Shane

The Biggest Loser 8 Episode 1

The Biggest Loser is back for another season of second chances. The Biggest Loser 8 cast consists of 16 contestants, including one familiar face from last season, Daniel Wright, who weighed in as the heaviest contestant ever at age 19.

Bob and Jillian has a message for the people watching. These people aren’t like you. They are you.

Youth pastor Sean has two kids and another one on the way. He wants to be around long enough for his kids to remember him. College student Alexandra is unable to even fit into her college seat. Danny had a rock star dream 20 years ago and feels like somebody stole his life. With 9 grandchildren, Liz wants to start making the right choices. Coach Mo was a college athlete, but he’s no longer fit. Tracey blames loneliness from her husband being in the Marine Corps for her excessive eating habits.

The contestants see Allison. This isn’t the ranch, though. What’s up? She starts talking about the marathon from last season. They’re dropped off a mile away from where the marathon finished. It’s time for the first challenge. They will race the final mile of that marathon. The winner of the challenge will receive immunity. That person will also choose the partner for the remainder of the competition, and that person will also be immune. One more surprise. They’re greeted by contestant number 16, Dan from season 7, who weighed in at 312 pounds at the final weigh-in and is back to finish what he started.

Tracey takes off at the start with a sprint. Right behind her she sees the orange shirt, though. Unlike these others, Dan’s got some amount of workout experience behind him. In the back of the pack we see some immediate struggling with knee pain. Knee pain is your body’s way of telling you to lose weight (it’s not a hint to take an elevator). Dan ends up finishing the mile first in 14:07. Then a bunch of other people who I don’t know who they are yet cross behind him. Mo needs oxygen after his run. Tracey, who had done well and was close the lead, all of a sudden collapses with about 100 yards to go. She says she’s fine, but her legs are jelly. With the assistance of the other contestants, she manages to finish the race. Once that task is accomplished, the paramedics surround her. She is not responding and has to be airlifted out of there.

When they arrive at the ranch, the others are informed that Tracey and Mo are doing fine. They will stay in the hospital as a precaution, but they will remain in the game.

Allen is a firefighter who’s worried that he may not be able to rescue someone some day because he’s not fit enough to get to them. Rudy was a lineman in college. After school, he kept eating but stopped working out. Rebecca weighed 235 pounds at age 14. Shay grew up in foster care. She doesn’t believe in giving up, but she’s never tried to work on herself either. Danny’s age 39. He made a promise to his girls that when he turned 40, he’d change his life, so here he is. Abby lost her husband and children in a car accident two and a half years ago. She doesn’t know what she wants to do, but today she did a mile.

Now it’s time to pick teams. People will select their partners based on challenge finish.

Orange Team
Daniel
Shay

Green Team
Allen
Abby

Pink Team
Amanda
Rebecca

Blue Team
Rudy
Dina

Red Team
Antoine
Sean

Brown Team
Liz
Danny

Black Team
Alexandra
Julio

That leaves the two remaining in the hospital as the last team.

Purple Team
Mo
Tracey

Time for the first weigh-in. Last season was the most shocking yet, but I don’t think the shocks are over.

Amanda: 250 pounds
Rebecca: 279 pounds
Pink Total: 529 pounds

Allen: 325 pounds
Abby: 247 pounds
Green Total: 572 pounds

Alexandra: 309 pounds
Julio: 407 pounds
Black Total: 716 pounds

Rudy: 442 pounds
Dina: 253 pounds
Blue Total: 695 pounds

Liz: 267 pounds
Danny: 430 pounds
Black Total: 697 pounds

Antoine: 367 pounds
Sean: 444 pounds
Red Total: 811 pounds

Daniel: 312 pounds
Shay: 476 pounds (heaviest person ever)
Orange Total: 788 pounds

So who are they training with? Both of them. This time, Bob and Jillian will be working together rather than against each other. This should be a nice change of pace from last season’s whining about how it’s unfair that someone had to change from Bob’s team.

The first workout leads to plenty of crying, vomiting, and falling on the floor. It’s not long before we hear the words “I can’t.” Jillian tells Shay to go ahead and quit, but Bob doesn’t want her to have that option. Regardless, she still can’t. Out the door she goes. Jillian wants to give her some space so that she doesn’t get any attention for being a quitter. She doesn’t have a day. Bob suggests 10 minutes. They compromise on half an hour as Shay sits outside crying. After some time outside, Shay decides to return back inside. Jillian tells her if she quits on her again, she goes home.

That night, Mo returns from the hospital, and he’s recovered from his symptoms of dehydration, low blood sugar, and low blood pressure. No word yet when his partner’s coming back from the hospital, but he’ll workout until she does.

The contestants make their way to see Dr. H for what’s going to be bad news. This season the hope is to use the information to set guidelines for future weight loss research. Sean doesn’t think he has diabetes… he is informed he’s wrong. He needs to get out of his denial that he has no medical problems. At his weight, that’s just not possible. Mo’s biological age is 69, compared to his actual age of 55. He doesn’t think this is right for someone who spends his life teaching people. Shay’s got 55% body fat and is at the point where her fat is flowing over into her lungs. Her biological age is 45, as compared with her chronological age of 29. Her mom died at 48 years old and was also morbidly obese.

Bob can tell this group’s got a lot of baggage, and their lives are fragmented because of it.

After the last chance workout, it’s time for the weigh-in. Only one member of the team that falls below the yellow line will be going home.

Daniel: 300 pounds (-12, 3.85%)
Shay: 459 pounds (-17, 3.57%)
Orange Total: 759 pounds (-29, 3.68%, immune)

Amanda: 244 pounds (-6, 2.40%)
Rebecca: 261 pounds (-18, 6.45%)
Pink Total: 505 pounds (-24, 4.54%)

Rudy: 414 pounds (-28, 6.33%)
Dina: 253 pounds (-8, 3.16%)
Blue Total: 659 pounds (-36, 5.18%)

Antoine: 349 pounds (-18 4.90%)
Sean: 422 pounds (-22, 4.95%)
Red Total: 771 pounds (-40, 4.93%)

Liz: 257 pounds (-10, 3.75%)
Danny: 406 pounds (-24, 5.58%)
Brown Total: 663 pounds (-34, 4.88%)

Allen: 306 pounds (-19, 5.85%)
Abby: 232 pounds (-15, 6.07%)
Green Total: 538 pounds (-34, 5.94%)

Alexandra: 296 pounds (-13, 4.21%)
Julio: 394 pounds (-13, 3.19%)
Black Total: 690 pounds (-26, 3.63%)

Mo: 336 pounds (-19, 5.35%)

With his weight loss, Coach Mo has managed to keep himself there and give Tracey another shot. The black team has fallen below the yellow line. Alexandra’s angry at her partner, but Julio is also upset at himself. To be fair, she was close to the back of the pack as well, though. Do they take out the threat, or is this the point of the game where they have mercy?

Votes
Purple: Alexandra
Pink: Julio
Red: Julio
Orange: Julio
Brown: Alexandra
Blue: Alexandra
Green: Alexandra

By a vote of 4-3, Alexandra has been voted out. Having been granted another chance, Julio needs to step it up and maybe stop with his falling down routine in the gym. Since returning home, Alexandra has lost 60 pounds, and she hopes to be able to motivate her family to do the same. She says she had a crush on somebody on the ranch but didn’t have the confidence to talk to him. We’ll have to stay tuned to find out who that somebody is.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Biggest Loser 8 Episode 2, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.

America’s Got Talent Season 4 Episode 25

Five more acts joined the final 10 in America’s Got Talent Season 4 Episode 24: Hairo Torres, Recycled Percussion, Barbara Padilla, Lawrence Beaman, and Drew Stevyns. They join The Texas Tenors, Grandma Lee, Kevin Skinner, Voices of Glory, and the Fab Five.

Tonight, the top 10 finalists will perform for America’s votes to win the $1 million prize. NBC has moved the show to Monday to make way for the premiere for The Biggest Loser 8 tomorrow night.

Voices of Glory go first. They sing Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston, taking the judges’ advice and having the boys mostly just stay in the background. Piers has been waiting for it all to click into place, and tonight’s the night that it happened.

Hairo Torres is back to dance again. Sharon thinks he did the right thing by doing an emotional performance with just him and the stage. Piers loves Hairo, but he doesn’t think that routine worked. Without the group, he lost the fun.

Lawrence Beaman is going back old school with My First, My Last, My Everything by Barry White. He’s definitely in his element. Hoff is proud to be part of journey to become a star. Piers wasn’t quite getting that loving feeling like he would have gotten from love god Barry, but the vocals were great.

Barbara Padilla has been one of the clear frontrunners, so she’s got a lot to live up to tonight. She will be singing the song from her first audition. I’m not crazy about the concept of a repeat, but with her voice, I’m not sure how much it matters. Piers thinks that there are millions of people sitting at home thinking she’s one of us and living our dream. Hoff tells her to forget Vegas… she’s going to play bigger halls.

The Fab Five would like to thank their husbands for being Mr. moms and looking after their 17 (so pretty much no birth control in that family) kids between them. They dance to Britney Spears’ Circus, as a circus performs behind them. Sharon felt like she was in Vegas. Piers enjoys the infectious chemistry.

The Texas Tenors sing My Way by Frank Sinatra. Hoff loves that they did it their way. Piers loved that, despite the fact that it was the cheesiest thing ever in the history of cheese.

Drew Stevyns was cut early but found renewed life as a wild card. Now Sharon sees him as the dark horse who may potentially win this thing. He sings I’ll Stand by You by The Pretenders, recently covered by Carrie Underwood to make its return to the charts. Piers thought that was Drew’s best performance, and this could be the night when a wild card goes the whole way. If Sharon were looking for a young guy to be a soft rock singer, she’d pick him, though she’d like to see him in tighter trousers (she’s been looking at his… things all night).

Grandma Lee says she grew up playing pranks in children’s home. Sharon wants to see her move on from the Piers jokes. Grandma’s escorted out by a bunch of buff guys, and she’s pregnant. First thing out of her mouth: she’ll discuss this later with Piers. Her kids are out in the audience sweating like Ryan Seacrest watching Brokeback Mountain. She’s decided she’s over Piers. Now she loves Simon Cowell. Sharon’s accepted that the Piers jokes aren’t going away. Piers just thinks Simon’s already got enough women.

Kevin Skinner is another person who’s been running at the front of the pack since his first performance. Piers doesn’t think he’s yet delivered something that can win this whole competition, though. He sings I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing by Aerosmith, turning it into a country song. Piers views him as a rough diamond who probably needs professional training, but he represents the people who are struggling in this country.

Recycled Percussion will be closing out the show, not the closing choice I would have anticipated, but they close with a bang. They perform the song Wipe Out by The Sufaris. Piers would put them in Vegas tomorrow.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 4 Episode 26, where we will find out who the America’s Got Talent Season 4 winner is, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on NBC.

Survivor: Thailand Episode 3

Having been sick pretty much from the beginning, Tanya was voted off the island in Survivor: Thailand Episode 2.

Since she’s never been away from her husband for this long, Ghandia’s happy that Ted is there with her. She loves hugging him.

Sook Jai got a fishing net in the reward challenge. Too bad they don’t know how to actually use it. A plate of cheese and crackers may have been more useful to them.

Ghandia was thrilled to be with Ted. Well, that didn’t last long. Now she’s depressed. They’ve been sleeping together, and last night she says he was grinding against her. He acknowledges that he may have done a bit of grinding before realizing what he was doing. He apologizes. Then she starts crying because she has emotional baggage from an experience she had in college. The casting directors missed a step here when they did the psychological testing. You don’t put someone this emotionally fragile and explosive in this situation. If you do, watch out.

As recently as the 1960s, the island they’re on was ruled by pirates. Today they get to be pirates and steal from the boats across the way. In the center of the course, there is a clearly marked attack zone. If they are in the attack zone, they can engage in contact with the enemy. Reward is two Red Berets, Thai Special Forces who know how to live off the land, for 24 hours. Jake and Erin sit out for Sook Jai. Sook Jai takes the lead 2-0. Then it goes up to 4-2. The first showdown is Ted against Robb, and Ted knocks Robb into the water. The lead extends to 5-3. The next showdown is Shii Ann against Brian, which her tribe insists is a good idea. It isn’t. The lead extends to 7-4. On his way back, Brian gets into a showdown with Ken. This time Brian falls in, which lets Sook Jai take the 8-4 lead. Sticking around the attack zone, Ken throws somebody in the water, but he’s told he’s not in the attack zone when he first makes contact (it’s pretty close), so Ken is eliminated and one of his team’s baskets goes to the other team to bring the score to 7-5. Immediately after, Probst warns not to get too cute in that attack zone. Not learning from Ken a few seconds before, Robb is not in the attack zone when he grabs clay around the throat, so he is eliminated and the score is now 6-6. Ted and Stephanie showdown, so obviously Ted throws her in. Someone tells her to grab his leg, which she does. She was in the water, nowhere near the attack zone. She’s out, and Chuay Gahn now has a 7-5 lead. This goes up to 8-5. Ted tosses Shii Ann in. Then Jed comes up charging Ted, again not anywhere near the attack zone. Jed is eliminated, and Chuay Gahn leads 9-4. With one more basket, Chuay Gahn wins reward, as Sook Jai self destructs.

This reward is a big one. The Red Berets are able to show them everything that’s edible on the island, which is a lot more than they were able to figure out on their own.

In the middle of this learning experience, Ghandia goes to the women of the tribe because she wants Ted gone. She didn’t really mean it when she said she accepted the apology. In the process, she comes up with new parts to her story that she never said before in an attempt to make him look bad. In addition to making stuff up, it slips her mind to mention that he apologized and she was okay with that apology.

Robb and Jed came up with the bright idea of leaving the fishing net out in the water for a long time in hopes of catching something. Bye bye net. Robb acknowledges responsibility, although Jed says he delegated watching it to someone else while he took a nap.

Helen goes up to Brian to tell him that the three girls are planning to take out Ted the next chance they get. Ted responds to Brian that nothing happened. So Brian tells Helen nothing happened. Of course, Helen goes right to Ghandia and tells her this. With that, Ghandia goes off and yells and starts punching and throws things. Clay is reminded of the tantrums his 2 year old throws. This lunatic needs to be thrown off the island before she hurts someone.

After her fit is done, Ted suggests having a talk in front of everyone. He tells the same story that he started grinding a couple times before becoming aware of his surroundings and that he wasn’t with his wife. Although he acknowledges that much, he denies the rest of her story (the part she made up to tell the other women) about how he bit, kissed, and stroked her. Following this discussion that gets them nowhere in which they are both telling completely different stories, Ghandia once again says that it’s over and they need to move on.

According to Erin, most of Sook Jai couldn’t care less whether they win or lose. They’re ready to start shedding some people. The challenge is to transfer the temple from platform 1 to platform 3 using all three platforms to solve the puzzle. They can only move one piece at a time and can never have a large piece on top of a smaller piece. Ken and Penny will sit out for Sook Jai. Chuay Gahn is making good progress. Sook Jai? Not so much. They’re all sorts of confused. Chuay Gahn easily wins immunity.

When it’s all done, Shii Ann says she could have done that logic puzzle in her sleep. She or Jake could have stepped in to save the tribe. They didn’t want to, though. They let Jed try to be the brains of the operation.

Robb has decided he would like to get rid of Shii Ann. Ken would rather get rid of the lazy Jed. It’s not just that he’s lazy and not helping them but that he’s lazy and hurting them.

Votes
Jed
Jed
Shii Ann
Shii Ann
Shii Ann
Jed
Jed
Jed

By a vote of 5-3, Jed has been voted off the island. 5 people got what they wanted and got rid of the weak link who they blame for losing the fishing net because he was too busy sleeping. Jed, Robb, and Stephanie remain on the outside of the tribe divided.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of Survivor: Thailand Episode 4 Gender Bender.

The Amazing Race 15 Cast

The Amazing Race 15 will be returning to CBS Sunday September 27. The cast of 12 teams competing for the $1 million prize consists of:

Dan & Sam
21/23
Liberty, MO
Students
Brothers

Eric & Lisa
41/43
Encino, CA via Michigan
Yoga Studio Owners and Instructors
Married Yoga Teachers

Ericka & Brian
27
Nashville, TN
Entertainer & Miss America 2004 / Marketing Tour Manager
Married

Garrett & Jessica
28/27
Santa Cruz, CA / San Francisco, CA
Engineer/Editor
Dating On and Off

Gary & Matt
47/22
Laurel, MT / Bozeman, MT
Construction Manager and Mortgage Broker/ Student
Father/Son

Herbert & Nathaniel
32/28
Brinkley, AR / New Orleans, LA
Harlem Globetrotters
Teammates

Lance & Keri
41/33
Salem, MA/ Peabody, MA
Lawyer/ Finance Manager
Engaged

Marcy & Ron
60/59
San Francisco, CA
Advertising Photographer/Stock Trader & Math Tutor
Dating

Maria & Tiffany
26/25
Arcadia, CA/Los Angeles, CA
Professional Poker Players
Professional Poker Players

Meghan & Cheyne
23
San Diego, CA
Account Executive/Brand Manager
Dating

Mika & Canaan
22/26
Nashville, TN
Aspiring Singer/Professional Songwriter
Newly Dating

Zev & Justin
26/30
Sherman Oaks, CA / Los Angeles, CA
Unemployed/VP of Production and Development for National Lampoon
Friends

Mika and Canaan Amazing Race 15

Mika Combs & Canaan Smith
Age: 22/26
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Occupation: Aspiring Singer/Professional Songwriter
Relationship: Newly Dating

CBS Bio
These southern sweethearts will charm you with their fresh faces and wide-eyed enthusiasm for life. They have only been dating for a few months, but admit to spending every waking hour together since they fell in love.

Mika grew up in Hazard, Ky. and moved to Nashville, Tenn. two years ago to pursue a career in country music. She claims to excel in high pressure situations, but admits to often breaking down in tears when she gets upset. Her favorite hobbies include singing, dancing and riding four-wheelers.

Canaan is a professional songwriter who is looking at the Race as an opportunity to grow his relationship with Mika. Mika believes that Canaan can be way too demanding, while he believes she can be too sensitive. He lists his favorite activities to do with Mika as writing songs and making out.

Neither one of them has traveled extensively outside of Canaan’s mission trip to Mexico with his church, but they have no doubt that their love will take them to the finish line and the $1 million prize.

Zev and Justin Amazing Race 15

Zev Glassenberg & Justin Kanew
Age: 26/30
Hometown: Sherman Oaks, CA / Los Angeles, CA
Occupation: Unemployed/VP of Production and Development for National Lampoon
Relationship: Friends

CBS Bio
Zev and Justin’s friendship started six years ago when they were working as camp counselors and the two have been very close ever since. Zev has Asperger’s Syndrome, but they don’t let it affect their relationship. They share friends and interests, and the friendship is as mutually beneficial as any could be.

Zev is an avid sports fan â€” especially basketball â€” and he has an intense competitive spirit. He describes himself as funny, modest, and loyal, and is running the Race to prove to himself that he can do anything.

Justin prides himself on his patience and his ability to problem solve. He admits the biggest difference between he and his partner is that Zev is not great in large groups of people â€” one of the characteristics of Asperger’s â€” while Justin is very easy-going and can assimilate himself into any group.

Outside of the occasional trip to Vegas (where Justin took Zev to lose his virginity), neither has traveled extensively, particularly with one another. Their relationship is spontaneous and unedited and resembles one of brothers more than friends.

Dan and Sam Amazing Race 15

Dan McMillen & Sam McMillen
Age: 21/23
Hometown: Liberty, MO
Occupation: Students
Relationship: Brothers

CBS Bio
Brothers for 21 years, Sam and Dan will tell you that their relationship did not truly start until last summer when they both came out and told each other that they were gay.

Growing up Christian in a conservative community, neither one of them felt comfortable enough coming out at an early age but after doing so, they’ve found a whole new bond with one another and instantly became closer through honesty and trust. Sam and Dan will tell you that being gay is only one of the many aspects of their lives.

Dan describes himself as organized, open-minded and spontaneous and hopes to gain a new sense of appreciation for his life from running the Race with his brother. His hobbies include exercise, volunteering and traveling.

Sam claims to be optimistic and happy-go-lucky and his hobbies include cinema, logic games and anything involving the outdoors. Communication may be the biggest challenge for this Team, as they claim to be polar opposites. From academic interests to how they approach tasks, these brothers are very different in everything they do. Due to his passive mentality, Sam will need to be more vocal to overcome Dan’s blunt, assertive personality in order to contribute to the team while on the road.

Sam is pursuing a degree in medicine while Dan has one more year left at William Jewell College to complete his business degree. When asked what former Team they would model their style of play after, Sam points to Nick and Starr because they maintained a positive attitude which carried them to the $1 million prize. Dan identifies with the competitive style of Rob and Amber. Both brothers hope that the Race will take their new found closeness to the next level and help them forge an even stronger bond.

Eric and Lisa Amazing Race 15

Eric Paskel & Lisa Paskel
Age: 41/43
Hometown: Encino, CA via Michigan
Occupation: Yoga Studio Owners and Instructors
Relationship: Married Yoga Teachers

CBS Bio
Eric and Lisa have been married for over 18 years. Both are vegans who have a passionate and fiery approach to their personal and professional lives and are extremely dedicated to helping others.

Eric and Lisa own four yoga studios and both serve as instructors. In addition to running their business, they teach classes and workshops where they deal with issues such as family crisis and addiction. Lisa describes what she does as, “helping people connect to their supreme self.”

Lisa claims that Eric is much more easy-going, carefree and trusting of others while she has the ability to see people for what they really are â€” an ability that will undoubtedly come in handy on the Race.

Neither Eric nor Lisa are afraid to challenge one another to be the best people they can be and no matter the challenge at hand, both are open to working together to find a solution. They hope that their experience on the Race will further solidify a marriage that they consider a true blessing.

They reside in Encino, Calif., and have two daughters.