Nice Girls Finish Last: The Bachelor on March 31

I have to say that I love poking fun at reality TV. It is, in truth, so ridiculous. But usually the prize is a pile of money and the challenges involved are physically demanding, which, on a strange level, I can identify with. But shows where one woman or man chooses among a potential group of mates just expose themselves to more than the regular amount of ridicule. Last night's episode of The Bachelor was no exception.

At the beginning of the March 31 episode of The Bachelor, only twelve women were left: Holly, Kristine, Amanda, Erin, Ashlee, Amy, Chelsea, Noelle, Marshana, Shayne, Robin, and Kelly. By the end of the episode, only nine remained. On this series, the bachelor, named Matt, is the first bachelor from another country. Matt is from The UK, accent and all, which of course makes him all the more sexy in the eyes of the contestants and the audience.

The symbol on The Bachelor for staying on the show is, appropriately, a rose. Those women who are not given roses are sent home. On this show, there were three dates: two one-on-one dates with women of Matt's choosing, and one group date with the remainder of the women. On both of the one-on-ones, Matt could choose whether or not to give his date a rose that night. If the date did not get a rose, she went home that night. On the group date, one woman was chosen to get a rose.

Holly and Shayne, Matt's two one-on-one dates, both received their roses: Holly after a private premiere of the movie Made of Honor starring Patrick Dempsey and a private hotel stay, and Shayne after a romantic wine tasting. The group date was a giant game of rugby, after which Robin emerged with her rose. I'm not sure why men think that a group of inexperienced women participating in an aggressive group sport is so attractive-I would think it'd be a rather boring game, with lots of people out of their element and trying to prove that they, too, can "play like a man." But Matt's preferences are Matt's preferences, I suppose.

Of course, there was the usual amount of raciness and drama-both one-one-one dates involved large amounts of frenching, Kelly gave Matt a deep back massage after the rugby game, there were two hot tub scenes, and three times when Matt was alone with one woman, other women interrupted. One of these interruptions caused much drama, as Robin, who already had a rose, intruded on Matt and Amy. An argument ensued at the house later on, where women ganged up on Robin about her tactics and then argued about whether or not this was a competition or simply a different way of finding true love.

Um...this isn't a competition? Then why are three women sent home every episode? And why is it on national television? We may not like Robin, and we may feel like she pushes herself onto Matt a little too much, but the sad truth is, she is right. The women on this show who are not aggressive do not win the prize, as was shown when at the end of the episode, Amy, Erin, and Kristine, three of the least aggressive dates, were sent home. Unfortunately, in this kind of setting, nice girls finish last, women are pitted against each other, and if you want to be noticed, you have to be willing to do some pretty outrageous things.

Cat fights seem to be a perennial favorite on reality shows. On this show, at least, they only seem to distract from the fact that one man is playing twelve women at the same time. Perhaps the only way to get an audience to justify that is to make the women he's dating seem like horrible people. Between the behind-the-scenes "tell all" interviews and the discussions between women back at the house, we end up hating all of the women involved in this contest, and actually loving the man who is choosing his potential wife based on a reality TV show. Maybe we should-after all, at least the bachelor is honest about wanting a hot woman; all the women claim they are in love with his charm and personality, and never mention his money.