Bachelor Australia - Season 3 - Sam Wood - (Male) - SM - IG - Media - *Sleuthing* - *Spoilers*

I don't think there is a very high margin difference between Heather and other front runners when it comes to fans. Sarah and Snez are also liked so being a fan favorite is not enough justification. I think people are swayed depending on what happens in an episode. When Nina had a date, there were nice comments on bach facebook page. People liked her and most were complimenting her calling her "the dark horse". Some even feel Heather is friend material and Snez is marriage material.
I spend Wednesdays and Thursdays reading comments on fb because i can't watch live and have to wait for online links.

see2love wrote:Not a personal dig at Heather, but I am saying if I was one of the other girls Id be pissed off and get my voice heard through my sister or "sources" too. TPTB sure arent playing fair

ITA. TPTB are definitely not playing fair.
But then again, this show is not about being fair.
It's about 1 man, many women and then only 1 in the end who is the "winner" (although I don't care for that term) after this man has done whatever he wants before he is at FRC.

I agree with what you're all saying about Heather being all over the media ... but I also believe that the worst thing the other girls can do right now is to channel the negative energy ...and be angry at Heather or Sam and voice their frustration by putting blame on them ... since that doesn't win them any points.
Beside, they will have time once the are eliminated to voice their concerns and reasons, explain themselves and give a better insight of who they are ...

and even if they don't have a media access at the moment and their accounts are private ... they can still show positivity and laugh it off, make fun of the scenes or dismiss the gossip in their private SM pages ... because as we've seen, things do come out in the media anyway (like Emily's vent-letter about the edit)

... if they wanted to and if they would be honest with what they said and did on the show ... and people would even back them up more ... but throwing shade through the voice of their friends and family it's not a good solution to change the perception.

So Heathrr is going on a radio show to slam rumours about her being a fake? Lol this is definitely the network pushing her to do these interviews...but why? Hmm

MissB wrote:I don't think there is a very high margin difference between Heather and other front runners when it comes to fans. Sarah and Snez are also liked so being a fan favorite is not enough justification. I think people are swayed depending on what happens in an episode. When Nina had a date, there were nice comments on bach facebook page. People liked her and most were complimenting her calling her "the dark horse". Some even feel Heather is friend material and Snez is marriage material.
I spend Wednesdays and Thursdays reading comments on fb because i can't watch live and have to wait for online links.

There's a big margin difference between Heather and the other girls. Snez comes the closest but the others are not even close.
(The FB post with the most likes with over 2500 is of Heather with Sam).

Below is the current love leader board % of viewers.
Keep in mind this last week Heather was barely on the show compared to her 1on1 date episode which, when this happened, she was only 37% at the time so it is going up a lot each week.


Bachelor AU

Last week there was only 5% difference. That week they showed Snez alone time and the kiss during cp. Last week they didn't show Snez or other girls except the three on the dates during cp but they showed Heather saying "i may or may not miss you". Most people who vote are on fb and they vote according to what has happened in the episodes that week, so i don't take these votes seriously coz you can vote more than once(i have voted more than once).

The "why" is speculative, but the facts are Heather has been on the top of the leaderboard since the beginning of the show and increasing in number.

However, if it is voting based on episode then this show is edited purposely to have screentime on someone more than the other for a reason. Usually when it comes to obvious edits, the person with the most screen time is F1 (and can be empirically supported as such). Thus, there may definitely be a correlation between screentime and favourites.

few reasons why the media control:
- the show needs a good successful story out of this season (they can't risk another flop when it comes to actual couple being in love ... this is not USA ... this is a show brought from the States, so it needs its own validation here, no matter the ratings)

- the show lead is usually the spoke-person of the season and is giving the interviews and insights about the filming ... but Sam wasn't "nationally" accepted right away, he isn't the average-taste kinda guy and even though he is able to communicate clearly and is nice to listen to because he is being honest with his answers, he isn't the most adored ... people are criticizing his looks, his style, comparing him to Blake, trying to find any kind of "dirt" on him to smear the show ... and he is back to his usual life and work ... running his business that he "left" for more than 3 months.

so why not give that "role" to Heather (more likely F1) ... who became the "fan-favorite" the first night. And even if she doesn't have a lot of fans to start with ... the media can only help to built that support.
She's much funnier than Sam, she is quick-witted and more artful/sly than Sam (who is a straight-shooter and doesn't always seem to realize that people make fun of him, or he does, but doesn't have a good come-back).

Also, the edit plays with the story of 1 girl vs. the rest of the house (us vs. them) ... so she's portrayed as an outsider (although she really wasn't because girls bonded) ... that's the edit that can easily isolate her ... so the media access is actually an additional edit to the story on the TV screen ... making her part of everyone's livingroom ... making her one of "us" - audience.

The producers have a role to play in this mess. I'm seeing this as the Heather and Sam show. It's unfortunate and the ladies will speak as soon as its over. No amount of protection offered by the producers will help if she's F1.

If Heather is F1 and it is the Heather and Sam show then I think what the women say is on them and how they want to appear. And considering Heather is a favorite, it will only backfire on the women and not Heather if they are negative and the relationship is real since they are already being edited as jealous.

I will say this: for Bach NZ, all the girls said that it was Matilda from day one. They said this on ATFR and even said they knew it was Matilda all along. And instead of being sour grapes or complaining about it that they were dragged through the show even though it was over day one and Art said "It's always been Matilda" from the moment he gave her the FIR, they chose to put their egos aside and be supportive despite feeling like they had wasted their time and been strung along.

So, imo, what these women say, regardless of what is being sanctioned by TPTB or the edit, is 100% their choice and a reflection of who they are as women. Complaining about something that happened months ago (it likely will be 5-6 months post-show) is not going to help them at all since it is long over.

ElonM wrote:The producers have a role to play in this mess. I'm seeing this as the Heather and Sam show. It's unfortunate and the ladies will speak as soon as its over. No amount of protection offered by the producers will help if she's F1.

I totally agree! They may think it will protect the image of the franchise but these ladies once set free can be brutal and reveal secrets like "i did this and that with him or he said this or that to me". I'm not saying they will be but they can and i wouldn't blame them. For example, Bec can come out and say everything she did with Sam prior to the show which may or may not be a big deal then but will still have an impact however small.

MissB wrote:

ElonM wrote:The producers have a role to play in this mess. I'm seeing this as the Heather and Sam show. It's unfortunate and the ladies will speak as soon as its over. No amount of protection offered by the producers will help if she's F1.

I totally agree! They may think it will protect the image of the franchise but these ladies once set free can be brutal and reveal secrets like "i did this and that with him or he said this or that to me". I'm not saying they will be but they can and i wouldn't blame them. For example, Bec can come out and say everything she did with Sam prior to the show which may or may not be a big deal then but will still have an impact however small.

That never seems to go over well though when a fan favorite is F1 and the "others" are complaining/negative, etc. Hardly see it helping anyone but the F1 if she is fan favorite. No different than TBette these past two seasons, no matter what is said, most viewers rally around the lead/f1.