I can't believe I'm watching this crap. There is no legitimate excuse I can offer as to why I'm watching it, but I'll try. I can't say I'm hooked on it, because I'm not. I just watch it, for some reason. Maybe because nothing else is on in that time-slot. Maybe I'm intrigued, having been one of these dorky guys my whole life, maybe I want to root for the dorks to win the heart of the beautiful Melana. Except I don't think she's all that hot. She's possessed of a passive kind of beauty, the kind of which you'll find 2,000 identical examples at any typical American mall. And the Average Joes aren't really average - they range from the true geeks, Revenge Of the Nerds style, to several overweight guys along the lines of John Belushi, with only a few truly average Joes in the bunch, and several of them are obviously the more attractive type of "average" at that. It's pretty obvious from the start who will remain after a few episodes.
I hoped maybe this would be a little more meaningful. I mean, it would be nice to see one of these Average Joes wind up with the beautiful, cheerleader-esque girl because she could see through their sometimes goofy looks and awkward attempts at romance. As the show progressed, however, it became pretty obvious that she was eliminating the more unattractive men, leaving behind the most physically attractive of the Joes, and, of course, confirming what most people would believe of someone like Melana anyway. The first sign of this came when she jettisoned one particularly geeky but sweet guy who she had seemed to genuinely connect with and have feelings for, but was most obvious when the last of the "fat Joes" was kicked off. As a parting statement, he could only offer one comment: that she's eliminated all of the over-200 pound group. The meaning of that is pretty obvious.
Of course, there's always a stupid twist to these shows. It wouldn't be reality TV if it wasn't something cruel, would it? With most of the Average Joes eliminated, the show then pulled a fast one and dumped three model-quality guys onto the show to compete with the Joes. These three "models" are, of course, more along the lines of what you'd expect to see with a girl like her in the first place. That she hits it off with the particularly good-looking one, Jason, should be no surprise, but this is made entertaining by Melana's attempts to assure us that she's falling for him only because he's a "really good person inside." Of course you are, Melana, looks would never play into how you felt about someone.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
i can't believe you watched that crap either!
2 - Tom Johnson
I know, Mark. I hang my head in shame at admitting this embarassing fact about myself in a public forum such as this. I deserve a public humiliation, however. Bring it on, people, bring it on.
3 - michele
I was going to post a similar thing here. Better you than me, I say.
Yea, yea. I watch the show, too.
4 - Mark Saleski
well...i was home sick once a couple of weeks ago...and i watched a whole hour of Oprah...so i guess i shouldn't be givin' tom much of a hard time.
5 - The Dane
I know 5 years have passed since last comment on this subject, and it's probably silly replying to it, but. The program just ran in Denmark (where I live), and I must say, this article is spot on. They probably thought they could do a groundbreaking show, where an average joe ends up with a beautiful girl. Being a reality show, and not a movie, appearance is the foremost important factor, and it will overshadow the effects of any relation between Melena and the average Joes, established from their short conversations. But these average Joes have double-standards, and must learn that the world isn't fair. How can they expect a beautiful girl to pick them, when they don't favor average looking girls themselves? So in some way, one could call Melena's choices objective (and not based on who has 'inner beauty', as she claims they are), but the average Joes' choice of 'winning her' is no less so. I'm an average Joe myself, but I know that longing for very beautiful girls all my life will make me end up alone. I'm not proud of having watched this show either, but it just intrigued me.