by David McAlpine

Last season on the Biggest Loser, we saw heartbreaking stories, people fighting for a second chance and possibly the most notorious alliance of three in the history of the show that (almost) made it to the end. Add in an immunity twist and put the family element back in and you've got last night's premiere of the NBC hit show's 11th season.

Some of the highlights of this seasons' contestants:

Olivia, Purple Team, 35 -- She's an opera singer who's tired of being the "butt" of every joke…literally (her pun, not mine).
Courtney, Aqua Team, 21 -- She met Bob a couple years ago at a Biggest Loser finale and has wanted to lose weight since. She's lost 100 pounds in the last year but she's still the biggest woman in the house.
Rulon, Yellow Team, 39 -- Gold Medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games in Greco-Roman wrestling. Went back to Athens in 2004 and scored Bronze.
Moses, Gray Team, 47 -- The typical "Tongan" occasionally appearing on the show. Determined to beat Sam and Koli.
Arthur, Blue Team, 34 -- At 5'8'' and 507 pounds, Arthur is almost 80% body fat. He's already lost 150 pounds over the last year and a half, but he knows he's living on a quickly-ticking clock.

Bob and Jillian seem ready to train these contestants and, overall, they seem like a quality group of people. Not too many sob stories, and the ones that are seem universally motivating (Don's son disowning him because of his obesity, Sarah's miscarriages due to weight), no one seems too self-serving…yet.

Of course, we're quickly reminded this is a competition, too, so the first thing everyone has to do is compete in a challenge: they have to collectively run a 5K (or 3.1 miles). The first five teams to finish the 5K will be guaranteed a choice: train with Bob and Jillian and get one week of immunity, or train with two new, unknown trainers in a completely different location and earn four weeks of immunity. Only five teams could take the new deal, leaving six to compete on the ranch in the early stages of competition.

The Yellow Team takes off in a hurry (one of them is a former Olympian, you know) and it's clear that they're already the powerhouse to beat in this game. Not far behind are Gray and Aqua, who themselves came off as hyper-motivated to take this competition home. Fourth and fifth hover between Green and Brown, while the Black Team twins and the Blue Team are struggling to finish. After Yellow, Gray Aqua, Green and Brown take the guaranteed choice spots, Purple, Pink, Red and Orange finish, leaving the twins and Arthur and his dad. Essentially, they both finish at the same time, but Blue ekes them out to avoid a last place finish.

When it comes time to pick the trainers, some are shocked at how strategic it gets. Yellow and Gray pick the unknowns, while Aqua and Green stick with Bob and Jillian. Brown takes the immunity and Purple takes the ranch, leaving two immune spots open. Pink takes the fourth immunity spot and Red fills up the quota, putting Orange, Black and Blue on the ranch.

Bob and Jillian learn of the twist and immediately they're worried because they know that, no matter how hard they train their group, several of them will be going home before those that took immunity. In fact, Jillian almost calls them stupid for not taking the immunity (for the record, I would have stuck with Bob and Jillian, too). No one seems to pushy yet as the workouts begin.

Flash to the "secret" location: the Biggest Loser ranch in Malibu. We don't see who exactly the trainers are, but we find out the guy is a top-ranked trainer and, from the looks of it, is very skilled in martial arts. The woman is a boxer and has a heavy past herself, so they're not taking this lightly.

Back to the ranch: Courtney has started to excel, while Arthur is becoming a pain in Bob and Jillian's side. Ana also starts to struggle since she's never set foot in a gym before, while Arthur continues to writhe on the floor in pain. Before they finish up, Bob and Jillian take them for a tour of the ranch…while they're all pushing the two of them in a pickup truck.

Before the weigh-in, Allison gives the ranchers a preview of what's happening at the other location: one team lost 59 pounds (the Yellow Team) and one person lost 41 pounds by themselves (Moses of the Gray Team). The pressure builds--were Bob and Jillian just as successful? The weigh-in results were as follows:

Green Team
Jay: -26
Jennifer: -20
Total: -46 (-6.78%)

Black Team
Dan: -19
Don: -21
Total: -40 (-6.71%)

Purple Team
Hannah: -16
Olivia: -16
Total: -32 (-6.29%)

Aqua Team
Courtney: -15
Marci: -14
Total: -29 (-5.17%)

Blue Team
Arthur: -31
Jesse: -7
Total: -39 (-4.88%)

Orange Team
Ana: -9
Irene: -13
Total: -22 (-4.31%)

It was clearly hard, because you don't want to see anyone go this early, but for some reason seeing Ana and Irene pitted against each other was particularly sad. This was Ana's first time ever being in a gym and it seemed like it was going to get taken away, but it was also very evident that Irene is the only one who has a shot to win this competition.

In the end, most of the teams (minus Purple) respected Ana's wishes and voted her off, making her the first casualty of the season. Not to worry, though. Since getting home, Ana has lost 50 pounds total and has a new lease on life. She loves salsa dancing, she feels more confident when she goes out and she's been trying to find a new man!

The Biggest Loser: Couples airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on NBC.

(Photo courtesy of NBC)

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