'The Biggest Loser' recap: The Unknowns rule, a front-runner named Courtney and the biggest player ever

Forty-one pounds. 41 pounds. 41 POUNDS!

Have Bob and Jillian met their match?

It's a new season and a new diabolical choice: The 11 teams had to chose between working out with Bob and Jillian for a week and then facing elimination, or taking a gamble on two unidentified trainers and being guaranteed four weeks' immunity. Choosing the road less taken — the Unknowns, as they are now being called — led Moses to lose 41 pounds, setting a "Biggest Loser" record for weight loss in a single week. Bob and Jillian never beat such big numbers out of players. So what, exactly, are those Unknowns doing out there? And who are they? We got to see them in spooky sillhouette, and from the side — do YOU happen to know who these two new trainers are?

What would you have done in this new season, with this biggest twist yet? We know what Bob and Jillian would have done: They'd have taken immunity. In fact, they thought the players who chose to bypass immunity had rocks in their heads. And that's certainly not what Courtney and the others wanted to hear: "Their reaction freaked me out."

But look at it from Bob and Jillian's point of view: The twist puts enormous pressure on them. "We're going to feel terrible about it" when someone goes home, Jillian said. And let's face it, at least three more people are going home, while the Unknowns can keep their crew intact.

The first to go home was Ana, who lost more than a pound a day -- 9 pounds in all -- but it still wasn't enough. The orange team dropped below the yellow line, and someone had to go. Most of the players respected her wishes to be sent home so that her daughter, Irene, could stay. Speaking at a media conference call today, Ana said that she was sad when she got home. "I was depressed. I felt like I let my daughter down." But then she remembered what she told her daughter: "I was going to make my life different." And she has. So far, she has lost 52 pounds without doing anything all that dramatic. She said she has been eating less and moving more, even it's just walking five more minutes than she did the day before. And she's cleaned up her diet. She said that she already knew what she should and shouldn't eat — she just finally followed through. "My biggest thing was fast food, and I've never stopped at a place like that since I've been back from the ranch." Ana said her goal is to lose 120 pounds total, and she is already well on her way. Congrats, Ana!

Who are the Season 11 folks who struck a chord with you? Anyone willing to bet on who will win? (Bob apparently has dibs on Courtney the Machine.)

Here are some of the moments that stood out for me:

--Gold medalist Rulon Gardener saying training for the Olympics was a piece of, um, cake compared with this: "I never worked out like this when when I was trying out for the Olympic team."

--Bob refusing to let up on Arthur, who is nearly 80% body fat, and forcing him to recalibrate his focus on today, not the 300 pounds he still needs to lose. (That said, do you think Bob was too tough on Arthur? At first I thought yes, but then I changed my mind. Arthur claimed he couldn't move, his leg was about to fall off, blah blah blah. And then immediately hoisted himself up and took a long stroll with Bob. Oh, and he then lost 31 pounds at the weigh-in. I already like this guy and his determination. Go, Arthur, go!)

--Jillian: "Look at me. Do I look like a woman who gives a [BLEEP]!"

--Perhaps the single funniest sequence in "Biggest Loser" history: Bob's commentary on Jillian's "I'm not going to scream" resolution. I think Bob spent the break perfecting his comic timing.

And that's why the quote of the week ends in a tie between Bob, Bob and Bob:

--"Arthur! Don't make me lose my mind today ... do not get off the treadmill, please."

--"You're not stuck!"

--"Asking Jillian not to scream is like asking the grass not to grow, the fish not to swim, the lions not to roar. Jillian's always going to yell at people."

Finally, I'd like to apologize now for all the times I will confuse Dan with Don, and Don with Dan this season. To hedge my bets, and head off any annoying corrections, I just might start referring to them as DA/ON.

— Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

Photo: The Unknowns on "The Biggest Loser." Photo credit: NBC.

Comments

[Teresa in Denver, Co]

Tell you what, the Unknowns and the personal stories have me RIVETED to Biggest Loser. I am fearful that they are setting us up to lose Bob and Jillian but ecstatic that we might be getting a spin-off double-dose of Biggest Loser next season!

I am just SO sad that we are not following the stories of the four couples who are with the Unknowns until next month. After reading on the Internet that Rulon Gardner and two others survived a plane crash into Lake Powell a few years ago and swam for an hour in 40-degree water, he is my total HERO. I've always liked him since his Olympic days and now I can't get enough of him.

But I am so interested in the two policemen, Dan and Don. They have such compelling losses in their families, one son through "disowning his dad" and one son through death.

And I love the Tongans. A Tongan Biggest Loser spin-off wouldn't hurt my feelings.

Last, I'm so fascinated with the stories of the two people who lose 150 lbs and then made it onto the show. Man, do more of those stories, that is awesome!

[Jon]

The first thing Biggest Loser needs to do is lose 140 pounds - by getting rid of the host Alison. She might be great at soap operas, but I swear, this girl has the most frigid personality I've ever seen...is she carved out of stone or something? It's like someone goes on about their traumas and heartaches and her response is 'well, I hope you lose enough weight to be able to stay on another week'...seriously?! Replace her with a robot, Mrs. Butterworth, Bart Simpson's schoolteacher, or Bugs Bunny...Alison is a cold fish and these people on the show need someone who is actually interested and enthusiastic rather than disgusted and repelled by their progress.

Next thing this show needs to do is ditch the overdramatic music. I think I had a headache from the number of times I rolled my eyes last night every time that stupid music came on - give me a break - not every moment on Biggest Loser is a climb over Mount Everest or a belly flop into Niagara Falls. Yes, this show is changing but I feel as if the producers are grasping at straws to find new ways to shock and captivate an audience who is getting bored with the show - we all know the format and generally how it's going to end. The difference is, it appears that they're trying to turn Biggest Loser into some awful hybrid of 'Big Brother' and 'Survivor' - that doesn't work with people who are literally trying to save their own lives.

I predict this show has about two years left before viewers get tired of it and want a different kind of viewing experience.

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