The Bachelorette began its 10th season Monday on a sombre note as host Chris Harrison paid tribute to a lost member of "the Bachelor family."
That would be Eric Hill, the 31-year-old from Citrus Heights, Calif., who died in a paragliding accident in April after filming his part in the show.
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In a conference call with media last week, Bachelorette Andi Dorfman said she and other members of the cast and crew were devastated by Eric's death.
Monday's episode opened with Harrison paying tribute to Eric, calling him "a vibrant man. Every day he impressed us with his passion and courageous spirit. He will be greatly missed and we dedicate this season to him."
It was a nice touch and a reminder that although the series can be formulaic, manipulative and silly, there are real people with real feelings behind it.
On Monday's premiere, Andi met 25 men and gave roses to 19 of them, including Eric.
First impressions: there seemed to be men there with things to say and life experiences to draw on and not just biceps to flex and abs to reveal (although those are always nice, too).
And Andi seems like a level-headed Bachelorette.
In some ways, the 27-year-old, whom you may remember as the woman who called out Bachelor Juan Pablo Galavis for being shallow, seems too grounded to be a Bachelorette, with a job as a gang prosecutor in Atlanta, Ga., and a family that seems close and supportive.
"I love my job, my family, my friends," she acknowledged, "but I get a second chance at this insanely amazing opportunity and this is my shot at love, a shot at enjoying my life with somebody. . . .
"I don't need it, but I want it enough to go get it," said Andi.
One of her smartest initial decisions was to turn away failed Bachelorette and Bachelor Pad contestant Chris Bukowski, who tried to crash the first night cocktail party.
I always thought Chris was a class A jerk on both Emily's Bachelorette season and the sleazy Bachelor Pad. And there he was hanging out in the craft services area outside the Los Angeles mansion where Andi was entertaining her 25 bachelors with a bouquet of roses, seeking to converse with the woman of the hour. ("Good-looking roses, they're nice," said the beefy security guy who was preventing Chris from sprinting up the driveway.)
Bachelorette host Chris Harrison let Andi know Chris B. was there because "he saw you on the last show and he was so taken by you — how could he not be? — he would like to vie for your heart."
Andi was tempted by the idea that the man of her dreams could be standing in the driveway (trust me, hon, it wouldn't be him), but the other guys "came here and sat in a hotel and waited for me and took all this preparation and got out of that limo and were nervous . . . I can't do it, I can't do it to them," she said.
Harrison approved heartily of her decision and gave Bukowski the bad news.
Chris was reluctant to leave, noting he'd been there for seven days (supposedly he didn't know what day filming was to start but hung around waiting for his opportunity, although the cynic in me wonders if ABC paid him for the stunt). But hey, we all got a look at that security guard so Chris's vow that he wasn't giving up was nothing but empty words.
As Harrison said, "The only thing that happens from here is it gets bad," and he sent Bukowski off with a "good to see you again" and a man hug.
Back at the cocktail party, Andi's kid in a candy store enthusiasm was infectious as she raved about how "awesome" her group of guys was.
Granted, we could already see who the season's jerks might be: social media marketer Andrew and ad executive Patrick bragged in front of the other guys about driving race cars on weekends, with Patrick saying that he and Andrew "are a little bit on a different level than some of the other guys." And opera singer Bradley seemed a little too in love with his voice.
(Patrick exited the limo with a soccer ball, a reminder of Juan Pablo, which he then kicked away, saying he was "nothing like the last guy who played soccer." So why even bring it up then?)
Some guys seemed like bad matches for Andi. Steven, the "snowboard product developer" who used the word "stoked" unironically; bartender Mike and personal trainer Cody, who made a show of pushing the limo along the driveway, are my top examples, although Cody made the initial cut. (Gotta love Andi's zinger to Cody: "I'm worried, you're a personal trainer and you're out of breath already just with that little push.")
But there were also guys who seemed genuinely nice whom she clicked with.
The most heartbreaking was Eric, who was on a personal quest to visit every country in the world.
Eric stood out from the get-go when he gave Andi a pair of dolls that a little girl in the Andes Mountains in Peru had given him for his "girlfriend." Later, you could see the passion that Harrison had referred to as Eric told Andi that "cultural immersion" was his favourite part of his odyssey, which had taken him to 195 countries by then, although he was also into skydiving and base-jumping and "crazy stuff like that."
"These guys are so interesting, how could you not want to know more?" Andi said.
Others who made impressions included:
Marquel: One of two black contestants in the premiere, the sponsorship salesman made a mark by treating Andi to a cookie tasting, including one with black and white icing that he told Andi cheekily they'd split. Andi ate it up, pun intended, saying Marquel was funny and had "some swag to him."
Chris: Honestly, I doubt there's a chance in hell that city girl Andi will end up with a fourth-generation farmer from Iowa, despite her avowal that she likes the outdoors, but he is adorable so I hope he sticks around a while.
Nick V: Software sales exec Nick shared tales about growing up as one of 11 children and Andi found him sincere and modest. "You don't even see how cute and sweet you are," she told him when she handed him the first impression rose.
Tasos: The wedding event co-ordinator brought Andi a love lock like the ones people attach to bridges in Paris and then impressed her later with his worldliness, including the fact he was learning to speak French and Spanish.
Marcus: Andi found this sports medicine manager, who had been the first guy out of the limo, "hot" but also enjoyed the fact he was well-travelled and grew up speaking Polish and German.
Josh M.: The former pro baseball player was off to a good start when he told Andi he'd just moved to her hometown of Atlanta and how excited he was that she was the Bachelorette, but Andi couldn't tell if he was being completely genuine. And when she joked that she'd push him in the pool if he didn't like sushi and he said he'd push her in, too, she quickly told him that would be a one-way ticket out of the mansion. Oops.
When the rose ceremony came, Andi thanked the men profusely for making sacrifices to be there and got down to the business of handing out 18 boutonnieres (19 total including Nick's).
The roses went to JJ (we didn't see much of his chat with Andi although the "pantsapreneur" did give her a pair of pants); Eric; Marquel; Craig, a cheerful accountant who brought his own bottle of champagne; Tasos; Josh M.; Brian, a basketball coach; Bradley; Marcus; Andrew; Ron, who told Andi he was from Barbados and had grown up all over the world; Carl, a firefighter; Chris; Dylan, another accountant; Brett, a hairstylist who brought a floor lamp from his hotel room because "my mother always told me never greet a lady empty-handed"; Patrick; Cody and Nick S., a pro golfer who drove up in a golf cart and gave Andi putting lessons.
The six rejects, besides Steven and Mike, included Rudie, a fellow lawyer who'd had a cute opening gambit about allowing Andi to make "an unwarranted search" of his life story; Emil, a helicopter pilot who made her laugh by telling her his name was pronounced like "anal with an m"; urgent care doctor Jason, who wondered what he could have done differently (my suggestion? get a haircut); and Josh B., a telecommunications marketer who complained, "I embarrassed the s--- out of myself for one night. . . . I'm gonna call my parents tomorrow and be like, 'Yeah that sucked.'" Um, nice attitude, wonder why he's still single.
The season sneak peek at the end of the episode showed lots of kissing, trips to Venice and Brussels, and plenty of drama, including heated words between Cody and Nick V., and Marquel and Andrew; Andi and several of the men shedding tears; and Andi having a meltdown and telling the men, "I am so exhausted and I am trying so hard. The fact that people think that this is a joke is so offensive to me."
In other words, more of the cheesy, melodramatic Bachelorette goodness we've all come to expect from the franchise.
Next episode is Monday at 8 p.m. on City TV.
Source : http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2014/05/20/the_bachelorette_kicks_off_with_tribute_to_eric_hill.html
