| The Bachelor | |
|---|---|
The Bachelor Logo for On The Wings Love |
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| Format | Competitive reality show Drama |
| Created by | Mike Fleiss |
| Starring | Chris Harrison (host) List of Bachelors section |
| Narrated by | Chris Harrison |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 104 (approx) (As of March 14, 2011) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Mike Fleiss Lisa Levenson |
| Running time | 60 minutes (2002–2008) 120 minutes (2009–present) |
| Production company(s) | Next Entertainment Telepictures Productions |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) (2002–2009) 1080i (HDTV) (2010–present) |
| Original run | March 25, 2002 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | The Bachelorette Bachelor Pad The Bachelor (UK version) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Bachelor is an American reality television dating game show debuting in 2002 on ABC. For all seasons, the show is hosted by veteran television personality, one-time game show host and news anchor Chris Harrison. There are two related series, The Bachelorette and Bachelor Pad.
Contents |
The series revolves around a single bachelor (deemed eligible) and a pool of romantic interests (typically 25), which could include a potential wife for the bachelor. The conflicts in the series, both internal and external, stem from the elimination-style format of the show. Early in the season, the bachelor goes on large group dates with the women, with the majority of women eliminated during rose ceremonies. As the season progresses, women are also eliminated on one-on-one dates and on elimination two-on-one dates. The process culminates with hometown visits to the families of the final four women, overnight dates at exotic locations with the final three women, and interaction with the bachelor's family and the final two women. In many cases, the bachelor proposes to his final selection.
During most seasons, the majority of the show takes place, and the contestants reside, in "Villa De La Vina," a 7,590-square-foot (705 m2), six-bedroom, nine-bath home in Agoura Hills, California. The custom home, built in 2005, is located on 10 acres at a confidential location. As of October 10, 2008, the home was listed for sale at a price of US$8.75 million.[1]
The show is known for its twists, both structurally and contextually. In some cases, the bachelor may or may not follow the show's standard rose ceremony guidelines. Numerous bachelors, for instance, have conferred fewer roses than allotted as per standard rose ceremony procedure; others have eliminated both women on a two-on-one date. One bachelor, Brad Womack, selected neither of his final two women. Another, Jason Mesnick, proposed to one woman, and then changed his mind during the "After the Final Rose" show to the other finalist; Mesnick is now married to her. Other twists include a woman leaving the show for work-related reasons and the dismissal of one candidate for an alleged affair with an ex-producer of the show.
The show's success has led Producer Mike Fleiss to create multiple spin-offs, including The Bachelorette, in which the format is gender-reversed. Many bachelorettes are runner-ups or eliminated contestants from The Bachelor, including Trista Rehn, whose wedding to Ryan Sutter – the show's winner – was televised on ABC. On August 9, 2010, Bachelor Pad premiered, giving previous contestants of both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette the opportunity to compete in dating-themed eliminations for $250,000.
According to the summary on ABC.com, each new Bachelor episode contains a rose ceremony during which one or more contestants is eliminated. Eliminations are based upon date performance (i.e., how the women relate to the bachelor on the dates). The bachelor must follow a process of elimination wherein his pool of bachelorettes is narrowed down week by week by presenting a rose to each of the women he wishes to keep.
At any point during the process, if a woman decides she is no longer interested in the bachelor, she may leave. A few have actually done so over the course of the show.
In the end, the bachelor may select only one woman for the final rose. Several of the bachelors have proposed, and one bachelor selected no one.
As of the end of season 15, none of the bachelors has married the woman to whom he presented the final rose. The season 13 bachelor (Jason) ended up marrying his season's runner-up in February 2010; to this point, it is the only Bachelor season to result directly in marriage.
| Season | Premiered | Bachelor | Profile | Winner | Runner(s)-Up | Proposal | Aftermath |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 25, 2002 | Alex Michel | Management consultant | Amanda Marsh | Trista Rehn | No | Michel did not propose to Marsh, but instead they took a chance at a relationship. Marsh and Michel broke up after several months, and runner-up Rehn was featured on the first season of The Bachelorette. |
| 2 | September 25, 2002 | Aaron Buerge | Vice President of a chain of family-owned banks | Helene Eksterowicz | Brooke Smith | Yes | They broke up after several months.[2] Buerge became engaged to Angye McIntosh and married in 2009.[3] Finalist Gwen Gioia became a contestant on the first season of Bachelor Pad. |
| 3 | March 24, 2003 | Andrew Firestone | Sales manager of Firestone Family estates | Jen Schefft | Kristen Baschbucher | Yes | Schefft and Firestone broke up after several months but remained friends.[4] He is now married to actress Ivana Bozilovic.[5] Schefft was featured on the third season of The Bachelorette. |
| 4 | September 24, 2003 | Bob Guiney | Creator of a mortgage company and former suitor on The Bachelorette | Estella Gardinier | Kelly Jo Kuharski | No | Guiney did not propose to Gardinier but she accepted a promise ring indicating that they would still date. They broke up shortly after the show aired.[6] Guiney later married soap opera star Rebecca Budig, but they split after five years of marriage.[7] Meredith Phillips, who came fourth, was featured on the second season of The Bachelorette. |
| 5 | April 7, 2004 | Jesse Palmer | Canadian American college football player | Jessica Bowlin | Tara Huckeby[8] | No | Palmer did not propose to Bowlin. They continued to date but broke up several months later.[9] |
| 6 | September 22, 2004 | Byron Velvick | Pro bass fisherman and divorced father | Mary Delgado | Tanya Michel | Yes | Velvick and Delgado split after five years.[10] |
| 7 | March 28, 2005 | Charlie O'Connell | Actor | Sarah Brice | Krisily Kennedy | No | O'Connell chose Brice to be the winner but he did not propose to her. Instead they took a chance at a relationship. They broke up in September 2007,[11] but got back together in 2008.[12] However, they called it quits again in 2010.[13] Runner-up Kennedy became a contestant on the first season of Bachelor Pad. |
| 8 [Note 1] |
January 9, 2006 | Travis Lane Stork | Medical doctor | Sarah Stone | Moana Dixon | No | Stork did not propose to Stone. They decided to take a chance at just a relationship. They broke up shortly after the show aired.[14] Stork is now featured on The Doctors and is now engaged to pediatrician Charlotte Brown.[15] |
| 9 [Note 2] |
October 3, 2006 | Prince Lorenzo Borghese | Cosmetics entrepreneur | Jennifer Wilson | Sadie Murray | No | Borghese did not propose to Wilson. They took a chance at a relationship, and they broke up in January 2007.[16] Finalist Tara Durr is now married to John Presser, who was a contestant on the fifth season of The Bachelorette.[17] Finalist Erica Rose became a contestant on the second season of Bachelor Pad. |
| 10 [Note 3] |
April 2, 2007 | Andrew Baldwin | US Naval Officer | Tessa Horst | Bevin Nicole Powers | Yes | Horst and Baldwin called off their engagement one month after the finale,[18] but continued their relationship. They broke off the relationship in September 2007.[19] Finalist Peyton Wright became a contestant on the first season of Bachelor Pad. |
| 11 | September 24, 2007 | Brad Womack | Bar owner | None | DeAnna Pappas and Jenni Croft | No | Womack chose Croft and Pappas as the two finalists, but they were both rejected in the season's finale.[20] Pappas was featured on the fourth season of The Bachelorette. Womack returned to the show for its 15th season (see below). |
| 12 [Note 4] |
March 17, 2008 | Matt Grant | Global financier | Shayne Lamas | Chelsea Wanstrath | Yes | Grant and Lamas broke up in July 2008 as they felt their lives were going in different directions, but stated they would remain close friends.[21] Finalist Holly Durst became a contestant on the second season of Bachelor Pad, which she later co-won along with her ex-fiance and former Bachelorette contestant Michael Stagliano. |
| 13 | January 5, 2009 | Jason Mesnick | Account executive, single father, and former suitor on The Bachelorette | Melissa Rycroft | Molly Malaney | Yes | On the season's finale, Mesnick had called off the engagement with Rycroft, and resumed a relationship with runner-up Malaney. Rycroft later appeared on the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars and is now married to Tye Strickland and has one daughter.[22][23] On October 20, 2009, Mesnick proposed to Malaney in New Zealand, which she accepted. They were married on February 27, 2010, in California.[24] Mesnick and Malaney's wedding aired on national television on March 8, 2010.[25] Third-place finalist Jillian Harris was featured on the fifth season of The Bachelorette. Finalists Natalie Getz and Nikki Kaapke became contestants on the first season of Bachelor Pad while Rycroft co-hosted the program. Getz went on to co-win the first season of Bachelor Pad. Another finalist, Ann Lueders, is now married to The Bachelorette winner Jesse Csincsak and has one son.[26] |
| 14 [Note 5] |
January 4, 2010 | Jake Pavelka | Commercial pilot and former suitor on The Bachelorette | Vienna Girardi | Tenley Molzahn | Yes | They ended their relationship in June 2010.[27] Pavelka appeared as a celebrity contestant on the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars. Fourth-place finalist Ali Fedotowsky was featured on the sixth season of The Bachelorette. Runner-up Tenley Molzahn along with other finalists Gia Allemand, Ashley Elmore, Elizabeth Kitt, Michelle Kujawa and Jessie Sulidis became contestants on the first season of Bachelor Pad. On the Bachelor Pad, Tenley Molzahn got together with Kiptyn Locke from the Bachelorette season 5. Allemand would return for the second season of Bachelor Pad along with finalist Ella Nolan, winner Girardi and Pavelka himself. |
| 15 | January 3, 2011 | Brad Womack[28] | Returning Bachelor (see above) | Emily Maynard | Chantal O'Brien | Yes | Womack and Maynard broke up in May 2011 but remained friends.[29] Third-place finalist Ashley Hebert was featured on the seventh season of The Bachelorette. Finalists Alli Travis, Michelle Money, Jackie Gordon and Melissa Schreiber became contestants on the second season of Bachelor Pad. |
| 16 | January 2, 2012 | Ben Flajnik[30] | Winemaker and former suitor on The Bachelorette |
As of July 2011 The Bachelor and its popular spin-off show The Bachelorette have never featured a non-white contestant in the title role, in their combined 21 seasons. Furthermore, a disproportionate majority of the rest of the contestants featured on the show have been white.[36] When asked about the lack of minority representation on the two shows executive producer, Mike Fleiss, responded, "It's just that for whatever reason, they don't come forward. I wish they would."[37]
The self-named Reality Steve (aka Steve Carbone) has been accurately been leaking spoilers of The Bachelor since the 13th season in 2009.[38] He publishes rumors of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and The Bachelor Pad on his blog at RealitySteve.com.[39] In December of 2011, the producer of The Bachelor sued Carbone for leaking information about the show. The suit claims that Carbone encouraged contestants on both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette to break their confidentiality agreements. Reality Steve has denied that the source of the spoilers and rumors are current contestants.[40]
A video game based on the series has been released on the Wii and Nintendo DS.[41]
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