What do you get when you take 10
celebrities, a pool filled with water and high dives of various sizes
and heights? No, it isn't the Battle of the Network Stars, but it's darn
near close. Welcome to ABC's "Splash", another in a line of, ahem,
celebrity fish-out-of-water competitions.
The stars doing all the splashing...
- Kendra Wilkinson (reality TV star)
- Ndamukong Suh (Detroit Lions DE)
- Louie Anderson (comic and former "Family Feud" host)
- Nicole Eggert ("Baywatch")
- Drake Bell ("Ultimate Spider-Man" on DisneyXD)
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (NBA legend)
- Keshia Knight Pulliam ("The Cosby Show")
- Rory Bushfield (extreme skier)
- Katherine Webb (Miss Alabama USA 2012 and girlfriend of Alabama's star
QB... umm... what's his name, you know... what's his name!)
- Chuy Bravo ("Chelsea Lately")
We begin with... a completely needless
and gratuitous display of celebrity and diving/synchronized swimming
prowess by people who have SOME experience in this.
Tonight, five of the diving team will
perform, and one will be eliminated. And here to help them out, as only
he can, four-time Olympic champion Greg Louganis. In order to do what HE
did, you have to be strong, agile, in command of your own body,
flexible, and of course.. not afraid of heights. Because the water is
not forgiving, and if you do it wrong, it's like landing on concrete.
Training takes place at the Rose Bowl
Aquatic Center in Pasadena.
Judging our all-stars are 2012 London
Olympic medalist and the ONLY gold for diving for the US since Greg
Louganis, David Boudia, and three-time Australian Olympian and US Dive
Team coach Steve Foley. They will judge on a point scale, and the two
lowest point scorers will have to face off in a dive-off to determine
who stays and who throws in the towel.
First off the plank today... Rudy from
"The Cosby Show". In a word... okay, two words, "Damn girl," It's Keshia
Knight Pulliam, who says she's extremely competitive and extremely
fearless. However... he has a hard time with the three story plunge.
Sometimes you just got to do it. Her first dive will be from 10 FEET.
It's a forward flip. David says she has a natural ability, but she needs
to improve her hold. Steve says she needs to improve her balance.
David: 6.00
Steve: 6.00
AVERAGE: 6.00
Of course, that's half the score. The
other half goes to the audience.
Second up on the beam is Big Louie
Anderson, who you remember as Little Louie Anderson on "Life with
Louie." At 400 and change, he's the heaviest of the group AND the
hardest to get OUT of the pool. Let's see him get INTO it from 16 FEET
... for the troops. Sorry, 23 FEET, a swan dive. Steve says he looked
like Tarzan meets George of the Jungle. David says that he's taking a
step in the right direction for a healthier lifestyle.
David: 7.50
Steve: 7.00
AVERAGE: 7.25
Next up, straight out of the pages of
Sports Illustrated (as someone's GF), Katherine Webb (AJ McCarron.
Thanks, Brent Musberger). She says she's fearless, but Greg hopes she
doesn't end up hurting herself. She'll do a back somersault from 16
FEET... eventually... and ends up on her butt slightly. Not bad for a
start, though. David says that she picked a high DOD (degree of
difficulty). Steve says that she's very athletic
David: 7.00
Steve: 6.50
AVERAGE: 6.75
Rory Bushfield is next, trading in his
skis for a pair of extreme trunks. He says he loves to jump off things,
so he should be right at home here, right? He'll be diving from all the
way at 33 FEET. Will he land on his head, or will instinct take over? He
nails a combo of twists and flips and all from 10 meters high. Judges?
Steve's in shock from the back double somersault with a single flip.
David wants to see something real next wee.
David: 8.50
Steve: 7.50
AVERAGE: 8.00
Last one on board doesn't get any bigger
than this... the Los Angeles Laker legend... Kareem... Abdul... Jabbar!
All 7'2" of him. He says that it's easier to do somersaults when you're
not so long. Today, he'll try it from a 3 METER SPRINGBOARD. He ends up
with a backflip belly flop. David gives him a couple of pointers on the
back somersault. Steve thinks he's inspirational
David: 7.50 (for his height)
Steve: 7.00
AVERAGE: 7.25
Now it's up to the audience. So far, Rory
is in the lead with an 8.00, while Keshia (6.00) and Katherine (6.75)
are in the bottom two. But what happens when you factor in the audience?
SAFE:
Rory Bushfield
Louie Anderson
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The audience is a non-factor...
DIVE-OFF #1: Keshia vs. Katherine
It's simple. One dive to decide your
fate. Win, you move on. Lose... go home.
Katherine is first. She'll do a bent-over
swan dive from 23 FEET.
Keshia is next. She will do a back
somersault from 10 FEET. This is going to be close.
Keshia did not push herself, but
Katherine's dives were not all that great. The judges will choose who to
save and who to flush. If their decision is split, then the audience
will decide.
David: KATHERINE
Steve: KATHERINE
It is not a split decision, and Keshia
Knight Pulliam, like the Cosby Show before her, has been canceled.
To see
more information regarding this episode, go to
www.biggestloser.com. To apply to be a contestant on "The
Biggest Loser", visit the
official website at nbc.com/casting.