When Jake Pavelka, the perfect-on-paper pilot from Texas, became the new Bachelor face, I vowed to not watch a single episode of Season 14. I couldn’t stand the thought of watching Jake’s smug smile and phoney charm for two hours every week and, not surprisingly, was unimpressed with the direction the series had taken after the last two finales ended in upset and scandal.
Alas, I was dragged in by the familiar format and even found myself looking forward to the occasional Monday night. I haven’t lost sight that this show is the epitome of everything wrong with TV right now, nor that it is a far-from-accurate depiction of what really happened throughout the course of filming, with this season perhaps being one of the worst offenders to date.
The series hasn’t been able to maintain its shroud of secrecy around the finale outcome this time around. There were many predictions leading up to the Season 5 conclusion of The Bachelorette last July — would Jillian choose Ed, Kiptyn or perhaps Reid, who was mysteriously absent from The Men Tell All special as a result of his last-minute plea in Hawaii? Although Ed was favoured in pre-finale speculation, no one could be sure who Jillian chose in the end.
Even if the thorn in ABC’s side —otherwise known as Reality Steve — hadn’t already given away this season’s ending (as well as weekly highlights, controversies and eliminations), it wouldn’t be hard to predict the outcome of the upcoming rose ceremony. The show has become increasingly predictable as producers strive less and less to portray a true representation of reality, instead trying to justify the outcome while still pulling in the ratings through false editing.
Unless viewers have been entirely oblivious to the favour bestowed on finalist Vienna Girardi in editing, they won’t be surprised to learn she comes out on top in the finale. No, the Florida native best known for causing upset among the other women hasn’t been shed in a completely positive light, but I highly doubt that would even be possible.
Disliked by virtually every woman in the house, even before Jake took a significant liking to her, negative comments made about Vienna outweighed bad behaviour on her part in the final cut. Verbal attacks against Vienna can’t be solely attributed to jealousy, and it seems ABC fed off of the controversy for obvious reasons, while striving to shed Vienna in as positive a light as possible.
Who would have pegged Jake for anything but a straight-by-the-cuff kind of guy? This series will prove differently, however, when he picks the wild child over sweet and simple divorcée Tenley Molzahn.
Vienna’s March Break party pics with ex-boyfriend Brian Lee Smith (some reports say the two were still dating when Vienna left for The Bachelor) and topless calendar photo from before her heydays prove she isn’t just a mismatch for Jake because of her loudmouth Type-A personality and entitlement issues.
The dirt on Vienna doesn’t stop there either. The former Hooters waitress withdrew $5,000 from her then-husband’s bank account to fund her breast augmentation surgery while he was deployed in Iraq. She’s since entered bikini contests and is said to have signed up for the show in pursuit of fame, not love. Should make for a lasting union.
On the flip side, Rozlyn’s early exit was distorted to opposite effects, with host Chris Harrison insinuating her “inappropriate relations” with an ABC staffer were sexual in nature when there’s little evidence supporting that claim. In another ABC blunder this season, weekly previews have featured shocking and misleading clips that failed to make it into a single episode, all for the sake of ratings.
Not only is Tenley not pregnant, but she recently admitted to being celibate since her divorce. Yet promotional clips earlier in the season showed her claiming she had a bun in the oven, a quote that was never readdressed in subsequent episodes.
Airing deceptive previews (including when it appeared Jake told Ali to get on a plane for St. Lucia following her exit) only emphasizes the ease of falsifying events, with the show only digging its own grave and angering viewers when they’re disappointed with the actual turn of events.
But editing isn’t the only means of manipulation. Reality Steve also reports Ali’s aforementioned phone call asking Jake for a second chance was staged by producers, and that there was never any chance of her going to St. Lucia for an overnight date.
In addition to garnering a ratings boost for what would otherwise be an uneventful series conclusion and predictable elimination that saw Gia exit the running, this fabrication might earn Ali sympathizers among viewers who found her antagonistic and unlikable for her attacks against Vienna, validating her role as the new Bachelorette.
And so the cycle continues. Just as Jake’s last ditch effort to warn Jillian away from Wes led to his own season, the series has paved the way for Ali. So while the past two months have been nothing but a complete waste of time, resulting in what’s sure to be a prompt split, before anyone realizes Jake and Vienna have only added to the poor success rate of series matches, we’ll be well on our way to another season of scandal, staging and conspiracy with The Bachelorette Season 6.
The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love finale airs Monday, March 1, 8 p.m. ET, Citytv/ABC
Thoughts? szolis@tvguide.ca or comment below.
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Whether it’s reality or scripted TV, Stephanie firmly believes the most important element to any series is a sordid romantic story arc.— Grey’s Anatomy’s MerDer, Laguna Beach/The Hills’ Lauren and Jason, The Office’s PB & J, and General Hospital’s Spoily, to name a few. The more dysfunctional a couple is, the better.
A proud single gal with an obsession for everything New York, Stephanie is one relocation away from living out her dream as a Carrie Bradshaw impostor. In the meantime, her weekly column scrutinizes the most explosive couples, crushes and relationship catastrophes to unfold on the small screen. |
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