The Pick-up Artist (TV series)

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This article is about the 2007 VH1 reality series. For the 1987 film starring Robert Downey Jr., see The Pick-up Artist (film).

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The Pick-up Artist
Genre	Reality Game show
Created by	3Ball Productions
Starring	Mystery Matador J-Dog
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producer(s)	J. D. Roth Todd A. Nelson Adam Greener Doug Wilson Clair McCabe Michael Hirschorn Jeff Olde Suzanne Murch
Producer(s)	Angela Malloy
Supervising producer(s)	Adam Paul
Associate producer(s)	Austin Sipes
Story editor(s)	Vira Chhay
Editor(s)	Taatshing Hui Tim Preston
Location(s)	Austin, Texas
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	40 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	VH1
Original run	August 6, 2007 – September 24, 2007
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

The Pick-up Artist is an American reality show on VH1 which focuses on a group of eight male contestants who have historically been unsuccessful in love and relationships learning the art of the "pickup" as taught by seduction artist Mystery aka Erik von Markovik, and two of his wingmen, known by the aliases J-Dog and Matador. In the eight episodes, Mystery teaches the contestants with guidance and training to meet potential mates in various locations, such as coffee shops and night clubs. The contestants of the show compete with each other through a series of challenges. Most of the challenges on the first season involved picking up women in different situations, such as on a bridge during the day or in a nightclub. Some of the challenges were more novel, such as the second to last challenge where the men had to pick up a stripper, described by Mystery as "the ultimate challenge".

The show first aired on August 6, 2007, and aired weekly until the series finale on September 24. It takes place in Austin, Texas.

1 Synopsis
- 1.1 Cast
- 1.2 Callout order
2 Controversy
3 Reception
4 Season 2
5 Notes
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Synopsis

[edit] Cast

As the main introduction says, the cast comprises "lovable losers" and each has his own set of issues to deal with:

Alvaro Orlando aka "Kosmo", 23 - Physically fit and athletic, says he freezes up around women (changed his name in episode two). On 2007 September 24, it was announced that he was the winner and the master "Pick-up Artist".
Brady, 25 - Lacking in self-confidence despite allegedly being a model, says he feels inadequate and doesn't deserve a good woman. [Eliminated 7th]
Joe D, 25 - Overweight and lives in his parents' basement, he feels uncomfortable with his appearance and hates his 'fat guy' image. He is always the "friend" to girls. [Eliminated 6th]
Pradeep, 22 - He over analyzes and talks too much; his approach in meeting women is to talk to guys first. Questions his commitment. [Eliminated 5th]
Joe W, 24 - Starts off strong but often fails fast; he says that when he does hit it off with women they often think he is gay. [Eliminated 4th]
Scott, 26 - Gets very nervous and stutters around women. [Eliminated 3rd]
Fred, 45 - The oldest student, actor, singer, comedian, and an alleged virgin, he admires his father for his 51-year marriage and just wants to meet the right woman. [Eliminated 2nd]
Spoon, 27 - Doesn't know how to approach women and says that he isn't good at talking. He wishes he could be like James Bond. [Eliminated 1st (He resigned)]

[edit] Callout order

Mystery's Callout Order
Order	Ep 1	Ep 2	Ep 3	Ep 4	Ep 5	Ep 6	Ep 7	Ep 8
01	Kosmo	Joe D.	Joe W.	Kosmo	Pradeep	Kosmo	Brady	Kosmo
02	Brady	Brady	Kosmo	Joe D.	Kosmo	Brady	Kosmo	Brady
03	Fred	Kosmo	Pradeep	Joe W.	Joe D.	Joe D.	Joe D.
04	Joe D.	Joe W.	Joe D.	Brady	Brady	Pradeep
05	Joe W.	Scott	Scott	Pradeep	Joe W.
06	Pradeep	Pradeep	Brady	Scott
07	Scott	Fred	Fred
08	Spoon	Spoon

The contestant won immunity

The contestant was chosen as a wingman and had immunity

The contestant was eliminated

The contestant quit the competition

The contestant won the Title of The Pick-Up Artist.

Note 1: Episode 1 had no elimination.
Note 2: Spoon won the first reward challenge but quit the competition later that episode.
Note 3: Alvaro changed his name to Kosmo in episode 2.
Note 4: Contrary to statements made earlier in the episode, no wingmen were allowed to be selected in Episode 5.

[edit] Controversy

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Soon after the show appeared, it was discovered that contestant Alvaro (aka "Kosmo") is an actor.^[1] VH1 previously listed Kosmo as a video game programmer, but has recently changed his occupation to cameraman.^[2] Kosmo cleared up any controversy in recent interviews with VH1 and on the NOWLIVE.COM^[3] show The Lovedrop that VH1 had incorrectly listed him as a video game programmer, and that he is an aspiring actor, working as a VJ and cameraman for the past four years in Miami, New York, and Los Angeles,^[4] although this claim is somewhat been refuted or shown falsified by his Promo-Reel and Video biography.^[5] The exact time when his Promo-Reel or his Video-Biography in relation with the TV show being made has not been confirmed nor stated. It is worth noting that Alvaro was the only contestant to be given direct intervention and guidance from Mystery, via radio-receiving earphone, when participating in the field test, in Episode-5; while there were other contestants participating in the same test. He also has a "official" website dedicated to himself^[6].

Runner-up contestant Brady, despite being described as a shy photographer, also allegedly worked as a model in a Los Angeles modeling agency called Action Agency.^[7]

According to an alleged MySpace profile of Fred, he is an actor, singer, comedian, and a former reality show contestant,^[8] which might undermine VH1's description of him as mattress salesman.^[9]

Before the field test, the hosts insist there are no actors in the club. However, in the first episode, Spoon interacts with a girl called Evan; she is made out to be a regular club guest, but is actually part of the pick-up community working with Tynan, also known as Herbal, who once worked with Mystery.^{[dubious – discuss]}

Joe D. can also be seen working as an actor in the television show ER, where he appears as a gas station clerk in the "January 3" episode. However, this was filmed after the show had ended. Joe D. had studied theater in college.^{[citation needed]}

It has also been suggested that the girl Mystery can be seen picking up in the first episode wearing his cowboy hat is actress Christine Evangelista, who played a hostage in The Kill Point.^{[citation needed]} Comparison of the footage to her interview on the Spike channel indicated that the girls look similar but are not the same person.^[10]^[11]

Note that reknowned author and pick-up artist Neil Strauss states that actors have just as much trouble meeting women as regular people (see his interview with Dave Navarro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiEEOi_ppE0)). The contestants having been small time or aspiring actors hardly makes a difference, considering how early Fred (mentioned above) was eliminated. The girls in the club happening to be actresses also does not make a difference: the show simply means that they are not paying any of these people to act a certain way.

[edit] Reception

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The show debuted with 673,000 viewers,^[12] and on 2007 September 7, the series averaged 1.8 million total viewers and a 1.3 rating among viewers aged 18-49.^[13]

[edit] Season 2

Season 2 has been officially announced and is currently in the casting stage.^[14] Auditions are being taken via the official site, VH-1, or at regional casting calls. The upcoming season will be taking place in Los Angeles.