The Bachelor 20 - Ben Higgins - Social Media - Vids - Media - *Sleuthing - Spoilers* - #3

bleuberry wrote:I also think some Bachelors from other countries benefit from there not being as much pressure, scrutiny, and eyes on them vs the US show. It's kind of a different animal.

  not to mention the way the US producers want the show to be, how they edit it and the degree of involvement in the story lines, which from what I've seen is very different than the international shows where they tend to allow most people to seem pretty genuine and likable vs the US version that bases it's whole promotion campaign on drama and craziness.  I do find the other countries versions much more likable and simple where you can just enjoy seeing who the lead clicks with most, more like the old days of our show.

^^^ While people in the US continue to watch, they will not change the formula.

eversotrue wrote:I don't see the point in comparing him to the other bachelors in other countries either... Just...why??

How do you see the show from other countries?

KK4 wrote:

eversotrue wrote:I don't see the point in comparing him to the other bachelors in other countries either... Just...why??

How do you see the show from other countries?

No idea.

bleuberry wrote:I also think some Bachelors from other countries benefit from there not being as much pressure, scrutiny, and eyes on them vs the US show. It's kind of a different animal.

Not so much, IMHO. While one can discuss how the shows are different, etc, I still feel that an individual's behavior as lead is on the lead no matter their country. The lead chooses how they behave. Sean chose how he behaved, Chris Soules/Jake/JPG etc how they behaved, etc. And Ben will choose how he behaves.

And this is not just in the US, it is all over. Some leads are liked and some are hated by the public. Blake Bach Aussie S2 is beyond hated in his country and this is based on his behavior and his behavior is not even that bad compared to US leads who are not even rated the worst.

Plus, both Bach NZ and Bach AU the public there is very Tall Poppy Syndrome and actually have higher expectations of their leads than majority of public in the US and are harsher on them when even FRC is just dating.

Case in point: To me and others on this board that have watch Bach NZ, Art as lead is likely one of their favourites if not the gold standard when it comes to lead and yet he got so much backlash in his country. So much so that unlike Ben H who posted a billboard image of himself on NY Time Square, Art posted a photo of himself giving himself the middle finger to a billboard image of himself and calling himself a d*ck while the season aired because people were calling him that and yet Art's first peck/kiss (after asking the girl if he could) was in Episode 5!  

So if there is more pressure/scrutiny I think it lies with the non-US shows, imo. If the US Bach leads actually felt any more pressure/scrutiny then they would take the process of getting "engaged" more seriously, IMO and wouldn't be sleeping around and making questionable choices while cameras are rolling and then blaming TPTB/process for them.

If the US Bach really had so much more "pressure/scrutiny" then I would think the leads would feel MORE pressure to actually behave on the show with more self-respect and respect of others much more than most do, imo. That they don't tells me that, scrutiny or not, differences or not, it is still the individual behavior that is the common thread with ALL leads, no matter the franchise.

relaxing wrote:

bleuberry wrote:I also think some Bachelors from other countries benefit from there not being as much pressure, scrutiny, and eyes on them vs the US show. It's kind of a different animal.

  not to mention the way the US producers want the show to be, how they edit it and the degree of involvement in the story lines, which from what I've seen is very different than the international shows where they tend to allow most people to seem pretty genuine and likable vs the US version that bases it's whole promotion campaign on drama and craziness.  I do find the other countries versions much more likable and simple where you can just enjoy seeing who the lead clicks with most, more like the old days of our show.

I think that's the biggest difference. The US show purposely hires "crazies" and strives to humiliate people for the sake of being on tabloid covers and getting people riled up on SM. The non-US shows seem to treat all of the contestants, even the ones that are "weird", with dignity and respect and they really do seem to be invested in the love story and having their leads' backs. I can imagine that it's a lot easier to be a good lead when you you have the support of the producers, can trust them, and the majority of the contestants are genuine people. JMO.

KK4 wrote:

eversotrue wrote:I don't see the point in comparing him to the other bachelors in other countries either... Just...why??

How do you see the show from other countries?

https://vk.com/videos175079108?section=album_54915661

That is the link to the NZ Bachelor Art season.

All the episodes are about 45 minutes other than the first which is just over an hour.

I know there are links here for the Australian versions as well. Just check out those threads.

'Testing out' multiple contestants has worked for some of the successful couples haha! I think the biggest issue is how little they actually know each other vs who slept with who.

Of the 5 Bachelor/ette leads to marry someone from the show, I believe 3 of them hooked up with more than just their f1. JMO.

bleuberry wrote:'Testing out' multiple contestants has worked for some of the successful couples haha! I think the biggest issue is how little they actually know each other vs who slept with who.

Of the 5 Bachelor/ette leads to marry someone from the show, I believe 3 of them hooked up with more than just their f1. JMO.

I think the relationship can survive it, but it makes it harder. To be honest, Jason is darn lucky that Molly ever gave him another chance, so I just don't count him, IMO.

Ryan and JP were both such good men, they got over what a lot of guys didn't.

I think if you avoid the sex in the FS it is preferable. Truthfully, two of the longest non-marriage relationships from this show also came from leads who abstained from FS sex. Mary and Byron had a very long relationship as did Charlie and Sarah and both relationships failed due to addiction issues, not because the final couple weren't a good fit.

To me Byron, Charlie and Sean all showed that you didn't need FS sex to find a person who is the right fit for you and often the lead who feels the need to sample more than one person really isn't sure about who they want. Even Des, who I believe was intimate with Chris in the FS, but by her words was all in for Brooks at that point, her desire to be intimate with Chris should have been a bright shining light that she wasn't so all in with Brooks, IMO. If you need to have sex with more than one person in the FS, you probably aren't ready to get engaged a week later. JMO.

FWIW according to Des she didn't sleep with anyone in her FS. I thought she would've with Brooks but we all know how that went .

/tangent.

But yes I agree, I do prefer it that way too.

bleuberry wrote:FWIW according to Des she didn't sleep with anyone in her FS. I thought she would've with Brooks but we all know how that went .

/tangent.

But yes I agree, I do prefer it that way too.

Good for Des.  I assumed because she and Chris had crazy chemistry on the FD.  Their make-out session on the beach was just plain hot.  I remember watching that episode and still believing the spoiler but thinking "Wow her body is totally telling her that Chris is the one, but her heart wants Brooks".

So four for four the ones who skipped sex in the FS managed to make pretty good relationships if not marriages.

To bring this back to Ben, I really hope that he only uses the FS for sex with his F1 if anyone. JMO.

nothatgirl wrote:I'm very surprised that the top 6-7 comments were people not being excited for Ben and hoping for Ben Z or Nick instead. It seemed like everyone on SM wanted Ben while the Bachelorette was ending/ BIP was airing.

I'm kind of neutral about Ben, TBH. He's obviously gorgeous and he seems to be a kind, well-liked, humble man. Yet, I'll be honest and say that I would always skip his scenes on the Bachelorette because he just seemed so boring, overly perfect, and almost rehearsed. I do like my guys a little bit more edgy and witty, but I don't think that's ever going to happen for the lead. I like to keep my expectations low anyways, since whenever my favorite has become the Bachelorette (it's never happened for the Bachelor), they've disappointed me in some way or another. The bar is pretty low, so I'm sure Ben will impress. As long as Ben doesn't treat his F1 like crap, he's better than the last two Bachelor, right? JMO.

I *really* wanted Nick, and Ben Z. was my number two choice. But I was okay with the selection of Ben H. He seems like a nice, kind, man, and that goes far with me. The show could have done a lot worse. My thinking is that he may end up being the male equivalent of Desiree. I loved Desiree, and could really relate to her,  but I remember a lot of viewers were bored by her.