My newest youtube video and channel...

And the hottest Bachelor is...

According to voters, the hottest Bachelor so far ...

With 44% of the vote...

IS...

Andy Baldwin

2nd place

with 24% of the vote is: Brad Womack

(that's who I voted for...)

3rd place

with 10%, a tie between: Travis Stork

and

current Bachelor Jason Mesnick

With 3% of the vote each, Aaron, Byron, and Matt also got nods.

Bachelor 13, Ep 3 Recap

Episode synopsis:

Jason takes Stephanie on a date and surprises her by flying in her 4 year old daughter from Alabama. The three spend the day at the beach and then Legoland - which was closed down JUST for them. It was all very cute and sweet. (P.S. It was the little girl's birthday - could not have been more perfect!) Jason offered Stephanie a rose (made out of Legos, of course) at the end of the date, securing her for another week. Stephanie admitted (in her "confessional" type thing) that she's well on her way to falling in love with Jason.

Jason takes Megan, Naomi, Melissa, Shannon, Jillian, Nikki, and Erica (is that all?) on a group date to make busts for Save A Breast. Melissa reveals to Jason that she had a breast reduction in her teens because she was - get this - 30 FF. Yikes. Meanwhile, conversation runs dry for Nikki and Jason. Shannon cries for no good reason. Jillian gets the early rose on this date.

Jason takes Natalie on one heck of a date. They take a helicopter to Vegas and are then treated to a private concert from Kate Voegele. Oh, and Nat got to wear $1 million worth of diamonds for the date. Alas, it was a rose-or-go date, and Jason decided NOT to give Natalie the rose, eliminating her on the spot. Was Natalie upset? Yes, of course! And the kicker, as Jason was walking her out, some big, burly dude comes up to retrieve the jewels.

Back at the mansion, there was all kinds of cattiness. Everyone was bashing Natalie, saying she wasn't right for Jason. Lauren told Jason that Megan and Erica were awful people. Megan called her out on it. Oh, and this was ENCOURAGED by the host, Chris Harrison. Yep, he walks out and says "Speak freely!" Of course, the trouble makers jumped at the chance. Drama, drama, drama.

Blah, blah, blah.

You know how women can be :-D

My (quick and hastily written) thoughts following the third episode...

1) Stephanie is getting a pretty great edit! The story arc of her overcoming tragedy and learning to love again is touching...In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say she's being groomed as a contender for the next Bachelorette. Okay, I don't know better. Maybe she IS. My opinion, it's between her and Jillian. One of them could be the next Bachelorette. (According to my husband, who is kind enough to watch the show with me, Jason is not physically attracted to Stephanie. He noticed that on their date, Stephanie was standing, fully prepped for Jason to kiss her, but he turned his head. I didn't notice this, but it IS true that Jason has been so free with kisses this season. Why no kiss for Steph on the one-on-one?)

2) I still don't like Naomi. Or Molly. When Naomi told Jason she compared him to her ex? What the...? Why would anyone say that? And why did he kiss her after that? And then she made a big show out of going to re-apply her lipstick. Oh, please. And Molly...I don't know what it is about her. Does anyone else dislike her? Is it just me? (My husband cannot stand Molly either. Of the original 25 women, she ranked at the VERY bottom of his list. He was certain she would be eliminated the first night. I got news for him, Molly is a lock for final 4 - and maybe even beyond.)

3) Melissa and Jason are the best match. Hands down. Jillian seems to have an edge, getting so many early roses. However, I think when Jason is with Jillian, she's always the one taking charge, kind of dominating the situation a bit. But with Melissa, Jason seems to be the one in charge. It's just a better dynamic for romance, in my opinion. Besides, Jillian can't be the final 1 - she's going to be the next Bachelorette ;-)

4) Nikki...Well, on the first night, she was really impressive. She seemed very together - said all the right things, etc. But since then...she's kind of falling apart. And her kiss with Jason was...really...really...awkward. Seriously - rewatch it - it's weird. At about the 8:45 mark:

5) I like Shannon. I don't like her for Jason, but I do like her. I am almost certain that her being sick at the rose ceremony was a stomach virus - NOT a nervous reaction to the drama. Those sneaky editors. (According to my husband, every season has a crazy girl - and they all have a certain look about them. He thinks Shannon has the "look" and she is this season's crazy girl.)

My predictions for the next episode...

From what I can tell, he is supposed to eliminate 3 girls, but - according to the previews - it looks as if he might eliminate 4. If I had it MY way, he would eliminate Megan, Naomi, Shannon, and Molly. However, I predict he will eliminate Megan, Shannon, Lauren, and Nikki.

*Once again, photos courtesy of Dreamer @ Joker's Updates.

Reminder: The poll for hottest Bachelor ever is still open. Vote if you haven't voted!

Who's the hottest Bachelor...so far?

Check out the photos of the stars of the first 13 seasons of The Bachelor.

Vote in the poll (scroll down) ---->

Alex Michel
Season 1

Aaron Buerge
Season 2

Andrew Firestone

Season 3

Bob Guiney
Season 4

Jesse Palmer
Season 5

Byron Velvick
Season 6

Charlie O'Connell
Season 7

Travis Stork

Season 8

Prince Lorenzo Borghese

Season 9

Andy Baldwin
Season 10

Brad Womack

Season 11

Matt Grant

Season 12

Jason Mesnick

Season 13

Bachelor 13, Ep 2 Recap

Episode 2...When the story arcs begin to take shape. The edit for each "character" becomes a little more apparent. I say "character" because I'll be the first to say, I don't think the ways these girls are portrayed on the show are necessarily true to life. Footage is chopped, misused, manipulated - all for the sake of creating a story. What appears to be one girl rolling her eyes at another girl can actually be one girl rolling her eyes at a pesky fly. (Case in point, the DeAnna footage - but we'll get to that another time.) Keeping that in mind, you have to wonder what the motive for manipulating the footage is. Hence, examining the edit.

So, here's how the edits for the remaining girls are shaping up thus far...

Stephanie - Episode 2 makes it clear that her "character" is officially "the weeping widow". It's unfortunate, because I'm sure there is more to her than that, but that is what we are getting. Her storyline arc will be learning to love again. Having a great experience. Opening her heart again. She will be eliminated further down the line. I do not see her as the final one.

Jillian - Cute Canadian hot dog hick is getting a GREAT edit. She had the first one-on-one date with Jason (a private Robin Thicke concert) AND the first kiss of the season. Jason has nothing but good things to say about Jillian. She stays away from controversy with the other girls. Pretty solid edit, no doubt. IF Jillian is not the final one (I personally don't think she is), it will be interesting to see what goes wrong -because right now she and Jason seem like a really good fit.

Naomi - She got a slightly better edit this episode than in the first one. However, her attempt to get Jason to kiss her was pretty lame. "We'll always be friends...So, can friends kiss?" It worked, but it was SOOOOOO lame. I just can't like Naomi.

Melissa - Another great edit. She had a one-on-one with Jason also (they went up in the Goodyear blimp!), and - in my opinion - it went better than Jason's date with Jillian, which is saying a lot. Jason and Melissa seem like a couple. And she seems to have a handle on what it means to be with Jason - moving to Seattle, marrying into an instant family. I don't think it's an accident that there have been multiple scenes of her talking about that kind of thing. Good, good edit.

Nikki - Last week, she was at the top - first impression rose winner, said all the right things. This episode, she was just kind of there. I'm thinking we are being set up to see Nikki fizzle out. If you look back at past seasons, getting the first impression rose is almost always the kiss of death on The Bachelor.

Molly - We are not supposed to like Molly. She's being portrayed as aggressive, calculating. Chica already had a rose and she still barged in on someone else's private conversation with Jason. Oh - and her tactic to get a kiss? Puh-lease. "Hey, Jason, wanna see my secret talent? It's kissing!" Her edit reminds me a bit of Kirsten from season 3 (Andrew Firestone) - and Kirsten ended up in the final 2 (but I liked Kirsten - I do NOT like Molly so far). The classic good vs. evil finale. Could be so for Molly. Jason certainly seems to like something about her.

Natalie - Not much to this one. That tells me she won't be around long - otherwise the viewers would be given a reason to root for her. We're given nothing. She gets a one-on-one date next week, so maybe that will change. Or maybe Jason will confirm there's nothing there and send her home.

Kari - Same as above. In fact, I don't even remember seeing her in the episode.

Lauren - This one made a VERY transparent attempt to do what previous winners Helene, Mary, and Tessa have done - which is tell The Bachelor they are considering leaving. In those previous seasons, the women were sincere and it worked because The Bachelor was already smitten with them. Lauren was FAKING IT and played her card too soon and came off as insecure. Jason even said so himself. My opinion: It was a petty attempt for more screen time. Once again, I don't think Lauren is there for Jason.

Shannon - I feel like she's getting the "friend" edit. She's already in puppy love with Jason, but he'll never see her as more than just a friend. So, she'll be kept around as "filler" because she's kooky. Chances are Jason already knows which 2 or 3 girls he's most interested in. The rest are just filler.

Megan - I don't see a connection between Megan and Jason. None whatsoever. Yeah, they both have kids, but that's not exactly the criteria for a great, lasting relationship. I kind of have to wonder if the producers aren't urging him to keep her around for drama. She seems to be rather confrontational - and that makes good tv.

Erica - Same as above. But worse. And without the common bond of having a kid. I see absolutely nothing between Jason and Erica. And she's SO abrasive. Producer pick for filler.

Say goodbye to...

Lisa - She left on her own due to family problems. Would she have gotten a rose if she had stayed? I don't know. Maybe. Instead of Erica. That would've been great.

Raquel - She hid out in his limo and waited for him. He didn't seem pleasantly surprised - he seemed weirded out - like one would be if they came home to find a bunny boiling on their stove. She came off as creepy, and I think that's what sealed her fate.

Sharon - The poor girl quit her job as a Spanish teacher and left her friends and family to come on the show. But that doesn't mean Jason owes her a rose. Adios, Sharon.

Predictions for next week...

Either Erica or Megan will be sent home roseless. The big drama will be - which one of these mortal enemies will "win" and which will "lose".

Stephanie's one-on-one will be great - filled with tears of joy since they are surprising her with her daughter. Great tv moment --- Well done, producers. And - naturally - there will be more talk of her deceased husband, as this is her "character" for the season. Similar thing happened a few seasons back. She will get a rose, I'm sure, but still, she's not the final one. Had Stephanie ended up as "winner", I do not think there would be so much about her late husband, episode after episode.

Natalie will NOT get a rose on her one-on-one date.

NEXT EP: MONDAY, JANUARY 19 - 8/7c on ABC

*SCREENCAPS COURTESY OF DREAMER AT JOKER'S UPDATES

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

FAVORITE REALITY SHOW #3...

1 man, 25 women...

He dates them (sometimes group dates, sometimes 1-on-1 dates) and eliminates a few at a time until he selects his final one. It's actually a lot better than it sounds. And the real fun is going to the Fans Of Reality TV site (aka FORT) and studying screencaps to figure out the final 4, 3, and 2 before the second episode airs! Actually, I like to try to predict the winner as soon as the pictures are up on the abc website. My record is not so bad:

Season 2: Aaron

My pick - Helene

Winner - Helene

Results - Aaron proposed to Helene in the end. They stayed together for a couple of months, but he wasn't ready to settle down.

Season 3: Andrew Firestone

My pick - Kirsten (placed 2nd)

Winner - Jen

Results - Andrew proposed to Jen. They stayed together for more than a year, I think. She went on to be the star of season 2 of The Bachelorette.

Season 4: Bob

(reject from 1st season of The Bachelorette)

My pick - Estella

Winner - Estella

Results - No proposal. Just a promise ring. Stayed together for a couple of months, tops. I don't think he was really looking for a relationship at the time. Just wanted to be on TV.

Season 5: Jesse Palmer

My pick - ? can't remember, but she was eliminated on the first night

Winner - Jessica B

Results - No proposal, but he did give her a ticket to visit him in New York. They lasted a matter of weeks.

Season 6: Byron

My pick - Jayne (I think she was in the top 6)

Winner - Mary (she was a reject from Bob's season, brought in a few eps late)

Results - Byron proposed. They are still engaged, as far as I know.

Season 7: Charlie O'Connell

My pick - Sarah W (3rd)

Winner - Sarah B

Results - Charlie proposed, they stayed together for a few years, never married.

Season 8: Travis

(set in Paris)

My pick - Susan (3rd)

Winner - Sarah S

Results - No proposal. I think they broke up after the cameras stopped rolling.

Season 9: "Prince" Lorenzo

(set in Rome)

My pick - Sadie (2nd)

Winner - Jenn

Results - I don't think he proposed. Whatever the case, they broke up pretty soon after. And he ended up dating Sadie, the runner up, briefly!

Season 10: Andy

My pick - Stephanie W (out at the 6 --> 4 elimination)

Winner - Tessa

Results - Proposal. Called off their engagement a couple of months later, but continued to date. Eventually broke up completely. He dated Marla Maples.

Season 11: Brad

My pick - Bettina (3rd)

Winner - NONE

Results - Everybody hates Brad

Season 12: Matt

My pick - Shayne

Winner - Shayne

Results -

They're still together, according to recent reports.

While the show might not be completely realistic, it's interesting (well...entertaining) to watch. And so is it's spin-off, The Bachelorette, which I'm currently obsessed with. In fact, this season of The Bachelorette is shaping up to be my favorite in franchise history! So that's the one I'm going to blog about in depth...

First, you have to rewind to season 11 of The Bachelor. Brad, a Texas bar owning millionaire, was the one man dating 25 women. In the end, he narrowed it down to DeAnna, a real estate agent from Georgia, and Jenni, a Phoenix Suns dancer from Kansas. He pretty much told both of them that they were EVERYTHING he wanted in a woman and TOTALLY led them to believe they would be his final one. And then he rejected them both, claiming he simply could not see a future with either of them. In other words, he got his time on TV and wanted to go back to being a serial dater and live off of his newfound D-list celebrity status for awhile.

SO, DeAnna was offered the opportunity to have her own show. Be The Bachelorette...Date 25 guys in hopes of finding her future husband. Right now, she's down to her final 3:

Jesse

Professional Snowboarder

Colorado

Made an impression by wearing a very colorful blazer and tennis shoes with hot pink shoelaces on the first night...scored a romantic one on one date where they were serenaded by Natasha Bedingfield...didn't kiss her until this past episode...according to the previews will DECLINE spending the night with her in the "fantasy suite" on their "fantasy date"!

Jeremy

Real Estate Attorney

Texas

received one of three "first impression roses" on the first night, bonded with DeAnna early on over both of them losing a parent (he lost both)... seems to be absolutely perfect for her and says all the right things... according to the preivews, he'll tell her he's fallen in love with her on the next episode!

Jason

Account Executive

Seattle

Single dad to adorable son Ty...Was the first guy she's ever dated that asked her about her mother (who passed away when she was 12 or 13)...Seems to be getting a flawless edit - always portrayed as the good guy/nice guy/most emotionally available guy.

Who will she choose?

Will he propose?

Will she accept?

It's gettin' good!

Check it out Monday night on ABC!

The Bachelor and The Bachelorette fall into the category of "dating based reality shows". Other shows in this category that I've watched include:

Joe Millionaire - A "regular guy" pretends to be a millionaire as he dates and dismisses a group of women (same format as The Bachelor). In the end, he tells the final 2 girls the truth (that he's poor). And then he picks his final 1. If she agrees to keep dating him, they both get money (though she doesn't know this at the time).

Outback Jack - An Austrailian guy takes a bunch of girls to the Austrailian Outback (the real thing, not the restaurant, but YUM!). He eliminates them until he chooses one to continue a real relationship with. This show aired for only 1 season several years ago. The pair got married and recently had a baby.

Average Joe - A beautiful woman is put in a situation identical to The Bachelorette. But when the guys get out to meet her, they aren't hunky, ready-for-TV men. They are, as the title suggests, average Joes. The kind of men you'd see in line at the bank or sifting through produce at the grocery store...or collecting your garbage on a weekly basis. Of course, they throw in a few good looking guys, too. Typically, the girl will narrow it down to one "Joe" and one "hot guy". And the hot guy usually wins. But the relationships never last. Oh so shallow!

For Love or Money - This one was crazy. In the first season, there was a guy and a bunch of girls. The girls were all told that they could possibly win $1,000,000. In the end, they had to choose love or money. The chosen one chose MONEY. And, good call, because the guy was a dolt.

Mr. Personality - A woman had to select the man of her dreams by dating a group of men (just like The Bachelorette, once again). The catch - all the guys were wearing MASKS. Yep, all she had to go by was personality. Fun concept, but a wee bit creepy.