Archive through December 04, 2002
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TV ClubHouse: Archive: Joe Millionaire: Archive through December 04, 2002

Eliz87

Saturday, November 30, 2002 - 07:03 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I keep seeing the ads for this show and am wondering what all the surprise is about! The show seems like "The Bachelor" with a twist. Anyone know what this is about?

Neko

Sunday, December 01, 2002 - 01:29 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Me and "The Mom" think the "secret" about Joe Millionaire is that he's really a Joesphine.

But then again, the fact we thought that right away probably means that it won't be that.

Ketchuplover

Sunday, December 01, 2002 - 08:50 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
They're just trying to pique our interest.

Wilsonatmd

Sunday, December 01, 2002 - 10:06 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
My guess...The guy is a widower...with children. They don't tell them this at first, but spring the suprise on them later. So they have to think about this: are they ready to be both a wife AND a mom?

If this turns out to be right, I find this even more disturbing than the Bachelor.....

Wilsonatmd

Monday, December 02, 2002 - 10:39 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Well, I was wrong...CNN found the secret out (and Fox actually reveled the secret because the viewers will know about it from the start, but not the women)....and it's not disturbing, it's actually intriguing to a point!

At the beginning, the women will be told the guy is worth $50 million. The 20 women will be wined and dined at exotic locales, and the people who advance to the next round will be given more and more expensive jewelry....until the finale when he makes his choice. If she says yes, he has to reveal the secret.....


He's not actually worth $50 million. (although with everything else in his life he was being honest in what he told them)

He's really a construction worker making $19,000 a year, and it was the producers money that bought the dates and the jewelry and stuff, and that is all over. So did they fall in love truly, or with the supposed money?

The guys who did Temptation Island did this show...and they said because of the twist, it probably can't be repeated. Only six people knew about the actual circumstances of the show, not even the production people (in France, where they taped) knew about it.
The show will air Mondays at 9 on Fox Starting January 6th.

Pamy

Monday, December 02, 2002 - 11:03 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I love this idea!!! I can't wait to watch!!
I also would like a show called "The bachelor, a year later.." !!

Mware

Monday, December 02, 2002 - 11:08 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Wilson, thanks for the info.

Well, now I'm miffed. That's a crummy premise for a show in my opinion, and I don't think it will be very entertaining to watch the final show when the rug gets pulled out from under some woman. That's like watching a car accident, and then asking the police to drag over the bodies so you can get a better look.

What happened to trust being one of the fundamentals of a relationship? I realize that TV dating isn't much of a foundation for a long-lasting relationship in the first place, but being able to trust the other person is key.

I can understand the angle of wanting to see if someone will still be interested in another with money being a concern or not. That's one of the dating cliches - does he/she like me for me, or for what I look like? (what I've got, what I drive, where I live, etc.) But there's a huge difference between $50 million net worth and $19,000 a year.

At $50 million, you could live wherever you want, do whatever you want, have whatever you want, etc. without a care about money. At $19,000 a year, it's hard to even pay for essentials in many parts of the country.

In effect, the producers are wanting one of the women to be interested in one person, then telling her that he's someone totally different. Like it or not, having $50 million to do with as you please changes a person.

I guess I'll have to wait for The Bachelorette.

Wilsonatmd

Monday, December 02, 2002 - 12:04 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Mware, I think the point of the show is "Are these women in it for the money, or the love? Because if its true love, money shouldn't matter one bit.".... Some people think that the women who go on these type of shows are gold-diggers.....and this show is a chance to prove them right or wrong....

Mware

Monday, December 02, 2002 - 12:14 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I know it shouldn't matter one bit, but the deception should. Even if a woman is a gold-digger, she has a right to know whether the stream she's panning in dried up years ago, I think.

Car54

Monday, December 02, 2002 - 12:30 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I think this is really a sick idea from every perspective.

Max

Monday, December 02, 2002 - 01:44 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Let's face it. It matters. As a woman who makes nearly six figures and was married in the past to someone who made FAR less, IT MATTERS. Even when he said it didn't, his actions spoke volumes.

And, yes, the deception would bother me, whether I was on the giving or receiving end of it. If someone can lie that consistently and believably about this for the sake of a TV show, I would have to wonder how easily he would lie to me about other things in the relationship. Having "been there, done that" with someone before, I know how confusing it can get and how the ability to lie to ones partner can be emotionally abusive.

All that said, I probably WILL watch this! I'm just that much a fan of train-wreck relationship "reality" shows.

Pamy

Monday, December 02, 2002 - 02:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
It will be interesting to see if they stay together since it appears both couples from Bachelor are not together, and those guys HAD money.
The more I thought about it, the more I agree with most of you above, it is kinda of mean thing to do to the girls, but I know I will watch it at least once.

Crazydog

Monday, December 02, 2002 - 03:26 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I think this idea is hilarious. You just know the only reason why these women signed up is because they wanted to get with a rich guy. We'll see how many of these women say that he's a great guy, and that they are soul mates, etc.

I don't think it's mean at all. I'm hoping that near the end when it's down to three or so, the guy gets each of them to say that they are in love with him, not his money.

I agree with Wilsonmd, that the point is that women are in it for the fame and the money. I think it's a great premise and I will thoroughly enjoy watching these women make fools of themselves.

Ketchuplover

Monday, December 02, 2002 - 04:22 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
That about how much I make a year :)

Wilsonatmd

Monday, December 02, 2002 - 06:57 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I think another part of it is, can the producers transform a blue-collar worker into a convincing tycoon-type? The storyline to the women is that he's inherited the money, and so I would think the producers have to make him look and more importantly act, like a millionaire. Also, the only thing he will be lying about is the money and the job. Everything else (education, past relationships, parents, etc.), he will tell the truth on. So the key point is, will the women look past the dollar signs and see the true person? This has the potential to be really, really sweet, or REALLY, REALLY nasty, especially at the end.

Mware, if he's in his mid to late 20's, $19,000 a year isn't a lot, but for a single guy, if he doesn't have a lot of expenses, he can live OK....Construction workers start off low salaried, but as they gain experience, the salaries increase faster than some other vocations. If he becomes a foreman, he can live pretty well, possible even own his own company eventually. It just takes time.

And I like the title of the series...The contestants and those not in the know were told the series was called "The Big Choice"....and the actual title is a play on words...because if you take away the millionare, the guy is really an Average Joe.

Dahli

Monday, December 02, 2002 - 08:37 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I for one would like to see it the other way around, setting up these women with Joe Regular, and see if someone falls in love with him... THEN announce he is worth millions! It's like a reverse Cinderalla deal or something. Wouldn't that be heartwarming and sweet...?

Fruitbat

Tuesday, December 03, 2002 - 04:19 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Dahli, I think that would be nifty too.

But could Fox be hiding the real secret? He really *is* a millionaire. They just tell the women he is not to test their love, THEN double back and reveal that they were telling the truth originally.

I will watch this. When you sign on for a reality TV show you must be open to expect anything.

Dahli

Tuesday, December 03, 2002 - 09:44 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Yes I will definitely watch it too, and really wonder why these shows do so well with the female demographic... even though 2 dozen beautiful women are part of it men aren't interested much... maybe there is too much 'talking' !LOL

Fruitbat

Tuesday, December 03, 2002 - 10:51 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I think I heard that Bachelor had a substantial male audience.

Ladytex

Tuesday, December 03, 2002 - 01:01 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I may watch. Someone called this show "The Gold-Diggers and the Ditch-Digger". I think the premise is hilarious!

Hippyt

Tuesday, December 03, 2002 - 06:11 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I also wonder how they will make a construction worker behave as a millionaire would. I didn't watch The Bachelor,and I won't be watching this. I think this is a cruddy idea,not quite as tacky as CBS' Beverly Hillbilly reality show,but still bad.

Car54

Tuesday, December 03, 2002 - 06:18 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
From Entertainment.Yahoo.com:

Fox's Faux 'Joe' a Cheap Shot at Reality

Mon Dec 02, 2:55 AM ET


After months of top-secret shooting, Fox next month will take the wraps off of a reality series that poses a simple question: Who wants to marry a multimillionaire -- who's actually not even a millionaire?

The network has quietly finished production on "Joe Millionaire," a seven-episode series that combines elements of Fox's controversial 2000 special "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?" with ABC's red-hot relationship franchise "The Bachelor." The series will bow Jan. 6 at 9 p.m., filling the time slot vacated by "Girls Club." Alex McLeod ("Trading Spaces") will host.

"In a way, we're ripping the mask off the people (who sign up for shows like 'The Bachelor')," Fox reality programming chief Mike Darnell told Daily Variety. "We find out whether they're really doing this for love."

"Joe" features 20 single women who fly to France in order to win the affection of a hand-some American they believe to be worth $50 million. The twist: The as-yet unidentified man is actually a construction worker with an annual income of $19,000.

"It's the gold diggers and the ditch digger," one Fox insider said.


Viewers will know from the start that the faux Joe is actually a blue-collar guy with no coin to his name. They'll also watch as he undergoes a Pygmalion-like transformation from humble construction worker into someone who might pass for a multimillionaire.

The 20 women who participated in the show, however, are told Joe recently inherited $50 million and is looking for someone with whom he can share his wealth. Joe will maintain this ruse, though he'll be honest with the women about every other aspect of his life, from education to past romances.

MAJOR DETAIL

"All of his backstory is true, except for the money part," Darnell said.

As in "Bachelor," Joe will narrow down his potential mates each week, taking them on horseback rides through the French countryside near what the women believe is his chateau, or wining and dining them at the Eiffel Tower.

Rather than hand his rejects roses, Joe will give losing women jewelry of escalating value. The payoff comes in the finale episode, when the faux millionaire chooses the one woman with whom he wants to have a relationship. If the woman agrees to continue the relationship -- Fox isn't saying if a marriage proposal is involved -- Joe is forced to come clean.

'A SPECTACULAR SHOW'

"In the end, he must reveal to her that he's basically broke," Darnell said. "We get to see if she still wants to be with him. It's a spectacular show with a spectacular ending."

Fox Entertainment president Gail Berman knows "Joe Millionaire" will have its critics, just as "Bachelor" has its detractors.

"It'll cause some controversy and hopefully grab some viewers," she said. "We just think it's a great spin on these kinds of shows and reality TV in general."

What "Joe Millionaire" won't be is a regular part of Fox's schedule. "We cannot duplicate this show. It's a one-time-only thing," Berman said.

Indeed, in order to ensure none of the women discovered Joe's secret prematurely, Fox and series producer Rocket Science Prods. ("Temptation Island ( news - Y! TV)") produced the series under a cloak of secrecy heavy even by the already paranoid standards of the reality TV world.

Less than a half-dozen Fox execs knew of the project's existence. The show was shot in France under the code name "The Big Choice" to further throw off competitors. Most of the production crew in France had no idea what they were really shooting, nor did a butler hired to serve as Joe's assistant.

"We had to keep it unbelievably secret," Darnell said. "If the participants knew (the twist), then you're screwed. And if our competitors found out, the women in the show would have found out."

While word did leak out about "Big Choice," competitors were never certain about the details of the show, other than that it was relationship-oriented. News that Fox is developing an arranged-marriage series also may have thrown some off the scent.

Kady

Tuesday, December 03, 2002 - 08:40 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I think the show would be better if they didn't lie about him being worth 50 million. They could just give the illusion of him being rich. The actual lying about it bugs me but if the women just assumed he was rich, that may be different.

Kizz

Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 04:02 am EditMoveDeleteIP
What women haters these execs must be...I agree with Wilson, its as if they are thinking, "Well, we've already seen how women will allow themselves to be shown as throwaways to be used by men, let see if we can REALLY expose them for the shallow, greedy bee-yoches they are! Great TV!" You gotta love Fox. I would have preferred Temptation Island 3.

Fruitbat

Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 04:55 am EditMoveDeleteIP
This is mean spirited. I don't even like Candid Camera. I feel badly when someone is duped.

These girls will be the ages of my own children. I would hate to see someone deceive my boys in anyway. I would go after them with the ferocity of a mother lion defending her cubs.

My heart goes out to these young women.