My wife, Mary, is Idaho’s biggest Biggest Loser fan. So when I told her that our Idaho video production company had been picked to shoot segments for the hit NBC show’s 7th season, she quickly morphed into Boise’s biggest beggar.
“Please, let me tag along! I can be a grip! I’ll carry the C-47s, …whatever they are!” (see Lana’s recent Lessons… blog post).
“Sorry hon, the C-47s are much to heavy for you,” I lied. I didn’t feel too guilty considering she didn’t know a simple C-47 from a Sony D-600. What she did know was that the new season’s Biggest Loser yellow team was Aubrey and Mandi, two sisters from Idaho. And she wanted to meet them. I knew it would be more like mob them. I had to protect them. It had suddenly become my unofficial duty to run yellow team security against my wife.
But Mary already knew too much. She knew that Tom, Andy and I were headed to the Boise airport with the high-definition Panasonic Varicam to catch shots of Aubrey returning from the Biggest Loser ranch for a brief and much desired home visit. Then Wide Eye’s Boise video crew would take shifts over the next few days documenting Aubrey’s every move. Wide Eye was about to help produce a very unique Biggest Loser episode, one which would be shot mostly off-location at team member homes across the county. More on that in a moment. First, back to the airport.
An affectionate mob really had gathered there, to welcome Aubrey home. Eager friends and family clogged the hallway just outside TSA security where Aubrey was due to pass. It was a compact collection of colorful balloons and flowers and cute nieces/nephews/sons/daughters/aunts/uncles/parents/siblings holding “We love you!” signs.
And right in the middle was Mary.
“Uhmm, hon, …you’re not supposed to be here. It’s kind of a family deal.”
“Oh, Aubrey and I are like sisters!”
“Uhmm, hon, …you’ve never even met her.”
“I’ve seen her on TV. It’s the same thing. Besides, I’m already buddies with her mom!”
It was true. Mary has this uncanny ability to meet and greet. And my party crasher was already chuckling it up with the yellow team’s mom. If The Biggest Loser producers were hoping for a background of laughing, loving faces, Mary would be the perfect set decoration.
“OK, you can stay (as if I had any say in the matter). But try to control yourself. Give her room. Aubrey might want to see her real-life kids almost as much as her imaginary, never-seen-before sister.”
Mary did control herself. She’s friendly, but she’s also professional, and while she isn’t a Wide Eye staffer, she behaved like one. Mary slid from the cheering crowd as Aubrey fell into welcome-home hugs, and then huddled close to Andy where she knew she’d be clear of Tom’s shots. But she was satisfied. Her “sister” was home. Maybe someday, they might even meet.
For me, the following days were a whirlwind of gripping and gaffing and audio recording as Tom and Andy captured Aubrey’s every exercise. Then Aubrey’s healthy cooking and eating. Followed by more exercise. And more healthy cooking and eating spiced with home-life and family. And, of course, more exercise. And, best of all, we embraced a challenge. Or more accurately, we embraced The Challenge. Biggest Loser fans know The Challenge is a show highlight when teams compete for immunity from elimination, among other things. This challenge, it turns out, was for money. A lot of money. Watch the show to see specifics, but it’s a lot of money. Enough money to make Aubrey’s husband squeal when The Challenge was announced. Enough money to lure Aubrey’s husband into trying something he’d never considered. Enough money to make Aubrey and Mandi tackle a goal they’d never imagined. And Wide Eye had the good fortune to record it all on tape.
I can’t tell you specifics about The Challenge because, at the time of this posting, it hasn’t aired yet. Look for the show in mid-March, and I’ll follow up with another Biggest Loser post after. But I can tell you that most of this Biggest Loser episode is different from any other. A lot of it wasn’t shot on The Biggest Loser California ranch with The Biggest Loser California cameras. A lot of it was Idaho video production with Idaho freelance camera crews. A lot of it was Idaho video production that documents two Idaho sisters, Aubrey and Mandi. Wait, I guess that’s three Idaho sisters, Aubrey, Mandi, and Mary. But we don’t have to tell the other two….
(Biggest Loser producers continue to travel to Idaho to follow various yellow team at-home activities throughout the show’s season, and have continued to ask Wide Eye Productions to work as their Idaho camera crew to shoot these episode segments. Stay tuned for more posts as the season progresses).
