Biggest Loser: Last week on the ranch

Our Biggest Loser correspondent, The N&O's Michelle Aldrich, gives us her recap of last night's show.

The last week on campus! This two-hour episode mixed in a LOT of footage from the first week showing just how far the contestants have come.

Following the elimination of Rebecca, Jillian insists that Rudy's deciding vote was because he viewed her as a threat, rather than his claim that he couldn't trust her. So what, Jillian? Trainers Jillian and Bob have mixed emotions about gameplay, so this just seems like another instance of Jillian trying to boss Rudy around. Good luck with that -- he's growing his beard back in defiance of Tim Gunn!

Alison introduces surprise guest Suze Orman to talk about "Wealth and Health." She's shown talking to several contestants individually about life insurance, credit scores - and a rather bizarre exchange with Liz bout her marriage. (Whatever!)

The first challenge gets everyone on treadmills to answer wealth/health questions, such as:
- How much less do obese employees earn than their slimmer coworkers
in one year?
- How much can a family save by eating at home more?
- How much do Americans spend on gastric bypass surgery?

Get 'em right: they win $1,000 per correct answer! Get 'em wrong: the treadmill's speed and incline will increase. I'd tell you who won, except I'm at my in-laws for Thanksgiving and don't have TiVO to play it back. Sigh.

In a plug for Multi-Grain Cheerios, players are sizing each other up, and Bob's trying to get in "everyone's head: "This is the last week I can HELP you." Aside from getting through their last week on the ranch and getting though the finale, everyone's concerned about backsliding once they're back in the real world. And with good reason: NBC's promoting a special (tonight - Wednesday!) that will follow up on contestants from previous seasons -- including a winner who's gained it ALL back. Eeeeesh.

Next we're subjected to Amanda and Bob's mutual crush:
Bob: "I was looking for heroes this season."
Amanda: "Did you find one?
Bob: "I found one in you!"

Really, Bob? Amanda? Her contribution to this season's edition of "Biggest Loser Bingo" is for every time she says, "America CHOSE me ..." You may remember that she won her spot during last season's finale, by the viewers' votes.

Speaking of Bingo, Allen's money phrase is any mention of his fellow firefighters. (We know!) Meanwhile, Liz and Danny are congratulating themselves for being the last original team on the ranch. Well-done Team Brown.

The next challenge has everyone on a football field, again in jerseys bearing the number of their pounds lost. With the encouragement of Super Bowl Champ Ron Woodson (who?) they'll shed their weight "again" as they advance down the field. The prize? Two tickets to 2010's Pro Bowl with a donation of athletic equipment to a school of their choosing. Allen won, followed by Rudy, Amanda, Liz, Danny. As they finish, they tackle (or hit) life-size cut-outs of themselves at their original weight.

All I can say about the Last Chance Workout is that Rudy sweating in HD is alarming!

On to the weigh-in ...

Liz = 5 (she's under 200 pounds!)
Rudy = 12 (he's under 300 pounds - and sets a new record for most weight lost on campus)
Allen = 8
Danny = 16 (who's set his own record for 7 consecutive weeks of double-digit weight loss)
Amanda = 7

And may I just say that watching this program sans TiVO is t-o-r-t-u-r-e. Such is my dedication to the Happiness is a Warm TV blog!

Danny is Biggest Loser of the week, so he's won the prize of chef Curtis Stone coming to his house for some personal instruction in cooking and grocery shopping. Allen and Liz are below the yellow line, with Amanda deciding who will be eliminated.

Allen advises her to consider what will be best for her (i.e. he's not as viable a threat) and he reminds her of Liz's voting record. Liz herself recalled thinking that her earlier vote against Amanda would come back to bite her in the butt!

So Danny voted for Allen, Rudy for Liz, and Amanda voted for Allen, citing her closeness to Liz and her willingness to compete.

Back in Columbus, Indiana Allen receives a warm reception at his firehouse. The follow-up video shows that in the last six weeks, he's inspired 275 at his gym to lose more than 2,000 pounds!

This means the final four = Rudy, Danny, Liz, and Amanda.

WHO will be the Biggest Loser? I can't wait to see how the other contestants have fared at home. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!