Please tell me I'm not the only one watching!

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2002

Answers

Thank Gawd someone else is besides me! I was almost embarrassed to admit that I have been watching it. I am a complete sucka for all reality TV - there, it is finally out in the open.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2002

Kim - you KNOW I'm watching it. Actually, the first time I saw it was last week and got horribly sucked it. It's so terrible and all of those awful people deserve each other, but I cannot look away.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2002

i know. it's like a car wreck. and wasn't shannon horrible? i mean, what a prude bitch. i wonder why she went on the show anyways. did she really think she'd be judged on her character or intellect? i totally thought she was going to slap him on her way out last night.

i'm helplessly hooked. season finale thursday night. who do you think it'll be?

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2002

I've only seen promos and I am embarassed to admit that guy is from my beautiful San Francisco. I heard somewhere that another version is in the works. It'll probably be another bachelor with babes, which would be lame. How about "The Bachelorette" instead? Girls should have some fun, too, hmm?

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2002

The Bachelor apparently got his MBA from Stanford a year ahead of my friend's ex, who says he never had trouble getting dates then.

I can't bring myself to watch the show, though.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2002

I've watched bits and pieces, but I can't stand seeing him straight- facedly asking 10 different women if they will "accept this rose". And then seeing each woman try to distinguish herself by the manner in which she accepts.

It's painful...and yet, I know if I met the guy in person, I'd be all attracted to him.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2002

Yep I watch it.. it's like a train wreck. I couldn't keep away. I went back and forth between that and Ally Mcbeal last night.

I sort've want him to pick Amanda. I just don't like that other girl...triste? or trista? whatever ...don't like her.

As for The Bachelor in general, yeaaah I dunno ...it seems sketchy - like there's no way that he cannot hurt most of these women; some seemed psychologically in distress. this show is all based on ratings I think. I mean, when "The Bachelor" told the cameramen to stay outside when him and Shannon were in the cabin, apparently that lost some points ...hm. I dunno. I sort've feel bad for Shannon, though then again, yeah, why is she there when she knows how the game is played? eh. I figured she'd get booted off once he kept mentioning how she wouldn't open up on their date.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2002

trying to revive my ailing thread...competing with all the A&F horror, and losing.

so, talk about The Bachelor.

who will "win" tonight? (if you can call it "winning.")

is this a sexist show, or what? are you gals out there offended? what about the basic premise of the show that treats marriage as a contest? is there any hope that the couple will work out, married in this fashion?

furthermore, are you offended that some people call this show a "reality show" even though there is nothing realistic about it? what constitues a reality show anyways?

(keep in mind: i think the show is incredible un-PC and terribly offensive. yet i watch anyways. and think trista will unfortunately snag Alex tonight. thoughts?)

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002

Kim, I agree with you on the Trista angle, and I would like to see Amanda "win".

And, although I do see it as terribly un-PC, I think that these women had a choice to be a part of this show and if they choose to participate, then more power to them. And, like a televised car chase, I will watch it until the bitter end.

I was really annoyed by both Trista and Shannon's whining about how he is dating other women while dating them. Hello? This is the premise of the show, dimwits.

Not too unlike the whole Darva Conger debacle. No one will ever be able to convince me that she did not know what she was getting herself into. Granted, I did feel sorry for her for about a second when Rick Rockwell revealed his cheesy-ass self but, come on, did she really think that anyone would buy the story that she thought it was just for a free trip to Vegas?

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002

I just cannot believe after the "Who wants to marry a millionaire?" DEBACLE, that they did this again. I haven't watched the show, because I think I would be embarrassed to watch it.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002

I refuse to watch this debacle of humanity, especially after reading an article about it today on salon.com.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002

you know what i would love?? i would absolutely love to see the "winner" get the proposal and the ring etc. and then say no. turn him down.

now, do i really think this will happen? hell no.

what do you guys think about media exposure being a big part of why these women go on the show? i mean, maybe they're pathetic enough to want a marriage won by contest and arranged over the television, but i can't help but think trista might be more motivated by tv exposure. she is, after all, a miami heat dancer. (which would also explain a lot. i love how she practically lived in her bikini top during the hawaii shoot. boob, much?)

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002

LOL...i've seen 2 episodes of The Bachelor and I'll be watching tonight for sure...did anyone see "The Other Half" yesterday? they had Alex on there...Mario, who, BTW is a HUGE fan of the show, got all excited and talking fast and sweating, it was pretty funny. They had some audience responses, both good and bad. I missed it today though, had to work. They had a few of the women from the show talking about Alex. Oh well, I'll get to see all that tonight anyway. :)

Has anybody checked out the applications to be on the Bachelor? I mean, I understand for the bachelor position itself, it's gotta be tough, but for the women, the questions are endless!! Go check it out! http://thebachelor.warnerbros.com/bachelorette.html

Anyway, that's my say LOL. Ciao!

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002

"I haven't watched the show, because I think I would be embarrassed to watch it."

Trust me, I was rather embarrassed to watch it at 1st too but then when I thought about all the other crap I watch, it seemed okay. I guess I figured that as long as Fox wasn't handling it, then it may be half decent. Of course, it is not even close to half decent, but I'm telling you, it has the rubber-necking, train wreck aspect to it...I am horrified and yet I can't look away.

(And believe it or not, I am proud to say that I did not watch any of the "Celebrity Boxing" matches on Fox. How could I? It was on at the same time as "Survivor". Heh.)

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002

I was on the phone so I "watched" it with closed captioning. I didn't catch everything his parents said, but it seemed like they liked Amanda least.

I can't believe he really proposed. And she really said yet.

However, the Women Tell All hour was enlightening.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002

Hannah, anything juicy? I didn't see it. In fact, I only caught a little bit of the first show, a few minutes of another, and the second half of the final show. I thought Amanda was the Heat dancer. What did she do for a living?

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002

I watched it - mom seemed to like Trista best, but eh, I could tell she wasn't as into it as the other girl - in terms of wanting him.

I thought Amanda was older than she was, so when I saw the clip of the parents asking if he had any problems with the difference in age, I was confused. then I saw it said she was 23 ...whoa, she has that older look - alot older than Trista though Trista was 29.

Anyway, Amanda was the Day Planner. yeah...

I actually told mom to figure out how to set the vcr cause they will be on Good Morning America tomorrow...heh. yes, I'm pathetic and still want to see more :P

..Oh yeah, as for the Women Tell All segment; I'm so glad Rhonda seemed okay - she freaked me out when she had that attack after getting dismissed.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002

I watched the 2nd hour (of course) and taped the 1st hour. For clarification, Amanda is 23 and is an event planner, Trista is 29 and is the Miami Heat Dancer but is also pursuing a degree in physical therapy.

Actually, the family seemed to like Amanda more, and even said so. They felt as if she would fit into their family scheme easier. They did also like Trista but leaned a little more toward Amanda. The biggest thing that his family (especially his mother) had to say was that he should absolutely not get engaged on national television after 5 weeks of knowing these women.

Lastly, he actually did not propose to Amanda. He showed her the ring and said that he had bought it for her, but that he wanted to wait awhile before he gives it to her so that they can get to know each other better in the real world. He then asked her if she would move to San Francisco to be near him.

Okay, now I am going to take a shower to wash all of this off of me.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2002

Re: the Salon piece: if there's ever a "Who Wants to Marry Heather Havrilesky" show, I'm so there.

I made a $5 bet with my roommate, and picked Amanda, through I thought I'd lost when he got her into the hot tub.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2002

So, what do y'all think of the outcome? I was personally happy that he picked Amanda, though I really thought he would pick Trista. Hell, he TOLD her he would. That was just mean. I did actually feel badly for her because you could tell she was expecting it.

I was also pleasantly surprised that he didn't actually propose. That would have been way too much to handle.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2002

The fact that he got all cozy with Trista and told her "you are the one", and then rejected her when she was rightfully expecting to be chosen, is what made me feel the show for a few minutes. I had a hard time even being interested in the people, they seemed scripted and shiny to me. But who among us hasn't had someone say that you are the one and only, and then found out the next day he had some skank waiting for booty call 10 minutes later?

That just sucked to watch. And how did Trista cry so prettily?

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2002

Personally, I don't like how his family made fun of the fact that Trista's been hurt before. They mimicked her by whining in these goofy voices "Ohh, I've been hurt before" and then the sisters proceeded to laugh about it and say "we've all had boyfriends, get over it" ...personally, I sided with Trista because I've been hurt before too and have a hard time trusting and opening up. But being hurt doesn't just mean being dumped. I was in 2 abusive relationships in a row that lasted a long time because I was afraid what the guy would do if I left. Trista could have similar problems that are way deeper than just being dumped and I don't think his family really had the right to do that. It was totally disrespecting her and I lost all respect for them.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2002

Yeah, the family didn't seem to like either of the women. I thought he'd actually proposed. Glad to see he didn't.

Anyone think he picked Amanda because she's so young, small town girl and he can mold her into whatever he wants?

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2002

See, I thought he picked Amanda because Trista had a slightly trashy vibe. That, and she told him to shut up. See, "shut up" is one of those phrases that I cannot condone, even if it's used playfully, because it tells the person you're talking to that you have no respect for what they're saying.

There was a really interesting review of this show in the New York Times a Sunday or two ago that talked about how Alex was this affluent, highly educated guy - private school all the way to his MBA, a family house in the Hamptons, etc. - who, in real life, would never get hooked up with one of these girls. As the (elitist, I think) author wrote, Alex was from one universe, and these women were from another.

What do y'all think about that? Is the show entertaining because the audience knows on some level that these are women are potentially going to marry a man who probably would dismiss them under normal circumstances? Is the show just an allegory of the national statistics that women tend to marry men who are more educated than they are, and men tend to marry down (in terms of the number of degrees), and that women who are highly educated are statistically less likely to marry? (These are the stats, folks, not my opinion, so don't flame me!)

-- Anonymous, April 29, 2002

Hee hee hee:

http://www.nypost.com/gossip/pagesix.htm

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2002

The next show IS going to be "The Bachelorette"!! Ewwwwwwww.

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2002