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The Biggest Loser 4, October 9: I Went To Paradise, and All I Got Was a Sweaty T-Shirt!by Brian Towers -- 10/10/2007
Last week, the trainers refused cupcakes in a Temptation challenge, the Red Team was fortunate to win team immunity, and the Blue Team was again forced to cut loose one of their own (Patty). The episode ended with everyone called to the elimination room to learn that The Biggest Loser Campus was about to be close for a week. Ooh, cliffhanger! Now we’ll find out what that entails. This week’s episode resumes right where we left off. Series host Alison Sweeney tells the Losers that the Campus is shutting down because they are all going… to Jamaica! (No, not Hawaii as I had misreported last week – my bad!) That’s the Jamaican flag at the top of this article. 
In a series of cameos, the news is not received as heartily as might be expected by some contestants. Julie tells us she’d rather chew off her arm that put on a bathing suit, and Isabeau is sure Jillian will find island ways to torture them. Resigned that he needs to pack workout clothes, David says, “Kim makes a walk in the park not fun.” Trying to keep it light, Jez jokes that if the plane goes down, at least they can use each other as flotation devices! The trainers are concerned about keeping their teams focused, but reluctantly realize that temptations are part of normal life and the players will have to learn how to deal with similar situations in the real world. As the teams are assembled in Jamaica, Alison notes that someone is missing. Kim explains that “B” (the dieter formerly known as Bryan) stayed behind to get checked out by the medical staff. Apparently, he experienced some abnormal chest pains while working out. That’s scary stuff! The scene shifts back to smoggy L.A., to the doctor’s office where B is being examined. He says the pain is on the left side of his chest, and high up. The doctor says it might have been a mini heart attack, but tests will soon reveal the answer. Here’s a little background you don’t see in the episode. The doctor is Dr. Jen Kerns. Besides being highly qualified medically, she is also a former contestant on this show who represented her home state of Virginia last season. Dr. Kerns lost 108 pounds during the eight months of that season, and has lost another 15 since – so she certainly understands the complications our contestants are facing. Dr. Kearns now resides in L.A. and has joined the practice of Dr. Robert Huinzenga, the physician we’ve seen in the past who is still a part of this show. Back in Jamaica, the trainers (especially Jillian) are trying to steer their teams to proper decisions at the buffet. It’s not easy, as some of the contestants are insistent that they are on a vacation and act like they think there’s no weigh-in this week. Jez and Jillian specifically butt heads, because he wants to have some alcohol and she knows the need to show some self-discipline. As they eat, Alison tells the contestants her own story. Briefly, it’s that she got her wake-up call when she realized she was no longer as skinny as her co-stars. I’m sure she was never as big as our players, but I’m also sure that rightly or wrongly, her career was in jeopardy. Alison also says that her struggle to control her weight is a life-long battle. Kae (among others) appreciates that Alison shared her story. Kim is also working hard to keep the Red Team focused, and she leads them in water aerobics. Meanwhile, Bob takes the Blue Team to a quiet place for some yoga. He promises he can make them sweat while still letting them feel they are on vacation. But Jillian is working the Black Team hardest, as she forces them to toil in the sand. Yes, they’re having the least fun, but who among us viewers really think this is a vacation and not a lengthy set of temptation challenges? It’s now time for this week’s official challenge. Hostess Alison is on hand to explain all the details. This one is about balance. The teams are assembled on separate rafts, about 50 yards from shore. The first member of each team (Phil, Ryan, and Bill) must pull themselves to shore using a rope. However, the air rafts they are on are small and very tippy, so it’s not easy. In fact, it’s pretty cruel. At any rate, once the first player has made it ashore, the rafts are sent back and one at a time, the other members of the team are pulled ashore. The first team across a finish line near the shore is the winner, and the winning team wins massages, to be taken while the other teams work out. There’s good news for the Red Team – B is back and is cleared to compete. Apparently he suffered some sort of stress in his chest, but it’s definitely not a heart problem. So, good news for B! 
For the Black Team, Holly and Isabeau are named to sit out. Isabeau was named because she is fairly tall and Hollie because of issues with her ankle. Both tall Phil of the Red Team and Ryan from the Blue Team are in the water more times than one can count. Some of the face plants are so funny that their teammates cannot stop themselves from laughing at the absurdity of the situation. However, Bill gets real low on the wobbly raft and just barely completes the task on his second try. Further, he then pulls his three teammates ashore to claim the win before any of the others achieve any success whatsoever. Post commercial, the scene shifts to the last-chance workouts. The Black Team finds that splashing in the pool isn’t as much fun as it looks when trainer Jillian is directing activities. But the massages follow, and they are a very welcome relief. Watching trainer Kim get carried about by her Red Team on a surfboad and hearing trainer Bob work his Blue squad are just a bonus for them. In a cameo, Bob promises that his last chance workout will last until they get on the plane. Bob advises his team on managing food intake while traveling. They take healthy food with them and do not intend to rely on the airplane food. On the flight back, teams are concerned about the upcoming weigh-in. Unaware of her pun, Nicole says, “It’s up in the air.” It is time for the Elimination Weigh-In. Jillian expresses her disappointment that so many saw the trip as a vacation. In a cameo, she describes it as “discouraging that I want it more than they do.” Bob says he told his team that even one drink was off the menu. Alone, he recognizes that one drink is not fatal, but in the situation of the game, “every minute of every day counts.” However, Kim says that if her team wanted a drink, “it wasn’t worth the anxiety and the stress” to police them. Jillian shakes her head sadly, and in a cameo, her comment to that is, “Set an example, for God’s sake!” Remember, it’s the team’s total percentage loss that counts, not the raw pound amounts. First on the scale is the Black Team. The Red Team is weighed second, needing a loss of more than 31 pounds to earn safety from elimination. When their turn comes up, the Blue Team hear they need to lose more than 28 pounds to avoid elimination. Here are the numbers:
After she is weighed, Julie says that being under two hundred pounds is “one-derful.” Alison announces that the Red Team wins the week, and the Black Team must face Alison in the Elimination Room for the first time. Alison informs Hollie that she is the biggest loser on the losing team, and thus is exempt from eviction.
Isabeau and Hollie seem to be allied, and Hollie tries to pull Julie into a female alliance. Julie seems overwhelmed. Has she never heard of the “vote for anyone but me” strategy? Hollie seems to feel they can pull in Jez and vote out a twin. This is a necessary move, as the twins will vote against everyone else before they would turn on each other. Julie admits to us that she doesn’t trust anyone. She cleverly recognizes that she and Jez are two singles in a team with two strong dyads (okay, she didn’t say it like that, but I’m DYING to write some proper strategy!) that need to unite to fight off those threats, so she talks to Jez. Jez is rather non-committal, even speaking aloud the sin of forcing a tie and letting the elimination decision fall out of their hands. Julie thinks that will work against her (hardly – at under 9%, she’s the lowest percentage loser still in the game), and she implores Jez to make the decision to vote out a twin. In all of this, neither twin is named as the specific target. Of those still in the game, Bill is the highest percentage loser at 19.3%, while Jim is third at almost 15%. (Kae at 18.22% is second; Jerry’s final number of 16.8% still places him third overall). It seems that the vote is very much up in the air. One thing is for sure – no one is going to fall on their sword to save any of the others! The Black Team assembles in the Elimination Room. Hostess Alison tells us that the twins’ birthday is tomorrow. Bill confirms that they’ve always celebrated their birthday together. This seems ominous, doesn’t it? First to vote is Bill, who votes for Isabeau because he thinks her reason for being there is less significant than the rest. Isabeau is next to vote, and she votes for Jim because she thinks he will do well at home. Jim is third to vote. Because he finds her overconfident and presumptuous, he votes for Isabeau. Immune Hollie votes against Jim, who she sees as a threat. Julie votes for personal reasons and against the threat of Jim. This brings the vote totals to for three for Jim and two for Isabeau, with Jez holding the deciding vote. Will he allow a tie? Nope – hoping that he’s done the right thing, he votes for Jim. The group is deadly solemn, but not tearful. Voted out 4-2, Jim admits to being shocked and disappointed. During the farewell hugs, the tears flow from everyone. In his funeral video, Jim says he is very appreciative of this opportunity. Current video shows us he is now a mere 238 pounds, having lost a further 69 pounds for a whopping total of 123 pounds lost! He has involved his family in the process and they all live a healthier lifestyle. You look great, Jim!
In Conclusion Well, we learned that with some non-trivial effort, going on vacation is no reason to let your regimen slide. It helps if you have the liquor police on call and never miss a chance to run in deep water! The Black Team just couldn’t keep avoiding elimination forever. There are plateaus in the weight-loss process, and they hit a small one. Only Isabeau and Hollie beat the total number of the Blue Team, and in fact, the four lowest percentages posted were by the other four Black Team members! They voted correctly, the twins had to be broken up. The last season of Big Brother is just the latest example of many that show how an unbreakable dyad can take over a game if left together too long. Their next move, should they end up in the Elimination Room anytime soon, ought to be to break up the other dyad. Next week, ninety-minute episodes of The Biggest Loser continues to air at 8:30. For a preview, drag your cursor across the area between the square brackets below. Don't do that if you prefer to remain spoiler-free! [ There’s a challenge at the beach, and the winning team gets (more) stuff from home. Also, a Black Team member gets a makeover. I’m hoping it’s a blond, so I can better tell them apart! ] Join me here for a recap of all the action, sprinkled with my own reactions and opinions. And let me know what you think about it all at the eAddress below! Born and raised in Toronto, Brian can be reached at uncle_bto@rogers.com. He’d like to hear your opinions and promises to respond to all serious email. Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! And take a look at the rest of the site. You can find out about some other popular shows at our Survivor: China and our Dancing with the Stars page; and don't miss The Reality TV Hall of Shame. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store! For more news about this show, be sure to check out SirLinksALot: The Biggest Loser! |