"The Bachelor" (2002)TV series 2002-????

Creator:

Mike Fleiss

Seasons:

2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | unknown

Release Date:

25 March 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Game-Show | Reality-TV | Romance

Plot:

The third installment of the Bachelor, this time featuring a real millionaire and 25 of the most beautiful girls yet!

Plot Keywords:

Bachelor | Contest

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Chris Harrison	...	Himself - Host / ... (12 episodes, 2006-2008)
Matt Grant	...	Himself - Bachelor / ... (10 episodes, 2008)
Shayne Lamas	...	Herself (9 episodes, 2008)
Chelsea Wanstrath	...	Herself (9 episodes, 2008)
Bevin Powers	...	Herself (9 episodes)
Amanda Rantuccio	...	Herself (8 episodes, 2008)
Prince Lorenzo Borghese	...	Himself (7 episodes, 2006)
Noelle Drake	...	Herself (7 episodes, 2008)
Erica Rose	...	Herself (6 episodes, 2006-2008)
Brad Womack	...	Himself (6 episodes, 2007)
Robin Canfield	...	Herself (6 episodes, 2008)
Marshana Ritchie	...	Herself (6 episodes, 2008)
Holly Durst	...	Herself (5 episodes, 2008)
Ashlee Williss	...	Herself (5 episodes, 2008)

Also Known As:

Bachelor, The: London Calling (USA) (twelfth season title)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Malibu, California, USA

Company:

Bobby Weisman Caterers

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Man of the Year (2006)

Beautiful people, meeting each other - "Bachelor" is the reality series Grandaddy

Network: ABC; Genre: Reality/Game; Content Rating: TV-PG (suggested sex); Classification: Classic (star range: 1 - 5)

Season Reviewed: Series (4+ seasons)

The precursor to the really ridiculous reality/dating shows from Fox and NBC, ABC's "The Bachelor" is the granddaddy of this deplorable new subgenera. Often imitated and duplicated. The show has the unmitigated gall to call itself a reality series – and people actually repeat it – all the while setting up and knocking down a premise so absurd that is, and could only be, contrived for TV. 25 beautiful women, vie for the attention of 1 guy with a marriage proposal up for grabs at the end. Yeah right, right?

Because everybody knows that women don't care enough for men to make fools of themselves for one of them – even for the chance to be on national TV – the bachelors are elevated to superhuman status by the show. All applicants chosen are dream boyfriend-types that are model good looking, rich beyond their initially appeared intelligence (often owners of their own business) and can be frequently found wooing their dates by staring off into space or recycling greeting card clichés about what "love" means to them. Part of the "A-group" in high school these guys are the types that have no trouble getting dates back home. The show isn't about getting them dates or even getting them hitched, it is a self-indulgent parade for them to show off to the rest of the country how they have women falling all over them. It's about nourishing the egos of people who don't exactly need it (while those that do sit home and watch) and not any end resolution – which should be abundantly clear after years of this show resulting in no marriages. The recent multi-million dollar blow-out extravaganza for the snoozefest that was Ryan and Trista's Wedding showed just how desperate ABC is to prove that this concept isn't so fundamentally flawed that it's a waste of everybody's time.

The girls get a chance to return to their high school days as well, with supposedly adult women reduced to crying, groveling and the much anticipated catty 'backstabbing' among their peers to win over the guy they just met and also conveniently for the show just fell in love with. Take a drink every time on of them says "I can really see myself with him" and you'll be in AA before the final rose. The whole pageant is more a nasty, pandering popularity contest than a game show. And it is the same thing season after season no matter who they put in the roles. The bottom line is that, sorry, it just isn't really that interesting watching beautiful people meeting each other. What's the challenge there? the achievement?

It might all be sad if it was all real. The bachelors and his women are not average people but clearly aspiring models and actresses that can't otherwise get work. ABC pours through their headshots and videos searching for strictly outlined qualities to make an interesting show and – if only – start some real friction in the house so "the claws will come out". That, along with the phrase "the most dramatic rose ceremony ever", have become laughable staples of 'The Bachelor'. It is so dull that it doesn't work even work on a guilty pleasure and so pandering that it is insulting. This should be a living fantasy for men but it's handled with such melodramatic soap opera seriousness as to crush any of the potential ridiculous fun. I don't know why a woman would even watch it other than as a chance to gossip about people without it doing any damage.

How should I put this gently? The show inadvertently creates a paradox for itself. The Bachelor is an open-palmed slap in the face to the institute of marriage and the romanticized notion that people meet someone they are supposed to be with in a mystical magical way. As I said, I think the show is designed and that these clearly aren't regular people, but the bigger and more dangerous question is if the emotions that come forth from them are real. Think about it. It's common for people to write both the men and the women off as acting or sad, pathetic basket cases. That's the easy way out. But, how are their emotions any less legitimate or real than that of people who didn't meet on TV, but met in real life in the more typically romanticized way? The show proves that it can be contrived and manipulated and people will believe it just the same. It expedites the process with group dates, contests and fantasy suites but what they go through is still pretty much the series of events that line up and lead anyone to find anyone. Whose being manipulated here? If we put the love lives of most people married or dating the 'natural way' it would look just as sad and pathetic. It's a question a lot of people don't want to think about – particularly those responsible for this show. If this show brings down the romanticism surrounding love and dating than there goes it's primary audience.

The only person that comes out of this smelling, well, like a rose is host Chris Harrison. He's a likable personality and has got a pretty good gig, stepping into the middle of the drama and calmly laying out the guidelines. Harrison's biggest moment in the sun aside from announcing the "final rose this evening" is in the post-show interview specials. He's not bad. Then again, it's probably effortless to look that cool given every thing else that's around him.

* / 5