Tonight's episode-May 7, Wednesday
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TV ClubHouse: Archive: The Bachelor / Bachelorette: The Bachelor III: Tonight's episode-May 7, Wednesday
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Archive through May 07, 2003 25   05/07 07:28pm
Archive through May 08, 2003 25   05/08 10:02am
Archive through May 08, 2003 25   05/09 10:23am

Realbiz

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 04:06 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
come to think of it, araon from b2 is a millionaire too (family bank), however not a famous one. abc thought the idea of 'rich and famous' would increase the ratings - unfortunately the show has been the opposite so far(highest rating still belongs to 'trista the bachelette').

abc should do something quick about the show. 'survivor' manages to stay on top of the chart because mb is able to introduce some new 'twist' or format change in each installment, keeping fresh yet maintaining it's core concept. something they can think about...

Crazydog

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 04:17 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
It really needs to be less about looks and money. And I'm a little tired of how everyone is lily-white. They have a couple token minorities who might advance to round 2 and then quickly get cut.

How about having two bachelors at the same time? One of them is very good looking, built like a truck, but very poor. The other is plain looking, skinny but a millionaire. Maybe the good looking and poor one is white and the plain rich one is black, Asian or Latino. Or vice versa.

Both of them are competing for the same girls. If a girl gets chosen by both for a date then she has to choose who to go with. It'd be interesting to see the dynamics. Unfortunately I don't think ABC (or anyone else for that matter) has the guts to ever cast a minority in a lead role for a dating show.

Realbiz

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 04:20 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
great idea, CD!

Realfan

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 04:33 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Exactly, Beach. I think they wanted a "real millionaire," so went with him. He certainly wasn't the best of the five picks they showed us.

I also think he's spoiled, and really doing this for publicity because he wants some kind of showbiz career. It's hard to imagine he really has trouble getting dates, unless the women he dates realize pretty quickly that he's vapid and shallow and dump him.

FYI, the Firestone family sold their interest in the tire company in the 1970s, so they're not responsible for the poorly made tires and lawsuits.

Beachcomber88

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 05:03 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Glad to see that I'm not the only one sick of the Pretender. Hard to believe that he can't get a showbiz career. You would think his family would buy him a movie or something!

Crazy, I love your idea. It should _not_ be just about the superficial surface. But I guess that's the premise of Fox's "Mr. Personality" - which when I last checked wasn't getting much buzz. I agree with you, any of these reality shows will never have a minority as the lead. The network bosses would be too afraid of losing their demographic and would not want to invest in such a "risky" choice.

Uhoh

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 06:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
love your idea, crazy!

i was really disappointed that they were so quick to tell the women he was a firestone. i'd have liked andrew a tad more (and going from not liking him much at all, that's a concession!) if he insisted he wanted to make a connection with someone who =didn't= know his family name.

Fabnsab

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 08:12 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
He did say he wanted a girl who loves him for him and not his name but he sure uses that name an awful lot. Mrs. Firestone this and Mrs. Fabulous Firestone that... Aaron never called anyone Mrs. Buerge. He has a picture placed prominently in the bachelor pad of his greatgrandfather sitting with Edison and other influential men of that time. He doesn't want to hide it, he wants to flaunt it. If having the pic was that important, put it in your bedroom. I'm not saying don't be proud but it goes against the things he has said.

Beachcomber88

Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 11:44 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yes, it'd be sort of the reverse Joe Millionaire. They should not have told the girls at all that he was a Firestone. Then Andrew would get his wish, to see who really liked him for him alone and not his money. And then after he picks the lucky girl, waalah - he's a Firestone and he's filthy rich. It would have been much more interesting that way.

However, of the little that I have seen of this Andrew guy, he's way too caught up in himself to have been able to keep his family connection a secret. It's in his blood and just part of his very nature. This may be very well be the last Bachelor I ever watch.

Realfan

Friday, May 09, 2003 - 10:10 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Problem is, Beach, the girls already know the guy is successful and at least upper-income wealthy, if not stinkin' rich. Aaron was rich-they had a jet, for goodness' sake, he owned a restaurant and was a bank VP. I'm positive he was technically a "millionaire," too. (It only takes one million to be one, and he and his family had more than that in assets.) Alex was also well off. So that's pretty much assumed in this show.

Which is why Joe M. was popular--seeing the girls assume he was well off financially and be tricked at the end seemed an appealing concept--to Fox. I thought it ended very boringly, myself, with the show trying to play into some kind of actual fairytale ending despite making fun of the concept all along.

Mack

Friday, May 09, 2003 - 10:23 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Spot on Beachcomber, especially the business about "hiding" he was a Firestone. It was painfully obvious that a number of the ladies, almost all of whom are gone, were really taken by the name and associated money.

As for Andrew and his behavior I guess I'd admit that it is at least part of his nature. Never having been around a lot of "comfortable" people I'm no expert but it probably is a part of their upbringing. My wife's input is that well-to-do families obviously think about their public image and teach their children accordingly. She also pointed out that after the Explorer tire business of a couple of years ago the Firestone family was probably coached by some public relations types as to how to react/act.

Will we watch another Bachelor....maybe....but like a lot of the reality shows it's starting to get a little old. Having said that I can hardly wait for Big Brother to get started....haven't gotten tired of that yet. At least with the live feeds I don't feel like I'm being deliberately mislead by creative editing.

Beachcomber88

Friday, May 09, 2003 - 10:33 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I agree, Realfan. Aaron obviously was rich. The guy seemed like a celebrity in his small hometown. The bachelor pad, the jet - he definitely was well-off.

But why does the bachelor have to be rich? Is it a rule? And why should the girls just assume he's rich? Was Trista and her family rich? I don't recall that they were. But guys were still interested in her because she's beautiful, even if she didn't come from a lot of obvious money. Once again, the old double standard. A man needs to be well-off financially before he's considered a great catch and considered good enough to be the star of the show.

I'd like to see just a regular Joe (and no, not that "Joe"). Doesn't need to be poor. Just a simple regular, hard-working guy. Let ABC provide all the baubles, the trips, the jewelry - but just let him be himself and see what happens. I'd be curious to see if the women would be clawing over him so desperately if they knew he was just a "regular" guy.

Remember that show "Meet My Folks"? Seemed like every potential datee's parents lived in a ginormous house. I wonder if that was a requirement too. I can just NBC saying - "you're great, you're cute, everyone will like you...oops, sorry - your parents live in a normal house. Thanks for playing!"

Crazydog

Friday, May 09, 2003 - 10:41 am EditMoveDeleteIP
LOL Beach. I don't think Trista's family was well off at all. But I do think that she herself was very interested in money. She was very taken aback by Russ' lack of a job and seemed very interested in the wealthy Charlie (even though he was unemployed too, LOL). Which is why I was a little surprised she chose the firefighter Ryan. I wonder if he makes enough money to support her lifestyle.

Unless something happens to change the franchise a bit, I don't know if I'm going to be watching the next Bachelor. All three of the guy versions have been pretty much following the same script, with even some of the same lines ("this was such an incredibly difficult decision" blah blah blah). And somehow I wouldn't be surprised if no marriage comes out of this one as well.

What I'm really looking forward to is Amazing Race 4. Premiering May 29, in what is I believe Survivor's timeslot. Hopefully this means they are giving it a chance. And with summer re-runs, perhaps it will be the ratings hit it deserves to be.

Realfan

Friday, May 09, 2003 - 12:12 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
<<But why does the bachelor have to be rich? Is it a rule? And why should the girls just assume he's rich? Was Trista and her family rich?>>

I don't think he has to be; I'm just saying the Bachelor always has been so far, and the contestants know this, so Andrew revealing his family status isn't that big of a surprise to them. He's not going to find a girl who likes him for "him alone" on the Bachelor, if that's his intent, because the guy being a "success" is expected on this show, so far. I think the women would be shocked if they discovered the bachelor WASN'T a man of "means." It's how the show has been designed.

As for Trista, that was a different situation altogether in that the men competing SAW her ahead of time and knew who the Bachelorette was going to be. But on the Bachelor shows, the women never have that up-front opportunity to decide if they're interested in this individual before being cast for the show.

<<Once again, the old double standard. A man needs to be well-off financially before he's considered a great catch and considered good enough to be the star of the show.>>

Yes, it's a double standard, but it's been ingrained in society so long, I don't see it changing anytime soon. In general, women define a catch as someone with financial means, and men define it on looks (generalizing here; don't flame me for it). I, too, would love to see a Regular Joe on the Bachelor, but he'd still have to be considered enough of a "catch" by the majority of these women to get them interested, either because he's handsome or has career prospects, if not being outright wealthy. If he was no more special than the average guys they meet in their every day lives, the producers might have a mass exodus on their hands at the rose ceremony!

One solution would be to do as they did with Trista and cast a guy that women KNOW, so they can go on the show specifically to meet him as the men did to meet Trista. (My top choice would be Bob--Mr. Average but with a great Personality!).

Nathalia

Saturday, May 10, 2003 - 06:26 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I was an avid watcher of the Bachelor/Bachelorette shows but I have not watched this one. For some reason I believe they were trying to capitalize on the fame of Joe Millionaire. I just don't like Andrew. I just can't grasp the concept that a rich guy needs help finding women! And since technically none of these shows have resulted in a marriage as of yet, it is getting to be a bit old. I agree Survivor keeps me interested and I cannot wait for Big Brother. I love the live feeds! The producers of the Bachelor series need to take lessons from these other reality shows.