the BIGGEST liars

chipper15173

i just got the tv guide in the mail and this article was in it. thought i would share.....

the biggest liars...
the sappy musical montages...the clingy new outfits...what's not to love about the last few minutes of the biggest loser, when cameras catch up with the booted contestants at home? so it seemed all was right with the world on feb 25, when latest reject dane patterson was shown triumphantly competing a 26.2 marathon with his wife. alas, it was revealed post-race by other runners that the couple were picked up in a van three miles shy of the end and dropped off at the finish line for filming. shame on the slimy producers and shame on paterson--big fat liars!

this surprised me. shows you can't always believe what you see on tv.

chipper15173

i just got the tv guide in the mail and this article was in it. thought i would share.....

the biggest liars...
the sappy musical montages...the clingy new outfits...what's not to love about the last few minutes of the biggest loser, when cameras catch up with the booted contestants at home? so it seemed all was right with the world on feb 25, when latest reject dane patterson was shown triumphantly competing a 26.2 marathon with his wife. alas, it was revealed post-race by other runners that the couple were picked up in a van three miles shy of the end and dropped off at the finish line for filming. shame on the slimy producers and shame on paterson--big fat liars!

this surprised me. shows you can't always believe what you see on tv.

tashjs21

:noway: That's messed up.

DBranchaud

just curious how long is a 26.2 marathon?.........maybe the crew was silly and didn't want to them being all sweaty for film

lor04311916

suppose they had time limits doesn't mean its all fake tho (crossing my fingers lol )

genabug

Seriously? Thats tacky!

jhacker

He was on the Today show (i think) yesterday apologizing and explaining why they did that. He was with Jillian.

GrnEyz

I actually wondered about that! I mean common...who looks that amazing after running 26 miles?? Either of them barely had a drop of sweat on them!!! :laugh:

Shannon023

I actually wondered about that! I mean common...who looks that amazing after running 26 miles?? Either of them barely had a drop of sweat on them!!! :laugh:

plus, he still looked a little tubby to have been training/running in a marathon. :huh:

aprilvet

He was driven the last 3 miles by a producer so they could get the "money" shot of him crossing the finish line. They did this because marathon officials were packing up- it was over 6 hours after the start. NOT Dane's decision. He did go back and run those last 3 miles right after the shot! Dane should not have to justify this- the producers should be the one's on camera, shame-faced, explaining their decision!!! Why didn't they just ask the officials to wait for Dane?

ANYONE running a full marathon should be admired, not vilified.

GrnEyz

He was on the Today show (i think) yesterday apologizing and explaining why they did that. He was with Jillian.

Aw, I wish I'd seen that. So was that their excuse? Not wanting to be all sweaty and having his wife look, gee, I don't know....not perfect! lol

Frost

That's still 23 miles, right? I couldn't do that. Impressive. Why not just ell the truth?

vanessadawn

I worked on a weight loss show once, a lot of it HAS to be staged. You have to realize the producers/broadcasters only worry about the final product and how much it costs. Although a lot of it really is real, if you ask me they wanted a shorter shooting day for the crew, or wanted the final part of the run to have enough sunlight etc. It's deceiving, but looks good on TV right?

IUChelle423

The show as a whole has deteriorated in my opinion. Is anyone else bothered by the shameless advertisements they do WITHIN the show now? They set it up so it looks like someone was cooking a meal without veggies so they can plug the steam and serve veggies by x brand or it's no longer "chewing sugar free gum can help with cravings", it's now "Chew Extra Sugar Free Gum" and they make a big deal of showing the packaging.

It makes me think nearly the whole thing is fake. I almost wonder if they pre-weigh contestants to put them in the most "shocking" order for TV. It just doesn't seem real anymore. (Not that losing 10 pounds in a week was ever realistic).

chipper15173

He was driven the last 3 miles by a producer so they could get the "money" shot of him crossing the finish line. They did this because marathon officials were packing up- it was over 6 hours after the start. NOT Dane's decision. He did go back and run those last 3 miles right after the shot! Dane should not have to justify this- the producers should be the one's on camera, shame-faced, explaining their decision!!! Why didn't they just ask the officials to wait for Dane?

ANYONE running a full marathon should be admired, not vilified.

good for him to go back and run it. i know it's all about what looks good on tv and what makes a show. the tv guide article should have said this. on one of jillians podcast she said they weigh in the morning of the weigh in day, and are not told what they weigh until they do the filming that night. those aren't real scales.

sweetapplepi

Since we don't know all the details behind the article, maybe we shouldn't jump to conclusions?
How reliable is the TV guide as a source of information?
There will always be people who don't like The Biggest Loser, despite the fact that it helps to motivate an obese society to change. During interviews, Bob and Jillian will be the first to admit that 2 hours is not enough to show what life is like for the contestants on and off the ranch.
:yawn:

sweetapplepi

He was driven the last 3 miles by a producer so they could get the "money" shot of him crossing the finish line. They did this because marathon officials were packing up- it was over 6 hours after the start. NOT Dane's decision. He did go back and run those last 3 miles right after the shot! Dane should not have to justify this- the producers should be the one's on camera, shame-faced, explaining their decision!!! Why didn't they just ask the officials to wait for Dane?

ANYONE running a full marathon should be admired, not vilified.

I totally agree with you!

Momma2four

You are right!

Kimono

I checked youtube to see if there was a video of Dane on Today Show. Didn't find anything. I kind of want to see that. I did notice the clock in the background, and that it was close to 6 hours. And most marathons do shut down at 6 hour mark. I guess that is just how reality TV works.

TamTastic

I am sick of TV!

Between stuff like this and The Bachelor, I may boycott "reality TV" and just stick to Drama and sitcoms!!! :explode:

Georg

I don't care whether or not he ran the whole thing. I find BL to be very motivating. I need to see people my size working out, trying to be healthier. Whenever I start to sweat on my 30 minute routine, I think of those folks with the pressure of national TV weigh ins & Jillian yelling at them 6 hrs each day!
Then I just get over myself.
If they can do it, so can I.

Kimono

I don't care whether or not he ran the whole thing. I find BL to be very motivating. I need to see people my size working out, trying to be healthier. Whenever I start to sweat on my 30 minute routine, I think of those folks with the pressure of national TV weigh ins & Jillian yelling at them 6 hrs each day!
Then I just get over myself.
If they can do it, so can I.

I agree with Georg. I run on the treadmill while I watch BL and it is very motivating. I just love to see people changing their lives. And if he did go back and run the 3 then he did run a marathon. So it isn't a lie. But they do have to "stage" and "set up" things for reality TV, and I guess that's ok. It is still motivating.

GrnEyz

I am sick of TV!

Between stuff like this and The Bachelor, I may boycott "reality TV" and just stick to Drama and sitcoms!!! :explode:

what happened with the bachelor??

lotusfromthemud

I almost wonder if they pre-weigh contestants to put them in the most "shocking" order for TV. It just doesn't seem real anymore. (Not that losing 10 pounds in a week was ever realistic).

Yep, they do that. The "scale" we see on the show is just a prop. . .they've been weighed earlier in the day by the doctors. They do find out their results at the "weigh-in" but they are not actually weighing in, and the producers know beforehand.

firewalking

23 miles IS SO respectable. Although I am disappointed that this program would stoop to this level for the money shot. UNLESS, there was no chance of them finishing the race within the alotted timeframe (there are sometimes limits).

My question is: did they really start at the finish and then journey for the 23 miles? Or did they have a ride or two in between?

This is sad. Remember everyone: WE CAN DO THIS. We do not need the Biggest Loser or any other television show to tell us we can or can't!

chrissyh

I am sick of TV!

Between stuff like this and The Bachelor, I may boycott "reality TV" and just stick to Drama and sitcoms!!! :explode:

Or CSI Miami - that's real - right?! :embarassed: :laugh:

Nich0le

Whatever!

Yes, they picked him up but does that really reduce the fact that the formerly 400lb man completed 23 miles of a marathon. We shouldn't be shocked or apalled at the fact that tv has production schedules as do marathon events.

I say so what to 3 puny miles in the face of 26.2, no matter what he still accomplished something that just months prior he wouldn't have been able to walk. Anyway, anyone that has ever signed up for and participated in a running/ walking event like a marathon knows that if you don't reach a certain point by a certain time your butt gets put on a bus and driven to the end so officials can start packing up and opening up the streets again, so he at least made it past the halfway mark in a decent amount of time for them to have ONLY picked him up for 3 miles of the race.

The race that he ran, by the way, is near my home and it takes place on a hilly portion near the superstition mountain range and that is much different terrain than the treadmill.

He agreed to follow the rules of the biggest loser and filiming schedules upon being accepted to the BL and unfortunately race officials and TV producers had to make a decision. I still pat Dane on the back for completing 23 miles!
:drinker:

emtink

Is anyone else bothered by the shameless advertisements they do WITHIN the show now? They set it up so it looks like someone was cooking a meal without veggies so they can plug the steam and serve veggies by x brand or it's no longer "chewing sugar free gum can help with cravings", it's now "Chew Extra Sugar Free Gum" and they make a big deal of showing the packaging.

yes! that drives me nuts! why do they have to stage some really silly scene? its sooooo obvious.

chipper15173

I say so what to 3 puny miles in the face of 26.2, no matter what he still accomplished something that just months prior he wouldn't have been able to walk. Anyway, anyone that has ever signed up for and participated in a running/ walking event like a marathon knows that if you don't reach a certain point by a certain time your butt gets put on a bus and driven to the end so officials can start packing up and opening up the streets again, so he at least made it past the halfway mark in a decent amount of time for them to have ONLY picked him up for 3 miles of the race.

i didn't know this....interesting. i respect him for running as far as he did. i can't even run 10 mins, let alone 26 miles.
i just posted this to show that what we see isn't always the way it happened in reality.

Hannah_Banana

I've had some experience working in reality TV - I was a production coordinator on a couple episodes of my Big Redneck Wedding. :laugh: :embarassed:

Please believe me when I say its ALL fake. I mean, obviously those people are actually losing weight, but everything is set up - from the weigh ins to the lines, scripting etc. Producers of reality shows actually instigate most, if not all of the conflict you see on the show, as well as 'suggesting' ideas that would be good for camera (ex. the mud wrestling). There is also a lot of reenactment - when the producer hears about something that happened that wasn't caught on film, they just set it up and have the contestants do it again.

A friend of mine worked as a PA to a BL shoot in season 6 and apparently when they are there for the weigh in, they have the trainers go through a myriad of facial expressions so they will have something to cut to. So every time I watch the show and I see Bob with his 'amazed face' on, I just giggle, thinking about them striking different facial poses for the camera. :laugh:

Its entertainment - it just happens to also help people lose weight and give some good advice.

Fitness_Chick

I've had some experience working in reality TV - I was a production coordinator on a couple episodes of my Big Redneck Wedding. :laugh: :embarassed:

Please believe me when I say its ALL fake. I mean, obviously those people are actually losing weight, but everything is set up - from the weigh ins to the lines, scripting etc. Producers of reality shows actually instigate most, if not all of the conflict you see on the show, as well as 'suggesting' ideas that would be good for camera (ex. the mud wrestling). There is also a lot of reenactment - when the producer hears about something that happened that wasn't caught on film, they just set it up and have the contestants do it again.

A friend of mine worked as a PA to a BL shoot in season 6 and apparently when they are there for the weigh in, they have the trainers go through a myriad of facial expressions so they will have something to cut to. So every time I watch the show and I see Bob with his 'amazed face' on, I just giggle, thinking about them striking different facial poses for the camera. :laugh:

Its entertainment - it just happens to also help people lose weight and give some good advice.

Thanks for the reality check Chick!:drinker: