'The Biggest Loser' Season 9 Episode 1 'Week One' Recap

To start the new season, the 11 teams were told that they would have to participate in their first weigh-ins at home, in public, in front of their friends and families.

Upon their arrival at the Ranch, the first challenge began. Teams had to pedal a combined 26.2 miles (the length of a marathon) on stationary bicycles. The last two teams to finish would not even make the journey to the house, and were told that they would be going home. It was Yellow and Blue, but they learned they weren't through yet. They had 30 days at home, and then they would face off against one another back on campus. The team with the highest percentage of weight loss would be allowed back in the game.

At the first weigh-in, it was the self-proclaimed "half-ton twins" who slipped below the yellow line. While both tried to sacrifice themselves for the other, it was James' knee injury that was considered, and he went home.To start the new season, the 11 teams were told that they would have to participate in their first weigh-ins at home, in public, in front of their friends and families.

Upon their arrival at the Ranch, the first challenge began. Teams had to pedal a combined 26.2 miles (the length of a marathon) on stationary bicycles. The last two teams to finish would not even make the journey to the house, and were told that they would be going home. It was Yellow and Blue, but they learned they weren't through yet. They had 30 days at home, and then they would face off against one another back on campus. The team with the highest percentage of weight loss would be allowed back in the game.

At the first weigh-in, it was the self-proclaimed "half-ton twins" who slipped below the yellow line. While both tried to sacrifice themselves for the other, it was James' knee injury that was considered, and he went home.

'The Biggest Loser' really put these contestants through an emotional test with their first public weigh-in. It was in these most vulnerable moments that we were first introduced to the 11 teams, of two that would make up the third 'Couples' edition of 'The Biggest Loser.'

It was quickly established that this was the largest season of 'The Biggest Loser' yet, in terms of weight. The twins were one pound apart, and weighed a combined 969 pounds. They were joined by three more men weighing in over 400 pounds apiece, one of them eclipsing Shay's 476-pound record from last season by 50 pounds. At 526 pounds, no one has been close to the starting weight of Michael Ventrella on this show.

But facing the fears is only the first step. The next was the journey that took them to the Biggest Loser Ranch and an empty gym, save for those stationary bikes. The contestants were clearly intimidated by them, except for the Green team. Mother-daughter pair Miggy Cancel and Migdalia Sebren took off at a pace that would have made Tara (Green from season 7) proud and never let up, finishing the 26.2 mile marathon length well ahead of the other teams.

When Cherita Andrews, of the Blue Team, collapsed with cramps and was removed from the bikes by medical, we knew there was no chance her daughter, Victoria, could carry them. And so it was the Blue team, along with the Yellow team of father O'Neal Hampton and his daughter Sunshine, that were forced to leave campus immediately, before even unpacking their suitcases.

They were stopped in their limos by Bob and Jillian with the news that they would be returning in 30 days to face off against one another with the winner returning home. We were certainly pleased to see this turn of events. It's one thing to eliminate a team immediately on 'The Amazing Race,' but quite another on a show like 'The Biggest Loser,' in which regaining a healthy life is as much at stake as the $250,000 grand prize.

On the Ranch, the remaining nine teams met Bob and Jillian and faced their first brutal workouts in the Biggest Loser gym. Apparently, many were collapsing, throwing up and having a general fit before the two world-class trainers had even begun to work them out.

Still, all got pushed and tested and, to their credit, no one tried to quit or gave anything less than their full effort. A response that showed at the first weigh-in. Alison announced that one team would fall below the yellow line, and one member of that team would be eliminated.

The Brown team lost 23 pounds each (it's a twin thing), but watched as the other teams one-by-one pushed them below the line. Along the way, two records fell. The Purple team came out of nowhere to win the weigh-in, led by mother Patti Anderson's record-breaking 23-pound weight loss -- more than any other woman has lost in a single week on campus. Not to be outdone, Michael shed 34 pounds, setting the all-time single week weight-loss record, while slipping below 500 pounds.

It was difficult to watch the contestants try and figure out which of the brothers, John or James, to send home -- and not just because we can't tell them apart. It came down to whether the players were ready to make "game" moves, or if they were voting in support of one another. In the end, heart won out over strategy, and James was sent home. He was nursing a knee injury, but more importantly, did not face the myriad of distractions that John did upon returning home.

In his follow-up video, only two months later, James revealed that he'd lost a total of 100 pounds. Being in the gym was his job, and he vowed to beat Danny's total weight-loss record from last season by the time the finale comes around. With a passionate, committed and great bunch of contestants, it looks like another great season for 'The Biggest Loser' is under way.