Once again last night aired the best reality show on television. No, it wasn’t the “Bachelor.” It was Clemson/Alabama Part II. You can take every reality show on TV and combine them all together and you still wouldn’t get the amount of drama and intrigue of sports. It’s not even in the same ballpark. It’s why for 13 years you’ve been reading this column and you’ve very rarely, if ever, seen me take any of these shows seriously. There’s no point. It’s not real. Sports is real. Sports are not predetermined. Sports are not filmed in advance then shown weeks later. So yeah, I guess I’m speaking the obvious here, but considering the reaction you see from some people regarding this show, I’m not sure they fully grasp that concept. This is light entertainment used to take your mind off more pressing things in this world, and should be treated as such. I wish more people would see it that way. Can Clemson play Alabama every season for the national championship? Is that too much to ask? Two great games, great athletes, and frankly even though I didn’t have a rooting interest on either side last night, I’m glad Clemson won. They should’ve. They were the better team last night. Dominated the game in practically every statistical category: first downs, yards, time of possession, plays run, etc. The list goes on. I would’ve hated for that dominant of a performance not to show up on the scoreboard. Glad it did, congrats to Clemson fans, and I’m sure a lot of babies conceived last night will be named Dabo in 9 months.
In case you haven’t been to the site since Thursday, podcast #6 was released with special guest Juliet Litman from the Ringer.com. We talked about a myriad of topics regarding Nick’s season. Be sure to download on iTunes, or you can listen right here:
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As I mentioned last week, our guest for podcast #7 this Thursday is someone linked to the franchise. It’s Dana Weiss, also known as the “Possessionista.” She’ll be joining me Thursday to break down Nick’s episode #2, talk about how she got started with the whole Possessionista thing, and may have some words or two regarding a former guest on the podcast. So look for that come Thursday.
Get your “Reader Emails” and “Dr. Reality Steve” emails in for tomorrow and Thursday as well. I do think we’re going to have a “Dr. Reality Steve” call on Thursday as part of the podcast, so I’m looking forward to that. In the meantime, the “Reader Email” bag is rather low right now, so get those in today for viewing in tomorrow’s column.
Our own Nell Kalter has your Vanderpump Rules recap now up for your viewing. Thanks to those who tweeted at Stassi last week. Looks like the podcast will be happening at some point this season. Just trying to nail down a time and date.
Not that we aren’t already sick of their story, but Ashley and Jared appeared on show recently talking about everything from their relationship, to BIP, to how the editing of the show works, etc. Check it out if you haven’t seen it:
I think the funniest thing that Nick apologist Ashley mentioned in that interview was towards the end where she completely put her Nick goggles on and said “I think this will be the highest rated season ever.” Ummmm, not quite Ash. The first two episodes rated lower than Ben’s, Chris’, and JP’s. So 0-for-3. Is it doing horribly? No. But it hasn’t been better than any of those three seasons through two episodes. You can put your pom pom’s away now.
You see Nick play coy when asked about DWTS? Pretty funny how he pretends it’s something he’s casually thought about. Of course you’ll do it Nick. And of course you’ve wanted to do it for two years, and even trashed others who got the role over you. This is the side of Nick that I find phony. Just own it. Don’t pretend you’d be humbled or honored to be on it. Just admit it’s something you’ve wanted to do coming on 3 years now and would probably pay your own way to be a part of the cast next season.
As of this posting, Nick’s blog for People.com isn’t up yet, so I’ll link to it tomorrow. But if you want to read Chris Harrison’s Yahoo blog where he offers no insights whatsoever on anything and seems like he wrote it in 5 minutes, you can go ahead and do that. I hope Yahoo doesn’t pay him for that mindless drivel. A 9th grader who watched the episode could’ve written that.
Ratings are in from last night and they were pretty steady with last week. Actually, almost identical with 6.5 million and a 2.1 rating in the 18-49 demo. But still, both episodes have rated below the first two episodes of Ben’s, Chris’s, and JP’s season. Lets see next week when it’s finally not going up against college football how well it does. Usually the earlier episodes kinda dip because there’s so many contestants still left and fans aren’t invested in anyone, but I think we’ll get a better picture of how this season is gonna fare compared to previous seasons. But as for Ashley’s prediction that this will be the highest rated season ever? She’s living in fantasy land.
Simple poll question this week regarding Corinne, since she’s the most talked about contestant thus far:
kimmyfromdablock
January 10, 2017 at 9:37 AM
That 1980’s wedding dress on Vanessa was scarily similar to my 1989 wedding dress. So horrible, but at the time, I thought I was the sh*t.
purplerayne
January 10, 2017 at 10:12 AM
“Could Nick have made an effort to if he really was interested in her after she didn’t give him her number?”
Thats the point! He didnt, so clearly he wasnt interested….thus why did Liz come on the show? She turned him down, for her own valid reasons, when he asked for her number. And since he didnt make an attempt to chase her, it shouldve told her plainly that he wasnt that into her. OR maybe he couldve been but the moment was gone/lost. Guys are simple. If they want someone, they will make it known. BTW lets note pretend that she didnt come on the show for attention and social media exposure for her travel blog.
rob22
January 10, 2017 at 11:29 AM
Liz didn’t misread Nick, at all. I’m sure he was totally fine with leaving it as a one night hook-up. Had Liz pursued Nick later, I doubt he would have even returned a text. So, while I get that Nick wasn’t thrilled that Liz kinda just showed up at his Bachelor gig, to pretend that Liz should have just got his number & called him & implying anything might have come of it, is just complete BS. I hate to say it, but he already had Liz. He’s looking for new fantasy suite material. That’s what Nick is all about. I’m really wondering, based on his obvious and extremely morally casual attitude towards the girls, especially Corrinne, how this season stays on the rails. This feels like it’s headed into Juan Pah-blow 2.0 territory where you wonder if any of the girls will still like him, at all, at the end.
mikeyy
January 10, 2017 at 2:13 PM
Sorry purplerayne, but couldn’t agree with you more. To say that guys are “simple” is just not true. If you ask for someone’s number and they decline to give it you, to me it indicates they are not interested. Not every guy is going to fight for a woman, no matter how much they like her. I’m not saying Nick necessarily was interested in anything serious with Liz (he wasn’t), or had any intentions of hanging out with her but asking for someone’s number after a one-night stand, indicates some level of interest
rob22
January 10, 2017 at 2:27 PM
@mikeyy: not necessarily. As Liz suspected (and I give her credit for having that insight), Nick may have asked for the number to be “polite”, or stated more directly, to avoid looking like a guy who just wanted a hookup & was “finished” with her. If a guy asked for the number AND then actually calls/texts AND then makes some specific plans with a girl, then he’s showing some level of interest. Simply asking for a phone number is often a low effort way for a guy to somewhat gracefully hit the door without looking like a complete tool. Too often, and the women will keep me honest here, there is no call or text coming. One of the big complaints I hear from women is that the guys SAYS he’s going to call/text. Then doesn’t. It drives them crazy. If a guy says he’s going to call, girls think he’s actually going to call. But he didn’t call simply because he either never had any intention of calling (for reasons stated above) or was leaning towards lack of interest, but wanted to keep HIS options open in case he changed his mind or was REALLY lonely some night. The latter case is when a girl, who’s been blown off, gets a sudden call weeks later from a guy who’s suddenly interested in getting together.
mikeyy
January 10, 2017 at 2:40 PM
@Rob22, I agree with you. There are a lot of guys who get girls numbers with no intention of ever contacting them. But this does not encompass “all” men. To say this would be a big generalization. Personally, if I ask for a female’s number I generally call/text them because I was interested. Again, maybe I’m in the minority here but I do not think all guys are the same. I doubt Nick ever had any intention of contacting Liz, considering everything we know about the dude, but we will never know.
purplerayne
January 10, 2017 at 2:42 PM
@Mikeyy, i think we are both saying the same thing…but differently LOL Guys are straightforward for the most part. Thats what i meant by simple. If Nick really liked her, he wouldve asked again for her number, flirted with her on social media or her number or made a comment to Jane/Tanner. I dont blame Liz for being skeptical and thus not giving her number away…BUT she cant have it both ways. She cant turned him down and then expect him to be cool with her showing upon the show after 9 months of radio silence. BTW Lade mentioned in People magazine that Liz did reach out to Nick, to invite him to a charity event of hers. Hmmmm. This makes it even more awkward that she showed up after he rejected that invitation. And I must say, I would wonder if im Nick if she wanted him to show up for press reasons).
purplerayne
January 10, 2017 at 2:45 PM
@Mikeyy….you are in the minority. Speaking for ALL of my girlfriends, there are a lot of men (more than you would imagine) who ask for a number only as a polite way of exiting a situation/conversation. IF they do call or text, its just to see if the girl is still available when they have nothing better on their radar. Even my nicest guy friends have been guilty of this behaviour. You are a gem, dont change!
ashleigh11
January 10, 2017 at 5:31 PM
Someone needs to hook up Danielle with Luke from last season.
sleeprgirl
January 10, 2017 at 6:33 PM
If I were a man, I would have to be very drunk to hook up with Liz. She isn’t the typical “Bachelorette style” girl. A little overweight, as she hides her large middle with clothes dropping across her. Then there is that super unattractive back tattoo, that I bet Nick never saw, even in the motel room. It is narly. I put people to sleep, and have seen thousands of tattoo, and there are some really neat,artistic and tasteful tattoos out there. Not for Liz though. Then she has those large teeth. OK, so I’m not a Liz fan. She got her 15 mins of fame…bye, bye. I’m going to get pretty sick of Corinne,SOON! STEVE, she is so juvenile. Even though I know how this all goes down, I would like to see some interesting people, beautiful clothing, hair and makeup, not child’s play, and awkward behavior by Nick. He needs to keep those hands off his face and stop the mumbling…I am tired of straining to hear him. That’s all.
atleast4characters
January 10, 2017 at 9:22 PM
Never heard of Diff Eyewear (I don’t have any social media accounts), but sure enough, here’s a sample catalog of hawkers from the franchise: https://jezebel.com/c-list-celebs-are-trying-their-absolute-hardest-to-sell-1786049612
I finally participated in one of Steve’s site polls. Corinne is annoying. Whenever she’s talking I just want to say STFU.
lak377
January 11, 2017 at 11:23 AM
@sleeprgirl, so because Liz has a normal weight and body you’re going to rip on her and call her overweight? To say she “isn’t typical Bachelorette style”, make fun of her tattoo and say she has large teeth is just as immature as Corinne. Perhaps you should audition for this show!
trixibelleschott
January 12, 2017 at 11:13 AM
I’d like to add my take on Liz, please:
From the beginning, she bounced her ideas off her good friend Jade. No doubt they agreed Liz could have some fun as a part of The Bachelor franchise. When Liz ran into Nick at Jade’s wedding, she saw him as a partially attractive, less than her usual looks wise but acceptable hook up since he was, after all, somewhat known in the world of tv suitors. After a drunken night with him, she decided to cut her losses and move on, but, as time went by, she saw her reject become a desirable commodity…thus the plot to recapture his attention and put herself in the spotlight…even more important.
Meanwhile, Nick has moved on from that night with Liz. He’s plenty busy. Maybe she was the star of his fantasy one late night,alone with only himself to cuddle. So what,right. Then comes his night of glorious stardom. He is The Bachelor with scads of women from which he must choose a given number. The producers haven’t prepared him for the arrival of La Liz. Heeheehee. Of course they knew,this was ratings gold for at least the night,probably more.
When Nick was ready to present his roses, he confessed to the producers that he had no real interest in many of the girls,and,by the way, did you know I knew one of them…yeah we actually hooked up before! …NO,Do tell! Hey, this is your chance, Mr. Nick, to be the bachelor who goes down in bachelor history for having a former hook up as one of your bachelorettes! Whadaya say Nick, ole buddy,ole pal! You’de be the first!
Awe, I don’t know…we’re pretty done. I don’t even know why she’s here. (Duh…doesn’t it take one to know one. She wants to be on tv,schmuck). So the producers convince him to call her last, let her stew a little and tell Nick they really appreciate it because it gives some dramatic interest etc. Nick doesn’t think things through…too caught up in the moment ..all new stuff in the other room.
Skip ahead…Liz can’t keep her mouth shut. Maybe she even has a buddy in production now telling her…it’s probably a good idea to find someone you really trust and let it all out so the world can know what you’ve been through…welcome miss friend who says she would never say a word. The rest is history. Rob22 was right about how production knew all along what the outcome would be. They milked it, gave us some good tv, too bad it couldn’t have been juicier.
There’s nothing worse than a boring season, so let the conflicts ensue and play out. Liz…what a maroon!?