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northstar

Cinderella gets her slipper....

by northstar at 10:59 PM on April 25, 2002

Like a lot of people, I watched the season finale of “The Bachelor”. Hey, I was home alone and bored to death watching the Astros lose again, ok? I watched the first few minutes of the first episode, and was sickened by the premise of the whole undertaking. While I’m still not a fan of the concept, the finale interested me for several reasons:

Haven’t we been here before? Apparently, we’ve learned nothing from Darva Conger and Rick Whatever-his-name-was. While “The Bachelor” was a step above “Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire?”, it’s not a big step

Dating as a job interview: Imagine reducing interpersonal relationships to the level of a job interview. (Should I hire you to be my wife, we do offer a great benefits package…) If get an offer, do you hold out for a pre-nup??

”Survivor” in a hot tub: Alex had five weeks to narrow a field of 25 women down to “the One”. (And no one ever got the “immunity necklace”…) Just think if the women had split up into tribes and could have voted each other off the island? Now THAT would have made for some interesting television….

”Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”: Take a 31-year-old bachelor, and put him up in an ridiculously expensive, beyond-fabulous mansion. Give him an unlimited budget for food, alcohol, transportation, and condoms. What woman wouldn’t like that?? (Gee, honey, I know you like the house, but next week I have to go back to my double-wide….)

It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt: What I found most disturbing about the finale was that you knew someone’s feelings were going to get hurt. Does the chase for ratings justify toying with a woman’s feelings? Granted, Trista and Amanda put themselves in such a position willingly, but I don’t think they could have imagined how emotionally engaged they would become in the end.

I suppose that, in the final analysis, “The Bachelor” falls somewhere between an arranged marriage and a job interview. The producers of the series did what they could to introduce some “normal” aspects of courtship into the show- meeting the families, for instance, but it never felt anything other than contrived. Still, if the ideal of marriage is still two people spending their lives together, can we really expect this fantasy to produce a solid, long-lasting relationship? What sort of message are we sending?

Of course, when you consider the divorce rate in this country, could they really do any worse?

comments (2)

Fantastic analysis of the show. Unfortunately, I have to disagree. Of all the reality shows, this one was one of the most engaging. The show was a train wreck, I'll give you that. But a train wreck the same way that Blind Date is a train wreck. These are obviously real people, in a truly weird situation. I didn't watch the whole show, but the episodes I did see, were incredibly entertaining. I loved it. I couldn't look away. As a recently single fellow out on the dating scene again, I learned lots of great tips, and got insights into the strange workings of the female brain. I can't wait for the Bachelor II.

by mg at April 26, 2002 2:16 AM


Although no one ever got the "immunity necklack," I read an interview with the producers where they confirmed that several girls got the pearl necklace.

by Eviltom at April 27, 2002 1:50 AM