Category Archives: NBC
‘The Biggest Loser’: Remember Who You Are
The 15th season of The Biggest Loser is in it’s sixth week and we continue to see that the contestants’ hard work pays off. While Reuben Studdard did return to the ranch this week, the episode started with Alison Sweeney leaving the contestants DVDs and a card that said “Remember Who You Are.” This was an opportunity for the contestants to view their old selves and reflect on the actions that sent them to The Biggest Loser Ranch, which was a wake up call for many of the contestants. Quite frankly, the contestants don’t want to be that person anymore and most of them have changed significantly.
After a shocking revelation last week involving Jillian Michaels giving caffeine supplements to her players the week before without doctor’s permission, the weigh in was invalidated and Reuben Studdard was allowed to return to the ranch. He was grateful for the second chance to change his life. It was also clear the contestants missed him. Tanya and the rest of the red team agreed that “Reuben has a way of lifting everyone up.” Reuben’s return boosted the moral of the red team. They felt that the family was back together.
Jilliam Michaels Made a Mistake on ‘The Biggest Loser: Second Chances’
Week after week, contestants continue to amaze themselves with their newer, shrinking bodies. Not only are the workouts getting tougher, but seeing the people get eliminated is getting even harder. Last week, American Idol winner Reuben Studdard got the boot because he fell below the red line. A lot of people felt, that it wasn’t his time to go just yet. Everyone deserves to be here and change their life around. That is, after all, why the show is called “The Biggest Loser: Second Chances.”
At the beginning of this weeks episode, Alison Sweeney brought Chef Sam Cass, who is the head chef for the Obama family. He came to the ranch to address the MyPlate initiative. The my plate talks about nutrition and stresses that it’s important to have a good balance of fruit, vegetables, proteins etc. Alison told the contestants that they have a thirty minute cooking challenge to prepare a healthy nutritious meals for the judges, who were the three Biggest Loser Kid Ambassadors from last season: Bingo, Sunny, and Lindsay. The blue team once again rose to the challenge and won once again with a chicken quesadilla, fresh fruit as a dessert, and kale chips on the side. Not only was the food delicious, but Bingo, who hates vegetables, seemed to really enjoy the quesadilla.
Remakes Of Old TV Shows Are Unnessessary
For the past few years, it seems that every new television season brings at least four remakes of older television series. While the practice of remaking shows may have made sense in an era where no one could re-watch the old version, nowadays, it doesn’t make sense. Do you really want someone to reinterpret an old favorite when you could easily watch the original in reruns, on DVD, on Netflix, or through less legitimate services on the internet? Probably not.
To be fair, there are a few successful remakes. The most unlikely was Hawaii 5-0. No one, except CBS saw it being successful, yet it averages around 10 million viewers. Dallas is successful because it is just the Ewing clan 20 years later, so it’s more like a continuation than a remake. Out of all the remakes in the last 10 years, Battlestar Gallactica, which took the original concept and made it darker, was probably the most successful. However, the success of all three shows is the exception to the failure of most modern remakes.
Leslie’s Under Fire in “Parks and Rec”
Even though there’s a recall election, the Leslie Knope committee is still campaigning in full force, complete with farting dolls for the kids. Leslie’s only down four points in the most recent popularity poll. Her fellow council members, though, want the gap between her and her opponents to grow. They get the perfect opportunity in “Gin It Up” when Donna accidentally sends a wonderfully racy tweet from the parks department Twitter account. Let’s see how they got there.
Leslie and Donna
Jamm, Dexhart, and the other councilmen are trying their hardest to delay all of Leslie’s bills, including cutting their meetings short to prevent her from even presenting them. Just after Jamm straight up tells her he wants her recalled because he doesn’t like her, Chris drops in and to tell her there’s a problem: Donna sent a tweet including the phrase “Hope you like tongue baths, you big nasty fireman” – with eggplant emoji, of course – from the parks department’s Twitter instead of her own. Jamm, of course, found out immediately and called a press conference, promising to blow “Twitter Watergate” way out of proportion.
‘The Biggest Loser: Second Chances’ Review
The battle of the bulge is finally back; a second chance on life to get it right. The lean, mean, screaming machines (Bob, Jillian, and Dolvett) are back to change the lives of fifteen overweight contestants. Each contestant has a personal story to tell and hopefully it will inspire others to keep moving and become active. Not only were there some smiles, but some had some fear when approaching The Biggest Loser ranch. People are missing their spouses, their children, and they know this is what they have to do, to live a longer, healthier life.
Two of the contestants who have made headlines are season two American Idol winner Reuben Studdard, and Olympic Weightlifter Holley Mangold. These two along with the thirteen others here want to change their life. These trainers want to point out that this is “not a TV show, this is a life or death intervention.” When entering the doors of The Biggest Loser Ranch, contestants notice a bunch of flags showcasing past contestant’s success stories. It just shows that if they can do it, you can do it.
‘Sean Saves the World’: “Busted” Review
Sean Saves the World’s second episode, “Busted,” is much better than the pilot. The writers still appear to be behind the times because this episode makes a big deal about Sean’s daughter’s first bra. With the exception of Sean being a gay father, the show could have taken place in the 1980s.
The entire episode revolved around Sean’s daughter, Ellie (Samantha Isler), trying to find the perfect first bra. Since her mother isn’t around, Grandma Lorna (Linda Lavin) and older sister figure Liz (Megan Hilty) both want to take Ellie bra shopping. Let the wacky antics begin!
Liz takes Ellie shopping first. Liz doesn’t realize that Ellie is a sensible 14-year-old. All Ellie wants is something to keep her breasts from jiggling. However, Liz has other plans. She even asks Ellie, “Are you sexually active? Do you want to be?” It’s a little disturbing that Liz wants Ellie to sleep around like she did. After browsing the store, Liz buys Ellie a bunch of sexy bras and a piece of lingerie, which Sean doesn’t have a problem with because Ellie makes it clear she is unhappy with Liz’s choices.
‘Parks and Rec’: “Doppelgangers” Invade Pawnee
Early Leslie Knope was not always pleasant. She was sometimes selfish, a little narrow-minded, and always allowed her passion to cloud her judgment. Her semi-temper tantrum after Ann revealed her plans to relocate in “Doppelgangers” definitely hearkened back to that. This is not to say I don’t love Leslie because believe me, I DO LOVE LESLIE. But girl needs to think before reacts sometimes. Ann, smartly, tried to absorb the shock with waffles and a shirtless photo of Joe Biden before she confessed, but Leslie saw right through it and stalked off on a loyalty tangent. She’s actually kind of intolerable for much of the episode, trying to force everybody to sign legally-binding friendship contracts after other Pawnee employees hinted at leaving because “No one around here understands loyalty.” After (another) enlightening conversation with Ron, though, she realizes her mistake and tells Ann she’s ready to talk.
Pawnee and Eagleton: Together Again on ‘Parks and Rec’
Leslie Knope would sooner give up waffles at JJ’s before making peace with Eagleton, Pawnee’s wealthy, Michael Buble-listening archrival, but in “The Pawnee-Eagleton Tip Off Classic,” that’s exactly what happened. Let’s go by character to see how we got there.
Leslie, Ben, and Chris
Leslie is one of the most lovable characters on television. She’s kind and tactical and loving; when it comes to her nemeses in Eagleton, though, she tends to throw all of that out the window. The episode opened with a press conference led by Leslie and Ingrid de Forest (Kristen Bell), her Eagleton counterpart. Deep in the trenches of the recall election, Leslie tries to win over her fellow Pawneeans in the only way she can: by cracking jokes at Eagleton’s expense.
Meanwhile, the dream team is back. Ben and Chris’ superiors over in Indianapolis enlisted the pair to help solve a budget crisis in Eagleton. AUDITING BROS! Leslie, who can’t pass up an opportunity to see Eagleton’s demise, tags along. The town is going bankrupt and Leslie likely hasn’t felt this much joy since meeting Joe Biden. She makes a great, predictable Good Will Hunting joke, and Ben seems to already be regretting his decision to let her join.
A Hop Across the Pond for the ‘Parks and Recreation’ Gang
After what felt like forever, season six of television’s happiest show (okay, maybe I’m biased) finally premiered tonight. We’ve known for awhile that the Pawnee gang was heading across the pond – the “Parks and Recreation” cast did a substantial amount of filming in London – but the exact reason for the trip wasn’t clear. We found out in the aptly titled “London,” but not before the Swanson-Lewis-warrior princess baby was addressed.
The episode picked up right where season five ended: the pregnancy test mystery was solved. Ron took it a step further and proposed to Diane right there in his office, and since they’re already in the municipal building, they might as well just head up to the fourth floor and get it done today. Leslie was so excited, she could barely speak. I feel like her inner monologue was very similar to mine: “OMGRONSWANSONISGONNABEADADDY. OMGRONSWANSONISGETTINGMARRIED.” Ron and the the future Mrs. Swanson just want to sign the papers and get out. Leslie can’t help herself and assembles a bouquet made of highlighters while throwing paper disguised as rice in the air in typical, glorious Leslie fashion.
Which Returning Show Are You Looking Forward To?
We’re trying something new at Wait! What’s a Dial? In the past, we’ve reviewed shows based on their trailers. However, now that we’re reviewing a lot of pilots, we want you to let us know what you think the upcoming season of returning shows will be like based on their trailers.
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