team. Kevin thinks the rest of them are looking in the rear view mirror for them.

The bridge test is next and they have to remain in the bridge position for 2 minutes. Despite much commotion, Nathan, and the rest of the group, made the two minute mark. Christine cries about it in a cutaway and Christian is so happy for him.

Opinion point: How important is it for a contestant to succeed at a fitness test?

After the break, the contestants head to the hangar, where Kate waits for them on the tarmac. It’s the third elimination and only five teams will remain at the end of today. She tells them that someone is waiting inside for them.

Andrew Garlic will be on hand today, and he has brought a few people along to ‘shock’ the contestants. He tells them that week in week out they’ve done the bod pod. Darryn then seems to advertise the use of a bod pod.

So, to help celebrate the weeks of success, they want to introduce them to two people- cardboard cut-outs of Sarah and Dipper. Umm…what a bit of a coincidence! I think The Biggest Loser beat them to it. Andrew reveals that Dipper has lost over 18kg, with Sarah losing 17kg.

He then brings out a rack of clothes- those of the contestants when they were more overweight. They are falling off of the contestants. Lisa has lost the most waist circumference- 30.5cm off her waist. It’s a happy and positive visual experience, but it is now time for the hard stuff!

We are reminded by the scoreboard, which has that three way tie for first place. Tim announces the orange team to go first and it is kind of muffled by claps.

Dipper’s BFP was 22.7%. It is now…21.8%.  He is now under the 22% average. His WC was 109cm. It is now…105.5cm! Dipper is over the moon. His FTS has gone to 7.8! His check in score is 11.9! Now for Lana.

Her BFP has dropped by 0.8% and 3.5cm off of her waist to 100.5cm. Her FTS was 5.7. It is now…5.9. Her check in score is 10.1. Their combined score is 35.0.

Opinion point: What did you think of the visual session?

After the break, it is the purple’s team to check in. Matt’s BFP was 30.6%. It is now…29.5%. His WC has dropped by 2.2%. His FTS was 5.2. It is now…5.3. His score is now 8.6. Ajay’s BFP was 40.2%. It is now…39.5%. Her WC was 86.5cm. It is now 84.5cm. Her FTS is 5.2. It is now…6.5! That is massive!

Her check in score is 9.5; and their combined score is 31.1, and puts them in second place.

Next up are Kate & Sarah. They discuss their problems and their improvements. Sarah’s BFP was 38.8%. It is now…37.2%. Her WC drops from 90.5cm to 88.5cm. Her FTS was 5.7. It is now…6.2! A good job. Her score is now 10.0. She has never gone below double digits.

Kate’s turn now, and she hasn’t done well for the past two check ins. Her BFP was 36.8%. It is now…36.2%. her WC was 94.5cm. It is now…94.5cm. Her FTS was 6.9. It is now…7.3. Her score is now 7.9 and brings their final score to 25.9 and into third place, giving Dipper & Lana a safe pass to the next week. They are both worried and Kate is trying not to take the blame.

Opinion point: Are you surprised by any of the results so far?

After the break, it’s time for the reds. Darryn’s BFP was 27.9%. It is now…26.2%. His WC remains the same at 93cm. His FTS now gets to 8, giving him a 9.7! Now it’s time for unbeatable Lisa. Can she keep her run going?

Her BFP was 41.4%. It is now…40.1%. Her WC was 112.0cm. It is now…106.0cm. Her FTS was 6.2. It is now…6.7. Her check in score is now 13.4 and an overall team score of 35.1 and puts them into a safe first position! Go Lisa!

The blue team are next to check in. They’ve had quite a good week this week.

Kevin’s BFP was 30.2%. It is now…29.4%. His WC has dropped by 0.5% and his FTS has gone to 8 from 7.6. This gives him a score of 9.3.

Renae’s BFP was 40.7%. It is now…39.8%. Her WC was 97.5cm. It is now…97.5cm. Her FTS was 6.4. It is now…7.7! Huge! This gives her a score of 8.6. The blue team’s overall score is 40.9, putting them fourth and saving team purple. Team pink are now in the bottom two.

The yellow team are left to check in. They are on seven points; so they need a combined 24 points or more to stay out of elimination. They need a miracle.

Opinion point: Do you think Kate & Sarah deserve a bottom two position?

The yellow team finally check in after the ads. Nathan’s BFP was 31.8%. It is now…30.0%. His WC was 117cm. It is now…112.5cm. His FTS was 5.5. It is now…6.7. This gives him a score of 12.3. That is amazing. The team embraces and the judges remind him how good that is.

Christine’s BFP was 30.7%. It is now…29.6%. Her WC was 94cm. It is now…89cm, a change of 5.3%. Her FTS goes to 7.1; giving her a score of 13.5- they’ve done it!

This gives them a score of 32.8, putting them into third position.

This leaves the pink and blue teams in the bottom two. It is time for the contestants to plea to stay. The girl’s heartfeltedly plea to stay and Sarah talks about how far she has come. Kate says she has a long way to go despite her changes.

Kevin & Renae have learnt so much but Kevin wants to win this thing for Renae. Renae says she has learnt that she is important and that people need her.

The judges then discuss who is the best to send home.

Opinion point: Which team should be sent home?

After the break, it is time for the verdict. Let’s get to it:

Joanna chooses to keep the blue team.

Tim decides to keep the blue team.

Christian doesn’t have to reveal his vote- Kate & Sarah will be sent home. I can’t help but feel as if this has anything to do with Kevin’s presence in the blue team. Still, with the show now on GO! it may be cheaper to send him home now.

The judges give them some inspiration and positive points before the two girls walk out the door.

We see their best bits before Kate congratulates the blue team before Darryn and Lisa are pronounced as this week’s winner.

So, where are they going now? The scoreboard is reset to zero before Kate says they are moving to the Southern Highlands!

With that, the episode comes to a close.

A pretty good episode in my books. Again, that check in routine is still just a little annoying to keep up with, but I did enjoy it more this week than last. At times, like when they entered the hangar ‘wondering who was inside’, things seemed a little scripted due to a lack of enthusiasm.

This show also loves its recaps, which gets a bit repetitive, but other than that, awesome night tonight!

Excess Baggage next airs Mar 19 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?): 2.9/3

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.7/10

Previous episode: Excess Baggage Season One – Breakthrough Challenge #6

Life on Kangaroo Island this week has had its ups and downs; and depending on who you are, this could go either way. It’s another backbreaking endurance challenge- and even though points are up for grabs, not everyone is going to come out of this in a happy chappy mood!

The sun rises and the contestants get ready for the day. Matt wants a good breakfast to ready him as best as possible for the challenge. The other contestants try getting pumped up like Matt, but it doesn’t work for them.

Lisa shakes a bottle of Swisse tablets in front of the camera. It doesn’t get any more obvious than that!

Kate Ceberano then gets into explaining the challenge; to take place at Little Sahara- named due to the MASSIVE sand dunes that take over the landscape. Each team has to solve a puzzle by finding metal numbers and signs which end up equalling 100. The metal pieces are buried within the vast sand dunes, and are only recoverable by using a metal detector and their hands! When they’ve solved the equation, they then have to run to a blackboard and write that equation down to end the challenge.

The contestants walk to the challenge site, and they are shocked by the height of the sand dunes. Jo, Christian and Kate are there waiting for them. Kate welcomes them to the top of the sand dune and Christian reminds them of the spirit challenge, and how hard it was. He then tells them that today; the test will require a lot more brainpower.

He then goes on to tell them what is in store for them and Darryn flops dead- Lisa is a bit dyslexic when it comes to maths!

Only one team member can search and dig at any time. They are trying to work out the same equation, so if they find one number, they shouldn’t then go to try to find the same one.

Jo tells them that the winner will get eight points, and the loser will still receive 3.

With that, the challenge begins and Christian wishes the smartest team to win. They head to their stations and then begin to dig. Dipper is very fast to his detector, which surprises Lana. Ajay is working for the purple team and doesn’t know how to use a metal detector.

Christine gets to the back of the area marked to search and begins searching for her first number. They are down there a while, but Kevin finds the first symbol! Sarah is annoyed because she can’t use the detector, but Kevin can. He gets a + sign.

Lisa again has to do the challenge without Darryn, who is at the top screaming at her again. Ajay finds her first symbol with Kevin finding another piece.

Lisa finds a piece and then roles down the hill, to the delight of the other contestants. Darryn says it is logical as she is round like a beach ball.

Dipper is struggling as he and Sarah struggle to find their first piece. He does find one, but Kevin is already at 4 pieces. Lisa finds an eleven…which turns out to be an equals!

The contestants are looking for eight pieces to form this puzzle. Ajay has a 2. Christine and Nathan are very much hurtling towards the end. Contestants are really now trying to get this part of the challenge finished.

Opinion point: What are your thoughts of the challenge?

After the break, some contestants are now trying to work out their puzzle. We then find out that the sum they are trying to nut out is ’27 x 3 + 19 = 100’.

Darryn is really laying into Lisa while the other teams enjoy having two members. Nathan finds his sixth piece, putting them in first place; but Christine can’t seem to find the next piece. Then, people begin to overtake them.

Kevin knows the sum, only needing two more pieces. He is frustrated at not being able to find the parts; but knowing the sum should be an advantage.

The reds are a long way from the lead, with the purples and the oranges looking for their last piece. The orange team find their eighth piece after a slow start and they now try to work out the equation to finish the challenge.

Dipper can’t work out the solution and Darryn explains how Dipper would cancel out any idea Lana would have in her head; even if it was right. This gives other teams the time to catch up.

Matt finds the last digit for his team and they could now steal this game. Still, they know that the blue team may know the equation. Ajay thinks he’s bluffing.

Renae is down looking for their last piece but Kevin knows this isn’t a good position for him. He’s right, Ajay gets the numbers correct and they head down to write the equation on the board. Ajay is so happy, and no one can take that from her.
She writes the equation and uplifting music pronounces them the winners. They receive eight points.

Darryn’s screaming is now getting to Lisa who is swearing at him. Kate helps Lisa out by giving her a two, not knowing that her team ONLY need a two! It doesn’t pay to be nice, Kate!

Renae gets her eighth piece and they begin to piece the equation together before running to the blackboard and claiming second place and seven points.

The rest of the teams are still working out the equation.

Opinion point: Should Dipper back off and let Lana have a bigger say in this competition?

The orange team, which have had their pieces for a while, are still struggling. They may even be beaten for third. They work out the equation but because Dipper doesn’t really trust Lana on this and keeps double checking, it takes them a while before they run down to finish the challenge in third.

Sarah is panicking despite knowing they can still win five points. Kate gets annoyed when Sarah leaves crying, not knowing the equation at the best of times. Wanting help, she turns to Nathan who gives them a hint.

Darryn, whose partner is still digging for numbers, hears this and goes off at Nathan for helping her. He justifies himself by saying he is disadvantaging Christine who is still searching for numbers, but it is obviously because he now knows Lisa will come last.

Nathan is calm but Darryn is going off like nothing I’ve seen before. Still, even Christine is annoyed and probably moreso now Kate & Sarah take fourth place with five points. Kate feels sorry for Christine, who is now fuming. Still, it doesn’t justify Darryn’s mood.

Lisa finds the last part of the puzzle, which means Christine is now coming last. This puts Nathan into a state of guilt, thinking he may now send his team to the bottom two. Darryn helps Lisa with the equation and she is able to successfully write it down on the board, scoring a nice four points! With eight points already on the board, this is amazing for someone who had to do double the amount of work.

Lisa is in hysterics, now she has triumphed over the yellow team. Nathan is still guilty and as Darryn talks to Christine, Nathan gets annoyed at Darryn’s outburst. He absolutely cracks the shits, pushing his board over and even spooking Christian who remains calm.

Darryn just has an odd look on his face and as Nathan loses it, Darryn continues to play dumb. Christine is just annoyed at the lack of support.

Opinion point: Should Darryn have reacted like that to Nathan? What do you think of Nathan giving Kate that hint?

After the break, Nathan is still fuming. Christian feels as if he is trying to console a little child who is chucking a tantrum. Darryn comes over to try to help the situation.

Kate Ceberano asks the other contestants to help Christine, but maybe Christine should just try harder to find them herself.

She finds a number and Nathan goes down to find the last number. Lana thinks Nathan should have been paired with Ajay, someone else who has been criticised for their efforts. Christine is annoyed, and vents to Christian.

She finally finishes, and it is now time for the scoreboard of the combined challenges;

KEVIN & RENAE: 13

DIPPER & LANA: 13

AJAY & MATT: 12

DARRYN & LISA: 12

KATE & SARAH: 8

CHRISTINE & NATHAN: 7

Very close. Three teams are tying for first place. Christine feels as if her and her team member must discuss loyalty. Darryn feels as if Nathan needs to go home, but Christine deserves to be here. Christine begins crying.

The contestants then head to a team building training session. They carry rope and one at a time, run from back to front of the rope continuously. It is a task that involves everyone putting in effort for the team.

The contestants then head into a round robin station, two minutes each. Today, this is going to be tough due to the fact that this is elimination week three!

Christian focusses his efforts on Nathan who needs help with his teamwork.

Opinion point: Does Nathan deserve to be in this competition?

After the break, the team building fitness session continues, but Darryn & Lisa are not acting very teamly. Darryn is yelling at Lisa to get fit in a bid to get them to the top of the leaderboard. Christian is very impressed with Darryn & Lisa because they have injuries and they still complete the challenges. He can see that they are loving life in the competition.

Lana & Dipper are cooperating after their disjointedness in the endurance challenge. Still though, Nathan and Christine are struggling. Nathan just doesn’t look like he cares and Christine thinks he is ‘slipping away’ from the competition.

Christine wants him to put in effort for himself, and she is yelling at him to start putting in some effort. Christine has enough and walks away. Christian claims she is driving that team. Nathan isn’t answering Christine when she continues to talk about how bad she wants to be in this game.

Christian is pushing Nathan for an answer, but he doesn’t give anything, which worries Christian. What happened to yesterday when Nathan had a breakthrough and ‘saw the light’? What happened to when they faced elimination one and Nathan pleaded to stay?

Christine goes to Nathan after to confront him calmly. She tells him that if he doesn’t have the motivation to win, it will show and he will go home. We flash back to the cave and we see that he only came to this competition for what he experienced in the cave- clarity to let everything go. So what will motivate him now?

Opinion point: Would you want Christine as a team partner?

After the break, the contestants head to their weekly ‘dinner’ which doubles as a nutritional session with Joanna as they will be eating carbs after a highly strenuous day; and make it healthy!

They are going to make a healthy pizza by the looks of it.

This is particularly special for Kevin, who threw away a pizza box as part of the ‘excess baggage’ ritual. He is happy to learn how to make a healthy option of something he loves.

Joanna then goes through how to make a healthy pasta by making a healthy spag bol. She will finish it off with a big salad which has prawns in it.

It actually looks very nice and gourmet. They should be happy with what they’ve done and the resulting banquet becomes this week’s dinner.

But to end the episode, we see some yellow team video diary entries. Nathan really doesn’t know what will motivate him to stay.

So the episode ends and again, it was quite good. I think I’m going to take off the whole point for that product placement Lisa shone in the cameras face, but other than that, it was an alright episode. There’s still a bit of disjoint around the edges and at one point, we saw a flashback of an event that occurred in the same episode! Surely they don’t think we’re that dumb?

And kudos for Nathan and Darryn for their heated display. It had me in stitches!

Excess Baggage next airs Mar 15 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?): 1/2

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

Courtney’s Verdict: 8.5/10

 

Previous episode: Excess Baggage Season One – Kangaroo Island Week Begins (Spirit Challenge #7)

Hopefully the contestants have thinned down enough to be able to fit through the winding cracks of some Kangaroo Island caves, because that’s just what today’s breakthrough experience has in store for the yellow and blue team as they go caving to face their fears!

The sun rises on another day on Kangaroo Island. Kate is inside a cave (just) as she talks us through today’s breakthrough experience. To help, Christian and Tim will be on hand to help today.

Tim tells us that while breakthrough experiences are usually based on thrills and experiences, today, it is based on small confined spaces and facing fears.

The contestants are on their way to the caves and discuss their fears. Nathan fears of getting trapped. Tim welcomes them all to the breakthrough challenge and Christian tells them that some parts are pitch black and some parts will require them to drag themselves on their stomachs. Nathan is getting more anxious. Surely these guys are mentioning this to really strike fear into them.

Kevin asks if Christian is nervous and he says he has never been caving, so he would like Kevin’s help in getting himself through the challenge.

Tim asks how, on a 1-10 scale, how fearful they are today. Many of them say above five with some contestants conceding they are a 10. With that, they had to the cave entrance. They head down and Renae begins to doubt herself.

Back on land, the other contestants head towards a body of water where Kate is there to welcome them. She wants them to ‘get back into nature’ and Kate introduces Julie, a wildlife worker. She will be introducing them to some pelicans.

Ajay says she is an animal lover, but it isn’t long before she is nipped by a pelican. The pelicans are snappy as the contestants feed them. They learn about the pelicans and Darryn, who loves wildlife, is so happy to experience this. He loves experience this side of life.

Back at the caves, the blue and yellow teams are descending and descending. As they enter the natural part of the cave, they are in awe in the beauty of the cave, but it is, as Nathan points out, the viewing cave. Their venture hasn’t even begun!
Renae thinks it is nice, but you can hear the fear in her voice. She is scared there will be an earthquake and she can’t enjoy the beauty. Now, it is time for the cave exploration. Tim introduces them to Nick and Daniel, the guides.

Christian feels confident now that he’s met the guides. With that, they head to the less-beautiful part of the caves. Christine’s anxiety is at 2, which is quite low compared to what I was expecting. Christian thinks that the contestants are taking the mickey out of him as he talks about his potential fear for this sport.

Opinion point: What are your thoughts on the cave breakthrough?

After the break, the cave crawl continues. Christine and Nathan are doing well; it is Renae who is struggling a bit. After a few chambers, it becomes pitch black, and now Christine is a bit scared. Renae is scared of being trapped.

They come to a narrow space, and Nick shows them how to get through the next part of the challenge. Christian ‘pretends’ to be scared, but it is clear this is all for show. He’s scared, but I don’t think he had any intention of carrying through with his plan to stay behind.

Christian explains that his fear is having no control. They get to another section and Tim tells them to turn their lights off. The room goes pitch black, but they still have the camera light. Nathan is afraid about things that could happen to him in the dark.

Outside, the beautiful scenery graces our screens. Isn’t that water lovely! The contestants are seeing a show about different birds, including roosters and owls.

They even get to pat the birds, and they are so good with them all!

Down under, lights out continues. With all their lights off, Renae is scared, so Christian puts his arm around her to calm her down.

Nathan is hating it and we see him rocking back and forth. Tim talks to Nathan about this. Nathan says that if anyone was to touch him, he’d scream so loud. Tim talks them through the meanings of anxiety.

Then, Nathan gets clarity on everything. He really sees all the fears and anxieties he has felt over the years, and how meaningless they are. All the names he has been called, all the bullying he received, gone! How nice, but how corny.

After a while, Tim gets them to turn their lights back on and they begin to head out of the cave. They all have to go one by one, which is daunting. Nathan goes first. They’re going back another way- one that requires them to crawl on their stomachs.

Opinion point: Who is coping the best? Who is surprising you?

After the break, the contestants on the outside continue their bird watching with Dipper getting to hold a real hawk!

Back down below, Nathan is still crawling through the cave, and Nathan concedes this is the most amazing thing he has ever done. It looks fun!

Renae is next to confront her fears. As she is smaller, the space isn’t as tight for her and she actually has the biggest smile on her face. She finishes the challenge and it’s quite surprising. She did it with Tim, but still a top effort. She feels the sense of achievement. She feels as if nothing can hold her back. Cliché much?!

Christian is next to confront his fears. Kevin goes down as well and he loved being down there. He feels it is intense, but he has fun. He thinks Christian fared the worst of everyone. He hates how his shoulders are touching the roof above him. And, he can’t see where he is going!

Opinion point: Are you tired of all the reality-television show clichés this show is featuring?

After the break, the contestants not on the breakthrough experience are headed to the beach to see some seals! Wow, that really does look amazing. But what happened to the ‘this competition is about to get tough’ stance Christian had yesterday?!

The contestants also get to see some mating…although I don’t know how excited I’d be to see that! Darryn thinks the sea-lions and Lisa have the same waddle. That is hilarious!

Kate does not envy the contestants on the climbing challenge, but it isn’t the contestants struggling right now, it is Christian! At the end of the experience, they all huddle for a congratulatory hug! Christian has completed his own breakthrough experience!

They all climb out of the cave having conquered their fears! Well, some of them anyway. They all hug each other when they get to the top. Even Kevin gives a yell.

They all then travel back to tell the rest of the gang.

Opinion point: Who else would you put into that breakthrough experience if you got the chance?

After the break, the contestants go sand-boarding before they head to a psychology session. It is a couple’s counselling session- so today; they will be talking about how they can improve their relationship with their partner.

Here, they must write down what they think their partners can improve on.

And now, Kate & Sarah will be first to air their grievances with each other, although most of this was done last week. Kate has Sarah tell her to step up and learn to talk to Sarah better.

They need to believe in themselves AND in each other. Kate does concede that the pink team bounces back.

Lisa reads out what Darryn has written about her. He wants her to ‘run more’, and Lisa tells him that running is not her think. She refers to him as her husband, which stuns him.

Kevin reads that Renae wants him to push her more and to stay relaxed and calm and give good encouragement. Kate thinks Sarah was not up front, pretty much.

Tim probes Renae to tell Kevin something that she wants changed. Ajay thinks Renae should have told Kevin to ‘man up’ and stop smoking and drinking.

Matt and Ajay want to stop blaming others and keep their cool when things get tough. Cue the aquaculture challenge back story. They both agree.

The orange team now air their grievances. We review this week’s spirit challenge, which was a massive dummy spit for the team.  Lana wants Dipper to work through things through with her and Dipper says ‘enough said’.

Opinion point: Who needs to ‘change’ in this competition?

After the break, the couples counselling continues. Lana begins a rant about Matt’s disinterest in the session. Matt is taken aback and says that he is only tired because he hasn’t eaten for a while. Lana doesn’t want him to take it as an attack and Dipper wonders why Lana is bringing up Matt’s ‘apparent’ disinterest.

Dipper asks her to mind her own business, and Dipper is getting annoyed at how people keep being honest like this because, as Matt says, it came out wrong.

To the yellow team, and we review how Nathan & Christine have had recent troubles.

Nathan reads out that Christine wants him to have more self-belief and honesty on himself and trust to let Christine in more. There are quite a few points. Don’t give up easily and participate with more enthusiasm.

Christine reads that Nathan doesn’t want her to sugar-coat and talk things out with him. Christine wears the sugar-coating tag, but when Nathan mentions about not being competitive, she doesn’t think that is good enough.

Renae thinks the team has some working out to do with each other. Tim is pleased with how this session went and they all head off for some rest. Matt may need it!

So the episode ends, and with great production quality and a good balance of material, this episode has fared better than others. Some points I have to make however, include the show being a tad boring, and even a bit disjointed (after an ad break, we went straight into Lana ripping into Matt, with no real explanation on how it started) at times, and with some very heavy uses of cliché’s like ‘I feel like I can conquer anything’, sometimes, the episode seemed cheesy.

But, overall, it was well done, and was of very high quality.

Excess Baggage next airs Mar 14 at 6.30PM on GO!

Production Values (visual and audio techniques, overall ‘bling’ of the show):4.9/5

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

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

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.4/10

 

Nine has been touting its new ’7PM stripped reality’ plan since the end of last year, but now it seems one of its big 7PM players in 2011, The Celebrity Apprentice Australia, may move to ‘an 8pm burn’, if reports in The Daily Telegraph are true.

The tabloid claims that with post-Easter competition soaring post the enforced non-ratings period, Nine will screen The Celebrity Apprentice Australia ‘at least twice weekly’ after The Block, which will screen at 7PM.

After the success of stripping its reality television shows (The Block and Celebrity Apprentice Australia) in 2011, Nine set out to strip the format all year long, starting with Excess Baggage (now on GO!), leading into The Block and Celebrity Apprentice Australia, then into the Olympics, and finishing with Big Brother.

While Excess Baggage has not been the hit the network was expecting, Celebrity Apprentice Australia did prove itself in the timeslot in the final weeks of 2011 when it ran five nights a week as an ‘experiment’ to solidify the network’s confidence in stripping reality at 7PM, after successfully converting The Block into a five-night a week show in that format.

If Celebrity Apprentice Australia ran at 7PM after The Block, it would air in the heart of winter, allowing for a big potential audience. It would however be up against MasterChef Australia which will also return to a 7PM airing this year.

But even still, the news is still odd. If it is true, reality television could dominate the winter landscape for months with Dancing with the Stars, The Block, The Voice Australia, MasterChef Australia and Australia’s Got Talent all airing at that time.

More news on timeslots is set to surface as Easter draws near.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

Previous episode: Excess Baggage Season One – Check In #6 & Elimination #2

Tonight, the contestants are heading south to the charming, untamed region that is Kangaroo Island. Complete with fresh produce, breathtaking sights and, I’m sure, a few kangaroos here and there, who will triumph and who will fall in the first challenge of the week?

We head to Kangaroo Island via map, and here, we see some spectacular scenery again. It’s a different type of environment than what we have been used to in previous weeks, where the competition has taken place in cities.

The Sealink (PP) ferry takes the contestants over to Kangaroo Island. Lana has gastro, so she goes to the back of the boat to avoid seasickness. I remember getting seasick on my way over as well!

The most stunning picture then comes up on screen that of clouds passing over the Cape Willoughby lighthouse, which is the location of today’s spirit challenge.

Here, they must gather supplies, including food and water from the bottom of a hill, to the top at a station, before ringing the lighthouse bell.

Down on ground, Kate is standing with Christian where she welcomes them all to the island. Lana wants an alternative route back!

She reminds them how only six teams left and tells them all that they are all rivals. Christian tells them that today, they have to collect 100 items and bring them all up a 550m trek both ways. It’s tough; so they have to strategize.

The winner will get 8 points with last place getting 3 points. Teams lose 1 point for every place below winning they come.

With that, the challenge begins and the contestants begin to collect supplies. Orange seems to get out in front to begin with, but I suspect that will change. There are trips and boulders everywhere. Lisa, poor Lisa, has to compete alone with a few injuries. Christian has no idea how she will go.

Opinion point: First impressions of Kangaroo Island week?

After the break, the challenge continues. The teams let Dipper do all the work in removing the ropes from the bundles as to conserve energy.

The food items seem huge, with the eggs looking bigger than I’ve ever seen eggs!

Nathan & Christine try to load up and make as few trips as possible. Matt grabs a barrel, and you can hear it in his voice- he knows this will be shit.

Renae and Kevin use the smaller trips as warm ups with plans to save the heavier stuff until later.

Lana and Dipper also discuss how they will go through with this.

Kate tells us that Lisa will only have to shift 50 items. Lisa is going OK, and she is happy not to have his screaming voice near her ear. She may actually do quite well. Most of the teams are making their first gruelling trip up the path. There’s a lot of democratic discussion going on when each team tries to overtake other teams.

So, who’s in the lead? Kate radios in and finds out, with Darryn by her side, that Lisa is in front! It’s excitement enjoyed by many.

At the top of the hill, Lisa drops to second, but she has Christian helping her out with motivation. Lisa then gets support from Darryn who is waiting for her at the top.

Kevin and Renae, who is in first place, are down for round two. They have a sack to help them, as all teams do, and they want to make the best use of it.

Christine already states that this is the hardest challenge by far for the competition.

Lisa is next to come up the hill and she is trying to get to the top as fast as possible. She is in second and Christian feels this may be her last or second-to-last trip.

Dipper and Lana now attempt the barrel, which Dipper has to do most of the work with up the hill. Lana is really just there for emotional support, but she too is carrying items.

Kate and Sarah make it to the top before Lisa, and tell Darryn that Lisa is killing it. She is ripping up that mountain and she demands water at the top. She dropped the sack on the way up, which had some eggs in it, causing them to smash.

Opinion point: Who has the upper hand/ lower hand in this competition?

After the break, Lisa has to get back down again for more items, and the race is now on!

Renae and Kevin are coming up the hill again. Renae is made to carry the fish, which is this massive…fish! She describes the blood running down her back when she whips it over her shoulders.

The orange team are now coming down for their last trip while Lisa, who has had no one, is going well- but she is incredibly sunburnt.

On her way back up, Lisa has got so much stuff, and Darryn hopes she hasn’t forgotten stuff she needs.

Lana and Dipper are going up the hill. Dipper is going too fast for Lana, which is annoying her. She complains about several things, but Dipper doesn’t take any of it.

Lisa is now on the top and confirms to Darryn that she has all the stuff she needed. She places it on the table, Kate checks them off, and against all odds, and they win! They go up to the lighthouse and ring the bell! Darryn and Lisa have WON A CHALLENGE! More to the point, LISA won it by herself! Amazing effort.

Dipper and Lana put things in place at the top of the hill and realise they are missing one can. This was Dipper’s job, and Lana is annoyed that she now has to run again up and down the hill. They’ve gone from second to last over one tin of tuna.

Opinion point: Are you surprised by Lisa’s effort?

After the break, the race is on for second. Lana is still annoyed at Dipper. Meanwhile, the other teams are continuing at their own pace. Lana and Dipper are getting very tedious with one another. Lana begins to hyperventilate and Christian tries to calm her down.

Christine is now trying to minimise the amounts of time she has to go up and down the hill. She talks with Nathan to find out the best way of doing this and they realise that they are about to carry one huge load despite the fact they have to come back down again after for more. Nathan wonders why they don’t leave a few more things back for the next trek.

Christine wants a lighter load next time and Nathan thinks it is unnecessarily light, accusing her of having a diva outburst.

Dipper and Lana head back up the hill to the top with their one can to claim second place. The purple team find out that they have forgotten a bundle of twigs or two, costing them second place.

Dipper & Lana finish second and they savour this moment before going off against each other. Dipper accuses her of being negative but Lana says her problems were medical, like she couldn’t breathe.

The blue team, meanwhile, finish the challenge third before the purple team finishes in fourth.

The pink team are coming fifth and finish in that position…or do they? No, they forgot some peas, so they go down for more peas. Can the yellow team take advantage of this situation? Yep, they get to the top and Kate tells them that they have passed in fifth place!

The girls complete their challenge, and end up in last place.

Opinion point: Any surprises with the rest of the results?

After the break, it’s leaderboard time. For those who don’t want to read the above information, it’s time for the scores in point form. Before that, we see Nathan throw up and Christine blow up about her blow up with her teammate.

DARRYN & LISA: 8

DIPPER & LANA: 7

KEVIN & RENAE: 6

AJAY & MATT: 5

CHRISTINE & NATHAN: 4

KATE & SARAH: 3

But those eight points really goes to Lisa.

Now, with the strenuous task over, Christian dumps his training session, and decides to give them all a ‘revitalisation’ session involving stretches and a lot of groaning.

He then gets them to their feet before telling them that tonight; they will be staying at the lighthouse. He tells them that tomorrow’s breakthrough experience will be ‘dark and confronting’.

Two teams will be going caving! Renae, who has claustrophobia, almost knows she will be going. She will be going, with Kevin and the yellow team. Christine also has a phobia, and it annoyed as she feels as if she has done her breakthrough.

Renae fears being trapped under there, but she doesn’t know if she can do this.

Opinion point: If you could give eight points to any other team, based on their performance today, who would that be?

After the break, the first day at Kangaroo Island draws to an end as Darryn decides to cook for his group- blue, orange and red.

Dipper helps Darryn with his MasterChef challenge of cooking, and the guests think they can cook!

Meanwhile, in the other house, Nathan is sick in bed and Christine comes in to tell him that he will be going on the breakthrough challenge. He is annoyed as he gets extremely claustrophobic.

In a video diary, Christine tells Nathan to shut up and stop moaning and groaning. We also see footage of Ajay telling Christine that she doesn’t talk with Nathan about issues like that.

Nathan can seemingly hear this, and also has a video diary slamming the people talking about him.

That ends the episode, one which had much better production quality than usual. Those first few gleaming shots of the island were brilliant and really set the episode up as a very luxurious looking one.

At the end there, the scene with Nathan and Christine in the bedroom talking about the breakthrough challenge looked VERY staged, and really affected what was a brilliant episode.

The Sealink product placement was necessary, as it was hard to show the ferry without showcasing the Sealink brand anyway, so I won’t deduct points.

Excess Baggage next airs Mar 13 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?): 2.8/3

Courtney’s Verdict: 9.6/10