Average Joe (spoilers welcome)

Cafe Society
1

Okay, this has the potential to be fairly interesting.

The guys are, truly, average. Or at least not studmuffins, for the most part – the 21-year-old college professor is clearly not average, but yikes, what a creepy fellow he is.

The producers were successful in finding a mixture of different types of average guy, though it seems like the “normally” average types got booted last night (see below). They also were successful in finding guys who would drive each other batshit – the loathing Zach and Marc feel for each other is palpable.

I’m torn between my love for the freakshow spectacle of these shows and a fear that my secret tender heart will be broken by some of these guys – they’re so hopeful and naive. The “omigod” moments shot inside after meeting whatsherface – oh, lord, it’s like looking at a baby bunny wiggling its nose at you as the semi comes hurtling down the highway bringing death.

I would have liked to seen what actually happened during Whatsherface’s (and what is her name, okay, Melana – yikes) turnaround from “what the hell are you doing to me” to “okay, I’ll be a good sport.” Producers only? Did they bring in lawyers waving contracts? Exactly how much time elapses? What was going on in the other room as the guys realized all the people streaming in and out of Melana’s lair were trying to keep the show on the road?

Kathy Griffin needs to interact with Melana a little more, or someone needs to be getting more of her thoughts. I guess that will happen now that she’s back onboard.

As far as the guys she got rid of last night – they all seemed pretty damn normal to me. I was truly surprised at her choices – they all seemed like actual possibles to me, unlike, say, that mountainous bouncer, who I’m pretty sure ain’t going around for the final four.

C’mon, fellow reality sluts – I know I’m not the only one watching.

2

Definitely has great potential. I was also surprised at her choices, especially the cop. I was really hoping she’d dump that tall turd that egged the short guy. My bet is on the shorter bearded guy with the thick glasses who had an element of geek chic/charm about him.
You’ve gotta love Melana. She handled it with great style and while I thought it was a cruel thing to do, I think she’ll make the best of it. The show has the potential to be the heartwarmer of the year or pitifully sad.

3

Yeah, I was surprised about the cop too – I kind of liked him.

4

The four guys she booted were, IMO, the most attractive of the lot… I mean Dennis was verging on drool-worthy… and Clint was plain ol’ cute.

I like Tareq in a creepy way. One of his first questions to Melena was “Do you like broccoli?”. What’s that? Then to go on to say “I don’t particularly care for green foods” ??? Yeah. THAT’s a way to hit it off.

I also hope Zach gets sat on by Joe and Craig.

5

I missed the egging incident?
What happened, and where in the show did they find an egg?!

6

That tall asshole from New York who said he was the best looking guy there just got an egg from somewhere and, completely unprovoked, smashed it on the really short guys head out of nowhere. I swear it was like a scene out of Revenge of the Nerds where some dufus tool humiliates a geek. I was really expecting Malena to boot him (though she wasn’t there for that scene).

7

I can’t believe that she kept the biggest guy. But they seem to do things like that in the other shows like this & get rid of them later, like to appear not so obvious or something.

I think the guys got one of the cheapest looking bedroom setups of any show like this. It looked like a military hut.

8

I only got to see the first ten minutes, but this is definitely one reality show I want to watch. Too bad the time sucks for me. Grrrrr…I just love the shot in the commercials of her reaction when they all get introduced. MAN, I wish I could have seen that.

I gotta say, Tareq seems to outclass most everyone from what I’ve seen. He’s young, intelligent (doctor at 21?), rich, likes to travel, and he’s the best dresser/most attractive of the bunch. Glad to hear he’s got some serious anti-social attitudes to help carry him along.

Still, though, Marc reminds me of my old English teacher from high school (who was actually my history TA in college), and John reminds me of Crey Feldmen, but not quite as lame. Still, I don’t know why, but I’m routing for Dennis L. Maybe it’s the tripple hulahoops he brought as a personal item, I don’t know. He’s like the uber geek on the show, and that just makes me want him to win more than anyone.

I think it’s pretty standard fair for at least one heavy set guy and the asshole to stay on. As has been pointed out, in most reality shows, they have to keep up some people to cause conflict and question so the show stays interesting. I expect the heavy set guy to go soon, but the asshole’s going to stick around for a good while. Whatever, so long as Dennis wins.

9

I wonder why the OP seems to think Malena needed to be coerced or convinced strongly to stay on the show. Yes, she was a shocked and maybe even a bit put off at the start, but I never got the impression that she had second thoughts.

I certainly think there are going to be some very very hurt guys at the end of this show. I mean, think about it, some of them are going to be led on a long way toward an intimate relationship, only to eventually be told “nope”. And form their own testimonials, it is something they have little experience emotioanlly dealing with.

They hint at a suprise mid season and my guess is that it will be (although it is just a guess I will spoiler-ize it):

THey will bring on a really good looking model type guy to compete for her affections.

10

Was it just me, or did the guys on this show seem awfully … catty toward each other?

11

Just a guess – and quite possibly projection on my part. I just noticed that they went virtually instantaneously from her in her little dressing room saying “oh. my. god., these are almost all of them guys I’d blow off in real life,” to her out on the patio partying and teasing. There has to have been more of a transition there than they showed – she wasn’t just willing to go along, she was flirting her ass off with some of those guys.

Yeah, there’s heartbreak a-plenty ahead.

And I’m going to be tuning in every week to watch it.

Sometimes I truly am ashamed of this reality monkey on my back.

12

Gangster that was my guess as well.

13

Yeah, I kinda liked the cop, too. I was surprised she dumped him so quickly.
I think the bearded geeky guy is John. He’s kind of cute, too, and seems like a nice guy.
Tareq seems nice, but the “green food” comment was a little off-putting.

It’s interesting how they’ve split into two distinct groups, the thinkers and drinkers.

14

Gangster, same here.

15

That was my guess too, Gangster.

I didn’t want to like this show as much as I did, but with a couple of glasses of wine and a game of Scrabble going, it was highly entertaining. I believe that Melena came around on her own terms, and didn’t need to be convinced to go out and flirt. The guys weren’t what she was expecting, and the little stunt with the limo made it brutally clear to her that the show had set her up to look like a shallow fool, and decided to play it out gracefully. I say good on 'er.

Moreover, those guys made it really easy on her. Some clearly weren’t that confident about themselves, which made them easier to flirt with. I did think it was a little hilarious how she assumed that the guys all genuinely cared about each other. They really were putting their best feet forward for her.

16

So … that guy that stepped out of the limo … Michael, was that his name? … Um, are we gonna see him again? Or was that just a one-shot?

17

The only physical aspect of some of these guys that is a turn-off (for me anyway) is their skin.

Lots of blotches and rashes and redness – seems to be a lot more dermatitis than what you’d find in a bunch of 16 guys off the street. Is it a nervous reaction? Or am I just not used to seeing guys on TV who haven’t been made up and powdered?

As for the twist, how about (1) one of them is really very rich, or (2) the one she chooses (because of his outstanding personality) gets an extreme makeover?

One of the guys who was booted (forgot his name) had a nasty defensive comment as he was getting on the bus. Forgot exactly what he said, but it made me think that maybe these guys aren’t all as nice and sweet as they say they are.

18

See Gangster’s spoiler box.

I only tuned in at 10:30, but that left me wondering what the hell they did on this show before the guys showed up.

I noticed the really bad skin, too. I think they did a lot with lighting and camera angles to make the guys look worse than they are. Still, I think a better name for the show would be “Below Average Joe”. These guys are HURTIN!

I noticed in the credits something to the effect of: “Some of the people in this show were paid for appearing”. Does this mean some of the dudes are stooges?

Leno is talking about this show as I write…

19

One of the guys is from around here (here being the LaCrosse, WI area), so there is quite a bit in the paper.

latest article:

Brian

20

The first thirty minutes introduced all the characters and showed the guys cavorting out in the pool. You take some pasty-white geeks and put them out in the sun all day, you’ll be sure to get some redness and splotching.