Game Show NewsNet - Celebrity Fit Club 2

Weren't You Here Before? - July 8

A couple of months ago, we had 8 celebrities get drilled over the course of 16 weeks to try to lose weight. The results were...well...varied. VH1 (and the viewers, of course), liked it so much that they decided to do it again. Let's see who the 8 people who will be going to the Fat Farm.

Toccara Jones - She was on America's Next Top Model and got to the top 6 - but was eliminated because of - you guessed it - her girth.

Willie Aames - He looked so cute and adorable as a kid. This was over 20 years ago. He still has that baby fat on him, and lots of it.

Victoria Jackson - This comedienne is a very active woman. Unfortunately, her blubber has also been very active.

Phi Margera - He plays Daddy Bam on Viva La Bam. Unfortunately, he could also be Viva La Splat if he gets much larger.

Wendy Kaufman - She's the Snapple lady...wait a sec. Wasn't she in the first edition? Why is she back?

Gary Busey - Popular 80's Actor and the Star of 'I'm With Busey'. Unfortunately, he has gotten so large that he's now big enough to host AND co-host the show.

Jackee Harry - 10 years ago, the 227 stood for the Comedy Show that the was known for. Now it could stand for the amount of time in seconds that it takes for her to get her pants on.

Jani Lane - he was the lead singer of the band Warrant. There may be a warrant out for his exercising techniques if he doesn't clean up his act.

These are your 8 celebrities. This is your recapper. I am Gordon Pepper, and I welcome you to Celebrity Fit Club 2!

The celebrities need to lose hundreds of pounds. For incentive, the stars will have a weight doctor, an exercise instructor, a psychologist, and lots of prizes to win as they focus on the weight that they need to lose. Someone who isn't lost - the host of the show, the returning ANT.

As the celebrities come in, we hear their first thoughts. Jackee doesn't want to be embarrassed, Victoria wants to be like Hilary Swank and Gary looks at this like an amusement park for the body. ANT introduces us to the panel that the celebrities will have to report to each week -

Dr. Ian Smith - He is new this season and he is the diet expert. He is going to customize the diets and teach them what to eat and what not to eat, adding that Phil needs the most education. 'My 5 year old has a better sense of what to eat than you do.'. With that we get a montage of Phil's wife telling him to not judge a food based on its weight, like Cantaloupe Vs. Cotton Candy. Phil argues that if you eat cotton candy, it won't show up on a scale as quickly than an apple and we get to see real quick why Phil is the heaviest of the group.

Dr. Linda Papodopoulis - She's from London and this psychologist is also new to the series. She says that the majority of diets fail because of negative thinking. She tells Jani that she will help him find the 'rock' in the rock star. With that, we get a montage of what he's eating and we see why he's got that 'roll' in the Rock and Roll.

Harvey Walden IV, Drill Sergeant and Trainer - The celebrities hope that he didn't return from last season, but unfortunately for them, he's back. The person he immediately goes after - Toccara, as we see her at her worst moments on the Top Model show. She doesn't want to lose her hips or thighs, while Harvey calls her his special project. This seems to be the first drama point of the show.

The celebrities then go to take a physical, which include a weigh-in and a water weigh. Here's a check on the attitudes - Gary says that he has a lot of work to do, while Toccara is thrilled that she's at 200 pounds. Gary says that he weighs too much, so he got a penile implant. Heh.

After the check-in from the doctors, the candidates go to Harvey's House of pain. Harvey sends them off to do some exercises. Some people take it better than others. For example, Jackee insists on having a nickname of Diva, which doesn't sit too well with Harvey. She continues to be a Diva by screaming when she is doing sit-ups, but adds that she has gained another person. At least she's doing better than Phil, who can't even do a sit-up.

We have more attitude issues. Wendy tries to cheer Gary on, but Gary wants none of it and yells at her. If she needs to root, she better be rooting for herself - Gary is the best sit-upper with 45, while she can only do 9 of them. Here's the full list -

1. Gary - 45
2. Jani - 41
3. Victoria - 40
4. Toccara - 37
5. Willie - 31
6. Jackee - 12
7. Wendy - 9
8. Phil - 7

Next up - Push-ups. Toccara complains that her breasts are getting in her way, but she's actually the leader. Wha?

1. Toccara - 47
2. Jani - 45
3. Gary - 43
4. Wendy - 35
5. Willie - 31
6. Victoria - 30
7. Jackee - 17
8. Phil - 14

FInally, it's time to run. How can they do the 100 meter dash? I guarantee that no one here is going to break any records.

1. Toccara - 16.00
2. Jani - 16.41
3. Willie - 17.15
4. Victoria - 17.51
5. Gary - 29.23
6. Jackee - 29.97
7. Wendy - 31.51
8. Phil - 32.15

Harvey (To Phil) - What's your claim to fame?'
Phil - 'My son picks on me.'
Heh.

Phil says that he's been gaining 10 pounds a year, so he doesn't think it will be a problem to lose 10 pounds a year. Well, by that time, you'll be 156, Phil. Phil talks about mowing the lawn to lose the weight, which is true - but you're not going to lose weight when you are on a riding lawn mower.

ANT presents the next challenge - a rock climbing apparatus. Linda explains that the point of this exercise is to show you how you face challenges. Jani is terrified of heights - but he actually makes it to the top. Victoria also made the top as did...Toccara? Not only did she make the climb up the wall, but she also finished in first in two of the athletic 'events.'. WIth that being said, let's see who is on Harvey's 'Most out-of-Shape' list.

1. Phil
2. Wendy
3. Jackee
4. Willie
5. Victoria
6. Gary
7. Jani
8. Toccara

Some analysis here....Toccara may have a point about not wanting to lose a lot of weight, as she is smoking everyone else. We can now understand why Wendy is back here again. As for Phil, he looks like one big hairy marshmallow and he really needs to shed some pounds.

After all of the analysis has been made, we move on to the first weigh-in. ANT once again talks about the rules and the prizes. He also discusses the importance of the team captains. The first one is...Gary Busey. Phil claps, but he's the only one. Jackee lets out an 'Ugh!' and even Gary is wondering what he's doing there. He does say that he has great motivational skills as we see the life of Gary Busey. As you all may (or may not) know, Busey was involved in a motorcycle crash that resulted in a brain operation. He survived that, and he feels that he has been given supernatural powers because of it. Everyone else thinks that he's one cell short of a battery. He describes FEAR as False Evidence Appearing Real. Jackee describes it as, 'I'm going to kick Busey's Ass...and I think he wants me to.'

Gary approaches the weigh-in and his first number is...209. The idea is to get rid of that mid section, which is going to be tough with a knee injury. Gary explains that the knee injury doesn't bother him anymore. He also says that TEAM stands for Together Everyone Achieve More. Harvey sets his target to be 5 pounds and he expects him to lose 30 pounds. Gary pledges Focus, Ambition, Discipline and Follow-through - which spells FADFT. The women are already snickering in the back. I hate to break it to the ladies, but at least 2 of you will be stuck on his team...

The other team captain is...Jackee! ANT - 'Are you up to the challenge?' Jackee - 'Against that idiot?' Jackee loves to make friends and influence people. She needs to influence the scale more, as she is weighing 202 pounds. Jackee is told to lay off the fried foods and the late meals. Harvey asks if she is dedicated. She says that she is, but she's not going to work out. Wha? Jackee says instead that she's going to be a good leader by motivating everyone else around her. Harvey immediately lays into her and tells her that she's in the wrong fit camp, and Jackee quickly changes her tune and says that she will get in shape and change her attitude. She better - she is supposed to lose 50 pounds, and she starts with a target weight of 5 pounds.

Gary's first teammate is...Victoria! She looks like she preferred to be nailed by a bus than to be Gary's teammate. In a flashback, we go to her house and see her pictures of when she was on Saturday Night Live - and she was much skinnier. Why? Because she used to be a gymnast. Her gaining weight is a rebellion against her father, Gymnast Coach Jim Jackson. Victoria says that diets don't work - but she needs one, because she's up to 167 pounds. That's not too bad, but for Victoria, the exercises may be more mental, as she says that she could have been anorexic because of her father's desire for her to lose weight. Linda says that she needs to work on the self-esteem. Harvey, who works on her body, wants her to lose 4 pounds this time, and 30 pounds for her duration on the show.

Jackee is looking for a teammate, but she is looking less than thrilled when her first teammate will be Phil. 'What a Challenge.' It will be - Phil weighs a whopping 353 pounds. What's more concerning is that over 45% of the weight is body fat and he eats 6 massive meals a day. Ian pledges to change that. The objective for Phil will be 7 pounds for the first weigh-in and a whopping 80 pounds by the end of the show. Phil asks if it's healthy, as he thought that losing 10 pounds a year would be ok. Harvey's response, 'Are you mad? Did you park your spaceship out there and fly in here every now and then? You are smoking dope.'

Gary's next teammate is someone who ANT had a crush on when he was a kid. That person is...Willie Aames! He looks stunned, and we're not sure if it's because he's teamed up with Busey or because he was deemed desirable for ANT. We see scenes of him in 8 is Enough and Charles in charge and a picture of him when he was a 'stud'. Now the stud has turned to sludge and his wife is concerned that his continual work has him begging for a heart attack. His weight is 187 pounds worth of sludge. Ian tells him to get away from foods and Linda wants him to get away from work. The target weight loss is 6 pounds and the target goal for the show is 40 pounds.

Willie says that he has reservations, but he thinks that the team is going to work hard. He says that he's going to clash with Busey, who explains to Willie that DOUBT is for Debating On Understanding Bewildering Thought. Willie doesn't want to hear any of Gary's clap-trap and just wants to work out, while Victoria, who actually is listening to Gary, describes this as Gary starting a cult...and she's joining it against her will! Yipes!

ANT tells the next person to sashay to the scale - and it's, of course, Toccara. She weighs in at 205, and she celebrates? The Body Fat percentage is 29%, and that's not cause for celebration. Ian says that too much body fat will lead to diabetes. Harvey says that Toccara needs to lose weight, and she says that she doesn't have to lose all of that weight, because she still wants to be a plus-sized Supermodel. We have found this season's Mia Tyler.

Harvey says that she needs to lose 6 pounds in 2 weeks. Toccara asks if that's a lot. If she's not happy about that, then she's going to be very miserable about what's next - the total for her is 50 pounds! She complains that she would be a size 6 if that happens, and Ian explains to her that at her height, 155 pounds isn't small. Toccara laughs at Harvey as she gets off the scale. This is going to be your project.

Gary's last teammate is..Wendy! Gary is not looking too pleased about that, but welcomes her in by saying that he is going for positive reinforcement. She slaps him as she goes to the scale. We can see that this is going to be a rocky ride. The good news is that her current weight - 226 - is still down from the 245 that she started with and she's still in the 40's in her body fat (44.4%). The bad news is that it's up from the 217 that she left the first season at. She is also dealing with her high cholesterol issue again. Wendy admits that she strayed, but she's back to be serious. Harvey tells her that it's not a bus rally and she has to go forward. The target weight loss is 6 pounds and the target is 50 pounds.

Finally, Jani will be joining Jackee's team, and he'll be joining her with a weight of 190 pounds. Ian says that he has chicken legs, a big gut, and hypertension - all of which he needs to work on. Jani says that he wants to be a healthier person, and according to Harvey, being a healthier person means to lose 4 pounds now and 30 by the end of the show.

ANT tells them all that these are the teams - for better or worse. Gary wants to make a statement. Oh boy. 'This is the team that has to be together. Otherwise, we wouldn't be chosen by another force of nature which is greater than mine.' Everyone is speechless after that and you could have heard a fly buzz in the room.

ANT introduces them all to the giant scales that were so prominent in Celebrity Fit Club 1. As a reminder, the team that loses the most weight over the course of the season will win the Grand Prize. Everyone gets on the scales, which will now be calibrated to the team's total weight. Jackee - 950 pounds. Gary - 789 pounds. ANT reminds them all that the scales don't lie, and he leaves them...with them still on the scales as Jackee asks how they can get off the scales. Heh.

My take? I enjoyed the show for it's first season, so of course I'm going to like it now. What do I think of the teams? It's a classic case of 1 team with 3 bad attitudes (Jackee, Toccara, Phil) Vs. another team that's unified - but has a massive ego under captain Busey. I think that Busey's team should do well as long as his ego doesn't drive everyone nuts. We'll also see how that patented teammate switch in the middle of the series affects everything as well.

Next week - The team's first 2 weeks with each other. Join us in 7 days to see if they work all together as a team (nah) or implode (probably).