Re: Reality Steve - Thread #2

[IrishGal]

MF and Co are probably quite annoyed that the spoilers are completely out there.

I think they are probably all for it. It means more people care enough to want to know. The more publicity the better.
If you notice, it's always just the F1 that is iffy right up 'till the end. That's the only thing they push to keep uncertain. It keeps the spoiled viewers watching.
Crafty little buggers, that MF & Co. :twisted:

But this time not only are the spoilers for JP as F1 - he as of episode 3 appears to be the only viable option which gets everyone on board with the RS spoilers.

That's what I thought last season about Chantal... 8)

[Jeepers]

MF and Co are probably quite annoyed that the spoilers are completely out there.

I think they are probably all for it. It means more people care enough to want to know. The more publicity the better.
If you notice, it's always just the F1 that is iffy right up 'till the end. That's the only thing they push to keep uncertain. It keeps the spoiled viewers watching.
Crafty little buggers, that MF & Co. :twisted:

But this time not only are the spoilers for JP as F1 - he as of episode 3 appears to be the only viable option which gets everyone on board with the RS spoilers.

And ya don't think that could change in a heart beat?? Lol. Of course it can. It is still very early

JP Could well be F1, but MF ain't gonna let him go down that road without the appearance of some competition :Spitoutdrink:

[nd4reality]

MF and Co are probably quite annoyed that the spoilers are completely out there.

I think they are probably all for it. It means more people care enough to want to know. The more publicity the better.
If you notice, it's always just the F1 that is iffy right up 'till the end. That's the only thing they push to keep uncertain. It keeps the spoiled viewers watching.
Crafty little buggers, that MF & Co. :twisted:

But this time not only are the spoilers for JP as F1 - he as of episode 3 appears to be the only viable option which gets everyone on board with the RS spoilers.

[Scarletta]

MF and Co are probably quite annoyed that the spoilers are completely out there.

I think they are probably all for it. It means more people care enough to want to know. The more publicity the better.
If you notice, it's always just the F1 that is iffy right up 'till the end. That's the only thing they push to keep uncertain. It keeps the spoiled viewers watching.
Crafty little buggers, that MF & Co. :twisted:

[Jeepers]

MF and Co are probably quite annoyed that the spoilers are completely out there.

Doubtful seeing as they have had a hand in them being out there

[nd4reality]

MF and Co are probably quite annoyed that the spoilers are completely out there.

[Scarletta]

“It is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury; signifying nothing.”
William Shakespeare - Macbeth

[pavalygurl]

Funny, but when I read the spoilers for the first time after Monday's episode and found out that Ben was a possible F1, and then read some comments about him from posters, I couldn't help but think that the only reason people even liked him was because of spoilers. He's hardly gotten any face time, no dates or conversations with Ash, and yet people love him.... I just don't get that. He didn't even crack my top 10 list, let alone top 2!

Ben was my potential fave long before the spoilers or CH's 4 to watch. As soon as I read about him and saw pics, I thought he was adorable and love the fact that he is a wine maker. The fact his winery is less than an hour drive from me helps too. I want him to win so Ashley moves here and can be my dentist! :laughingoutlou Hoping once we get to know him he will live up to my initial good impression.

IrishGal: My thoughts exactly, except I live about 6 hours away and have a dentist I love LOL!

[Guest]

Can you post the gist of his replies here ? Is there anything noteworthy ?

Here is his complete, overly long (as usual) blog:

More “Bachelor Pad” Info, Chris Harrison Nonsense, and Your “Reader Emails” – 6/10/11
June 10th, 2011 | 1 Comment | Posted in The Bachelorette 7 - Ashley For all your episode-by-episode spoilers of Ashleys season up through the final four, either click on the “Bachelorette Ashley Spoilers” link at the top of the page, or click here. Once I have the remaining breakdown of everything else, I will post it immediately. However, there will still be spoilers posted throughout this column. You’ve been warned.

Once again lets start with some “Bachelor Pad” info I mentioned yesterday on Twitter. Gia is in the cast. Don’t ask me why, don’t ask me how, because I’m just as baffled as the next person. She went on the show last year with a boyfriend, Chris Campoli of the Ottawa Senators, fell for Wes during filming, then broke up with Chris when she got home. We all know how that turned out. Now she’s dating Ryan Anderson of the Orlando Magic and decides to do the show. So your guess is as good as mine as to why she’s doing it. However, it makes more sense now that they were after Wes to do it. Talked to Wes last Saturday and he said they were trying to get him to do it last minute, but he declined. So even with Wes not there, I’m sure they will play up the Vienna/Gia drama, even though both have moved on.

Also, I decided to have a little fun with people this week by tweeting “Emily is on Bachelor Pad”. Of course, I figured everyone would immediately assume Emily Maynard, start freaking out, and sending me nasty Twitter posts about what they thought of her as a mother, etc. And they did. I was gonna leave it up there for an hour, before explaining it was actually Emily Harkins, who was sent home on the first night of Jakes season. I couldn’t last 20 minutes. The tweets got so ridiculous, I figured I’d put people out of their misery and explain to them it was Emily Harkins I was talking about and not Emily Maynard. Well, come to find out now that Emily Harkins did get flown out to be on the show, but as far as I know, never got cast since she was back on Facebook yesterday posting “False alarm. I’m back…”.

Then yesterday afternoon, EW.com ran this story that obviously confirmed Jake is on the show. So judging by the picture, we now know that either he or Jackie won the first challenge since they ended up on a date together, unless somehow the rules got changed. My guess is Jackie won the challenge for the girls just because I’m thinking if Jake won, he would’ve somehow ended up with someone other than Jackie. But that’s just a guess.

I’m hoping that by sometime this weekend or early next week I’ll be able to nail down the full cast. It’s getting tougher and tougher I tell you. I’m sure ABC will be releasing it in the middle of next week if they’re following the timeline of last season. I’m not as concerned about having the whole cast as I am about the spoilers for the season. Last year I released them at the end of June and I’m looking to do the same this season. We’ll see.

Hey, you wanna see Ashleys attempt at humor? This was a portion of her performance at the roast where she went after a few of the guys, namely Bentley, William, and Ryan. Lets just say she probably shouldn’t quit her day job:


Actually, the little dig on Ryan wasn’t that bad. Although Ashley, this is a roast. I know what you said might’ve seemed hurtful to you, but it kinda loses its effect when you go up and hug them after the joke. Ryan’s a big boy. I’m sure he can take it. So basically, William and Nick seemed to be the only two guys who actually understood the concept of a roast and performed accordingly. Although William seemed more interested in securing more material for his demo tape considering in his conference call with the media yesterday, Masked Jeff even said William went on for 20 minutes just killing Ashley. He’s a real bright one.
Chris Harrison was back talking to the media of course after Monday’s episode, and I just don’t understand some of the things that come out of his mouth sometimes. Here’s some snippets of the interview he did with TVGuide.com where he’s talking about the shows role in how they handled Bentley:

People are questioning why producers didn’t step in and do something to stop him.

Harrison: I’m catching heat and the producers are catching heat, but the only way we could have told her everything about Bentley was to completely affect her journey. What line do we not want to cross? Then it really opens up Pandora’s box and where to we stop the line? Do I tell her a snide comment that J.P. just made or “Oh I heard William said something about you too”? Why would she even date these guys when she could just go to the producers and watch the tapes and see how they act. It completely undermines everything we’ve been about for the entire show. I know it’s a sketchy grey area, but that’s the line we’ve drawn and we’ve stuck to it.

Ok, that’s just a ridiculous answer. We’re not saying that every time someone says something about Ashley she’s allowed to go look at the tapes. We know you’d never do that, nor would we expect you too. But for THIS PARTICULAR SITUATION, where you KNEW Ashley was falling for Bentley, where you KNEW by her ITMs she was telling you how much she liked the guy, and you KNEW by his actions when he was with her versus what he was saying behind her back, screw the “line we’ve drawn” BS. Your “Bachelorette” has looked ridiculous these first three episodes because you purposely didn’t tell her stuff. She should’ve been informed. You know it, I know it, and she knows it. Rego had a girlfriend back home, and you let Ali talk to her, so why can’t you tell Ashley about Bentley? If you’re really looking out for her best interests, then you don’t just “warn” her about Bentley, you tell her specifically what he’s saying. Did you see her on Kimmel this week? She’s mortified by what she’s hearing that Bentley was saying about her. And you still don’t think you should’ve told her? Just figured it’d be best that she found this out on her own and got embarrassed for three episodes on national television and made to look like a fool? Oh, ok.

Let me refresh peoples memory just a bit:

-On Feb. 24th, I announced in my video blog that Ashley was going to be the next “Bachelorette”.

-On Mar. 1st, I wrote an apology about being wrong regarding who Brad was with and told everyone Brad was engaged to Emily, and not Chantal.

-Guys didn’t leave for filming until around March 12th or 13th

-On Mar. 14th, the night of Brad’s finale and one day before filming began, ABC officially announced on Jimmy Kimmels show that Ashley would be the next “Bachelorette”.

My point is, Bentley was well aware before he left for filming that the “Bachelorette” was Ashley, and couldn’t have been Emily. Now, you might say, “But Steve, what if he didn’t read your site and didn’t know. Or even if he did, he didn’t know for sure.” Yes, that’s possible. But highly unlikely. If he didn’t know 100% it was Ashley, he pretty much knew there was a better chance it’d be her over Emily. And by what we’ve heard in his ITMs, Bentley would’ve preferred Emily over Ashley, which is fine. Everyone’s got their tastes, and if you’ve seen Bentleys ex-wife, lets just say she looks a hell of a lot more like Emily than Ashley. So why would the show continue to pursue Bentley for their show knowing he was more into Emily, and even in his hometown video, tells us as much?

I’m pretty convinced that the minute Ashley informed producers she got a text from Michelle Money saying Bentley wasn’t there for the right reasons, they knew they had their storyline. So that’s why I blame both parties. Thousands upon thousands of guys apply to be on this show. You had a guy here telling you he wasn’t into Ashley and she wasn’t his type, yet you still went after him to do the show? Why? Why not just be like, “Ok, well we tried, but there’s tons of other guys who do want to be here, so see ya.” It’s because they knew they had that storyline once Ashley told them about the texts from Michelle. Nobody put a gun to Bentleys head to go on the show, so he is definitely to blame. But the show could’ve easily backed off when they realized he wasn’t into her and chosen any of the thousands of other applicants, but they didn’t for the sake of drama and ratings. It’s my opinion, and that’s what I’m sticking with.

“Reader Emails” this week actually didn’t really include one single stupid question. Some questions might have obvious answers, but I’m amazed just when I think it seems like I’ve answered every question possible regarding this show, people have more. And stuff that I never would’ve even thought was remotely important to people apparently is. So with that said, here are this weeks emails:
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I wanted to ask if you ever considered apologizing to any of the other female bachelor contestants on Brad’s second season besides Chantal? You were very apologetic to her which showed a lot of character but you never thought how you could have affected the other female contestants. I’m sure you’re probably thinking I’m referring to Emily but I am not. Hint: Ashley. As far as I know (I may be wrong)…I believe you were the one to broadcast that Emily will be the next bachelorette. Every guy turning in applications thought it was Emily because of all the media websites and entertainment channels saying it was going to be her (i suppose you were their reference). Believe me when I say A LOT of guys watch the bachelorette and go to your web site that don’t admit it to just anyone.

I get that this is just a show and it is hilarious how people get so into these reality tv relationships. But….the emotions are for real. I can’t help but think Ashley would have never been worried that everyone thought she should have been Emily when they stepped out of the limo if it weren’t for these guys actually being told it was going to be Emily by every website and entertainment channel there is from a very good source (you). I imagine it to be very humiliating for her. I’m sure she doesn’t care as much now since the season is over but she soon will have to talk about her insecurities relating to this topic come next episode on every late night show and Ellen-like day time show for a few weeks now despite the show already being over.

Maybe if you apologize it will open a line of communication between you and Ashley so you can score a date once her relationship is over with the winner.

Comment: I don’t think me reporting for two months that Brad was with Chantal and that the Bachelorette could be Emily had any effect whatsoever on Ashleys insecurities. And if it did, then this site has a hell of a lot more power than I ever imagined. I seriously don’t think that’s the case. She probably had those insecurities regardless just because she’s a woman and she can see how attractive Emily is. I don’t think that’s hard to figure out.

As for trying to score a date with her once her relationship with the winner is over? Nah, not what I’m looking for. Ashley seems like a great girl, very attractive, very energetic, but I’m not looking to date her, nor is she me I’m assuming.
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Hey Steve, I was wondering-in the first episode when the guys are getting out of the limo: is what we see on TV the original, genuine, first meeting between ashley and the bachelors? Or do they do re-takes of it for any reason? If they do re-takes, what reason would they redo it for?

Comment: It’s the first time she’s actually seeing them in person, yes. Re-takes? Oh yeah, it happens. Not sure how often, but I know it does. I remember hearing the story about Jillians season where Dave Good had to re-shoot his limo exit a couple times because he kept busting up laughing. That seemed to work well for him considering he got the first impression rose from her.
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I have been reading your blog for ages but have never written you yet. I absolutely love what you write and how you write it. What blows my mind is that there are STILL so many people out there who come to your site that just don’t get it! Why don’t they get that this is your site, you can write however you want and that you aren’t going to change your ways for them? I personally get your humor and I read it at work (shhhh….don’t tell my boss) and am literally laughing out loud sometimes! My co-workers must think I’m a little crazy but I will always tell them what I’m reading if they ask!

First, did you notice that on the group date in Vegas after half the guys were sent home that Ashley was wearing a yellow bikini top under her shirt yet they never went swimming that night? I wonder if it was too cold or something but I kept expecting it to turn into a pool scene! Do you think they tell her to always have a bathing suit on in case it is warm enough to swim? Or does she just dig wearing bikini’s around all the time under clothes? I would if I had her body! I know it’s a dumb thought but just an observation.

Second, I know all you have said about Bentley and how the show planted him or whatever and I know he is just on there for fame and they probably had a lot to do with him sticking around but I am just so over characters like him! Yeah, they want to stir up controversy but this is so old already and personally, I think he is nasty and not attractive at all, so I don’t see what Ashley sees in him anyway! I just don’t get the concept of him other than to get people to talk (and yes, I know people are talking and that is what they want). He is just so weird and gross! Blech.

Third, I know overall you think this show is very fake and such, but do you believe deep down that some guys may come on it with at least an open mind and actually do have real feelings for the girl (or for girls on the Bachelor having feelings for the guy) or do you think all emotions on the show are fake or contrived? I mean I know overall it is very fake but it does seem like there are a few guys who end up into her, much more than others and it does seem like some real emotion is there.

Fourth, I know you have said the rose ceremonies last until 4 or 5 a.m. sometimes. Do you know what happens the next day? Is that a day off from dates so everyone can sleep in and rest or do they get up at a normal time the next day and start with some dates right away? Sorry if this question bores you but I am interested in the logistics and didn’t know if you had ever received a sample schedule from a former contestant

Comment: 1) I’m sure there was supposed to be, or there actually was swimming or hot tub action on that date, they just never had time to show it for whatever reason. I did notice when she was talking to Bentley she had a yellow bikini top on under her shirt but they hadn’t shown anyone in the water on that date. The guys looked like they were cold outside, so, I’m guessing it was for a hot tub.

2) Bentley is weird and gross? That might be one of the nicer things people have said about him over the first few weeks.

3) I think some of the emotions are real, but more because of the environment they’re in as opposed to actually feeling that way towards a person. As I mentioned in Tuesdays column, when you are isolated from the rest of the world with no cell phone, internet, newspaper, TV, family, friends, etc and your only focus is on this one person not to mention tons of alcohol thrown in, then sure, I bet you think you’re falling for them harder than you really are. But like we’ve seen with so many past contestants on the “Bachelor”, where these women come on the show acting so in love over a guy that they barely know, then they get cut, and before you know it, they step off the plane back and they’re back together with their ex-boyfreind or are dating someone new. Happens way more often than not, and I think proves that their emotions on the show are just enhanced because of the environment they were in.

4) No, dates are always the same day that the rose ceremonies end. There’s not a lot of sleeping that goes on during this show, that’s for sure. Your nights are long, and then you’re always up early.
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I was watching this week, and my husband was forced to be subjected to the show as well. He asked if the contestants are paid per episode, because why else would these guys be doing this? (I always figured it was either for the “once in a lifetime” opportunity of being on network television, or to actually fall in love.) I know you said the lead makes six figures for signing on, but I couldn’t remember reading anything about the contestants. Surely they get paid a little something to cover their bills if they’re away from their jobs for up to six weeks weeks or so? I mean, some of them live in CA or N.Y., where rent is pretty high and you’re screwed if you take unpaid leave from your job.

Comment: That’s always been a mystery. I know in the past if you’ve made it to a certain point they will reimburse you. But like guys who are eliminated in the first couple episodes, no, you don’t get paid to be on the show. And if you actually pay attention to the job titles on the screen for these people, it’s not like we’re dealing with many CEO’s and CFO’s here. Many of them have jobs that frankly don’t give two sh**s about them possibly being gone for six weeks. Sure, you’ll have your lawyers and such that appear, but obviously they’ve been given the time off to do it, so I guess it’s not a big deal.
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I wonder if Ashley requested that the producers find her a bunch of guys with long, messy hair? There were so many, seemed like half of them at least! I presume she gives her preferences before they do final selection? Does Ashley get to screen the candidates? Bentley’s hair is a real fright, looks like big ole Brillo-pad… But then she chose the bald guy! go figure…

Comment: Well, Ben F and Constantine definitely take the cake on the hair contest for this season. It is funny that the two of them made it to the final four with almost the same exact head of hair. But that’s just coincidence. I think only Jen Scheft was allowed to screen contestants before her season since they showed it to us. After that, the lead has zero say in who gets cast since casting is done well before the lead is ever announced.
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In the previews, Ashley said something about worrying that some of the guys were expecting/hoping for Emily (which is interesting because when filming began, were Brad and Emily still publicly together? Outside of rumors.)

Anyway what are your thoughts about Emily starting a video blog and the timing? (timing, referring to the Bentley situation). just a coincidence? Besides arousing interest ?

Comment: Yes, Brad and Emily were still together when Ashleys season started since their finale aired the day before filming began on Ashleys season.

I think the producers know that Emily is a fan favorite and someone that a lot of women would like to hear from, so they asked her to do a video blog after each episode on the Bachelor.TV website. If it was only her doing it, I’d say there might be more to that, but Ashley S., Shawntel, Britt, and Marissa have all done videos too.
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Now getting together with the hens and taking some Bachelor is usually fun, until tonight’s episode; I have received over 10 emails tonight basically calling Bentley a sociopath and threatening to ban ABC watching until “they show women some respect”.

Now, how I am supposed to go to work tomorrow without telling all these crazies that need to retire their imaginary psych degrees and take a big whiff of SCRIPTED reality tv!!! Aaagh, so annoyed!

So here’s my question (since you’ve interviewed former “villains”) What ramifications has any of these baddies face, when back in real life? Did they get fired? Lose business? Disowned by their family? Endlessly mocked by their friends?

Seriously, I have 6 women alone way up here in Canada, wanting to END him. He seems like a loser, yes, but I’m not personally affected by him, other than he makes me laugh. Is this wrong?

Comment: Well, you definitely pegged your co-workers “crazies”. There’s no other way to explain it. How anyone can get so worked up over someone they don’t know after watching three episodes of him on TV is beyond me. Sure, you can dislike Bentley, but have you seen some of the Tweets and Facebook posts this last week? My gosh, it’s like Bentley personally insulted each and every one of them to their face. It’s something I’ll never understand about the viewers of this show. It happens EVERY SEASON and proves to me there are plenty of people off their rocker in this world.

As for ramifications, the only one I’ve witnessed in person was Wes. And that was pretty bad. Getting cursed out after a show, having a drink thrown on him, and people just constantly berating him for things he said. It was really frightening to see these women up close and in person attack him the way they did. I think to some degree, Wes, Rozlyn, Rego, and now Bentley will always be known as “the villain from the ‘Bachelor/ette’”. They can’t escape it. This show is watched by millions of people every week, and most of them believe everything they see. So yeah, anytime they are seen in public, I’m sure they get it all the time from people about what they did on the show.
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Watching tonight’s episode I was left thinking about Michelle Money’s Tell All interview. I can just picture Bentley in a few weeks saying “oh I’m a dad I’m not like that at all.” I think at this point after all the “villains” on the show (Wes, Rozalyn, Justin etc) contestants can no longer go on the show say the types of things Bentley is saying and then say “oh I didn’t know I would get edited like that”

I was wondering, I think Wes was the first, but at why did Abc decide to go with the villain storyline. If I remember correctly, up until then they just overly dramatized drama already in the house. Did they decide that they needed the extra drama for ratings or did they just think hey let’s just go with it?

Second question did they scrap the planned date the JP to get some “sad Ashley” time at the house or was a night at the house the plan originally? Also it really seemed like they almost shut down production (Chris Harrison), since she went on a date the same day Bentley left, way to sell it Chris.

And maybe I’m a huge sap okay I’m definitely a huge sap but I really hope it’s JP because he’s hot and they’re cute together. I’m sure you’re going to put my on the reader emails because I’m the epitome of every girl that watches the show…. Eh guilty.

Comment: They’ve always seemed to cast a “villain” or the one person that people didn’t like in the house, but only in the last few seasons has it gone to the extreme that it has. You had your Trish’s or Moana’s in the past, but they were tame compared to what we’re seeing now. A lot also has to do with the tabloid coverage now that this show gets and makes it bigger deal than it probably is.

Well, going by what we saw, that date card for JP arrived before Bentley eliminated himself, so it looks like that was the date plan all along for those two. Although, I’m sure talking to Bentley behind the scenes, they were well aware he wasn’t lasting much longer on the show. Go read Masked Jeff’s conference call yesterday with the media that I linked to earlier. He was Bentley’s roommate. Bentley was making it clear from early on that he didn’t want to be there and missed his daughter.

Final note: I’m amazed by how many people continue to spell Rozlyns name wrong. She appeared on the “Bachelor” in January of 2010. Her name has probably appeared on the internet or on TV or you’ve seen it somewhere thousands of times since then. You know how many different spellings I’ve gotten of it in emails? Rozalyn, Rossalind, Roslin, Rozlin, Rosalee, Rosilin, and Rozzlin. Bizarre.

[LibbyBell]

He has a new column posted today with reader emails etc... I have not had a chance to read it yet.

I totally agree with RS for a change. He nailed TPTB and lying CH about their horrible treatment of Ashley and he's right, imo

Can you post the gist of his replies here ? Is there anything noteworthy ?

Yes, please!!

[nd4reality]

Can you post the gist of his replies here ? Is there anything noteworthy ?

[Guest]

He has a new column posted today with reader emails etc... I have not had a chance to read it yet.

I totally agree with RS for a change. He nailed TPTB and lying CH about their horrible treatment of Ashley and he's right, imo

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