‘The Biggest Loser’ premiere review: Who quits, and who cries?

“The Biggest Loser” is back, and can we say that NBC made the right move in reducing this show to only once a year? The wait made us actually miss the trainers and the heart-tugging stories again, and the fact that Jillian Michaels was an added and welcome dose of nostalgia. While we don’t like every element of the show (the product placement, spending thirty minutes watching people weigh themselves), there’s no question that the sheer sight of people who came into this show with little confidence feeling empowered is pretty darn inspiring.

So how far did some contestants push it this week? We had one contestant in Gina nearly pass out in front of Bob Harper, Jackson barfed one of his fellow contestants’ legs, and just about every single person on the show cried … even some of the young contestants who aren’t really competing (but were still brought on the show this season to help conquer childhood obesity) got a little choked up.

Of course, this is “The Biggest Loser,” and you certain aren’t feeling warm and fuzzy when Jillian is screaming at you! This must have been what Nikki on her team felt when she made the move to quit the show in the very first episode, which something that is a little bit infuriating in that she may have taken a spot of someone who would have actually lasted and competed. We understand that this can be incredibly grueling (more than we imagined), but because she wasn’t really ready to make her goals a reality it’s unclear as to whether or not she will be appearing on the finale at the end of the season (we’ve seen it happen both ways, where they attend and where they do not).

The bleeding did not stop there for Jillian’s white team, either: despite winning the challenge and getting an advantage, they still lost at the weigh-in, and we said goodbye to a guy in TC who really wanted to lose the pounds as a way of showing his son that he can get healthier. These are the moments that make watching “The Biggest Loser” painful: you know this guy wanted it, and this is why we’ve always been on the fence about making this show a competition that eliminates people to begin with.

This was overall a nice start to the season, though with only twelve contestants left, it is still to be seen who holds up in the end.

What did you think about the premiere? If you want to read more of the latest “Biggest Loser” news, you can do so over here.

Photo: NBC