The Bachelorette 3
The Men Tell All? I Doubt It!!!
Recap and Commentary By Eleanor Meilinger
February 23, 2005
What viewer of this season's Bachelorette wouldn't have paid to hang out with the guys AFTER the taping of ABC's "Men Tell All" Special a few weeks ago to find out what they REALLY thought. Contractual obligations stifle any impulse they might have had to speak their minds, be brutally honest - or come clean. The producers would love to imply that this now standard feature of each season offers the eliminated contestants a chance to air their grievances and that "shocking" revelations come out of such a reunion. Far from it. What we get is a carefully monitored, often scripted attempt to pull the wool over our eyes once again. It has come to the point where the audience is no longer buying into the hype and if the network or producers were listening to the fans (or watching the ratings) they would understand that we are tired of being treated like morons.
The only entertainment to come out of this sorry scenario is waiting to discover what new exaggeration or unfulfilled promise will be delivered in one of the never-ending promos for upcoming events. The over-use of adjectives in a feeble attempt to lure viewers has become so predictable that it almost seems like they are putting us on. Each time another "Most…" or "shocking" is uttered by Chris Harrison I wait for him to follow with a wink and "But seriously folks…"
I spent the weekend at my favorite restaurant here in the Poconos, Andrew Moore's Stone Bar. It is the place where you are guaranteed to find intelligent discourse and fabulous food, and it was a sure bet that the more savvy vacationers who flocked in from the City for the holiday ski weekend would make their way over at some point. I knew that people were gathering at a few, now infamous, bars around the country to dish the dirt about The Bachelorette (it was announced in enough newspapers and on entertainment shows). Since we haven't been blessed with the franchise that seems to be the new investment interest of many of the ousted bachelors (and the stock surely skyrocketed after the free publicity they got this weekend!), I depended on the one place I was sure to find people who were willing to share their opinions. It came as no surprise that the general consensus was that this season of The Bachelorette is considered "The death knell for the franchise", "a farce" and less diplomatically "sheer crap". Most people who claimed to be loyal fans up until this point declared that they intend to stop watching after this round (of course, we're all sticking around to see the "farce" play out - if only to confirm our worst suspicions) Regardless of the negative opinions, it was truly fascinating to discover how strongly offended this random group of well-educated, upwardly mobile individuals were by the slights (real or imagined) perpetrated by the network. All of the rumors that have leaked out regarding Jenn and her final selection have been fuel for the fire.
I am not sure that any amount of damage control can undo the blow dealt by this misguided enterprise. Perhaps if they were to come clean at this point, the audience would be forgiving. Judging from the heavy editing and orchestrated attempt at offering a "Tell All" it's pretty apparent that this isn't going to happen. Luckily I was able to find a terrific group of people who had never heard of the show, don't watch "reality" TV at all and were eager to share stories about Broadway Theater, books and the state of the world in general. I was delighted to share intellectual conversation, which didn't center on the ridiculous pastime that I have devoted so many hours. The friendly banter was a pleasant escape from the reality that awaited me on Monday night.
As much as I was looking forward to hearing what the men had to say about their experiences with Jenn and the time they spent together in New York, I was sorry to have to rush home to watch it. Since it was taped a few weeks ago much of what should have lent suspense had been lost. The ABC Press release was almost comical in its wording. First of all - they can't count! In the headline they state that Andrew Firestone will show up to face off with the 23 men who did not receive a rose return AND Fabrice and Stu also return. That makes 25. Who is writing these things? Oh, I forgot! The same people that promise us "one of biggest surprises in "Bachelor" or "Bachelorette" history" after spoiling the "surprise" by announcing and then promoting the event; The same people who implied that Fabrice would "come out" about the rumors surrounding his personal life. By the way, there has never been any explanation of how he slipped passed the producers even though he has admitted in other interviews that he was "cast" not selected as a potential mate for Jenn. And here we were thinking the whole thing was "real" …
Watching "The Men Tell All" was so anti-climatic that I wanted to dash back to The Stone Bar and continue to discuss the upcoming Monty Python musical "Spamelot" and the newest restaurant reality series "Hell's Kitchen" scheduled to air later this year. Maybe I should just watch the season finale next week with the whole gang and record their conversation - I guarantee it would be far more interesting than anything I could invent to say about what is destined to be presented. To tell the truth, without the forums and message boards, I doubt that I would have lasted this long, despite my commitment to recap the series.
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