Bachelor 13, Ep 1 Recap

I've been watching this show since season 2. What can I say? I dig it. So, I figured, why not blog about it?

First, some background. The Bachelor this year is Jason, the runner up from last summer's The Bachelorette, starring DeAnna, the reject from season 12 of The Bachelor. (Get it?) Jason is a single dad from Seattle who has a void in his life that only a televised whirlwind courtship with a virtual stranger can fill.

Moving on. Jason met the 25 women who applied to be his future wife.

There were some hits...

Pagent girl Nikki, who seemed completely genuine and comfortable - and wasted no time in telling Jason that she is ready to be a mom...(And telling the viewers that she has considered kidnapping other peoples' children?!?) Not only did Nikki get a rose, she got the FIRST IMPRESSION ROSE, which means...well, nothing really.

Stephanie, who shared a very touching story about the death of her husband. The two bonded on love, loss, and having children. Stephanie has an adorable little girl. (And from the looks of it, a few injections of Botox, but that's neither here nor there...) Jason called Steph an "amazing woman" (or some similar phrase) and offered her a rose at the end of the night.

Jillian, who made herself memorable by making Jason a hot dog and then judging him on the condiments he used on it. (Mustard, as it turns out, which in Jillian's world is a GOOD thing.) Whatever. It was original and fun. I think we'll see Jillian around for many more rounds.

And some misses...

Shannon. Aside from stepping out of the limo with those hideous fake rubber teeth you get for a quarter in those little machines at Walmart, Shannon also made quite an impression by spouting off info from Jason's myspace page. "I totally sound like a stalker, don't I?" she giggled. Jason must've found her obsessiveness endearing, because he gave her a rose at the end of the night.

Dominique, who regaled Jason with tales of TOE IMPLANTS and told him she would inspect his feet later. No rose for this one.

Renee, a follower of The Secret. Seems her hobby is making "vision boards", which are really just collages of random words and pictures -except they are magical because whatever you put on your "vision board" will come true via "the universe" (according to Renee). The fact that she makes these boards is not so alarming, but the fact that she chose this as the way to introduce herself to Jason...not a good thing. No rose, Renee. Better luck on your next "vision board".

Here are the 15 who will continue on the "amazing journey" that is The Bachelor...

1. Nikki (first impression rose recipient and potential child abductor - hold onto your kids when she's around)

2. Stephanie ("amazing (Botox) woman" from Alabama)

3. Jillian (with the hot dogs - also noteworthy, she described herself as a "polished hick" and referred to herself as "cute little Canadian girl". She'll be fun to have around, it seems.)

4. Raquel (a Brazilian med-student)

5. Erica (a sort of abrasive loud-mouth type. I'm not a fan.)

6. Shannon (the semi-stalker)

7. Natalie (bleach blonde and oddly tan)

8. Lisa (nearly zero screen time)

9. Melissa (ex Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and one of my pre-show picks...Lots of private interviews - I've got a hunch she'll be around for awhile.)

10. Megan (she was one of my pre-show picks...I think I was wrong. She's kind of a mess. In fact, the other girls were given the chance to vote one girl out and Megan received the most votes. However, the "twist" was that their votes gave her an automatic rose. By the way, Megan is a single mom as well)

11. Molly (she immediately informed us - the viewers - that she is very confident and that she expects other women to be intimidated by that. blah blah blah. Whatever. She seems a bit on the phony side to me.)

12. Sharon (she quit her job to be on the show)

13. Kari (wrote and read a poem for Jason - something about sushi and cooke dough ice cream)

14. Naomi (So far, I don't like Naomi. She said some dopey things in private interviews AND kicked the evening off with a toast to DeAnna for dumping Jason. Lame.)

15. Lauren (Wow at the ego on this one. Money says she's not "here for the right reasons".)

NEXT EPISODE: TONIGHT! 8/7c on ABC