LeftDownwind

Yeah, I definitely see your point Although I would never step on any boat captained by Elliot so that's probably a non-starter! Haha, thanks. Not many people get it! You must be a pilot as well.

I was kind of horrified by this at first too until Elliot said that he's lactose intolerant, because that's much different than an allergy. I'm lactose intolerant as well, but it doesn't stop me from eating what I want... I just know the price I'll pay later. It's not the end of the world, and once you (ahem) "get rid of it" like the deckhand did you're good to go again. Even he said something along the lines of "It was worth it. That was some good chicken pot pie". Don't get me wrong, I still think it was douchy to do that to the guy, but I think them initially using the word "allergy" made it seem worse than it was.

Wow, Elliot has quite the rap sheet. Most of them are minor stuff like traffic violations, but some of them are not so minor. How does somebody with a background like that get a captain's license? A DUI or drug charge will get a pilot's license, even just a private one, stripped. And what bank loaned him the money to purchase the boat? Somebody needs to call the due diligence team in for a meeting. I really wish they would make that go away. If I wanted to read tweets from people I don't know (I don't), I'd go on Twitter. If they have to put tweets up, at least let them be from the captains or crew with maybe a little background information on the scene. That would add to the episode. "Good Job Jake A!" doesn't add much substance.

This drives me crazy about this show. We have a surround system, so last season I discovered I could make it bearable by disconnecting my left and right speakers and get the vocals only out of the center channel. There's essentially no music, and it seems remarkably like the U.K. version!

I wholeheartedly agree the reminders and counseling should be cut, and spend more time on proper exercising (as well as nutrition). This show comes off as about 40 minutes of padding and 3 minutes of actual content. Even the weigh-ins are ridiculously drawn out. Cut the padding make the show more educational and less Survivor.

It will never happen, but I would watch this show even if you took 100% of the competition aspect out. I like seeing the journeys and transformations. I imagine there are many people that would jump at the chance to go on the ranch to change their lives, with or without a prize. Maybe each person that achieves a pre-determined and measurable goal is awarded a cash prize. The goals could even be individualized to each person - maybe one person wants to lose 60 pounds, one person wants to run a 5k in a certain amount of time, one person wants to fit into a pair of jeans from 10 years ago, etc. The show could then show us how these people train to achieve their goals via diet and exercise. It could be in depth and educational TV. For a show about "changing lives" and "challenging America" I've always thought it was pretty light on instructional material. We very rarely even hear anything about the nutritional aspect other than the paid product placements. I'm very active in fitness though, so I would watch this. I'm not sure if it could ever get the same ratings as the current setup, however.

Seeing Marcus dismantle Dane at the end with the dilution plans may have been my most favorite reality TV moment ever. He said something along the lines of "I'm putting in as much as it takes", which gave me goose bumps. It was very satisfying to see Dane put in his place, but it was also a great moment because I was rooting so much for the candy makers, and it was nice to see someone powerful on their side. I'm getting pretty addicted to this show. It seems to come off as extremely "real" and Marcus seems like a very decent guy.