It took me a bit to catch up. The live blog starts where the times are listed below...
It's been a season full of extra-long episodes, but it all came down to tonight's very long, very special episode: "The Biggest Loser" finale. Four contestants are left; are we finally going to see a female winner?
The show kicked off with a reunion. All of the losers looked incredible. This might be the best crop of losers yet -- am I wrong?
The first homecoming was Isabeau. The reunion seemed a bit short, but did include her very Billy Idol-esque boyfriend (the young version of Billy Idol anyway).
Next Julie had her family reunion. I always wonder... whenever they put these parties together, is there food, and is it fatty?
Hollie was up next, and it was at that point that I realized that the homecomings were really boring. They don't even give you enough material to work up any tears... just a lot of screaming, hugging and a "your home!" That pretty much summed up Bill’s return as well.
9:28pm: The trainers are out.
9:30: Amber hits the scale. She started at 295; she’s now 211. She lost 84 pounds, which is damn good for getting kicked off the first week.
9:31: Lezlye is next. She started at 255; she ended at 200 on the nose for a 55-pound loss. Very impressive, but not enough to take the lead. My money is on Jim or Neal -- maybe Kae.
9:33: Jerry is up -- remember him? The first team captain to get kicked off. He started at 297; ended at 187. Not sure if needed to whip his shirt off. Jack LaLane's job is safe -- however, Amber's number one spot is not.
9:35: Pattie is the next to be weighed in. She started at 280; ended at 216. It's a nice 64-pound loss, but not enough to knock Jerry off the top spot.
9:40: Jim is up, and could possible knock Jerry's block off. He looked model-thin. He started at 361; he ended at 175. In case you don't have your calculators out, that’s 186-pound loss. He weighs less than the amount he lost. And no one gave the Black Team a chance? Wow.
9:42: Phil was my original pick for "The Biggest Loser" champ. I think if he had stayed on the show, he would have had the chance. Looking at Neil and Jim, there was no way he could take this one. Not too shabby though -- he started at 403 and ended at 258. I think he can be VERY proud of his 145-pound loss. He looks awesome!
9:44: I was never a Jez fan, and watching his recaps, I remember why. I give the guy props though; he lost 150 pounds (started at 345, ended at 195). I also dig his mohawk!
9:46: Cowboy David is next up. There is no way that he was taking the lead, but like all of the other contestants, he looks good. He lost 140 pounds (started at 368, ended at 228).
9:51: My hands are cramped and my feet are cold. Jim is still on top and Ryan is up.
9:53: Ryan started the game at 374; he ended at 241. That's a 133-pound loss. Can anyone beat Jim at this point? I am waiting for Kae and Neil...
9:54: Is it just because I am blogging every second, or are they whipping through the weigh-ins? Less home reunions, more time weighing people in. That's where the good crying should come in. Speaking of crying, Amy is up. She started at 297; she's now 171. She lost 126 pounds and looks HOT.
9:56: Could Kae knock Jim out of the number one spot? Not quite. She started at 225; now she's 128. She lost 97 pounds. I am sort of shocked. I can't believe that tiny thing weighs more than 105.
9:58: B (aka Bryan) is up. He started at 346; he ended at 224. He lost 122 pounds. Jim is still the leader, but I think it's insane and awesome that so many people have lost over 100 pounds.
10:03: Nicole is next -- saving Neil for last. I used to think Nicole was sort of a plain Jane, but she looks awesome. She went from 279 to 174. The 105-pound loss wasn't enough to knock Jim off the top spot, but she rocked that Spandex.
10:05: Neil is the last hope to avoid a Black Team sweep of this year's "Biggest Loser" (since all finalists were Black Team members). Neil started at 421; ended at 210. He lost 211 pounds -- but Jim got the cash.
10:09: Back to the plight of the contestants. Bill was having problems with food at work, Isabeau was freaking out, Julie was having a hard time with the workouts, and Hollie was worried about her comfort zone. All were looking like we are going to see some major transformations in the next 50 minutes though.
10:14: Isabeau delivers our first plug o' the week -- rock on Subway! Julie followed it up with Jennie-O turkey.
10:16: Jim rambles off how much he hopes the girls are eating. Don't hold your breath, dude -- unless it burns calories.
10:17: How does everyone afford a trainer?
10:21: They finally brought everyone out. Julie was first... quite the MILF, but I hate the belt.
10:23: Hollie is out. She was cute before, but I always knew there was a hot chick in there!
10:25: Isabeau is the next one out. She looks incredible and has become a personal trainer, but I don't think she has what is takes to take the crown. I thought she'd be the female force to be reckoned with.
10:26: Bill is the last one out. He looks incredibly skinny, but does he look that much smaller than when he left the show? The guy didn't look like he had much more to lose. I am ready for the weigh-ins, but I sense a commercial coming on.
10:32: We are introduced to Bill's giant pants.
10:33: Everyone is speechless. Make with the weigh-ins.
10:35: Isabeau is up first. She started at 298; she ended at 185. The 113-pound weight loss is awesome. However, after seeing Jim's loss, I can't imagine that Bill didn’t lose at least 50 percent of his body weight. He actually looks like he might be the smaller brother.
10:42: Sneak peek of the next "Biggest Loser." It's couples, and starts New Years Day.
10:45: Hollie is up and very giddy. She should be. She went from 255 pounds to 150. She lost 105 pounds, and is now the one to beat.
10:47: Julie is up, which means we will have one more commercial break before the end -- and before Bill is weighed in. Julie started at 218 and is now at 121. The 97-pound loss put her in first place. Julie looks great. Even if she loses to Bill, she still has a bit of a Jenny McCarthy thing going on. That's a pretty decent parting gift.
10:54: This is it. Bill is up... will he keep the male winning streak alive?
10:47: Bill went from 334 pounds to 170. That's a 164-pound loss, which makes him the next winner. No surprises, but a lot of accomplishments. Looks like the ladies will have to take it another time.
Photo: © 2007 NBC/Dave Bjerke
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For those of you that whine about not being able to squeeze in a workout routine, click over to MSN.com.
We are down to five contestants, which means that NBC can no longer drag out each episode -- at least until next week's big finale.
Six people are left. The Black Team is still whining about how they were left to die on the first day… yawn. That whole endless rant has really taken the steam out of having three teams this season.
Sorry I missed last week... Kae probably isn't sorry. She got kicked off. Now there are seven players left.
The game has changed again: Now it's every man (or woman) for him or herself.
In honor of Green Week, the teams were repackaged once again, and put into duos.
The show was finally knocked down to a respectable 60 minutes tonight. They weren't wasting our time, and I'm going to return the favor...
At the end of last week's episode, we discovered that the producers were resorting to an old gimmick and closing "The Biggest Loser" campus down for a week. Boo-friggin-hoo. Now the contestants have to live like the rest of us -- um, if the rest of us lived in Jamaica.
The contestants are knocking off weight and the producers are knocking time off the episodes -- we were down to 90 minutes tonight.
Jeez -- I could not be on this show. First of all, I can't stand Jillian. I am sure she's a great trainer and gets the results, but her bad-ass attitude is really annoying. Also, I couldn't stand America seeing me in a sports bra and a Speedo. No one needs to see that.
It looks as though people aren't tired of looking good -- at least not NBC.