Archive through March 03, 2003
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TV ClubHouse: Archive: Miscellaneous Shows - 2003 April: Married by America: Archive through March 03, 2003

Crazydog

Tuesday, January 14, 2003 - 07:59 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I saw a commercial for this last night during "Joe Millionaire". It airs later this spring.

The concept is that 50% of all marriages end in divorce, so why should America do any worse? Viewers call in and decide who to pair up with who, and the couple gets married.

I submit this for stupidest show of all time. Yes, 50% of marriages end in divorce, but these people probably wanted to get married and loved each other first. I'm betting that closer to 100% of marriages of complete strangers end in divorce.

Max

Tuesday, January 14, 2003 - 08:32 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Yep, just when you thought Fox hit bottom with "Who wants to marry a millionaire," they come out with this gem!

What if they charge for each phone call to vote and no one calls? (Yeah, like that's gonna happen!)

Tabbyking

Tuesday, January 14, 2003 - 08:47 am EditMoveDeleteIP
next thing you know, they'll have snuff films or something...

Curlyq

Thursday, January 16, 2003 - 11:55 am EditMoveDeleteIP
This truly is a deplorable concept for a TV show. The last comment I heard from the producer was something like "65% of arranged marriages are successful." Of course, he doesn't take into account that these marriages usually take place in countries with a completely different view of marriage and where divorce isn't so readily accepted.

Also, that 50% divorce rate business has been proven more than once to be incorrect. TruthorFiction.com has an article about it.
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/divorce.htm

Wilsonatmd

Thursday, January 16, 2003 - 01:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I've read articles about this show....

Actually this is a bit of a misnomer....What is supposed to happen is one person agrees to try a serious relationship with a person of the opposite sex chosen by America, after relatives and friends narrow down a pool of canidates (the main person has nothing to do with the choice, basically the first time the two people will meet is when the decision is made) they move in together and get to know each other for several weeks, and then they make the decision on whether to marry or not...a marriage isn't certain. It's an Americanized twist on the arranged marraige, which is quite common in other cultures. Could be interesting to watch....but remember, this is based in information I read a couple of months ago...they might have tweaked it...

Ryn

Tuesday, January 28, 2003 - 07:54 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Was teased again on Joe M. last night - Set for March. I will try to gather some more info when I get a chance ;)

Rslover

Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 07:36 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Since Aaron and Helene just broke up, wouldn't it be ironic if this pairing lasts?

Ryn

Monday, February 10, 2003 - 06:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Official web page:

http://www.fox.com/mba/

Premire is March 10th (Monday), but I think its regular time slot may be on Thursdays...

Ryn

Sunday, February 16, 2003 - 01:22 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Was just hyped during the Daytona 500 - they listed the premire date as March 3rd

Ryn

Sunday, February 16, 2003 - 02:46 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Ok.....

2 hour premire on Monday March 3rd...

1 hour continuation Wednesday March 5th

Series begins it regular times the following Monday (March 10th) 9-10pm (ET/PT).

5 singles with 5 potential mates picked for each one. Viewers help choose the fiance's by voting, pick 3 Monday and 2 more Wednesday.

Bastable

Friday, February 21, 2003 - 08:26 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I'd just like to say one thing. It's political, so close your eyes if you must.

But I'm in favor of gay marriage--or more specifically, of non-religious gay civil unions, for tax purposes. Yet people against gay unions commonly tell me that man-man/woman-woman bonds desecrate the "sanctity" of the convention of heterosexual marriage.

To them, I point to this show. I point to those dozens of 24-hour wedding chapels in Las Vegas. To "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire." To countless dating shows (Bachelor/Bachelorette/Joe Millionaire) that aim to culminate in a wedding proposal. And I ask them--if your concern is actually the "sanctity of marriage," why aren't you protesting against THOSE? Against shows like this?

Let no one strut around again, talking about the "sanctity of marriage" as an excuse to deny gay people equal rights.

Political post over.

Curlyq

Friday, February 21, 2003 - 08:59 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I am one who does believe in the sanctity of marriage as a sacred covenant, and that is why I have avoided "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire", "The Bachelor", and "The Bachelorette", and I will also ignore "Married by America". I show my protest by not tuning in. Doing anything more at this point would seem uncalled for since none of these shows has ended in a real marriage (except for Darva Conger's which she quickly annulled). It appears that the shows' participants actually take marriage more seriously than the producers do. What happens with this latest show remains to be seen.

Personally, I like the idea of all engaged couples being required by law to go through couple's counseling before they can get married.

Twiggyish

Saturday, February 22, 2003 - 08:19 am EditMoveDeleteIP
When does Divorce by America start? That's how a lot of these people will end up.

Bastable, an excellent point. I don't know the answer. But with the political climate right now, it isn't going to be any time soon.

Emt911

Saturday, February 22, 2003 - 08:29 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Twiggy, they go to Divorce Court, which already airs!

Ginger1218

Saturday, February 22, 2003 - 08:29 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Hey Bastable, I agree with you 100% on this. LOL

Twiggyish

Saturday, February 22, 2003 - 09:02 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Emt..LOL Oh yeah!

Crazydog

Friday, February 28, 2003 - 02:07 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
With the end of The Mole, Joe Millionaire and The Bachelorette, evil reality TV's hold on me is hanging on only with Are You Hot. This show is in the Joe Millionaire timeslot, but I am not going to watch. I've had it with Fox.

I think I'm going to read a book on Mondays instead. Imagine that. :)

Car54

Monday, March 03, 2003 - 02:21 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
From Zap2It.com:

'Married' Suitors Face Sequestration
Mon, Mar 3, 2003 02:22 PM PDT





LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - In addition to a tight schedule that has them shooting shows just days before they air, contestants in FOX's latest reality effort, "Married By America" are being sequestered until Saturday, March 8. According to a memo obtained by TheSmokingGun.com, the five singles will be under close watch to prevent the show's secrets from reaching friends, family and especially the media.

In the Feb. 14 memo sent by the show's producers, Rocket Science Laboratories, contestants won't be allowed to leave their hotel rooms without a "Married By America" representative and all phone calls must be supervised. While regular television programming will be off limits, movie viewing can be arranged. Additionally all computers, cell phones, and pagers will be confiscated. Gym and dining visits will be strictly regulated.

The memo, which also advises contestants on what attire they should bring, notes that most of their meals will probably be room service, but emphasizes that only the room and tax are being paid for by the show.

"Married By America" premieres on Monday, March 3 at 8 p.m. EST.

Car54

Monday, March 03, 2003 - 02:23 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
From Zap2It.com


'Married' Producer Discusses His Latest 'Social Experiment'
Sat, Mar 1, 2003 05:08 PM PDT

by Daniel Fienberg
Zap2it, TV News

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Ted Haimes came to Hollywood in 1995 with an extensive background in documentary films, but despite earning an Emmy nomination for his contributions to "The History of Rock and Roll, Vol. 9," he was dissatisfied.

"I felt frustrated because at that point in time the conventional procession of documentary was that you had to present things in an objective way and I thought that was basically fraudulent," Haimes says. "Every good documentary maker I know has a strong point of view and the thing I'm interested in seeing is that point of view, not a pretension to an objectivity that you can't have."

Haimes found freedom in FOX's extreme proto-reality shows, even if these programs stuck to the simple formula of "Shocking Something Caught On Tape."

"As a documentary guy I felt liberated because I could tell my stories however I wanted to and the stories had an intensity to them and an immediacy to them," Haimes remembers. "I began to pitch shows that were a mix of what I like most about documentary, which is social experiment, and entertainment television."

Those clip shows led to FOX’s "Surprise Wedding," which led to work on "Temptation Island."

Now, eight years after his Emmy nomination, Haimes finds himself as an executive producer scurrying to prepare "Married by America" for its premiere on Monday (March 3) at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.

Debuting with a two -part matchmaking episode, "Married by America" will introduce audiences to five singles, two men and three women. Viewers will then meet the five suitors selected for those singles. Friends and family of the singles will narrow the suitors down to two apiece and America will get to choose the suitor they want the single to marry. On March 10, the grooms will all propose. The brides will all accept.

Then, for the first time, the couples will meet.

For the next month, the couples will live together. They'll meet each other's family and friends and get to know each other in a variety of different situations as they plan the wedding, scheduled for April 14.

ûp"On April 14, they will face the rabbi, minister or justice of the peace of their choosing and they'll say, ‘I do’ or ‘I don't,’" says Haimes.

Thus there exists the possibility that after weeks of build-up, nobody will, in fact, be married by America. The show could end up with five couples saying "Thanks, but no thanks" to their arranged nuptials. Haimes can only promise that whatever happens, audiences will get an unmediated view.

"It's not as if we're going to lead to a conclusion that's different from the way it's portrayed on television," Haimes says. "If they get married, they really will get married. If they don't get married, they really won't be together and we will have watched them try and not succeed."

Already several religious groups, including the Catholic League, have attacked the show for making light of marriage. Haimes argues that "Married by America" is just another expansion of traditional courtship rituals.

"It's certainly a time when people are looking at different ways to find their life partners," he explains. "They go to match.com, they try speed dating and turbo dating. All kinds of things to meet people outside of their usual realms of experience."

More than 200,000 people downloaded the show's application and the casting department received thousands of audition tapes. The search yielded an attractive group of singles including Matt, who works in broadcast promotions in Atlanta, and Jill, a 25-year-old arena hostess for the NHL’s New York Islanders.

Haimes admits, however, to a glaring gap in his show's cast.

"The casting process and the fact that our five stars are all white is just the luck of the draw and the difficulty of the casting process," Haimes says. "I would hope that when it's time to do 'Married 2' that the popularity and profile of the show will help us attract a wider ranger of cast possibilities. I'm constantly frustrated by the white-ness of reality TV."

Haimes is also frustrated by critics who implicate reality television in the decline of scripted programming.

"What's killing scripted television is scripted television," protests Haimes. "It ain't gonna kill 'The Sopranos.' It's not going kill 'Curb Your Enthusiasm.' It's not going to kill 'Six Feet Under.' It's going to kill the same old predictable shows that the audience has grown tired of. I don't think it's a homicide of scripted television. I think it's a suicide."

For Haimes, "Married by America" picks up where previous reality relationship shows end and offers viewers the chance for unprecedented control over the narrative process. While Evan, Aaron, Alex and Trista all picked their potential spouses, Internet and phone-in votes will determine 50 percent of the stars of "Married By America."

Haimes views "Married by America" as just the next evolution of his documentary practice in a genre that he describes simply as, "taking pieces of real people's lives and telling provocative and passionate and emotional stories."

He already has ideas in mind for the next step.

Crazydog

Monday, March 03, 2003 - 03:41 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Thousands of people applied, and they end up with 5 white people, 3 of whom are from New York City and 2 from Atlanta? Yeah, that's really representative of America. He claims it was "luck of the draw" but if he really wanted to have a minority contestant he could have.

I find it kind of funny that he's already assuming there will be a "Married 2". I'm going to do my part and NOT watch this show!

Neko

Monday, March 03, 2003 - 05:42 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Who names their kid "Smithy"??

PS - I like MArkus and if they don't pick Markus for Jill, I'm sure there will be a crowd of girls after the show that would *love* to pick him up..

Wilsonatmd

Monday, March 03, 2003 - 06:45 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I can see why the TWOP'ers decided to name this ep "Welcome to the Hellmouth"......this is just.....I have no words for it....and I thought "Bachelor" was bad....

(FYI: "Welcome to the Hellmouth" was the title of the First ep of Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Tabbyking

Monday, March 03, 2003 - 09:54 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
this show was about as exciting as spam right from the can...only with less taste.

Kady

Monday, March 03, 2003 - 10:04 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
<kady does not want to admit that she watched this fiasco>

Seamonkey

Monday, March 03, 2003 - 11:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I watched most of the hour between "I'm a Celbrity" and the new RW/RR battle of the sexes episode and it was a total farce. Only saw any of it because Everwood was a rerun.