Last night’s Bachelorette was pretty much a disaster for those of us watching from Denver. The local ABC station, Channel 7, somehow aired the show with just music and no verbal audio. In other words, for the first hour and 11 minutes, we had to get by with subtitles. We never heard anyone speak. I kept thinking it was my TV and tried switching between Apple TV, Amazon Prime TV and an antenna, and nothing worked. So of course I turned to X (formerly Twitter) and saw a whole lot of people had the same problem and they were all from Denver. One had called KWGN (local ABC Affiliate) but they didn’t have to many answers.

That said, maybe having no sound to hear what people sounded like, made me more aware of the physical attributes of the contestants. This was one unappealing bunch of guys. First, for the first Asian Bachelorette, could they not find more Asian men than 1 given there were 25 contestants? Second, it’s hard to the other guys apart. Except for one of the Sams who got the first rose, they all have dark hair and look like uncomfortable in their bodies. None are particularly handsome. I don’t think there are any that look particularly “hot” or have any sex apeal. If I were Jen, I’d ask for a new deck and a new draw.

I’m also hoping Jenn ramps her personality up a bit. She is certainly beautiful enough, but I have no idea of who she is personality-wise. I’d also like to see her showcase some of her Vietnamese culture. I wonder if she’s never seen House of Ho or the Bling Empire? The actors in those shows come from ridiculously wealthy families, but somehow they all have major issues tthe are trying to resolve in their lives in the U.S. ,with their parent’s cultural norms. Family ties are huge in Asian cultures, and yet the only person Jenn even came close to discussing this with tonight was the one Vietnamese constestant. Even Jenn said at one point that she wished there were more Asian men on the show. The worst so far was the Iranian virgin who we wach use a lash curler on his eyelashes to get ready for tonight’s big party. What an odd duck he is.

One thing we do know about Jen from last season and tonight is that she truly believes she has always picked the wrong men – the bad boys. Maybe that is why I fell like Jen is not going to find anyone. She might do better on Bachelor in Paradise, where the contestants are so much looser with their emotions and more sexually active.

Could the lack of sparks flying in the premiere be the reason the show is teasing that there will be a scene in which her ex who dumped her wants back in?

I’m not calling it quits on watching, and I’m glad Jenn is the Bachelorette rather than the candy heir Maria from Joey’s seasson, but still, the showrunners really need to pick it up. Not with the men this season, who have already shown they can do the unexpected and sometimes most tawdry things, but with Jenn. Maybe a shot of B-12 would help.

On January 1, 2018, a new season of The Bachelor begins. There’s a bit of a change this year. Instead of picking a contestant from last season’s Bachelorette (featuring Rachel), the show reached back to Emily Maynard’s season in 2011, plucking rejected suitor and race car driver Arie Luyendyk Jr. The show synopsis says:

Six years ago, Arie Luyendyk Jr. was in love and a day away from proposing to the woman of his dreams. And then, she broke his heart. Emily Maynard (now Emily Maynard Johnson) may not have been Arie’s future wife, but he hasn’t been able to find a love like hers since. Now Arie is back and ready to race into America’s heart yet again when he returns for a second shot at love, starring in the 22nd season of ABC’s hit romance reality series “The Bachelor,” returning to ABC in January 2018.

What has he been up to the past 6 years? According to the show:

After a tearful exit on Emily’s season of ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” Arie has stepped away from the spotlight and focused on his new career in real estate, which has brought him tremendous success. Even though he has been gone from Bachelor Nation, America hasn’t forgotten Arie’s rugged good looks and charm. After mending his broken heart, Arie is finally ready to start his own journey for love.

At 36, he’s definitely older than most Bachelor contestants.

Here are the women who will be competing for him:

I am dreading watching the premiere of Queen of the South tonight. Why? Because it cannot possibly be as good as La Reina del Sur and nobody can take the place of Kate del Castillo as Teresa Mendoza, the fictional heroine of the novel, La Reina del Sur.

Added: I was right to dread it. It’s absolutely awful. And a sacrilege. First, the actress playing Teresa Mendoza is nowhere near as self-confident or charismatic as Kate del Castillo. Second, it doesn’t follow the plot of the novel from which it’s taken. It takes the characters’ names but then invents a plot that descends into stereotypes in the first five minutes. For example, Teresa Mendoza would never consume drugs. This show  has her snorting white powder in the first scene. It also has her dead in the first scene, as if the rest will be a flashback. The Teresa Mendoza of La Reina del Sur doesn’t die — she goes off into the sunset, with the help of the DEA and to the consternation of authorities in Spain, pregnant and alone but in a gorgeous house on the ocean somewhere in a beautiful part of the world.  Continue reading →

Ali and Roberto have called it quits. Count me among those who are not suprised.

It has not been a good year for Ali Fedotowsky. First she had a head injury in a kayaaking accident. Then she injured her leg kickboxing which required surgery on her femur. By August, she had left her job at Fox5 News San Diego and postponed the wedding. In October, she said there are no wedding plans. On Nov. 1, she was fretting about needing another knee surgery. And on Nov. 7, it was announced the Style Network wasn’t giving her a TV show after all (the show had been announced in April.) The only work I see she has now is on a shopping website called OpenSky. She has a PR firm, and a manager, but her website has been “under construction” forever.

Ali and Roberto didn’t seem to have a lot in common to me. She was bent on a show business career, signing with William Morris soon after her engagement, and then she had a gig on Fox 5 San Diego (now over.) He’s an insurance agent and a jock. What was there to talk about at dinner?

Who knows what went wrong. I think they are very different people, from their politics to their values. She’s much more of a free spirit, while he’s pretty traditional. She’s into clothes, fun and celebrity, he’s into sports and work. They lasted 18 months — probably not long enough under their contract with The Bachelorette to even keep the ring.

Here’s hoping next year is better for Ali. I suspect she’ll be moving to LA (if she’s not already there.) If she really has her heart set on a TV or broadcasting career, she should consider acting and speech lessons while she’s recuperating. She’s very telegenic, enthusiastic and facially expressive, and instantly recognizable, but her voice and speech cadence need a lot of work. The Bachelorette may be a short-cut to a media career for some, but it’s not a substitute for talent. Self-promotion and PR reps will only get you so far.

We've got big snow in the mountains and fierce winds in Denver. If you're in the neighborhood of either and looking for something to do tonight, and a fan of vintage clothing or the Bachelor/Bachelorette, head up to Breckenridge for the opening party for Vintage Sweet and Chic, at 215 South Main.

The store is co-owned by former Bachelor contestant Ann Csincsak, married to former Bachelorette winner and snowboarder Jesse Csincsak, and Katie Meyer. A bunch of former Bach/B'ette contestants will be there, as well as Evel Dick from Big Brother and some current and former Survivor contestants.

Here's a list of attending reality TV folks:

Continue reading →

The X-Factor seemed to start off on a bad note when it dropped British judge Cheryl Cole. Replacement judge Nicole Scherzinger didn't seem to me like a good fit during auditions. But now that it's clear the judges' role is not just to vote every week, but to train their assigned group of contestants, I've changed my mind. I can't see Cheryl Cole coaching any of these teams to musical super-stardom. Nicole may be lacking in the magnetic personality department (as she was on DWTS, which she won) but after watching the judges' home segments, I think she'll be a winner as a coach.

It was definitely a struggle to stick with the show through the weeks of auditions. L.A. Reid and Simon were the only reasons I kept watching. For the most part, the contestants were either very physically unappealing or far too young. But in the end, with tonight's selection of the final 17, it was worth it and made for pretty riveting TV.

The X-Factor is not the same as American Idol. To say it’s more emotional is an understatement. It’s like Queen for a Day on steroids. There's the homeless guy, the garbage collector/recovering drug addict (sober now 70 days); the emotionally battered wife/mother; the precocious 13 year old going on 30; the 14 year old reincarnation of Taylor Swift; the baby rapper; the hot likeable tart; the overweight, stringy- haired white guy with acne who makes burritos and has a voice that blows away most of the competition, and the 59 year old “sleeper”.

Aside from the non-exciting group category the show handed off to Paula, for entertainment purposes, I think the show got the finalists right tonight. It's not just about the voice but creating a star. What makes a star? The undefinable X-Factor, of course. That intangible quality you can’t define but you know it when you see it. The finalists are all talented, but in addition, they either have a compelling sad-sack story or are immensely watchable. Continue reading →

Hate her or not, the whiny, obnoxious Rachel was the only finalist who deserved to win. And win she did, by only one vote, which surprisingly came from Shelley (who probably voted for her to to get further back into Jordan and Jeff’s good graces.) And what a surprise (not): After repeating ad nauseum all week he would vote for the person who won round 3 and the most competitions, Adam voted for his friend and fellow newbie, the sleeper/lounger extraordinaire, Porsche.

The season’s biggest losers: Take your pick. Continue reading →

What a season for Bachelor Pad. Trashy Vienna came close to ruining the season, followed by the supremely self-delusional Kasey and the unhinged Melissa.

Holly and Michael and Michelle and Graham not only saved the show, they elevated it, from what began and for most of the season remained, an almost unwatchable whine-fest. Continue reading →

Reality Steve has some spoilers on Bachelorette Ashley Hebert’s first dates and several of the 25 contenders vying for her roses.

• Tuesday, March 15: Meet and Greet, 25 guys
• Thursday, March 17: 1 on 1 date-Bellagio, Las Vegas
• Friday, March 18, group date , Monte Carlo Hotel (Jabbawockeez show) Las Vegas
• Saturday, March 19, 1 on 1 date, Ryan “Mickey” McLean , Mandalay Bay (private concert from Colbie Caillat performing her song “I Do”) Las Vegas
• Monday, March 21, 1 on 1 date, Ben Castoriani, Americana at Brand outdoor mall in Glendale (flash mob video), Los Angeles
• First week of April: Filming in Phuket, Thailand

Two contestants who may be around for awhile: New Orleans lawyer Ben Castoriani: Continue reading →

Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss explains the show’s success today in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Shorter version: The Bachelor owns the romance field, everyone else can just step aside. He’s right about that.

He also has a favorite word. “Goofball.” As in Reality Steve:

EW: Reality Steve spent most of the season predicting that Chantal will be the winner. Once he owned up to being wrong, fans crowed that he had been `Fleiss’d.’ Did you or anyone involved in the show feed him misinformation?

FLEISS: I wish I could take credit but he duped himself. He’s nuts, a goofball. He says these things with 100 percent conviction but he’s right only half of the time. It doesn’t matter that much to us, it’s just that he acts like he knows everything. He’s the Michele Bachmann of reality TV facts. But the leaks are not really coming from production. They’re coming from former cast members. That’s a hard thing to police. The best way to combat him is to let himself shoot himself in the foot.

The Michele Bachmann of reality tv facts? Ouch! But it’s nice to know Mr. Fleiss has his politics right. Makes me like him more. Continue reading →