Biggest Loser - Geography Fail

I have more than a few guilty television pleasures and The Biggest Loser is one of them. On the one hand, I like to think it's one of the more constructive members of the trash-filled reality continuum, as it promotes exercise and thoughtful eating habits as a means to getting healthier, but on the other hand... it's really not.

And allow me to preface this by saying I realize reality television shows are heavily edited and staged in order to create a compelling narrative for the viewer; I have friends who work in reality TV and have heard all the stories. But there was a glaring bit of complete BS in this week's episode that held special meaning to me.

The episode featured a contestant who lives in Queens. She is shown complaining about having no place to run around her neighborhood due to traffic, streets, etc... She then goes into a subway station (Astoria Blvd station) to go to Central Park so that she has someplace to run.


Here's the thing: I live in Astoria. I use that train stop. Now, on LITERALLY the same street as that station, is a running track, a few blocks down in Astoria Park. A park which also features a beautiful water front that you can run along. I run there all the time.

In fact, from that train station, you can RUN ACROSS THE BRIDGE to Randolph's Island, through a lovely park there, and then over another bridge to Manhattan, where you can then RUN to... CENTRAL PARK.

So, I call FAIL here Biggest Loser. Get a map.