I admit it: I’m a sucker for “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” TV shows.
Come Sunday, I’m not so sad about the weekend’s end because I know that on Monday night, I’m in for a treat.
You may think this is juvenile and you might be right.
But I just love the show.
It’s funny, unpredictable and yes, it can be romantic.
I have been watching “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette,” which alternate seasons, for a couple of years.
My husband can’t stand it. It airs at 8 p.m. Mondays, and when the clock strikes 7:59, Phil makes himself scarce.
“Oh, Geez,” he says when I remind him earlier what’s on TV.
It may be silly of me to be drawn to the show, but I feel vindicated because my sister, Jane, also watches it, as does her sister-in-law Linda, who lives in Arkansas, and I think we are reasonably intelligent human beings.
But their husbands also hit the sack the minute the show comes on.
Frequently, we three will text each other while watching it, especially if something dramatic is happening.
A text might be something like: “What a creep John is! She should send him packing!”
Last year, I discovered one of my oldest and dearest friends, Kim, who lives in New Hampshire, is a fan. Her husband loathes the show. Kim and I also text back and forth while viewing.
A new “The Bachelorette” is now airing. In fact, tonight’s will be the third episode of the season.
The show goes like this: Becca, the star, vies for the affections of 30-something suitors. They spend time in a mansion, attending cocktail parties, venturing out on group or one-on-one dates and taking part in fun and funny competitions so Becca can see how they act and react in certain situations.
There is always some drama on the show, such as when two men don’t get along or we find out that some guy is actually in a relationship with a woman back home. At the end of every episode, there is typically a rose ceremony in which the star gives roses to the men she likes and sends others home.
Toward the end of the season, they travel around to various beautiful places in the world and embark on adventures, making the show even more attractive.
Eventually, the bachelorette narrows her quest for love down to three men, and then two and then one — and she proposes marriage. In “The Bachelor,” it’s the other way around — the man proposes to the woman of his choice.
Sometimes these couples actually get married and have kids and live happily ever after, but apparently most don’t stay together.
The thing that is unusual about this season of “The Bachelorette” is that Becca was on the last season of “The Bachelor,” and Arie, the star, proposed to her; but after they traveled to see each other a couple of times, he told her he wanted to get together with Lauren, the woman he ditched for Becca.
We see the dumping of Becca as it occurs and watch her becoming devastated. Fans are crazy mad at Ari, who is now, in real life, engaged to Lauren.
Sound like a soap opera?
Well, not really, because a soap opera is fake and boring and this is real and entertaining.
In the newsroom, we women who are hooked on the “The Bachelorette” were trying to describe it to the men, who looked at us like we were aliens from outer space.
But we are not simple-minded TV junkies, so what is it that draws us to this show?
I don’t watch a lot of TV as a general rule and am not interested in shows about people dancing with movie stars or taking part in singing or survival contests. To me, they are insipid and a waste of time.
So why “The Bachelorette?”
I surmise it is because I grew up with fairy tales and love stories such as “Cinderella,” and later, movies such as “The Sound of Music” and “Dr. Zhivago.”
And what’s so bad about that?
There’s a lot of depressing stuff happening in the world, and if we find entertainment in something lighthearted and harmless, good for us.
In the end, it’s all about love, and as I see it, love’s a pretty good balm for all that’s hate-filled.
One of my co-workers insisted I make a prediction about who Becca will choose at the end of this season.
Since tonight’s is only the third episode, I think it’s too early to tell; but if I had to guess, I’d say Blake or Garrett, though I just heard something unsavory about Garrett, so we’ll see.
The fun is in the unraveling, and as all of us in Bachelor Nation know, things can change on a dime. And just when you think you’ve got it figured out, watch out.
In any case, it’s light, sappy, harmless fun — and a welcome antidote to the nightly news.
Amy Calder has been a Morning Sentinel reporter 30 years. Her column appears here Mondays. She may be reached at acalder@centralmaine.com. For previous Reporting Aside columns, go to centralmaine.com.
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