Monday Night TV and Open Thread:

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Mon Jan 03, 2011 at 08:01:38 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)

Share This: Digg!

ABC's The Bachelor returns tonight, with Brad Womack getting his second chance at love. He was The Bachelor in 2007, and when it came time to choose between his final two, Deanna and Jenni, he stunned viewers by picking neither. Both Deanna and Jenni will be on tonight's show for a few minutes to confront Brad yet one more time. Both look beautiful -- Jenni is married and Deanna is engaged -- to the twin brother of one of the contestants on Jillian's Bachelorette season.

The theme of the season is redemption --Brad's second chance. He does end up with one of the women this season. I won't say who here, but if you want the lowdown, you can go over to PopLeft to see who he picks. How do we know? Reality Steve, of course. He breaks down the season date by date with who goes home here.

So why watch if we know the outcome? For the journey and the spectacular locations and hotels, which this season will include Costa Rica, St. Martins/Anguilla and South Africa. And because it's fun.

For those of you not interested in The Bachelor, which I expect is all but three or four of you, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

< Obama to Issue Signing Statement on Guantanamo Restrictions in Funding Bill | Demanding Accountability: Not From Elites, But From Anonymous Internet Commenters >

Legal

Nothing on this site should be construed as legal advice. TalkLeft does not give legal advice.

TalkLeft is not responsible for and often disagrees with material posted in the comments section. Read at your own risk.

Monday Night TV and Open Thread: | 15 comments (15 topical)

Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

Heh heh (none / 0) (#1)
by lilburro on Mon Jan 03, 2011 at 08:07:10 PM EST

not one of the 3 or 4 Bachelor fans you speak of, but I hope you enjoy it. I like Mondays for Castle but unfortunately I think I might be too tired to stay up that late today. :(

i assume this show is aimed at a primarily (none / 0) (#2)
by cpinva on Mon Jan 03, 2011 at 09:43:40 PM EST

female audience, as this is the only good explanation for the "redemption" theme. otherwise, what has this guy done, that he needs to "redeem" himself for? sadly, this is the kind of tv show that perpetuates negative female stereotypes: that women really don't want men to be honest with them, and tell them "yes, those jeans make your butt look big."

except it alternates with The Bachelorette (none / 0) (#3)
by Jeralyn on Mon Jan 03, 2011 at 10:37:26 PM EST

where the woman gets to choose from all the men and calls all the shots, rejecting and breaking hearts along the way. Sorry, sexist the show is not.

This is the 15th season of the Bachelor, and Brad is the only one to go to the final rose ceremony and reject both. He led both women to believe he was in love with them and ready to choose one, and then backed out.

If Jillian or Deanna had done that and then returned, it would still be a redemption theme. In other words, it's a gender neutral concept.


Will this be a Charlie Brown and the football (none / 0) (#4)
by oculus on Mon Jan 03, 2011 at 10:49:47 PM EST

scenario? Kind of pathetic.


Interestingly (none / 0) (#8)
by CoralGables on Tue Jan 04, 2011 at 09:48:06 AM EST

I always saw Charlie Brown as The Little Engine That Could. That he would one day walk up the street to Sports Authority or log on to Amazon and buy a kicking tee, and then tell Lucy to stuff it. Charlie Brown would continue to practice into the late afternoon each day while the sun was slowing sinking from the sky with Snoopy retrieving the kicks, until one day Charlie Brown lined up to make the winning kick in the Super Bowl while the little red haired girl looked on lovingly from the stands.


: That's a rosy read. I just hate to see (none / 0) (#12)
by oculus on Tue Jan 04, 2011 at 11:58:41 AM EST

females make fools of themselves over a worthless guy. But, I guess there are other perks involved here.

Really, what it is is fantasy, (none / 0) (#6)
by Anne on Tue Jan 04, 2011 at 08:10:18 AM EST

which may explain the low rate of successful relationships that have come from these shows.

Whether it's one woman and 20 men, or one man and 20 women, there's very little about it that mimics the real life stresses and situations to which relationships are subjected and which determine their ultimate success or failure.

When people are taken out of their real lives and put into fantasy venues - luxurious resort-type accomodations, sky's-the-limit adventures - how "real" are they? How real is anyone who has a camera in his or her face 24/7?

I think, as entertainment, it's okay; it's edited for maximum drama, of course, which may be great for ratings, but it can't possibly reflect nearly as much of what's "really" going on as people are led to believe. The show's producers/directors and the network want the viewer to develop strong feelings of like or dislike of the bachelors or bachelorettes - it's what keeps people tuned in.

So, you have the viewer being manipulated to keep watching - which is all about keeping the show a money-making venture - you have the participants taken out of their real lives and placed in luxurious and sometimes exotic locations around the world, and a show that extends over several months what is taking place in approximately three weeks.

Three weeks to find the love of your life from among a group picked for you by TV producers: not exactly a recipe for relationship success, but apparently a recipe for enough commercial success that it's been going on for years and years.

It's reasonably good escape, but that's about it.


: not 3 weeks (none / 0) (#11)
by Jeralyn on Tue Jan 04, 2011 at 11:36:49 AM EST

The meet and greet (what you saw last night) was filmed around Sept. 24/25. The last rose was given out around November 14. So it's almost 2 months.
Yes, it's fantasy, escapism and fun, as is much of TV.
They do have more of success rate in the after-market as there are multiple reunions each year for contestants of all seasons, arranged by the participants, having nothing to do with the show. Jesse the snowboarder from Breckenridge (who was picked by Deanna in her season) is now married to Ann (who was on Jason's season) and their baby is due in a few months. Holly (from an earlier season) is engaged to Michael Stagliano from Jillian's season; Deanna is engaged to Michael's twin brother; Ali and Roberto are still engaged planning on getting married; Jason married Molly (his F2 after things didn't work out with Melissa, who went on to DWTS, coming in 3rd, and now is an ABC commentator); Kiptyn and Tenley are still together after they hooked up during Bachelor Pad, same for Wes and Gia; Chris Lambton and Peyton are dating;
American Bandstand in the 60's had hookups too. I remember watching every day in high school. There was a couple named Paul and Michelle that I really liked.
All TV shows are out for ratings and making money. And there's no doubt the contestants go on the show hoping to find fame like Melissa. (Jillian has gone on to land a permanent role on Extreme Makeover Home Edition.) Predicting which ones have what it takes to go from 1 of 30 to something bigger and more lasting is part of the fun.
The editing is also a big part of the fun. There are standard themes, and from the editing and previews, clues can be picked up as to who the final four and even final two will be. There's a cottage industry of sleuthers who analyze every screen cap and voiceover, matching them to locations and episodes to figure it out. What's different in the past few years is that Reality Steve gets inside information and reveals the ending even before the show airs. So for those who follow on the internet, the suspense is gone, but it's still about the journey and how the story unfolds.

Gov Brown (none / 0) (#5)
by nycstray on Tue Jan 04, 2011 at 01:10:11 AM EST

yes, that is now how he is referred to on the news :)

You mean (none / 0) (#10)
by Zorba on Tue Jan 04, 2011 at 11:27:24 AM EST

they're not calling him "Governor Moonbeam"? That's what he was called the first time he was governor. I think it was Mike Royko who first coined the sobriquet.


I have to link to Royko via myself (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by ruffian on Tue Jan 04, 2011 at 12:27:56 PM EST

here..... This was a column I clipped out of the LA Times in 1980 and saved all these years. In it Royko describes how he regretted the Moonbeam moniker, and praises Brown in terms still relevant today.


: I always liked Jerry Brown (none / 0) (#14)
by Zorba on Tue Jan 04, 2011 at 12:46:27 PM EST

He was our governor when we lived in California years ago. But he was, to a great extent, made fun of, and even marginalized, by the press (not just Royko in his original estimation of Brown). This happens to so many politicians. Remember the "Dean scream"? Totally taken out of context by the media. Dennis Kucinich is never treated seriously. And so on.

Going all-in on Republican economic policies (none / 0) (#7)
by ruffian on Tue Jan 04, 2011 at 09:13:04 AM EST

Today begins the Scott administration here in Florida. If I didn't live here I might enjoy watching the experiment in total Republican economic policies that is about to begin. Scott has pledged the most pro-business policies I have ever heard of - cutting government, getting rid of regulations, lowering business taxes - even raising utility costs on individuals in order to lower them for businesses. He thinks this is going to attract enough business activity to create 700k new jobs.

Personally I think that what attracts business is making your state an overall desirable place for people to live. Reasonable taxes are part of it of course, but so are good schools, parks, and other public amenities. Florida is failing in those areas. Locally in Orlando they had high hopes of attracting biotech labs from San Diego to a new biotech corridor around the new UCF Medical school. Well, they got one of the labs- Burnham - to commit, but then so few of their employees would leave California for Florida that they had to scale the plan way back.

So now the goal is back to the tourist trade - making FL the number one tourist destination. I guess those 700k jobs will be in the hotel industry. Great.

: Yes, a day of infamy. (5.00 / 0) (#15)
by KeysDan on Tue Jan 04, 2011 at 04:13:50 PM EST

Elected as governor of state with many retirees who was forced to resign from the for-profit hospital corporation he founded, Columbia/HCA, after raids were made by FBI, IRS and HHS in 1997 resulting in the corporation admitting to 14 felonies and $2 Billion in fines and civil law suit costs--the largest ever.
Columbia/HCA admitted to fraudulently billing Medicare by inflating the seriousness of diagnosis; giving doctors partnerships in hospitals as kickbacks for referrals, and filing false cost reports. With this "achievement" under his belt, Scott went on to form another clinic corporation named Solantic in 2002 which settled an employment discrimination suit in 2007 for not hiring elderly and overweight applicants.
During the fall campaign, allegations were made that Scott's Solantic was overbilling on Medicaid and Medicare. But then, what can you expect from someone who was once a partner of George W. Bush in ownership of the Texas Rangers.

: The world needs maids and porters... (none / 0) (#9)
by kdog on Tue Jan 04, 2011 at 10:11:21 AM EST

too ruffian...to paraphrase Judge Smails.
I agree it is the whole package, not just taxes...but I think taxes and prevailing wages are the big two. Thinking of all the ghost factories in upstate NY...the search for lower taxes and lower prevailing wages drove all those good jobs to the south or out of the country, more than any other factor.
I think higher taxes and wages can be overcome, if the money is spent wisely on things like educating the local workforce and fostering a high quality of life...but what are the chances of that?