Author: Mike Farley (Page 76 of 117)

Biggest Biggest Loser Season Ever Kicks Off Tuesday

January 5, 2009 /

Tomorrow night, Tuesday, at 8pm ET, the next season of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” begins, and it’s goes under the guise of “Biggest Loser: Couples.” They are calling it the “biggest” season ever, and that’s because this season features the heaviest contestants the show has ever seen. But a few weeks after Season 7 ended, Season 8 begins by doing what last season did….by throwing twists at us. I’m not saying twists are bad, but this show has a habit of confusing viewers, contestants and probably even host Alison Sweeney. And the problem with that is that it encourages the gameplay that was so prominent in Season 7 with Vicky and Heba trying to manipulate everyone else.

But I digress…..you’re going to feel like a stick figure when you watch this season opener tomorrow night. There is a 19-year old dude who weighs in at 454 pounds. Now, I’m currently trying to lose 10 pounds, but I weight about a third of what that guy weighs. Damn. And he’s only NINETEEN. That is a scary thing, America. Also, 63-year old Jerry collapses and you fear he’s having a heart attack…I don’t want you all to worry, so I’ll just tell you that Jerry is fine and continues after a short hospital visit.

The producers of this show know that they have a huge hit on their hands, especially when they air it in January when everyone is embarking on their own weight loss and fitness regimens. And while putting these (literally) larger than life contestants on is so shocking it makes for better TV, they need to seriously think about keeping the format of the show more conventional, thereby giving everyone a fair opportunity and not making us scratch our heads after each episode.

Anyway, that’s all I’ll say….come back here as we’ll recap each week’s episode the following morning!

External TV, Reality TV, The Biggest Loser, TV

Guy Fieri’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown 2 Set to Start January 4

December 18, 2008 /

The Food Network has struck gold with Guy Fieri, who has four different shows and is about as ubiquitous on the network as misteltoe and egg nog this time of year. The guy is a workhorse and execs at the Food Network clearly love everything Fieri works on. And for good reason–he’s entertaining, knowledgeable and can grab the reins of any show and make it more interesting.

Fieri’s back again with Season 2 of “The Ultimate Recipe Showdown,” which begins airing January 4 at 9pm ET/8pm central. This season began with 12,000 recipes, which a panel of judges narrow down to 24, in categories of Comfort Food, Burgers, Hot and Spicy, Desserts, Cakes, and Hometown Favorites. Each week the winner takes home $25K and a chance to have their recipe featured on a T.G.I. Friday’s menu. Co-host Mark Summer is not helping Fieri this time, and while he claims to be bummed out about that, Fieri is ready for the challenge of hosting it alone. He’s also very excited and ready to rock.

“This second year is remarkable,” Fieri said yesterday during a conference call. “There is a real in-depth view of the contestants. It’s not just about the food on the plate and how it’s presented. Producer Art Edwards really got more of a compelling background piece on the show contestant’s giving the show much more depth.” He then adds, “The folks this year were a fantastic group and many of them had that one signature piece that just blew the judges away.”

Fieri, who was taking a break from filming his “Chefography” for the network at the time of the call, has possibly taken more air time away from his buddy and network darling Bobby Flay. Whether or not it’s too early to tell if that’s the case, the Food Network is definitely keeping Fieri busy. They shot the full season of “The Ultimate Recipe Showdown” in less than two weeks. “We shot a show a day along with bumps (ins and outs) but each show took about 10 hours to shoot,” said Fieri. “Each episode was shot back-to-back. It was a 12 day schedule for this year’s season.”

And while the show has already been taped, you’ll have to tune in each week to see who wins.

Reality TV, The Next Food Network Star, TV

The Biggest Loser: Families: Karma is a Powerful Thing

December 17, 2008 /

Folks, you can’t ignore karma, because it is more powerful than all of us. Last week, as NBC’s “The Biggest Loser: Families” was barreling toward its live season finale, there was a cliffhanger of sorts. Michelle and Vicky had reached the finals, but the third finalist would be determined by America voting between Ed and his wife Heba. They tried some sneaky gameplay thing, where Ed gained two pounds and then implored America to vote Heba into the finale. I voted for Ed and urged all of you to do the same, and it turns out we weren’t the only ones who wanted to stick it to Heba. They had them both come out on stage (both of them look phenomenal by the way), and it was announced that Ed was going to be the third finalist, with (get this) 84% of the vote. That’s not just karma, it’s a sure sign that America is tired of the gameplay and more about the true spirit of the show. Good for you all. But there is more to this story, and I’ll get to that later.

They had a look back at the season, and host Alison Sweeney, who at this point is very pregnant, was stumbling all over her words, which was pretty funny. Then they started bringing out the eliminated contestants in groups of four, and would show a video recap of each one and then have them weight in. The contestant with the highest percentage of weight loss among the eliminated players would take home $100K.

First was Adam and his wife Stacy, and Tom and his son LT. Adam lost 80 pounds, or 23.53%. Stacy lost 65 pounds, or 29.41%. LT lost 87 pounds and Tom 78 pounds, but both were in the 24% range and so Stacy was the current leader. Then they brought out Jerry and his daughter Coleen, and Shellay and her daughter Amy. Let me tell you, this was the highlight of the show Continue reading »

External TV, Reality TV, The Biggest Loser, TV

The Biggest Loser: Families Barrels Toward Finale

December 10, 2008 /

As cliche as it sounds, these reality show seasons seem to go so fast, they run into each other after a while. NBC’s “The Biggest Loser: Families” will air its live finale on Tuesday after last night’s final three (minus one) were revealed. More on that shortly.

First, the episode last night began with “blue team” members Ed, Heba and Vicky celebrating that they voted off another “black team” member, Renee, last week. So it was just the three of them and Michelle in the Final Four. But wait, this season there is only a Final Three. So with this one more episode, another contestant would be going home.

When trainer Bob Harper met his blue team, he told Vicky he was concerned about her. That’s because she was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, gameplayer to ever set foot on the ranch. She wanted the grand prize from Day 1, and she would stab anyone in the back on her way toward that goal. But Bob reminded her that in Season 1 of the show, champion Ryan was also a gameplayer, and while he lost the most weight then, he now weighs the same Continue reading »

External TV, Reality TV, The Biggest Loser, TV

2008: The Year in TV – Mike Farley

December 9, 2008 /

I claim to not watch much TV, but when Mr. Harris asked me to contribute to this piece, it was as easy as anything I’ve ever written. I guess that since we had our first child in 2007, we have been busy in the evenings after he goes to sleep–sitting in front of the TV enjoying what some great shows have to offer, and sometimes not-so-great shows. Don’t go taking my cable away!

TOP 3 SHOWS

1. “Weeds,” Showtime

Weeds poster

My wife and I ordered Showtime just for the three months or so that “Weeds” was on this past summer. You’d think a complete change of scenery (after most of the city of Agrestic burned down, Nancy and her family headed South to just above Mexico) would deter the plots and sub-plots, but it only made the show more compelling. There is no better writing on TV than there is for this show, and you can pretty much say that the acting mirrors the writing. The cliffhanger in the finale was not like the wild ones of the last few seasons, but Nancy’s ultrasound photo was enough to leave us all wondering how Esteban could possibly kill her after she ratted out their whole underground operation. Season 5 can’t start soon enough.

2. “Two and a Half Men,” CBS
What “Weeds” is to drama/comedies on premium channels, “Two and a Half Men” is to network sitcoms. The writing is always witty, appropriate for the characters and downright knee-slapping. Seriously, there were a few moments this season that made me hyperventilate laughing so hard. And they continue to push the envelope, as they did when Charlie referred to Alan’s ex-wife giving him a, uh, present, under a table as a book, “Under the Table” by Richard Gobbler. And Jake’s flatulence jokes never get old, either.

3. “Diners, Drive Ins and Dives,” Food Network
The Food Network is milking Guy Fieri for everything he’s worth. The guy has like four or five shows now, and this one is his calling card. Dude has one of the best jobs on television. He cruises around in his classic red convertible, and gets to sample the best food at, well, diners, drive-ins, and dives. We all want to taste everything on every show…well, except for the fried cow testicles or pig ear sandwiches…blech. But seriously, this show is a few seasons in and shows no signs of slowing down….especially on my TiVo box.

Continue reading »

Celebrities, External Entertainment, External TV, News, Reality TV, Reviews, The Next Food Network Star, TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

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