From TV Guide:

All I have to say right now is I am so glad Sara(h?) made it! I know some people that my have gone to school with her, so I might have the inside track on a contestant. For the first time! Yea!

Wowsa! Ok Brad is a keeper. I kept trying to find something wrong with him, but so far I got nothing!

Oh the ladies! A human pretzel, webbed feet, drunken foolishness and a Katie Couric look alike.
Let the games begin.

Why does the first episode of the season always have to turn into Stupid Woman Tricks? They turn these women into sideshow freaks, basically. The token contortionist, etc...it's gotten way too predictable. And this Bachelor is such a tool he's making me miss Andy.

So many lame opening lines from these women! Oh, I can hardly pick the worst, but I think it's "They told me you were hot, but I didn't know you were a fire extinguisher!" What the... she planned this line for weeks (as I'm sure they all do). She ran it by her friends and family, probably. I just... (thumps head on computer desk)

He really is completely adorable. He was so obviously tongue-tied during the initial meet-and-greet for some of the girls. Cute!

Can we get a quick run of the names of the bachelorettes that got picked?

Is it just me or are these women getting increasingly less attractive with every new season? There are some cute girls, but (in my opinion) not one single knock out beauty... not even close. And why were so damn many of them realtors?

Shouldn't the line have been "I didn't know I'd need a fire extinguisher"? She really blew that one.

Brad laughing over Webbed Toes Woman almost made him human for me.

How many times did somebody say he was "THE Hottest Bachelor Evah!" anyway? Because you know, "everybody" is saying it. Just ask Chris.

Oh noes, he is NOT going to secretly bring in the identical twin to "test" the women, is he? Can you imagine if Lil Andy had a twin? Heh.

And which lady is ending up on the DL? (Ambulances! Red toolbox thingies! Whirlybirds! Most dramatic exit evah!)

Glad it's back, but no way can I watch it w/o at least a 30 min DV buffer. I'm just saying.

ETA that backstory about having money and then having nothing after the parents' divorce made me ponder how that will affect mummy's acceptance of whatever ho-beast Brad brings in for her approval X number of weeks from now.

Brad is sooooo corny, it was like he was reading a standard "things you should say as a bachelor" script, it all just rang so false. He is very cute though, I was impressed with his decision as far as the first impression rose was concerned.

These women are such an embarassment, it's like they forget that they have lives outside of the show and completely humiliate themselves, for shame!

Oh, my. There was some exceptionally bad hair tonight, no?

Brad is a cutie, though. He can drill my oil well anytime. (That's better than the fire extinguisher line, right?)

I loved that moment, it's about time they brought the funny on the show instead of just saving it for the behind the rose catfight estravaganza.

Loved Brad and I didn't think I was going to. He's great. Very down to earth. Really liked the First Impression Rose choice -- Jenni seems to be delightful and was the naturally pretty one of the entire bunch. Poor Melissa -- I cracked up when I saw what they showed during the credits. Ya gotta always have a "Melissa" at the first Bachelor party every season. You just have to!

The minute I saw that one of the bachelorettes needed an ambulance/helicopter, I thought "oh no, here comes Bevin 2.0". Vomit. I don't care if she broke her leg -- it's still a damn gimmick. Yeah, I'm cold-hearted that way.

Yes! I thought so many women had horrible hair!! A whole bunch of them had icky unflattering dye jobs.

I thought the black lady that did not get picked was beautiful...did they even show her at all? I did not get to watch all the way though.

I like the Bachelor. I was cracking up with him about webbed toe girl.

Bevin>>>>>>>>>>>>>this season's pickin's

Ohh I like him. Not impressed with a single one of the girls so far but it's early.

I loved: "OMG you have beautiful eyes!!11"

"Thanks! You have a beautiful . . . name."

Heh.

It looks like someone trips on the stairs (the neck collar is a tad overboard), and here comes the drama of the ambulance. Thank God old Brad isn't a doctor and can't rush in to rescue her.

Yes, I was shocked to see the black woman!! Where the hell did she come from? I admittedly didn't pay that close attention, but she got ZERO camera time .. why do they even bother anymore?

Loved that! And why did she even do it? You should be memorable for something other than deformity. Too bad we never got a shot of them.

How is Jenni a Phoenix Sun's dancer if she lives in Wichita, KS? I am glad she got the rose though, I thought it was going to go to midnight swim girl

The girls really all look alike, outside of the one asian, the one black girl, scary NJ highlights girl, and big forehead TX girl. I need a crib sheet!

Yeah, I'm not sure if you've heard, but apparently this guy is "THE SEXIEST. BACHELOR. EVER".

And "everybody" is saying it, if "everybody" consists of "all the jackals in Chris's head" [not that the guy isn't good-looking, it's just that, other than Chris, nobody actually said that].

BTW, tonight Chris was acting like he wanted to make out with the guy more than some of the ladies did.

Which girl got right out of the limo and said, "You're everything I've been looking for!"? She made me laugh. I also liked how Brad's brother encouraged him to be on the show because he's seen all of the success stories from the Bachelor. Snerk. And why would they draw attention to the dismal ratio: "Eight proposals... one marriage!"

I know in the past they've been given information about the bachelor before they meet him. This time it seems like they knew nothing about him... I wonder if they're keeping his wealth a secret? That'd be a fun reveal at the end. I doubt he proposes though, despite his constant assurances that he's looking for a wife, or wouldn't they have shown him down on one knee at the finale during the "This Season on the Bachelor" teaser? Like they did with Andy?

Looking forward to tuning in this season. Not for the romance but for the cheese.

Who the hell busts out their web toe when they first meet someone? I mean really, THAT is going to win him over for sure!

I actually do like this Bachelor... besides the fact that I half expected his twin to be McSteamy, he seems like he has a decent brain on his shoulders and can actually carry on a conversation with these girls.

The girl who got the first impression rose is definitely going all the way. And did anyone else catch him hugging a blonde during the preview of the season at what looked to possibly be the finale?


LMFAO. I forgot about that until now. I was cracking up.

If there is one thing that never fails to annoy with this show, it's how all these "professional" women become a gaggle of sorority losers circa 1955 University of Alabama at the FIRST view of one cute guy. Just once I'd like a girl to come out of the limo and interview, "he's not really my type."

And don't they know not to get drunk by now? Or not show their (ewww) webbed toes? I mean, sexy? Not so much.

I love how the guy always says "I just want to meet the ONE." Okay, so there are no women in the Austin area, right? None of the women you meet at the bars you own are a possibility? Finally, I was also amused at his family encouraging him because they've seen the "other bachelors." Wouldn't they be going, RUN?

I would.

ETA: It would be far more accurate to say "I feel my next ex-girlfriend is in that room." I mean, honestly. Just that one girl saying, "It could be me getting proposed to in six weeks." Think about it. SIX WEEKS. Good god. I've spent more time deciding on a new computer.

Maybe by "success stories" he really meant to say "enormous breasts."

It seems like a large proportion of the women who go on this show are "realtors." Could the current woes in the housing market be driving them to seek their fortune on The Bachelor? And how come there are never any professors on this show? Maybe I could be the first...but of course I'd have to get some fake boobs first.

I think it's sweet how the bachelor tried hard to say something nice about everyone when Chris asked. He even tried to say something nice about drunk Melissa. Did you notice how they showed the mansion from night into day? How long was that party? I think someone said 5 hours. That's a long time for drinks and no food!



That would look awesome in your tenure dossier! Hee. I suppose if you were a lawyer or something (though pretzel girl was a law student) being on the show might hurt your chances of making partner.......

I think it was just a bad case of editing. If you notice, when Chris introduced The Rose ceremony, he said, "Good morning, ladies!" I think they went to sleep, woke up, put on the same dresses to make it look like the same night. Even the drunk girl wasn't so drunk in her exit interview (although she was still quite painful to watch). Am I reaching here? Maybe I'm just paranoid about production intervention after watching BB8 this summer.

WORDY MCWORD. Btw, Mallory reminded me of Bevin when she went into the pool.



I agree. BB8 was rigged so badly that the producers didn't even try to hide. Fleiss and the Bachelor cronies are just as corrupt IMO. Their editing is extremely manipulative.

After one girl told him "we were trying to read your lips from the limo," it was fun to watch his expression as the next limo rolls up - you can see him picturing all the women oogling and analyzing him from the limo. He looked concerned. heh.

Those entrance one- liners were painful.

It was just a quick glance, but it sure seemed like the Bachelor's "twin" brother wasn't identical at all.

If any bachelorette can't tell them apart, I doubt that girl would've been able to dress herself up to that point anyway.

I thought Brad was a nice mix of Aaron Eckhardt and Matthew McConnaughy. (Yum and yum.) He seemed very genuine and not too stagey. Also glad to see more women in their late 20's/early 30's. The 21 year old college student with the 36 year old man always creeped me out. (Though I don't know how many he kept.)

Is that the same drunk girl at the first party every season? They're always little blondes who look older than they are and kind of sad. If it's not, then it should be. In fact, I think they should have the second runner-up automatically be one of the Bachelorettes in the next season. I'd love to see lil' Sadie have a second chance and Bevin would be a hoot.

Maybe I'm just too cynical, but it always seems to me that on The Bachelor "late 20's/early 30's" = "early 30's/late 30's".

I mean, the Jersey girl looked 42 y.o. if she's a day.

"Just when I think I'm out they drag me back in".

I am so there. Let the snark begin.

About the day into night. The host did say, "when the sun comes up you have to make a decision".

Since I can't tell anyone apart at the beginning, did web toes make it in?

I think they have to be young enough to actually push out a few Peenk! Babies! if so desired, don't they?

I always think the victim, err, the Bachelor looks like he's diving into a tank of hungry piranhas as opposed to excited and happy at the Opening Festivities. And I find it creepy when he talks about his proverbial future wife. It's like a horse auction.

The "laughing girl" is sure to get irritating quickly, but I call the classy dark-haired "I speak Greek" woman in the cool dress as a finishing filly.

Aw he seem sweet.

I thought the bikini girl was pretty clever, haven't seen that tried before. Losing your fake boobs, tongue readers and showing off webbed toes? Gotta love this show. I give the lost boob girl credit though, at least she opted for party boobs rather than permanent silicone. I think someday, one of these bachelors is going to be so pleased to see real boobs that the giant fakes are boring in comparison.

The first rose girl with the laugh reminded me a lot of Andie MacDowell, not so much in looks as in personality/looks/laugh/smile combo.

I can't believe I'm going to watch this again. The guy is cute but not that great (as always in the past). Very successful despite a college degree/business degree. I know college isn't for everyone. and I sure have plenty of degrees and am not a millionaire. The two RNs seem very cool. The one with the dark hair who I think is from MD in particular. So many blondes! It is very confusing. And the token black girl. He didn't even seem to want to meet her. It was awkward. I suppose you do have to stand out very fast in these types of situations. Nice to see some "older" women. I thought maybe they'll all be over 25 but no luck there.

I love the idea of the identical twin brother. I hope it turns out to be fun and not dorky.

Brad does seem sweet, but once again seems to have the personality and intelligence of a kumquat. I respect his hard work to come into wealth. but I stand by my opinion that Andrew Firestone and (Chris?) McConnell are STILL the only bachelors who were naturally funny, interesting and charismatic.


I TOTALLY AGREE! These women were pretty at a glance maybe, but upon closer look - a little rough compared to the Bevins, Tessas, Estellas of Bachelors past. . . . and seemed less classy on average. And by the way some of those dresses were heinous. The shot of Solisa (???) puttin on her green "Boobie" dress - yikes! I actually think the one black girl may have lost any hope of a rose upon exit from the limo. Her cheesy little red dress seemed to throw poor sweet Brad for a loop - and not in a good way. Is there no taste amongst young female realtors? (Which is evidently this year's pharmaceutical reps?)


Seems to be the popular sentiment here, but I thought she was quite dorky and ALMOST (but not quite) as foolish as the pretzel girl (a law student? REALLY?) or webbed feet girl. Hated her eighties rocker hair in the hair band, and the "I'll shake my bootie for some attention and just keep pulling up my dress that wants to fall down". Kind of classless. I respected Brad a lot less for this choice, I will admit.

So unfortunately I am less than impressed so far with the whole "cast" - but should be good entertainment as always. Especially if there will be ambulances involved!! (Hee!) I am guessing the Greek chick and the girl with the Irish name (McLaren or something?) will go far. Can't remember a bunch of the others.

Why is this HOT guy still on the market at age 34? I've been to Texas and the girls are just sooo hot, he is clearly not lacking for candidates. Is he looking for a future wife or a beard? seriously... my gaydar is not making a peep though so Im totally confused.

My favorite line: Brad, expressing his overwhelm: “I was literally beside myself!”

Surely not! (At least, not in the eyes of the B’ettes not yet literally besotted.)

Shouldn’t he have reserved this for when his “identical” twin arrives as bait for the unwary, the ‘dangling’ Chad? But, alas, at first they will stay far apart. Perhaps when the deceit is revealed ([Gallic accent]Oh-ho! It will be like ‘e is looking in a mirror![/Gallic accent])?

Jenni seems like a sweet girl, but the 80's headband definitely has to go.

The closing credits with Melissa's drunken "one on one" talk had me giggling. Also, how everything was "sweetness" to her. I was cracking up!

Jenni looked like Sarah Silverman to me but then my vision is poor.

What an absolutely frightening collection of women--poor fellow. Most of them were unattractive in every conceivable way. Swimming pool girl? Please. As a group, they looked haggard.

And, yeah, I don't get how a young, handsome, wealthy man in a city like Austin needs The Bachelor to find a future whatever.

The business about the twin bodes ill. I'd love to see the show take on a really dark turn.

I felt uncomfortable and exhausted just thinking about how the women had been up all night, drinking and competing for attention. I wish we got to see them having a bit of something to eat.

And if I were young, drunk Melissa I'd threaten a lawsuit. Sweetness.

That was my impression as well. I didn't find her laughter that endearing, to be honest. I thought her strapless bubble dress slipped down past her chest when she was rocking it out in her dance for Brad but saw no pixelation so it must not have slipped down too far. I was kind of hoping she would be in the group of ten to say bye-bye.

All in all, I found myself missing Tessa and Andy. But, I do like the new Bachelor so far and his laughing during the interview segment about Webbed-Toes-Girl had me liking him tremendously.

BTW, I was more annoyed with Webbed-Toes-Girl's "signature move" (fingers in V-formation to the eyes and backatcha) than her showing off her duck feet. If that's her signature move, I'd say stick with showing off the flippers.

Early contender and fave is DeeAhnna (phonetically spelled, of course, lol).

Jenni does look like Sarah Silverman. Good call! (Either that or my vision is poor too.)

I liked Brad. However, I should go on record saying that I pretty much liked all the bachelors with a couple exceptions so clearly my judgment is poor.

I can understand Brad being single. Busy guy, has had relationships, just hasn't found "the one". I can also believe that he's hopeful that he'll fall in love and marry one of these women but the way he kept talking about his future wife being among the women seemed contrived and fake. Or at least I hope he doesn't really feel that way. While I'd like a happy ending, I don't believe that just because some production crew gathered together 25 women that it means he's found his wife and I wish he'd stop talking that way. It also makes the woman he does pick seem less relevant in the equation - like it's just a numbers game and the number of women mean that the search is over.

I loved when they showed Brad laughing about the web toe lady. I also laughed when he said that one woman who sang had a beautiful voice and then recanted the beautiful part. Heh.

As always, I love Chris. Strangely, Brad and Chris have awesome chemistry. Hmmmmmmmm.......or maybe that's just my fantasy. Never mind.

Alright. This is my guiltiest pleasure of all so I even took notes. (yes I swear I have a life.)

As for whether he is the sexiest ever, he is certainly at the top. I still found Andy and Byron to be pretty hot as well. But Andy was preppy sexy and Brad or sort of rough sexy. Mmmm. And the man can wear a suit. Though I noticed when he was jogging his man boobs did a little too much jiggling.

I do think he seemed sincere and thought he came across as a real person, either uncomfortable or shocked or speechless. Loved him laughing so hard over the webbed toes.

As for the twin test, whatever, his twin looks vaguely like him but certainly not identical.

On to the girls. First a note - are they getting more desperate each time or is it just me? For crying out loud do they have no shame? Does being lonely and looking for love automatically make you a psycho?

Best line, and I forget which girl said it, "My strategy is to not cry and to not get drunk." Hallelujah!

Best dress of the night for me goes to DeAnna - the black and white horizontal dress. Stunning.

Okay, so as the girls came out of the limo I automatically ranked them as good, bad or neither based on first impression.

Of my 8 good ones, he chose five. Of my 7 bad ones, he chose four (including Jenni the dancer who I found to be fake). Of my 10 neither, he chose six.

Excited he took Deanna, McCarten, Sarah and Erin.

Don't understand the fascination with Lindsey the model who sang the yellow rose song.

Bettina the surfer is annoying. Kristy the accupuncturist the same.

And I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Mallory the bikini girl made it with a line like, "why don't you take your pants off?"

McCarten and DeAnna are my early favs. scribe12, I totally agree- I also loved DeAnna's dress, I want one now. Of all the convos they showed, I felt that he actually asked her thoughtful questions - how many people do you know bring up the parent-passed-away card in the get go?

McCarten was also cute - I'm betting that her name was her mom's maiden name - it seems to me to be an unusual name, and sounds like it could be an Irish last name (I'm from Boston, so I hear alot of Irish names!)

As for the day into night - I thought I heard incorrectly in the beginning when Chris and Brad were talking after he had just met all 25 B'rettes. Chris had said "See you when the sun comes up". To which, I said, WHAT????? Then, as RicNYC mentioned, I thought it was rigged by favoritism production interventionists (yes, yes, I'm BB8 fanatic too)...but as the night went on, the night turned to the sun!?!?! What the heck. Did anyone also notice how the rejected B'rettes were sitting outside the mansion, around the fountain? It was definitely morning. I bet the Production flew out all 25 B'rettes in the morning, had the 1st rose ceremony start around midnight or so, and had Brad choose around daybreak. What does anyone else think? Oh yes, sweetness.

Because it at least sounds better than "fourteen bachelors & bachelorettes. . . one marriage!" (or whatever the ratio is at this point).

Forgot to watch. Sounds like it was the usual. . .

Sweetness! I'm so glad all my shows are back now. At the expense of my "life", but hey.

I was confused about the next morning thing too. That "party" didn't actually go on all night, did it? As a relative oldster, I would have been DONE by that point. And in the light of day, the Krusty the Clown makeup wasn't looking too fresh.

I thought the girl who got the first impression rose was hugely annoying. That laugh is going to get old FAST. In fact, it's already old. And she's really not cute at all. I kinda liked webbed feet girl, and I'd probably be busting those puppies out too. Better than putting your feet behind your head and shoving your pudenda in some guys face. And the girl who got in the pool - whatever. I'm pretty sure he's been to the beach before, honey.

They seem to running out of "types" for these shows. Everyone looked exactly like somebody else. I actually thought momentarily that some of them were real actresses they resembled as opposed to girls who appeared to have gotten some celebrity makeover. My god! Have so been people crossed our TVs that there are no originals left? Scaaary.

I liked the bachelor. (ELEVENTH???? Seriously????) At first I thought he was a massive cheeseball with the "ARE WE HAVING FUN YET???" stuff but like others here, I was won over when he was laughing about the webbed feet girl. Anyone who cries when they laugh, I will give the benefit of the doubt. For the first show anyway.

My husband's thoughts on his 1st season of TB: Are the girls supposed to be pretty? Hee. The quality of women, it is definitely declining ya'll.



Hey, Maria from Age of Love called. That's her signature move! God, that was so hilarious. And in combination with the webbed toes? And to think all that time I was single, I should have just whipped out my bunions to attract a man...cuz feet are interesting, right?

Jenni annoyed the heck out of us with her horsey laugh. That's how I know she'll go far. She reminds me of Sarah from Nashvul.

And weecaps this season? By Sars? Channeling Chris: This will be the best Bachelor ever. (Sorry, this will be the most AMAZING Bachelor ever.)

Hi everyone, just a couple of notes: TWoP doesn't allow realtime watch-n-post sorts of comments (which is why the thread is locked until the episode ends). Please follow the spirit of that rule too, and make sure you're not just posting what you'd post as you were watching along. Also, sentences are not paragraphs. Please don't treat them as such. It breaks up the flow of the board.

I like the 80's headband and thought Jenni was great. Mallory, Bettina, Sillary, and Lindsey were also good. I watched this with my girlfriend, and she didn't understand why I liked those five or why Brad had picked any of them. Well, hotness counts. They were the easiest to look at, and frankly, that's what a guy is assessing in these first meetings. Of course, he is also filtering out the losers who show off their webbed toes and pretzelable bodies.