Wednesday With Jillian

Last night I on demanded the finale of Losing It With Jillian in which Jillian stays in an RV parked in a Miami driveway and scares a fat family with help from a doctor with a magic photo machine that shows what their chunky, pre-diabetic 9-year-old will look like by high school.

There are a couple of points to make here. First: the RV seemed to be there explicitly for late night doughnut runs. WTF? Second: (And I feel appropriately heel-like for wondering) When we saw the “this is what he will look like at 15” photo, why were the boy’s already well-developed man boobs the only thing that didn’t get bigger?

I always enjoy the therapy sessions built into the workouts and this week didn’t disappoint. What we learned is that this family sucks and it’s totally dad’s fault—but wait, mom needs to use her voice! They are both to blame. Cut to the family dragging a boat, weighed down by the 300+ lb. dad, down the beach as mom yells encouraging things. This is how we know that all will be fine for these guys.

I also sorta wondered why the daughter was totally off the hook. She wasn’t super heavy or anything, but it was supposed to be a family affair. My hope—and this would be giving NBC a lot of credit that it probably doesn’t deserve—is that someone recognized she’s at a tough age for ladies and didn’t want to send her down the road to anorexia. Or maybe they are just saving her story for next year’s summer smash: Teens Losing It With Jillian.

Overall, I think these shows do more good than harm. I can’t say for sure if it’s the touching stories of lives transformed (despite my best efforts I cry at least once during Biggest Loser and Losing It. This week it was the kid starting a program in his school to fight obesity that pushed me over the edge) or the fact that she is all kinds of hot, but if Jillian’s selling, I’m buying.