'Biggest Loser' Season 14: Jillian Michaels plus Kids

'The Biggest Loser' is adding Jillian Michaels (again!) and...babies?

Okay, not literal babies. But the show's 14th season will indeed feature the return of Jillian Michaels as well as some kid contestants.

I mean, they had "old" people two seasons ago (remember the old v young teams?) so why not go the other route...really young. Like, you know, a bunch of thirteen year olds. Which is exactly what they've done.

'The Biggest Loser' Season 13: Where are the Female Trainers?

The thirteenth season of 'The Biggest Loser' aired last night, and I was disappointed.

The game has a new twist (players entered as 'pairs', only to be told they would all be split into different teams), but that wasn't what bothered me.

What bothered me was that there are only two trainers this season, and both of them are men.

Anna Kournikova clearly wasn't a home run (or a match point) last season; the contestants didn't seem to take to her as quickly as they did with Bob and Dolvett, and she occasionally insulted them without even trying (remember her conversation with Jen and Ramon last season?). 

While I think that Bob is a veteran of the show, and absolutely needs to stick around, I don't care quite as much about Dolvett. At the same time, the fact that he's still around doesn't bother me. 

I was initially going to say that it seems bizarre to have only two trainers, but when you think about 'The Biggest Loser' in its infancy, it started out with just two: Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper.

Jillian disappeared for a little while (I don't remember this absence, but Wikipedia claims this is the case), and was replaced by Kim Lyons. By Season 4 Jillian was back, as were Kim and Bob.

We then entered 7 seasons of just Bob and Jillian, but in Season 11 they were joined by Brett Hoebel and Cara Castronuova. My reaction to Brett and Cara is identical to my reaction to Dolvett...I didn't much care either way.

Jillian had something special which Bob also has; she pushed players hard, she didn't take excuses, but she took the time to get to know them. Even when she was angry and yelling, and even being a little bit mean, she wasn't strongly disliked. In fact, I think Anna's main problem was that she didn't yell enough.

This is the first season with only male trainers.

I think the female (and male!) players shouldn't just have men encouraging them, they should have women leading by example as well. I know that 'The Biggest Loser' is the only reality show which has always had a woman as a host, and that's certainly nice. But just because they have one woman in the main cast doesn't negate the need for a female trainer.

Kim, Bob, Alison, and Jillian

Halloween!!

I love Fall. Pumpkins, foliage, apple cider. I also love watching my favorite shows celebrate holidays.

Typically the special holiday episodes kick-off around Halloween, and then continue with Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have a post coming that lists my favorite holiday-themed episodes of all time, but first lets talk about this week's Halloween episodes:

1. Halloween festivities kick-off on Tuesday (Oct 25) with 'The Biggest Loser'. There's (obviously) a candy challenge, and a haunted maze. Tuesday, 8 pm, NBC.

2. Join 'The Middle' on Wednesday for Halloween pranks, costumes, and teen general awkwardness. Wednesday, 8 pm, ABC.

3. 'Suburgatory' follows 'The Middle' with yet another Halloween-themed episode. Wednesday, 8:30 pm, ABC.

4. 'Community' is new again this week, and it's bound to be a challenge as the writers try to outdo last year's zombie-themed episode. Sociopaths, anyone? Thursday, 8 pm, NBC.

5. 'Parks and Recreation' is also new, and promises spooky laughs at April and Andy's Halloween bash. Thursday, 8:30 pm, NBC.

6. Continuing NBC's line-up of Halloween-themed episodes is 'The Office'. I can't be the only one who is waiting impatiently to see whether Erin is capable of throwing a Halloween party. Thursday, 9 pm, NBC.

7. This isn't really Halloween-themed, but it does have monsters: 'Grimm' premieres on Friday. Friday, 9 pm, NBC.

which shows have new episodes tonight?

Shows Premiering Tonight

Now that we've entered the intense premiere week, if you have even one favorite television show you're probably excited.

Unfortunately I missed out on the premiere of 'How I Met Your Mother' yesterday, mainly because I was being responsible and actually looking after the child I was babysitting.

But there are no babies tonight! And that means I'm gearing up for a slew of shows:

'Glee' premieres tonight on FOX at 8 pm

'New Girl' premieres on FOX at 9 pm

'Raising Hope' premieres on FOX at 9:30 pm

'The Biggest Loser' premieres on NBC at 8 pm 

The second episode of 'Ringer' is on the CW at 9 pm

'Body of Proof' premieres on ABC at 10 pm

'Unforgettable' premieres on CBS at 10 pm

The second episode of 'Parenthood' is on NBC at 10 pm

This line-up actually creates a lot of controversy for me...mainly because I'm not a huge fan of any of these shows, but I like most of them. My best guess is that I'll probably watch 'Glee' live (because Facebook will ruin it for me if I don't), watch the middle part of 'The Biggest Loser', and then switch back to FOX to watch 'Raising Hope'. I've already see the pilot episode of 'New Girl', and I don't have any desire to watch it again (even though I'll probably give episode 2 a chance next week).

The biggest problem for me is the 10 pm time slot. In all honesty, the best move would probably be to forgo everything and go to bed instead. But since we all know that's not going to happen what I'll actually watch is pretty iffy. Probably 'Unforgettable', since this is the pilot, and if any of those shows is going to be ruined for me via social media it will probably be that one.

Of course, I'm not going to lie, I'm bound to watch almost every show on that list. I just hope the networks hurry up and post them online as quickly as possible.

The Biggest Loser's "Gay Controversy"

The Biggest Loser, Gay and Lesbian Culture, and Controversy

I was just watching "The Biggest Loser" (I know, it's horrible, but sometimes the lack of new episodes drives me to reality t.v.) and suddenly wondered if Jillian Michaels was gay. So, of course, I decided to Google search and see what everyone on the web had to say. Turns out people have googled this a lot. And she very clearly stated that she was bi back in a 2010 issue of 'Ladies Home Journal'.


But apparently that's not all I've missed. According to Google there was some sort of "Biggest Loser Gay Controversy" back in February. Now, I'm not sure how much of a 'controversy' something can be when it didn't hit any of the major entertainment websites. But, you know, guess I just missed the (obviously) incredibly important controversy.


Regardless, I wanted to know what this whole 'controversy' was so I obviously read a couple of articles. Apparently Cara Castronuova (the new trainer) is a lesbian, and is the ex-girlfriend of God-Des of the lesbian band 'God-Des and She' (note: I heard this band last year at Pride and they have a very catchy/don't play it in front of your parents' song). But she refuses to be interviewed by any of the major gay magazines/blogs. Many magazines have blamed NBC for not allowing their trainers to speak to the press, but in actuality it is the trainers' publicists who have control over any/all press requests. Which leads me to ask, if this was her personal decision, why is this even an issue? If she is gay, but she doesn't want people poking around in her private life that should be her business. Just because she is gay that shouldn't make her obligated to speak to gay magazines, right?