User Reviews

I was dissapointed with the new finale format and for the at - home winner. I enjoyed the old show watching each person weigh in, seeing what they lost and giving each person one last time to shine. It makes me feel like the ones not in the top three didn't even need to bother to show up. And the setting? No formal stage and theater. No big audience. Just some folding chairs set up in the weigh -in room for family members. It's like having the academy awards at your backyard barbeque.

The only part of the show they changed was the finale, and that was for the worse. I liked it when they came back in dramatic fashion. I love Bob Harper, but not as host.

What has reality TV come to these days with shows from Real World to Apprentice picking stereotyped characters to appear on them week after week and season after season. The Biggest Loser, however, is a different make-up entirely, featuring normal yet overweight contestants to compete to see who can lose the most weight and be...THE BIGGEST LOSER.

Two teams train and face-off each week in different challenges. Some of the challenges focus around their improvement, such as seeing how far one can ride an exercise bike for a set number of hours. Other challenges focus on the contestants' weaknesses, such as having them build a tall tower out of sugary food. It sounds cheesy, but it's fun to watch as the two teams try their best each week in the competitions. Host Caroline Rhea and trainers Bill and Jillian also provide a nice distraction from the contest and contestants. Caroline even has exciting lines such as "It's time to...CUT THE FAT!" Where do these writers come from...?

After the competition (and watching the winning team with their prize), we then have the weigh-off where each team member sees how much weight they have lost that week. Sometimes inspirational, other times boring, the weigh-in is one of the best moments of reality TV for me. Each week I get to watch as each team member works to try and lose weight and the real payoff comes in these moments. Afterwards, the team that loses the least weight has to vote a team member off, Survivor style. It can be somewhat cheezily intense.

Sometimes the game seems a little unfair...it appears that every week, whoever wins the challenge for that week gets some cushy prize. The team that loses the challenge stays home and gets extra workout time. Does this seem like cheating to anyone else? It always seems to be that the team that wins the challenge loses the weigh-in. Hopefully if this show sees a second season (which I hope), this problem will be addressed.

While some have complained that the show should focus more on maintaining a low weight instead of just shedding the pounds, the fine print at the end of each episode says that they trainers and show mentors DO address this! As well, each contestant, as least as far as I can tell, is dangerously overweight and needed to shed that many pounds, so I don't know where some reviewers on here get off saying that the contestants should be focusing less on rapid weight loss. Rapid weight loss is dangerous for people of AVERAGE body weight. As well, each contestant has been medically consulted.

Lastly, it is important to note that the show is also inspirational in many aspects. It shows that people who are overweight can still achieve things they would not have normally thought were possible. Each and every contestant has stated this, and I feel it is important to reinforce on here. The Biggest Loser shows how much can be achieved in diet, exercise, and self-image, which is important to an overweight America. I highly suggest tuning in!

Fat people are basically the last group in America but it's safe to demonize, and it's really hard to watch Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper gleefully abuse these people. But the worst part about this show is how blatantly unhealthy it is, not just because of the abuse, but because these "extreme workouts" and insane diets (contestants subsisting on sugar-free Jell-O and diuretics, trainers giving contestants amphetamines) permanently damaged the contestants' metabolism, and for what? They gained all the weight back as soon as the show ended because they never learned anything about proper nutrition, healthy eating and living, or how to lose weight safely and sustainably. In the end, only Bob, Jillian, and NBC benefited from this show. I hope they never bring it back.

We are allowed to have tv shows about alcohol addiction, drug addiction, gambling addiction, addictions to drinking gasoline and eating diapers, but the second there is a show that centers around people who are on the brink of death due to food addiction it's an issue? There is no shame in needing help for ANY addiction. People will sit by and watch My 600 Pound life where they show those in need struggle and suffer, but the second we show how to avoid that misery and fate it's offensive.

The few who have been on the show and have claimed it gave them an eating disorder forget that they Already Had An Eating Disorder. Most of them were killing themselves and were ridden with a slew of diseases that they did not have at the end of the show, I get that for some reason shining a light on addictions and disorders that can be helped is somehow wrong, but The Biggest Loser has genuinely helped me fight through depression caused obesity numerous times in my life. It's reputation pisses me off.

Before listing the numerous bad points I have to say there is one point about this show that is so amazingly good it almost makes up for the bad ones: it demonstrates with no doubt whatsoever that nearly ANYONE CAN BE ACTIVE no matter what their weight. A good deal more active than most people believe is possible. This is so important. It shows that change is possible. It also shows how people who do eat well and exercise can accomplish amazing things well before they reach their goal weights, that there are rewards for changing your lifestyle throughout the journey, not just when you reach that magical number you've been striving for on the scale.

Among the bad points are the cheap psychoanalyzing that goes on, which appears to be more for making drama moments than actually accomplishing anything constructive, product placements (especially for products one strongly doubts the trainers actually encourage the contestants to use), the necessity for some contestants to lose more weight than is healthy in order to win, and raising unrealistic notions of what constitutes an appropriate rate of weight loss or level of intensity of exercise would be safe for viewers at home without strict medical supervision.

This show is AWFUL. Reality TV is AWFUL. I was hoping Reality TV was just a fad and would pass, but sadly it hasn't. What's worse is crappy shows like this are putting GOOD quality shows, and good actors who deserve the work and fame OUT of work. Terrible Awful Bad Atrocious Why is it on TV Why has it lasted 11/12 seasons... If there were a god getting rid of reality TV, curing world hunger and bringing about world peace would be his or he top 3 goals. The whole concept of the show is stupid and pointless. I don't mean to rip on here but seriously, what has the television industry come to. There ARE good shows out there. So why watch crap like this? Perhaps people need a lobotomy before they will clue in as to how awful reality TV is... or MAYBE, the problem is, they've ALREADY had a lobotomy and reality TV is the only thing that can entertain their dim and dull witted minds...?

OK. Heres the thing...A handful of people in the whole American population says this isn't a healthy way to lose weight. OK. I'm sorry but I always assumed that diet and exercise was healthier than drugs that can overall give you a stroke or heart attack or surgery that can leave you in a vegetative state and brain dead or kill you on the spot. Maybe thats just me though. These few people claim that it is only short term and can come back even faster but what about the contestants from season 1? TWO YEARS AGO. NONE of them have flabby skin and none of them gained the weight back. This show is not about losing weight. Its about CHANGING YOUR LIFE AND LOSING WEIGHT AND KEEPING IT OFF, which everyone has done successfully. This show is so motivational and inspired me to get up and hit the gym (I have lost 35 pounds from Jan 1st-Jan 27). This is a great show to watch even as a family as opposed to all the other shows that SCREAM sex, drugs, bad language, violence, and murder is whats in.

When all we have anymore is pretty much reality TV shows with people making fools of themselves for whatever reason be it too fat or can't sing or cook worth a damn than I know Hollywood has run out of original ideas. I can not recall a time when anything original or intelligent came out on TV in the last 15 years. What is our obsession with watching bums make fools of themselves? I would have thought these types of programs would have run full circle but every year they come up with something new that is more strange then the one before. OK so people in this one need to lose weight...most Americans need to lose weight. I just think we all to some degree enjoy watching people humiliated. Maybe it makes us feel better when we see someone else looking like a jerk. I don't know but I just wish something intelligent would come out that did not insult your intelligence.

Once upon a time, we had Jack LaLane. But TV was not in every home yet, nor was America experiencing the ill effects of processed foods or marketing-inspired gluttony. Fast-forward 40 years & Biggest Loser (a term coined by Greer Childers, from what I can tell) burst onto Prime-time just as Americans are in the early stages of an obesity epidemic - - the snow-balling effect of over-consumption on foods low in nutrition & void of enzymes.

I remember watching the series early on & feeling how motivational it was. Even though we weren't overweight, we tuned in every week. But it's clear the series went through various growing pains: It tried focusing on self-centered competitors, spotlighting yammering into the camera; moving to focusing on uber-sappy emotional themes, no longer inspired by cut-throat prizes. The bottom line was always to eliminate contestants quickly to arrive at the finale.

It also took some time for the producers to realize the trainers were the real stars where in S3 we finally see more of how the trainers interact & find them rightfully next to their teams at the weigh-ins. But the trainers are still missing for huge chunks of each episode. I'd like to see more of the workouts & meal prep, but those basic elements are oddly vague, presumably in hopes of motivating sales of their workout videos & personalized meal plans.

But through it all, Jillian Michaels quickly becomes & remains the audience favorite. We can see the ratings going up & down depending on whether Jill is featured.

Both original trainers became house-hold words. But as the producers began putting in twists to give the illusion the trainers were equal the audience had to endure never being able to root for just one team. That, in my estimation, was why the ratings slid even after Jillian agreed to return.

S11 becomes a no-holds barred stand-out as the producers brace for the 2nd loss of Michaels. But in their carefully-planned attempt to introduce new trainers, they made a fatal mistake by pitting Brett & Cara against our beloved favorites rather than having Bob & Jillian welcome them. This backfired, which was difficult to recover from.

Nevertheless, the ratings tumble until S13 when our fitness guru makes her final return.

Meantime, marketing experts & tabloid crackerjacks work hard to press prior contestants & quasi professionals into saying negative things about the show, regurgitating well-known facts as if epiphanies of careful research, such as that obese people often regain the weight, or that losing weight quickly isn't healthy (traditionally associated w/diet pills & starvation). But more true is that being obese is deadly & the smart thing is transform under the careful guidance of experts.

Binge-watching creates irritations that probably weren't there when watched once a week, like the torturously long beeping to get to the final weight on each contestant, or the renaissance-inspired war-choir music. I also was sad to see the iconic theme song omitted by S11.

As well, the fact that people are still told over-eating is a lack of discipline often related to emotional torment is a bit sad considering that debilitating self-loathing is really a result of food gluttony, not a cause; nor do most emotionally traumatized people become obese. Over-indulgence in food is now recognized as an addiction defined as a disease, not a lack of self-control. Well-researched data indicates that fast-food & processed food companies spend billions to learn how to manipulate consumers. Yet it's still popularly thought of as a lack of personal determination.

However, like w/ any addiction, we see on BL that w/ the right motivation, environment, education, & implementation the human will can overcome the most difficult obstacles.

Thus, BL is an iconic series that will make sense to those who are not intent on making excuses rather than resolutions. And so, I give it 10 out of 10 despite whatever small criticisms I might have.

I was really excited to see this show is back. It's so inspirational & motivational, especially as someone who's on a weight loss journey of her own right now. I do, however, have a few problems with this show.

The first, the music. Awful. Like, YouTube awful. Maybe they're doing it for the millennials? I don't know. The background (no voice) music is fine, but every song with singing included... UGH. Not for me.

The second, is a problem I've always had with the show: they're giving those of us at home unrealistic expectations. Most of us at home can't afford these trainers or gyms, etc & aren't living with said trainers & a team of others in the same boat as you. I don't know about anybody else here, but at my weekly weigh-in, I NEVER get the big numbers they get on this show. No matter how hard I work. So, I feel like those of us at home are actually almost let down by our 1 or 2 lb lost in a week. Which, by the way, is totally acceptable & healthy. So, as motivating & inspiring as it can be to watch, it can also be discouraging for us at home. That's just the truth.

I sincerely hope the contestants are learning healthy ways to eat & live. I know this show has saved lives. I hope it does the same for some of the viewers, as well. If you're on a weight loss journey, just as I am, just keep doing your best! Do not compare your progress to anyone on this show. Or, for that matter, anyone else you may know IRL or on social media. Your journey is yours & yours alone. You've got this!

I agree with the comment that the format needs to be changed. It's amazing that when the weight loss involves "famous people" they stay thru the whole show! As the people involved in The Biggest Loser know, some weeks are better than others because you've had great weight loss in a prior week or weeks; men normally lose weight faster than women; someone weighing 220 pounds will have a tougher time losing "big numbers" than someone weighing 320 pounds - and I noticed most of the women are under 300 pounds! While the team idea is okay, it should be put together by weight - trying to put together, at the beginning an equal amount of weight. But the final competition should be individual and the very final prize should be a year later - who has kept the weight off! In addition, I agree that there should also be a lot of stuff about keeping the weight off in a healthy manner. It has been inspirational to see how well most of these people have done and there is a lot of good about this - showing people they need to combine exercise with dieting.

Awful, awful, awful times a hundred still doesn't begin to describe how crappy "Biggest Loser" is. Picture this: take two fat couples with nothing interesting to say, humiliate them, and let them work to lose weight, all on prime time television. Am I the only one who thinks that this isn't something people with IQs in the 3-digit area WANT TO WATCH? Everything drags on forever, with the lumps of lard whining on about how losing weight is going to mean so much for them and their lives. Does anyone care? Do they think we care? Do they care if we care? Probably not. I think I'll videotape myself doing crunches and sell it to some major television corporation. If this passes for television, then so can my workouts!

I despise reality shows in general and all they have to offer. But I just couldn't say no to the Biggest Loser. I think it's great that they focus on making a healthy individual and motivate them to get in shape rather than watching fake idiots on the Bachelor or Bachelorette trying to find their soul mate by making out with every contestant and contracting mono.

For those who think it's unhealthy to lose weight so fast...at least in the show it's accomplished by diet and exercise. Sure you can lose weight with pills in just as short of a time but it's extremely unhealthy that way. To be honest, I was a bit surprised to find this show has a 5.8 rating on IMDb. I was expecting more from an inspirational show such as this.

Meh of a program.

They are using obese people to sell ads to buy junk food while you watch people lose weight and whine.

What can be learned? Eat your veggies

Verdict: It's a game show. Its no different from all the other daytime, evening game show hash.

Bob and Jillian is the reason the show is so great, but Jillian is more watchable, period.

DO understand that I am not overweight, but I am concern with a few of my friends who are. That being said I do think that the show is interesting even for those who are NOT overweight or obese or just damn skinny, healthy, or even an athlete.

The only thing that is sometimes missing is the trainer's point of view in challenges or in the activities that the contestants is engaged in. There should be more of Jillian, Bob and Kim, or a new trainer, because the workout with all the drama and physical endurance is damn worth watching.

At the end of the day, they are all winners, or dare I say, The biggest loser.

Biggest Loser, is a show where overweight people go to place called "the ranch", to compete against each other to lose weight. The winner wins $250,000. There is also a prize of $100,000 for the person that loses the most weight at home.(more on that in a second) On the show there is something called "The yellow line." Basically everybody weighs in at the end of the show. The teams/two people that fall below the yellow line are up for elimination. The remaining people in the house, vote them off. The person voted off goes home and is eligible for the "at home biggest loser," which is the $100,000 prize.

also while on the ranch, the contestants are not able to talk to their families by phone, letter, or anything unless its a prize they win through a challenge. A challenge is exactly what you think it is. All the contestants compete and the winner/winning team get a prize. The prizes vary from phone calls home, packages from home, money, vacations/cruise, immunity for the weight in, a 1 pound penalty to use on anybody they chose, and etc and so forth.

Another thing Biggest Loser does is something called Temptations. The contestants are placed in a situation where they can eat food for a chance to win a prize. Its a test of will power. basically a temptation means you are willing to sacrifice your hard work/weight loss for a material possession, if you go through with it.

Biggest Loser really is a great show. its inspirational, because it shows people you CAN lose weight. And the people that get voted off and lose the weight at home show people you don't have to be on the show to lose weight. It can be done at home.

You also learn a lot about the people on the show. You learn about how bad obesity really is and being overweight really can be and what goes along with it. Some people on the show admit them being overweight is due to unhealthy eating habits, a rough divorce, a traumatic experience, etc. But it is something people watching can relate to and probably went through a similar thing.

I highly recommend watching this show.

Hey! Let's watch and see who gets voted off this week!

VOTED OFF???

The format of this "new" show demonstrates the inability, or at least unwillingness, of TV show creators to move beyond established paradigms and old modes of thinking. Why is it that all so-called reality shows have to vote someone off? For this show, the old "Survivor model" just doesn't work and is, indeed, quite out of place.

This whole show, while it has some appeal to the TV watching population who empathize with the need to shed pounds, has some serious challenges which are not addressed. The participants have been split into teams and the team who loses the least total weight is forced to vote a member off. The number of pounds lost, in itself, in a given week is a poor indicator of overall weight management. Weight control is a longer process than a single week and should be measured over a longer time. There also is the fact that losing weight too quickly is NOT necessarily the most healthy way to lose it and often losing weight too quickly tends to result in temporary results! Lastly, I will mention that in a health program, a person may lose fat but gain muscle which results in a lower NET weight loss. Focusing solely on pounds lost is a recipe for poor health.

Most importantly, any dieter will tell you that the challenge is NEVER to shed pounds but to KEEP them off! While this show talks about "healthy lifestyles", the only measure of success in the team competition is pounds lost. The single biggest challenge to weight loss, keeping weight off, becomes an afterthought.

Participants should not be voted off. A new format was needed here. They all should have remained until the final weeks of the show where their overall results and HEALTH, based on medical indicators, fitness and other factors is measured. There could be athletic competitions as well in the final weeks when you finally begin to eliminate those whose overall health has not improved as much. You can never tell each week whose overall success will be greatest in the long run. Also it would be ideal if the finale of the show could have been filmed months after the completion of the initial program to help measure how well people have kept it off.

As it stands, this show only reinforces the notion of crash dieting and scale watching to temporarily lose the greatest pounds without regard for true health or permanent results. An abomination of a show, considering.

This used to be my favorite show I'm so happy it's back on.

This is a rather good reality TV show about celebrity trainers helping dozens of obese contestants lose weight, and to ultimately achieve a monetary prize toward the end of the show and claim the title of "The Biggest Loser." This show is inspiring for it demonstrates that anybody can be active, exercise and improve one's lifestyle health-wise. This show also demonstrates how losing weight and/or improving upon one's health could release those inner demons inside you and lift a great deal of burden off your shoulders, and also help you gain self-confidence and face life's challenges with more endurance and ease.

The series does also get intense quite a bit. In addition to the grueling workouts, the gamesmanship kicks in as the show progresses, as contestants begin eliminating each other off, sometimes at the expense of broken alliances, to become one of the finalists. This shows the selfishness and deviousness in some of the contestants, which does at times take away the pleasure of the show, and makes you rooting for his/her elimination from the program. Also, some of the contestants can be quite cocky or overly dramatic in a "whoa is me" attitude.

The team challenges are entertaining stunts to watch, and the weigh-ins toward the end of each episode are definitely a nail-biting experience.

There were a number of trainers on the show, but the two original ones, Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels, were the highlights. Bob was OK, but can be annoying at times, and his excessive tattoos were a turn off. Jillian can be brutal, but is a no-nonsense trainer whom I thought was the best on the show.

Overall, it's a good series - quite inspiring and entertaining.

Grade A-

I am so glad this show is back!! I'm even more glad that they found two brand new amazing trainers, Erica Lugo and Steve Cook, to coach the teams. Being a woman myself, it's really great to finally see a female trainer with a truly attainable body. It's going to be a great season and I'm rooting for everyone! If you're looking for an inspirational, tear-jerker this is the perfect show for you.