Danny, Danny, DANNY!!!

It was the finale of my dreams, except for two small little incidents.  The first occurred promptly at 7:59 and 58 seconds as the Boston NBC affiliate LOST THE FEED!!!  Thought I was going to have a heart attack.  Missed the beginning three minutes and the live Tweeters got me up to speed quickly.  The second snafu…we’ll get to that shortly.

AMERICA VOTES

Alison Sweeney looks unbelievably gorgeous in her red dress.  I am still awestruck that she didn’t lose the microphone in her cleavage, what with all the hugging going on!   As Amanda and Liz take the stage to hear how America voted, I was stunned by the resemblance between Amanda and Ali.  If Days of Our Lives needs Sami flashbacks that don’t fit with the storyline, they should definitely call Amanda.   Simply stunning.  Liz also looks great, but even with the weight loss, she’s still looking much older than 49.  Residual marriage stress?   America seconds it’s original choice:  Amanda wins the chance to weigh in for the grand prize!

AT HOME PRIZE RESULTS - $100,000

By order of elimination, the first four are Alexandra, Antoine, Sean and Julio.  Alexandra dances, saying how lucky she was to share the weight loss journey with Antoine, her boyfriend since they left the show.   Antoine is glowing with pride, accomplishment…and a secret!   Sean’’s life announces that he’s a proud papa for the third time, a daughter named Jillian!   Julio is swoonworthy.  Didn’t even recognize him with his new mustache.   Very dashing.

Bob and Jillian wow the crowd in their sleek sexy black outfits as the first four contestants change for weigh in.  Gorgeous, both of them.  I find myself wondering if Bob’s mohawk will return in Season 9.   Back to business – the first set of weigh in results:

• Alexandra – start 309 lbs, finish 218 lbs,  total % lost 29.45
• Antoine – start 367 lbs, finish 215 lbs, total % lost 41.42
• Sean- start 444 lbs, finish 289 lbs, total % lost 34.91
• Julio – start 407 lbs, finish 227, total % lost 44.2

Julio’s in the lead!  Coach Mo, Dina, Abby and Tracey stroll out.   Coach Mo looks svelte in his purple sweater.   If Alison surprises her with a bench, I’m  confident Dina could jump onto it.  She’s looking strong.  It is so good to see Abby smile in her sexy red dress!  Tracey is clearly in contention for the 100K but her words of strength don’t match her appearance.  She looks like a skeleton among the healthy glow of all the other players.  Has to stand out, even in the finale!

• Coach Mo – start 355 lbs, finish 263, total % lost 25.92
• Dina – start 253 lbs, finish 174, total % lost 31.23
• Abby – start 247 lbs, finish 147, total % lost 40.49 (an even 100 lbs, meeting her goal!)
• Tracey – start 250 lbs, finish 132, total % lost 47.23

Good god.  Second stumble of the night occurs.  A wave of nausea crashes over me.  Tracey has taken the lead from Julio!   No, no, NO!!!  Is she actually going to win the at home prize?!

Shay, Daniel, Rebecca, Allen and Liz are the final five to weigh in.  It’s been such a long journey for Shay as the heaviest player to date.  She knows her journey will continue well past the finale.  Daniel, rocking the v-neck, looking so handsome with his new muscles!  Dr. H tells the Orange Team that they did get their Second Chance.  With the pounds they lost, Shay gained 13 years of life, Daniel an astonishing 23!  Rebecca’s doing the previous incarnations of the Pink Team proud, flaunting arms that scream “SLEEVELESS!”  Not sure about the new blonde hair color though.  Loved that glossy dark brown.  Allen lives up to the hunky firefighter image – he looks awesome!

• Shay – start 476 lbs, finish 304, total % lost 36.12
• Daniel – start 312 lbs, finish 201, total % lost 35.58
• Rebecca – start 279 lbs, finish 140, total % lost 49.82 (she takes the lead from Tracey!!!)
• Allen – start 325 lbs, finish 209, total % lost 35.69
• Liz – start 267 lbs, finish 176, total % lost 34.08

And once again, karma come back to bite Tracey in the butt.  Rebecca scores the $100,000!

A collective cheer among the live Tweeters!  And Bob dishes out the first surprise of the night, inviting Shay to weigh in again at the Season 9 finale in May.   Jillian tells her that Subway is going to give her $1,000 dollars for every pound she loses.  That is AWESOME!  Finally, a product plug we can be proud of!

THE FINAL THREE GRAND PRIZE

The second surprise of the evening – Antoine whips out a ring and proposes to Alexandra, who is overwhelmed with shock!   And of course, she says yes!

Erin, who competed with Amanda to get on Season 8, returns with her at-home weight loss – 76 lbs!  Then it’s down to Amanda, Rudy and Danny.   It was so strange to see the thin contestants walk side by side down the stage with their heavier doppelgangers.   Actually, a little disturbing.  But I did like that the contestants got into it, especially Rudy who gave his alter-ego a nice little pat on the ass.

We’ve already seen Amanda, but Rudy and Danny…WOW!  The “big boys” look amazing.  Who knew how cute Rudy was?  Danny’s channeling a younger version of Judge Reinhold.  I’ve been a Danny girl since the first week, but seeing Rudy, I know it’s going to be close.  Very close.  No way Amanda’s even in the running.

Danny picks the order since he lost the most weight on the ranch.  And finally, what we’ve all been waiting for:

• Amanda – start 250 lbs, finish 163, total % lost 34.80
• Rudy – start 442 lbs, finish 208, total % lost 52.9 (gulp!)
  
• Danny – start 430 lbs, finish 191, total % lost 55.5

AND IT’S DANNY!!! What a finish!  Rudy’s a warrior, coming THAT close to snagging a cool $250K.    Season 4’s Hollie Self is back to interview Danny after the finale:

The Biggest Loser Season 9:  Couples III returns to NBC on January 5.   Can’t wait!

FLASHBACK

Pasty, gray images as the contestants recall the last three months.  It’s as if the death knell is sounding!  Slowly the images change from torture in the gym (Jillian:  “Rudy, it’s never going to stop until you die!”)  to the ever-smaller players hoisting weights (and trainers) they struggled to move during the first few weeks.  They’ve lost pounds and gained strength, both physically and mentally.  The achievement is amazing.

GOING GOING GONE

Ali surprises the fab four by telling them they’re going home for 60 days.  They’ll have to face the same things that got them to the ranch in the first place.  Their only support: the lessons they’ve learned from Bob and Jillian.   After two months, they’ll return to the ranch to face the scale one last time before the finale.

The limos drop them off at home and reality sets in.   Rudy’s missed his family and is grateful to his wife for holding it together while he’s been away.  But he’s worried that he won’t be able to mix family life with his rigorous diet and exercise schedule.  Danny thanks his wife for her support and tells family that he wants to renew their vows.   Liz remembers how she threw a fit to go home the first week.  But every week it got easier.   This version of Liz is very different than the one who left family behind 12 weeks ago.   She’s made changes and she’s expecting her family to do the same, especially her husband.   Amanda’s broken the pattern of giving up when things got difficult.  She hopes her friends and family will be able to see her as a changed person.

Watching the players trying to integrate into their previous lives is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together.  Eventually with a little time, the pieces all fit together.   Rudy, Danny and Amanda settle in more easily than Liz.  She and her husband are uncomfortable discussing her journey at the ranch.   As Liz herself admits, they have had difficulties in their marriage, leading to bitterness and resentment on both sides.  Feels as if we’re eavesdropping on marriage counseling!

SPECIAL DELIVERY

The players receive video messages from Bob and Jillian, asking them to embrace the people they’ve become.  Neither of the trainers ever want to see the individuals they met at the ranch on Day 1 again.  Instead, they ask Liz, Rudy, Amanda and Danny to live life fully and with happiness…without losing sight of themselves.   The trainers follow up with a phone call, informing each contestant they’ll be running a marathon!  Surprise factor seems to be wearing off here.  Wonder if the Season 9 contestants will do a triathlon!

AT HOME VISITS

We’ve grumbled quite a bit on Twitter each Tuesday night about the insufferable amounts of product plugs this season.   The only time I thought it worked seamlessly and seemed completely appropriate was tonight when Danny’s kids were playing The Biggest Loser game No stilted setup or dialog,  just kids having fun while exercising.  So darn it, I’ll take the cue and plug it myself!

Curtis Stone makes good on the last week’s prize and teaches Danny’s family how to make lighten up favorite recipes.  He revamps a classic potato skins dish by stuffing the skins with turkey vegetable chili.  MMMMmmm!   The trainers are also on the move, sneaking up on the players at home.   Bob goes one-on-one with Rudy and Amanda, while Jillian does mini family interventions with Liz and Danny (a pretty good promo for her show actually).   Everybody agrees that it’s stressful to be home, but the trainers keep the players on course with helpful tips.

RACE DAY

Ali meets the players at the starting line to wish them luck.  She also tells them that they have a chance to pay it forward.  Each player who finishes will receive $10,000 to donate to the charity of his/her choice.   The starting gun fires and the players start running.   Rudy and Amanda settle into a comfortable pace, each running alone.  Danny and Liz decide that teamwork got them to this point – and teamwork will carry them through to the finish line.

Motivation comes in the form of running partners.  Tara Costa surprises the Brown Team and Liz is overjoyed, telling Tara that she watched her run the marathon last season!  The trio is later joined by Danny’s wife and Liz’s husband, and another former Brown Team member, Season 7’s Mike Morelli.  Meanwhile, Dina joins her former Blue Team partner at the halfway point.  Amanda scoops up her friend Brian around mile 15.  Everyone keeps running (or walking/jogging), despite the serious pain they’re all feeling…knees, hips, everywhere!  Tara moves up to run with Amanda, giving her small goals – “walk to the post, then run.”    Rudy puts it best:  “Who puts the finish line 26.2 miles away from the starting line?!”  Mile 25 has significance – they’ve been there before on Day 1!  It was the first mile they ran.  Now it’s the last.

One by one, they roll through the finish line. Rudy’s first, followed by Amanda, then Danny and Liz cement their partnership by finishing together.  No time to savor the achievement; they’ve got one last weigh in!

WEIGH-IN

Ali outlines the ground rules – the two players with the highest percentage of weight loss automatically make it to the finale.  The last two will ask America to decide which one will compete for the grand prize.  The announcement will be made live at the finale.

• Liz, 16 lbs
• Amanda, 16 lbs
• Danny, 54 lbs ASTONISHING!
• Rudy, 43 lbs WOW!

America will decide between Amanda and Liz.

NEXT WEEK

The live 2- hour finale!

Outrage among The Biggest Loser Fans last week!  How.  Could.  Blue.  Keep.  TRACEY?!   Black Team could hardly believe it either as Blue Team single-filed into the house this week.  But after the initial shock wore off and Tracey stopped crying (split personality!  I swear she’s Sybill.), an odd thing happened.  We had an almost entirely Tracey-free episode.   We didn’t even see Bob’s reaction when he found it out Blue Team had booted Mo.  The spotlight shifted away from our formerly Purple shirted devil woman and illuminated someone more deserving.

Danny, YOU!  Are my shining star, don’t you go away. (Disclaimer – not me!  I’m Lori, not Laura.  But I just can’t stop smiling when I see this clip.  Same way I feel watching Danny.)  He led the Black Team in pounds lost, but more importantly, he showed us all how it’s done by returning home and involving his family in his weight loss.   Laser-sharp focus from him this week and you could see it all over his face.  Simply put, he’s inspired.  He knows who he was, who he is and who he wants to be.  And I’m rooting for him!

CHALLENGE

Bob puts the Blue Team through treadmill hell and tells them that if they can’t win the weigh-in, at least win the challenge.   No time wasted this week.  Night falls and both teams head out to meet Alison.  She won’t tell them what they’re playing for, only that it determines who will stay and who will go.  The players know it involves finding 4 keys that are buried in a sand pit.  Each team needs their 4 keys in order to unlock their treasure box.  Abby and Tracey aren’t competing due to injuries, and to even the number of players, Amanda volunteers to sit out.  Good idea, since she hates sand!

Lot of interesting digging strategy.  Hands, shovels, sideways snow angels (Liz).  Danny finds the first blue key, races to put it into the lock and then assists Daniel, who’s made significant progress locating his key.  Allen gets the first Blue key, unlocks his lock and then jumps over to Rudy.   The two manage to unearth the second Blue key while Black team is struggling on their second.

30 minutes flash by.  Lots of sand, no keys!  Finally, Blue gets the third key out of the ground and over to the treasure box.   Another 10 minutes goes by before Rebecca finally gets the last Blue key!  Blue Team unlocks the box to reveal the prize – a week at home…if they want to go.  If they don’t, they can send Black Team off campus.  Rudy’s unsure and so is the rest of Blue.   Ultimately, they decide the advantage is stay on campus and have Bob kick their butts for a week.  Black Team is going home!

AT HOME

Black Team is both nervous and excited.  Daniel, who’s already been doing this at home, worries that a week off the ranch will spell disaster.  Abby, Dina, Shay, Amanda and Danny can’t wait to see their families.  At the same time, they know they are not the same people who left home five weeks ago.  Will their families accept that?

I love watching the contestants reunite with their families.  Everyone’s in awe of what they’ve accomplished physically.   Daniel’s family is thrilled beyond belief.  Abby, whose parents were her rocks when she lost her husband and kids, are overjoyed at seeing the light return to their daughter’s eyes.  Dina’s hubby and adorable son are all dressed up for the special occasion and her husband says that Dina looks like she did when they first met.  Shay’s husband hasn’t told her stepchildren exactly where she’s been, so she explains and they all tell her how glad they are to have her home.  Amanda’s mom is astonished, noting her daughter’s newfound self-confidence and emerging beauty as Amanda tells her crowd that she’s wearing a size 16!  Danny’s missed his wife and kids and they greet him with huge hugs and happy smiles.  His wife says this is the Danny she met years ago.

After the meets and greets, the Black Team contestants prep their families.  They explain what happened at the challenge and how scary it is to have the security blanket of team and trainers pulled out from underneath them.  They know it’s going to be a crazy four or five days.   As Shay notes, forget digging in the sand.  Being at home with all of the distractions and old patterns is the true challenge!

The biggest problems:  food and working out.  If they can’t get these two things under control, weigh in will be a disaster.   Wondering if it was an editing decision on the producers part, but it seemed as if most of the Black Team players were fixated on what they couldn’t eat or do.  Danny’s approach with his family was completely different, more optimistic, I thought.  He outlined how he wanted the week to unfold and kept himself and his family focused on the positive benefits of these choices, especially the food.  Enjoyed that he explained the benefits of eating at home with the best quality food.  A big ole BBQ of teachable moments.  Very Law of Attraction!

The other contestants are struggling to manage their diets and exercise at home.  Shay gets a chance to demonstrate her newfound nutrition knowledge at Subway with her friends later, but eating out with her stepchildren and husband is an entirely different story.  Everyone except Shay gets their usual order.  Seeing the plates of fried appetizers and cheesy entrees, she realizes that her stepkids were only copying what they saw her eating.   She orders grilled fish but wonders if the kitchen really cooked it the way she ordered.  By the time she gets to the gym,  she has to keep reminding herself that she has to learn to do it at home, even if means being uncomfortable as the only big girl working out.

Meanwhile, Dina’s shocked by the amounts of unhealthy food being served up at her family’s restaurant outing.   Appetizers laden with grease pass around the table.  Dina can’t believe she ever ate like this.  She tries to change her husband’s mind, but he wolfs down an enormous burrito.   She doesn’t feel as if she’s getting a lot of support.  And working out presents more challenge – she has to bring her son with her.   Her kid’s so cute though.  He can’t believe she can run so fast on the treadmill!

Danny and Amanda get much needed pep talk calls from Jillian.  She tells them that they know more than they think and to keep focused.  Abby’s a swimming machine, but she wonders if she’s staying on track.   Abby’s mom, seeing her daughter’s efforts, calls Abby her hero!

TRAINER TIP

Bob explains that circuit training is a great way to peel off the pounds.  Do 8-10 exercises in row, mixing in a cardio component.  No resting between sets!  The body will tire quickly, so exercise multiple muscle groups for the best results.  He suggests one arm rows, lateral raises, step up for cardio for the first three exercises.   Add in additional muscle groups for the next 5-7 exercises.   Repeat entire 8-10 exercises, 3-5 times.  (Use The Biggest Loser Fitness Programor Jillian’s Hot Bod in a Boxfor easy-to-follow circuits)

BACK ON CAMPUS

Bob’s showing Blue Team that every day’s a Last Chance Workout!  (Perhaps the inspiration for this little DVD
coming out in December?)  No one does sassy, adorably smug and snarky like Bob.  After all, he’s only there to “make the Blue Team happy!”   But he and Blue both know that this is their moment.   He can’t work them out hard enough to make them want to go home, according to Liz.  Bob tells them to think of the elimination.  How badly do they want it?  He’s not putting them on the 10% incline to make it easy!  In fact, he’s quite happy to beat the crap out of them.

Product placement time!   Bob meets Liz and Tracey in the kitchen to dispense a few words of wisdom.  Liz says there’s no drama here on campus (this week anyway!), allowing her to focus on what she needs.  Just happens to be a tall glass of nutrient dense milk!  Unlike the print ad, no milk mustaches though. The ladies clink glasses – cheers to being without the Black Team.

TRAINER TIP

Jillian’s way to make sandwiches leaner?   Skip the mayo and cheese and use avocado.  Less calories, plus a good dose of heart-healthy fat.   Lori G. tip:  mash with lime juice and cayenne pepper for a nice flavor jolt.

FOOD BANK

The Blue Team was inspired by last year’s Food Bank challenge and Bob decides to take them to the L.A. Food Bank.  The team fills backpacks with enough food to take kids through a whole weekend.  Job well done, Blue!

LAST CHANCE WORKOUT

Black Team arrives back on campus.  They tell Blue how hard it was, but they don’t have to tell Jillian: “It’s gonna suck, guaranteed!”  A week’s worth of workouts in one measly gym day.  Black is happy to be back, despite Jillian’s beatdown.   Shay loves the way she feels when it’s all done.  Face lighting up, Danny says he’s gotten rid of his Kryptonite.  Superman’s slowly coming back!

Bob turns up the heat on Blue, telling them to speed it up.  They had the whole house this week, and he says, “It’ll be sad” if they lose the weigh in.   He looks particularly gleeful barking orders to Tracey.

Jillian can’t figure out what’s going on with Daniel.  After she yells at him for working under his potential, Daniel starts to cry.  Being at home triggered an uncomfortable realization.  He always thought his mother wasn’t proud of him as he was when she made repeated attempts to help him lose weight.  He finally understands that she wanted the best for him.  And still does.  Jillian reminds him that Mom is still alive and he can make her proud by doing his best.   Daniel manages to wrangle a huge Jillian hug.

WEIGH-IN

Black team is freaking out and so is Bob.  If Blue’s in elimination for the second week in a row, he’s going to be “pissed.”  Not that he has to worry!  Blue pulls some amazing numbers, especially our Big Boy Rudy – 14 lbs!  Blue loses 35 lbs and 2.65% percentage of body weight.  Question:  can everyone on the Black Team average 7 lbs?  Answer:  No, although Danny sheds an amazing 15 lbs!  Black Team loses 34 lbs and 1.98% of body weight.

Ack!  Jillian’s hug had no magical powers!  Daniel gained a pound at home.  The Black Team pleads their individual cases and then heads to the elimination room.  As much as I adore Daniel, I would have sent him home.  He’s had his second chance.  But the team is evenly split between Daniel and Dina.  Shay casts the final vote to oust…Dina.

HOW THE ELIMINATED PLAYER LOOKS NOW

Dina leaves the ranch understanding her potential.  She is determined to win the battle. Check out her two new trainers (husband is conspicuously absent), the challenge she obliterated at home, amazing makeover plus BL fan questions!

NEXT WEEK

Head to head match ups against the other team.  Abby vs. Tracey, Amanda melts down.  Looks like a pressure cooker…hot, hot, HOT!  Plus a player from the past returns to see if a record gets broken at the weigh in.