Emmy Award-winning "The Amazing Race" has begun, again, and this time it's full of surprises.

After the 12 teams of two depart from Seattle, friends Bilal and Sa'eed are the last team to arrive in Beijing at an overnight hold and are quickly eliminated from the Race. Talk about harsh!

After racing through China and scaling the Great Wall, powerhouse models/friends Tyler and James arrive first at the Pit Stop. I can't believe single moms/friends, Lyn and Karlyn, are able to scale the rope ladder up the Great Wall - they were struggling - but I'm happy they do it; they have heart. Ditto for the coalminer and his wife, David and Mary. Vipul and Arti are the first team out - I never would have guessed it would be them, but bad navigation trips them up. "Race" airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on CBS.

It's time to cut the fat! On the season premiere of "The Biggest Loser," 50 competitors from 50 states go to the Biggest Loser Ranch, where they are weighed in. All 50 players weigh a whopping 14,384 pounds! Wow! Coaches and mentors Bob and Kim pick seven players for each's team, with the remaining competitors playing it out at home.

It seems Bob's Blue Team struggles the most at first, with several players physically ill during their first workouts. Kim's Red Team wins the wall-climbing challenge. The Blue Team is sad, and Bobby from Tennessee is so homesick, he's crying! Aww. Bob tells his team to work out before eating a meal, and his tough love pays off. The Blue Team loses the most weight, with 108 pounds lost and 5.05 percent weight lost over the Red Team's 98 pounds and 4.75 percent weight lost. Lovable Brian from California on the Blue Team loses the most weight - a whopping 23 pounds! (I predict he'll be a fan fave.)

The Red Team goes to the elimination ceremony where they cut Jennifer from Minnesota. The former beauty queen lost 8 pounds this week, the lowest number of all competitors. But Jennifer says she didn't return home from the Ranch and eat cheese curds at the Minnesota State Fair. Since the beginning of her time at the Ranch she lost 66 pounds, is down to 179 and looks incredible!

"Loser" airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.

Channel surfing

After the professional dancers do a hot number to "Rebel Yell" and Julio Iglesias belts one out, the second star is eliminated on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." With the judges' and the viewers' combined votes, beauty queen/actress/Hollywood gossip Web site fodder girl, Shanna Moakler, and partner, Jesse DeSoto, are out. Am I surprised? Not really. She's not a bad dancer, but I guess she doesn't have the fan base of not-so-twinkle-toes Jerry Springer! Actor Joey Lawrence and partner Edyta Sliwinska steal the show this week with their quick step, earning two 10s and a 9 from the judges - WOAH! "Dancing" airs Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 p.m. on ABC.

On "Celebrity Fit Club," the Fat Crushers are starting to run away with the weight loss totals. Led by Bone Crusher, who's excited he can ride a rollercoaster again, the Fat Crushers lose 8 pounds in one week, while Hot Buttered Soul loses 4. Despite gaining a pound, Angie Stone finally seems to be back on track and is trying to work hard again. Tina Yothers loses another 3 pounds this week and is down to a size 8. Not only can she fit into her wedding dress again, she's lost 16 1/2 percent of her body weight in just 72 days. She's competing with Erika Eleniak, who lost 2 pounds this week, for the title of highest percentage of body weight lost - the winner will get a car. "Fit Club" airs Sunday at 11 a.m., and 9 and 11 p.m., and Carnie Wilson's getting hooked up to the lie detector!

New York is back on "Flavor of Love," and she's more belligerent than ever. The five remaining girls have a pow-wow and collectively pick who they want to go next - Krazy and New York. So the other three - Buckeey, Bootz and Deelishis - win individual dates. All the dates go well, with plenty of making out, but Flav's sad Bootz says she's waiting until marriage to make love again. Buckeey and Krazy get in a shoving match on the patio at Flav's, and New York sells out Buckeey and tells Flav she almost pushed Krazy off the patio (come on, that's a little dramatic). The fighters, Buckeey and Krazy, are in the bottom two, and Flav says what Buckeey did was scary, so he denies her a clock, but still gives her one more butt grab before she departs (how sweet). Just four are left! I think it'll come down to New York and Deelishis. "Flavor of Love" airs Sunday at noon and 10 p.m., and Monday at midnight

It's Eurotrip time on "The Girls Next Door," as Hef, Holly, Kendra and Bridget are off to London; Paris; Barcelona, Spain; Rome; and Munich, Germany. The girls are fascinated by the bidet in London, and Kendra wants to meet Queen Elizabeth since they both have Corgis. Too bad Kendra flashes Parliament while on a boat tour - I don't think the queen would find that too amusing! Hef and the girls enjoy some burlesque shows in Paris, but oddly enough, Dita Von Teese does an exact replica of the giant cake striptease Bridget did for Hef's 80th birthday earlier this season. Luckily cheery Bridget is a good sport about it. The Eurotrip continues Sunday at 10 p.m. on E!

Crybaby of the Week

OK, these girls are the opposite of Crybabies, but some of the strong semifinalists of "America's Next Top Model" who have beaten the odds are worth a special mention. Talk about some sad stories! Leangela's homeless mom dropped her off at child protective services at age 10 and never picked her up. Monique's always had a complex about being the darkest-skinned member of her family and was called "blackula." A.J., who is just 20, is a cervical cancer survivor. Mom Evita's husband is fighting the war in Iraq. And the saddest of all - Megan was in a horrible airplane crash at age 9 and her mother died of hypothermia while sheltering her daughter's body with her own to keep her alive. Wow. Anyway, Christian, the one the judges think is boring, is the first one out of the competition. Sorry, but I have to agree. I'm loving super-perky Brooke and sweet ,quiet Megan. Melrose is a total drama queen, it's no wonder Tyra Banks keeps her over Christian in the bottom two. "Top Model" airs Wednesday at 9 p.m. on the new CW.

Coming up

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" begins its 50-state tour in North Pole, Alaska, on the season premiere Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC.

"Project Runway" returns with new episodes Wednesday at 10 p.m. on Bravo.

Singers Nick and Aaron Carter and their three sisters star in the new "House of Carters" on E! starting Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. Aaron, 22, got engaged to former pageant queen and Playboy Bunny, Kari Ann Peniche, in Vegas this week. What do you wanna bet the wedding's on the show?

Fox's "Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy" returns Oct. 6 at 9 p.m.

Season two of Bravo's "Top Chef" premieres Oct. 18 at 11 p.m. Bring back Chardonnave!