For the past two years our televisions have been plagued with the onslaught of reality shows. What started as the simple pleasure of watching everyday people compete for money, turned into a mass of strange and even ridiculous shows that have taken reality to extremes. The worst of these shows would be those that can be characterized as the reality dating shows.
One of the first shows to emerge in this category was “The Bachelor,” which seemed to have a decent premise: one can find their true love when given 25 choices. Ok, so maybe it’s not so decent. The show drew in a large crowd, and many watched in anticipation during the first and last rose ceremonies. Though they seemed original at first, they quickly got tiring, especially with the host, Chris Harrison, informing us all when one rose was left, because we can’t count. Now sure, there is still some room for entertainment—one would think—but after the first season with Alex Michel as the bachelor, the most intriguing part of the show became all the rumors about what occurred after the show which led to him breaking up with his girlfriend, Amanda.
The follow up to this show was “The Bachelor-ette,” which took the last girl turned away from the first show and put her in the place of Alex with the choice of 25 guys. Now this has drawn in plenty of men to stare at the Miami Heat dancer, Trista Rehn, and has definitely gained some popularity since it was the first of its kind with a girl picking from men. While this show is still airing for another two weeks until the final decision, it definitely has its high points and low ones. I’m sure that many are waiting to see how intimate Trista gets and with how many guys. Of course, the catty fights between the girls of “The Bachelor” are definitely missed.
This season’s premiere of “Joe Millionaire” drew in viewers because its based on a lie. Evan, a construction worker, meets the women in front of a mansion, which he supposedly inherited three years ago with $50 million from a relative. Now he is looking for a lady to love, and at the end of the road, he has to tell them the truth about his past. Besides the fact that most of the women are well-off and well-educated to start with, this show seems to have no possibility of a good ending. Of course, that is through the eyes of someone who cares about other’s emotions. Through the eyes of Fox executives, this is the best way to draw viewers in, especially if it’s just for the last show, when Evan is scheduled to confess his lies to the woman he chooses. Of course he does take these girls on very romantic dates. Some even include horse rides, cooking dinner, shoveling manure, picking grapes, shoveling coal, and there was a trip to Paris. Of course, this is all to find out if love can win out over money. I don’t particularly agree with the way they are pursuing their answers.
There is also the newer series with its quick start and finish, “Meet My Folks.” This has a slightly different premise—there is no plan of marriage at the end, just a trip for two to Europe. Of course the torture they must endure is probably not worth the prize. The girls come to the house and are greeted by Dan and his parents. They continue into the bedroom for all the girls, where they take a bunk and get comfortable. Once everyone has arrived, the nine girls are asked to come take a seat in the living room. Here they find eight chairs, and one girl left standing. This girl is one of Dan’s best friends and is there to inform the parents about the gossip in the bedroom, and what the girls stated about their first impression of Dan and his parents. The show continues on for a total of three days, where the parents get envelopes filled with tales from the girls’ past, the chance to put some of the girls through the lie detector test, a surprise visit from their ex-boyfriends, and much more terror. While being subjected to all of this they still have to find a way to find out if they had a connection with Dan, since they will be spending time with him in the future. The parents seemed to enjoy this way too much, and besides the fact that they found every possible way to not make it easier, they certainly gave the girls no chance to explain their actions. It’s entertaining if you like to learn the dirt on people and watch as they suffer. Otherwise it seems to have no purpose: I’m pretty sure Dan could have found a spring break date on his own.
The next show to come onto the scene is going to premiere this spring. It’s called “American Wedding,” since it takes after “American Idol.” In case you can’t tell where this is going, couples will compete for a period of time to be wed at the end. The tricky part is that couples don’t necessarily have to win the competition but prove to the American public that their love is meant to last. This is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Marriage, something that people look to as a commitment of love, has now been turned into a game, where one tries to win the chance to get married. Ok, so the other shows infringe upon the boundaries of marriage, but leave it only as an option and just look for engagement. They are all certainly getting close to the level of “Who wants to marry a millionaire?” In the end, one has to ask, “Why do we watch these shows, and how much more pathetic will we let them get?”
