We’re not talking about a multi-national corporate merger here, just a merger between the Biggest Loser ranch contestants, and the “unknowns,” as they have come to be known.

Since the President’s speech last week cut the episode short, they had to finish up the weigh-in of the Ranch group. But first, they showed the unknowns working out, and Q being disrespectful to his trainer Cara and the rest of the team by walking away from a group workout. The dude didn’t feel like he was getting his “burn” and I have to be honest here–I know he walked away without saying anything, but I understood why he did it. Still, many of those around him don’t feel like he’s pulling his weight, so to speak; the same way the ranch contestants feel about big Arthur.

So it was time for the weigh-in, and up first were Jen and Jay, fresh from a week training with the unknowns. Jen lost 6 pounds while Jay lost 9. Arthur lost 9 pounds while Jesse lost 3. Keep in mind, Arthur is still well over 400 pounds. Courtney lost 10 and Marci lost 3. Hannah lost 5 and Olivia 3. Then it came to the newly formed team of Irene and Don, and they each GAINED six pounds. A-ha. So that Dan/Don thing two weeks ago was a thrown weigh-in as we all suspected, and this time Irene blurted out that she did this to help Don go home, as he had wished. All of a sudden Don didn’t try to hide it, and you have to give him credit for that. Also, trainers Bob and Jillian were pissed, but Bob kind of relented that maybe this was a good thing for Don–that the ranch isn’t for everyone, and that he hoped Don had better success at home.

But they still had to vote, right? Well, since everyone knew what was going on and since this group appears to be prettty tight-knit, host Alison Sweeney simply asked for a show of hands, and it was unanimous that they all wanted Don to go home.

Then Alison announced that there would be two separate competitions this week–the campus players had to beat last week’s tally of 48 pounds lost, and if so, they would all have immunity for a week. But the unknowns would have their own weigh-in, and one of them would be going home this week. The unknowns would also have their own challenge game, in which they had to place weights on another team’s color, and the one left standing at the end would have immunity for one more week. The first to be eliminated was the red team, followed by brown, pink and finally, gray. So the yellow team of Justin and Rulon won.

Then, after I forwarded throught he last-chance workout (sorry NBC), it was time to weigh on. The ranch players went first. Irene lost 8 pounds, which probably was inevitable after last week’s 6-pound gain. Jen lost 4 and Jay lost 10. Olivia lost 4 and Hannah 7. Marci lost 7, bringing her below 200 pounds, and Courtney lost 8. So the tally was already 48 pounds, so they needed one more pound lost between Arthur and Jesse. Uh-oh. Would this be another weight gain for the team that weighed in last? Nope, Arthur lost 6 while Jesse lost a whopping 9 pounds. That’s 63 pounds and the whole ranch team was immune this week.

So now it was time for the unknown teams to hit the scale. Justin and Rulon were first since they had immunity. Just lost 16 pounds while Rulon lost 17. Clearly, these two are not game-players. Of course, Rulon is an Olympic athlete, or was, so he is just a fierce competitor. But his main competition in his own mind is his weight, which is how it should be.

Larialmy lost 11 pounds and Q lost 13, which looked to keep them safe for the week. But there were three more teams–Austin lost 16 while Ken lost 14, keeping them safe. Kaylee lost 9 while Moses lost 14, keeping them safe too. Finally, Sarah lost 9 while Deni lost 11. They were also safe, and the red team was going to have to send someone home this week.

Most of the other players did not appreciate Q’s work ethic, and they told him so. But Larialmy wanted to go home, and once Q declared that he would give it his all, everyone got on board with sending his wife home.

Then they showed Larialmy and Don at home–Larialmy has gone from 301 down to 227; while Don has gone from 309 down to 222. Good for both of them! So I guess this was a good thing for Don. But will Q be true to his word? I have a feeling he won’t be, but we’ll see. And I’ll see you all back here next week…..

Last night was the season premier of “The Biggest Loser: Couples,” and it sure was interesting. The producers always try to keep both you and the contestants guessing, and last night they did that, and in fact they are still doing it as you read this today. That’s because the two trainers they added this season still have no identities, and why they won’t just come out and say who they are is just plain annoying. But more on that in a bit.

At the start they focused on Arthur, who at 5’8″ and 507 pounds is the largest person in density this show has ever seen. This season also includes Moses, a 400-plus pound man who is of Tongan descent, just like Sam and Koli and Filipe and Sione were in seasons past–proof that those folks love to eat and eat bad things. There is also Rulon Gardner, the wrestler who won a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics and also competed in the 2004 games, but who is now over 400 pounds. The theme is couples too, which only means that the contestants were brought on in pairs–parents and children, siblings or just friends.

So after introducing rock star trainers Bob and Jillian, it was time to work out. Or was it? Well, sort of. They had their first challenge, running a 5 K on a treadmill. The teams had the option to choose their training team based on what order they finished the race in. They could stay on the ranch and train with Bob and Jillian; or they could train with the “unknown” trainers in an undisclosed location, which turned out to be the Biggest Loser fitness ranch. But wait, there’s more. Going with the unknown training situation also came with FOUR weeks of immunity. Holy crap.

So the yellow team of Rulon and Justin finished first, followed by the gray team of Kaylee and Moses–and both went with the unknown. The aqua team of Marci and Courtney went with Bob and Jillian as did the green team of Jay and Jen. The brown team of Ken and Austin went with the unknown, the purple team of Hannah and Olivia went with the ranch. Two spots remained for the uknown and the next two teams chose them–the pink team of Sarah and Deni and the red team of Larialmy and Q.

Then after showing contestants working out a fitness ridge with only silhouettes with voices as trainers, they showed a last chance workout with those at the ranch. They then showed a small part of the weigh in at fitness ridge–Rulon and Justin lost a combined 59 pounds, and Moses lost a whopping 41 pounds! Those trainers are not screwing around.

So now it was time for those on the ranch to weigh in. Marci and Courtney went first and lost 14 and 15 pounds, respectively; Arthur lost 31 and Jesse 7; Jen lost 20 while her dad Jay lost 26; Olivia and Hannah lost 16 pounds each; Ana lost 9 while her daughter Irene lost 13; and twin brothers Dan and Don lost 21 and 19. So the team with the lowest percentage was the orange team of Ana and Irene. That meant that everyone else on the ranch voted for which team member to send home, and which one to keep.

Ana pleaded with everyone to send her home and let Irene stay, and that’s how the voting went. There certainly is no gameplay at this stage, so it would just be a subjective vote. They showed Ana at home and she has gone from 255 pounds to 205, with hopes to lose 100 pounds overall. Good for her!

Meanwhile, we still have no idea who these new trainers are. We know they exist and that they have credentials and even that they can get results in Week 1. But really, not showing who they are after one full episode? That’s just bogus.

See you all next week….