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Hi Steve,
Like others, I loved the recent podcast with Dalton Ross. I have been following him on EW for years, and always look forward to his takes in his recaps of recent episodes. I love all of the extra cast and producer interviews he does as well. Since several readers mentioned last week that they would like to watch old seasons but wanted to remain unspoiled, here is a list of Dalton’s season rankings from 1-36. I noted ones which contained returning contestants with an (R). He’s mentioned several times that he even considers ones towards the bottom of the list to be better than most things on TV. Many of his favorites are mine as well.
1. (tie) Borneo (1st season)
Micronesia-Fans vs. Favorites (R)
3. Heroes vs. Villains (R)
4. Cagayan
5. Cambodia-2nd Chance (R)
6. Amazon
7. Pearl Islands
8. Palau
9. Millenials vs. Generation X
10. Blood vs. Water (R)
11. Philippines (R)
12. Caramoan-Fans vs. Favorites (R)
13. Samoa
14. Marquesas
15. China
16. Cook Islands
17. Game Changers (R)
18. Ghost Island (flashbacks from previous seasons)
19. Australian Outback
20. South Pacific (R)
21. Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers
22. Tocantins
23. Kaoh Rong
24. All-Stars (R)
25. Panama-Exile Island
26. Worlds Apart
27. Gabon
28. Redemption Island (R)
29. Africa
30. Guatemala (R)
31. Vanuatu
32. San Juan del Sur
33. One World
34. Thailand
35. Fiji
36. Nicaragua
Thanks!
Comment: Well there you go. Forgot about that column he did. Hopefully last week’s reader is reading this.
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Hi Steve,
1. I know that this might be a hard question for you to answer so I just wanted to hear your insight on this: When David “returned from the hospital” to the rose ceremony, he was dressed in his formal wear but when he was taken by ambulance, wasn’t he supposed to be in his PJs since he fell off his bed?
Did the producers take all of his luggage with him? Or did they have to “re-tape” that entrance by having him put on his formal wear and then shooting the scene of him walking from the car into the limo with his formalwear? Since I know you’ve mentioned that sometimes they have to re-tape scenes. Well, he was returning to the cocktail party just so he could get the rose and leave again. Producers knew that. Becca knew that. So they just had him dress appropriately for a cocktail party.
2. Does Jean Blanc remind you of a mixture between Fred and Josiah from Rachel’s season?
Thanks for your spoilers! I love reading them and watching the show after. Your commentary is hilarious!
Comment: A little bit, yeah.
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Hey Steve,
So I can’t tell for sure if Colton is back from BIP or if he’s just doing a good job on social media in trying to convince us he’s back. However if he is back do you think the producers are trying to set the stage for him to be the next bachelor. I know you have said before that would be too much Colton for us. But I can’t help feeling like that’s what they are doing. They make it known that he’s a virgin and that he’s waiting for the right person. Last episode he says things like Becca deserves a good guy and I’m a good guy. He’s a fan favorite for sure and if he leaves BIP because he still has “feelings for Becca” or for some reason I could see them setting him up to be the next bachelor. I’m curious to hear your thoughts now that he might not be on BIP for too long. And if you have any insight on anything that has gone down during BIP. As always I love reading your posts!!
Comment: No. I don’t see Colton being on three consecutive seasons. It’s never happened before and I don’t see why it would happen now.
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Hi Steve!
Quick question. Do you know why Becca has not been “writing” her People blogs? I think she did one or two, but that’s it. Do you think it’s because ABC does not want to address all of the contestants’ controversies? Thanks!
Comment: I never even thought about it, but now that you mention it, yeah, she hasn’t written one in a while has she? Not sure what’s going on there. Usually those things are up first thing Tuesday morning on People.com. Sometimes even late Monday night.
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Hey Steve – have you heard anything about how Lincoln is handling this whole situation with him being exposed for his work stuff, his assault charges, etc.? I’m curious if he’s allowed to make some kind of statement a la Garrett, or if he’s forced to keep his mouth shut, or if he actually WANTS to pipe down and let this pass since he’s guilty? It seems like the whole world is talking about Lincoln and I wonder what his response is.
Comment: No idea. But if I were him, I’d just disappear. Go your 3-times-a-week AA meetings, stay out of trouble, take a science class, quit fondling unsuspecting women, and stay off reality TV. He lives by that, everything else should be peaches and cream for him.
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Hi Steve-
You know the gist, long time fan, never emailed. I’m sure you get that all of the time. I’ve loved your website since I first discovered it a few years ago, especially when everyone thought I was psychic when it came to predicting the results of this show. Just two questions for you today…
First of all, what are your opinions on the newest “The Proposal” scandal. I know you haven’t paid much attention to that show (neither have I), but I can’t help but notice it seems to be tanking. I know you said ratings on it weren’t great, and now this horrifying scandal that made them pull episode 2… it just seems like they’re setting up for failure. It’s a horrible look for Fleiss and his gang. His first tweet Saturday couldn’t have been more condescending and disrespectful. Then it took him 24 hrs to realize, “Oh sh**, probably shouldn’t be such a giant douche clown about a serious topic,” and does a 180 on his stance and “they’re doing everything they can to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” That’s great. It’s what he should’ve said the first time. However, only time will tell on that. It’s only words and it’s what he’s supposed to say. Actions will determine how serious he is.
Unrelated question, I know you said that when a Bachelor/Bachelorette couple gets married, you buy a gift off of their registry… does this apply for Bachelor in Paradise couples as well? How about couples that meet and wind up getting together, but not necessarily on the show (i.e. Ashley and Jared assuming they make it down the aisle).
Comment: No.
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Hi Steve!
Few random questions:
I recently started watching survivor for the first time since maybe the 2nd or 3rd season because of listening to your recent survivor themed podcast. I really enjoyed it!!
I randomly picked a season to watch and picked millennials vs gen-x. Well according to Dalton’s list, that was a top 10 season, so good choice.
1. What are your favorite seasons or seasons you recommend watching?
2. How do your favorites compare to S33? It’s such a different show for me in terms of memory. You’ve heard me talk to Eliza, Stephen, and Dalton from the show. I’ve essentially watched every episode of every season, but my memory retention is terrible. I basically only remember the season that just aired. Once a new one starts, the previous one is completely forgotten unless something major happened. Ghost Island, which just aired, had a great finale. The season as a whole was ok, but definitely one of the better endings.
Perfect example of what I’m talking about: There was a recent season where a contestant was outed as being transgender by another contestant. It was huge news. Everyone was covering it. I know who the contestants involved were (just don’t want to spoil it for you), but if you ask me what season that was and who won? I can’t even remember. See what I mean?
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Bach questions
1.what have you heard about Colton and tia?!?! He’s back in the states doing instagram lives but tia is still presumably in paradise. You have to have heard something!! It’s coming…
2. Was Jared and Ashley’s engagement supposed to be revealed now or was it supposed to be surprised in paradise and it just got leaked so they went with it? Well considering there was a photographer arms length away from her and Jared and it went up the next day on People.com, no, that was definitely planned.
3. Are you going to try to get any of arie’s girls on the podcast anytime soon?
Keep up the good work!!
Comment: Yup. Will have one this week.
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Subject: Becca’s Finals
I have photos of Becca with someone in Thailand that I just spotted. What’s it worth to you?
Comment: Hmmmmm, I don’t know. $.50?
This was spoiled months ago. And Thailand wasn’t the finals, that was the overnights. Good luck though.
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You may have answered this before, so sorry if you have! I sometimes just scroll through the reader emails for entertaining tidbits.
Anyways, not sure if you listen to any the franchise podcasts like Almost Famous, I suck at Dating, or Off the Vine… But they all talk about how they believe Garrett and Becca her have this ‘connection already’ and how they see him ‘going really far’, etc. And they also talk about how Blake is also a ‘front runner’ and how he will probably make final 4 with Garrett… blah blah.
Is it just a coincidence that you KNOW this already and have published it like always? Obviously not, right? It’s annoying to me that they act like they didn’t already your spoilers! I would bet about 99% of the ‘franchise’ people read your spoilers as soon as possible. Then they talk about their opinions on their podcasts as if they have no idea. So annoying how transparent it is. I’ve had plenty of people on the podcast in the 18 months I’ve been doing them admit that they do. I’m sure those others do as well. Do they read word for word? No. But they know where to look to find stuff.
Lastly, I know this horse is dead…. but Jared and Ashley. I think he was always just too embarrassed to date her due to her ‘crying/dramatic/kardashian-like’ rep. But once he saw how other people really liked her, and how ‘successful’ she’d become… he became not-so-embarrassed. Agree? Just my 2 cents!
– Just another boring 40 year mom that loves your sarcasm and spoilers.
Comment: Well, when I was reading a summary of their 45 minute video to let everyone know they’d been dating 2 months, I believe he said something to the effect of when he saw Kevin and Ashley on Winter Games, it made him step up his game and realize he wanted her more. To me, that didn’t sit well. But again, it’s their life and they can choose to live it however they want, which is clearly in the public eye. I just don’t get it.
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Hi Steve,
Love your post episode commentaries. They always have me cracking up!
I think you would agree that the producers can edit the cast to just about anything they want… villain, sweet, likable etc. Have you noticed Jason getting a particularly good edit this season to maybe get a following for being the bachelor? I know you have stated the bachelor will be a toss up based on their last 2 picks but I am just loving Jason (I’m guessing he is also just a likable guy, apart from their editing) but I feel like he’s really standing out to me as smart, real, and (seemingly) not into the fame like so many others. Have you gotten that vibe at all? Also, I know you obviously have no say in the matter, but can I just say please NO Blake for the next bachelor! He reminds me too much of Dean!
Comment: I mean, we’ve had a couple episodes where we saw Jason’s connection with Becca, but we’ve also had a couple of episodes where he’s been a ghost too. It will pick up once we get closer to hometowns because he’s featured more. He’s got his first 1-on-1 next week, then one episode before hometowns, then his overnight, so yeah, he’ll be featured more. But up to this point? Pretty sporadic. He’s obviously in the running because he’s top 3, but it’s just too hard to handicap at this point.
jessie
June 27, 2018 at 10:49 AM
Does anyone disagree that Jared and Ashley must want their own TV show and that’s what this silliness is about. She is just to shallow, without charactr, without culture, (he is probably the same) to be interesting on TV. oy!
rob22
June 27, 2018 at 1:34 PM
So, the comment about the older Bachelor’s season, especially that Jason Meznick’s season was so pure…. and the subsequent comments by RS blaming social media and naming (of course) Ben Flatdick and Huan Pah-blow as especially bad seasons…. Well, everyone is forgetting what came right after Jason’s season. That was the Jack Pavelka sh*t-show season with Vienna. Remember now? Is it coming back to you? So, yeah social media definitely changed it, but I think the tone went really dark starting in that season and the show has bounced back and forth ever since. They had Jake and then followed it up with Brad 2.0. They then had Ben and followed it up with Sean to clean up the mess. Then they had a series of losers with Juan Pablo, Farmer Chris, Ben (cleaned it up again) then Nick and Arie, two of the bigger s*it shows ever. Though I found both of those seasons to be entertaining. I expect a cleanup version this time. Therefore, I’m all in on Ben 2.0. I like Becca, but her season is train wreck with all the scandals. Ben 2.0 definitely. The show always reacts to criticsm with a season that they try to play pretty straight.
tinyred500
June 27, 2018 at 2:37 PM
I’m unable to download seasons prior to Jake, so I can’t see how much the shows have changed over the years with regard to social media and its impact. However, the contrived drama and producer induced/produced villain(s) have made the shows just as bad if not worse overall. It has got so irritating to watch and just plain silly. Although Sean’s season was okay, Tierra was kept on far too long, the show focused too much on her and made Sean look naive and stupid in the process. Juan P season although bad in its own way (him!), there was little if any contrived drama. From Chris’s season it went downhill with the cheap contrived drama, including the bachelorette shows. Some people like the drama and villain’s, which I suppose is fine, but surely it’s better for the drama to be natural and real, and for the villain to be truly authentic, but not over-stay their welcome!
Ben 2 Bachelor would be perfectly okay, apart from telling two women he loved them, please not again! Arie’s season was just awful, worse then Juan’s IMO. I’ve not minded Becca’s season so far, better than some of the more recent Bachelorette’s, though I’ve not seen Rachael’s yet.
mariet
June 27, 2018 at 4:14 PM
Ben 2.0? Please, no! He was so boring! Zero personality. The only “interesting” thing about him was his mother’s subtle references to his anger issues. Joe the Grocer is on BIP. He will not find love, and hopefully be the next Bachelor! Yay!
upmyalley
June 27, 2018 at 6:44 PM
Whatever happened to the Bachelor villian Jake the snake Pavelka being brought up when villians are the topic? That dude’s anger was off the charts! As much as I didn’t like Vienna, I felt bad for her when that nut job ripped her a new one on tv. I felt like he had a lot of skeleton’s in his closet particularly with past relationships and how her probably treated past girlfriends. If soc media had an influence then, I bet stuff would’ve come out about him. He was the most desperately fame hungry person this franchise has ever had. He was of short stature too and it was obvious how insecure he was about it. A complete narcisist like many of these people in bach nation.
Watching Becca these past few weeks I find myself not liking her very much. She sure can dismiss these guys like a champ! I’ll have to wait and see how things play out but right now, she seems pretty boring and just my opinion, she’s no knockout but does have sorta average good looks.
upmyalley
June 27, 2018 at 6:50 PM
The earliest seasons I recall were Jason, Deanna and Travis the doctor. Oh and Matt from the UK?
tinyred500
June 28, 2018 at 12:40 AM
I’ve not watched prior the Ben F season, but I will watch Jake. I’ve seen excerpts of his reunion with Vienna and it was ghastly! I wish I could see the really early season’s.
I don’t mind Becca having no trouble sending the men home. 🙂 Most of the goodbyes are usually so drawn out, over the top and disproportionate given they’ve only spent between 15 and 45 minutes with her, even the F2 and F1 only have up to 70 hours spent with the lead.
jlal
June 28, 2018 at 4:20 AM
I have watched every season since the beginning and agree and have said that social media way changed this show. Also agree with upmyalley that Jake Pavelka was a total douche with major issues. Vienna was no prize and frankly I felt like they deserved each other. However, his true colors came out in the reunion (or whatever you want to call it) show and they weren’t pretty. He hid his true nature better than Juan during filming, but it sure shone through afterward.
Luke Pell needs to go away. After what he did on Winter Games to that Russian chick – what a creep!
I think Ben 2.0 would be a total snooze fest. Please find some new blood and for the love of all things holy they don’t have to have a sm following. Actually, it would be so refreshing to have a lead that didn’t have the sm agenda.
Also agree that Becca is brutal when dismissing these guys. I love it though, as she doesn’t waste time and words. On the two-on-one when she just got up and walked away with Jordan without a backward glance I was like “AW SNAP” take that you little instigator.
None of the guys shine for me though, not one. She and Garett without a doubt have the most chemistry. I may be seeing that through the spoiler lens, but she just seems to be going through the motions with all the others. Some seasons it is obvious when this happens, others not so much. But, this season I think it is glaringly obvious she isn’t one bit interested in any other these guys other than Garett.
Also, just for the record what’s his name never actually said Jordan said he would settle for Becca. He said Jordan acted like he’d be settling for Becca or something like that. And, when Chris first asked to butt in, Becca told him twice they had only been talking for two minutes. He totally ignored her and then addressed Wills and asked again. If I was Becca I would have kicked him to the curb right then. I would have said “I just told you we’d only been talking for two minutes, why are you asking Wills now?” How disrespectful to totally ignore her and what she said and then address the guy. What an a-hole!
LynnS
June 28, 2018 at 5:21 AM
May I ask where you are watching older versions of the Bachelor? I can’t find them anywhere.
adelina
June 28, 2018 at 6:49 AM
I would be disappointed in a Ben 2.0 season – nice guy but just way too vanilla.
I wish I would’ve sent Steve an email asking his opinion about Chris Soules and what’s going on with him and his case.
I followed him on Twitter after he killed someone while driving drunk (“allegedly”) out of curiosity to see if he would tweet. He made a return to Twitter on Monday making a couple comments about the show. For some reason I find his presence on social media offensive. I think he should just go away. Anyone else feel the same way or differently?
tinyred500
June 28, 2018 at 6:50 AM
If you’re in America you might be able to download them for free. I’ve bought mine via iTunes and one from Amazon.
tinyred500
June 28, 2018 at 7:32 AM
I think out of respect for the circumstances, whether he’s guilty or not, Chris S should probably refrain from tweeting especially about the shows because they are high profile.
Reading some of the other comments about Social Media I can see how many would have been annihilated for their behaviour etc., on the shows and thereafter had it been around. I was thinking more a long the lines of how contestants use it for their own quasi-fame now etc.
rob22
June 28, 2018 at 9:47 AM
Ha, pretty funny the comments about our buddy Jake. I’m sure he’s hoping everyone forgot his season. As I recall, it’s all coming back, wasn’t he the “snitch” during Jillian’s season. He was the one who came back, I think, after being booted to rat out someone who “wasn’t there for the right reasons”? Usually “the snitch” kind of then attains a very low status where they are only eligible for BIP or BP….. which Jake also did. I seem to remember that it was Jake vs. Vienna in BP… another total S*it show. So to recap, Jake was the snitch in Jillians season, then got the Bachelor gig where he picked Vienna, leading to a completely volatile s***-show, especially on the ATFR or some afterwards show. Then Jake went to BP where he was pitted against Vienna … they were on opposite teams somehow and Vienna was hooked up with, I think, the “guard your heart” guy…. Kasey, right? And if I recall, I think Kasey came from the same season of The Bachelorette as Jake. What a mess! Jake was arguably the worst all around contestant from the franchise. Wherever he went, things were totally f’d up. The other thing I remember from Jake is that he gave out a sort of gay vibe. I really wonder what that dude is up to. I’m sure it’s a mess whatever it is.
LynnS
June 28, 2018 at 2:46 PM
Thanks – I’ll look around!
LynnS
June 28, 2018 at 2:52 PM
I believe Kasey came from Ali’s season. Wasn’t he the one who she left stranded on that snow-covered mountaintop? Ali left with that guy (started with an R) in the helicopter. Reggo or something like that – the one with the broken leg.
upmyalley
June 28, 2018 at 9:25 PM
@rob22 Yes, it was Jake who snitched to Jillian. Don’t forget he went on DWTS too and then pimped himself to other shows. He was so obviously out for fame and his frustration always shone through on all the shows. I too think he was/is a closet gay man. One of those who are afraid his manhood would be in peril if he came out. I also feel he expected to be loved and famous for getting the bach gig and didn’t know how to handle it when it didn’t go that way. He publically blamed Vienna for everything. He sure wasn’t “on the wings of love”. More like a plane crash for that so called pilot.haha!The meanest bachelor ever. The franshise buried him deep.
upmyalley
June 28, 2018 at 9:37 PM
The people who snitch do not usually fare well with the lead in terms of keeping them around. I sorta think Becca is really down about not being worshiped by the guys even though she does have Garrett and Blake. It reminded me of Deanna Pappas just a little when her guys seemed to be enjoying the other guys company more than hers. To be fair though she’s had to deal with so many bad guys with issues. Deanna was just into herself so much and wanted all the guys to prove themselves to her by treating her like a diva. Does anyone remember, wasn’t Jason Mesnick one of her final two?
LynnS
June 28, 2018 at 9:50 PM
Yes and she even let him get down on one knee and propose. I think her ego couldn’t resist it.
tinyred500
June 29, 2018 at 1:10 AM
Have a look on the ABC’s website, they had some if not all the previous seasons, (whilst Arie’s season was airing) they might still be there. I couldn’t view even with a VPN.
jlal
June 29, 2018 at 4:35 AM
OMG I forgot about Deanna and how she let Jason get down on his knee before dumping him, brutal! And, she did get pissy when they weren’t paying attention to her.
So, the franchise hasn’t buried Jake Pavelka very deep, as he was in Vegas promoting Bachelor slot machines at the MGM this past May. I guess he has found love now with an attorney from Arkansas. Can’t believe he is still around after eight years.
tater82
June 29, 2018 at 11:38 PM
Dr Travis Stork, whoo wee!!! Lol <3
upmyalley
July 2, 2018 at 7:12 PM
Jake may be pimping bach slot machines but I highly doubt it is with the franchise blessing! Sounds more like he’s looking for recognition- still- again! Haha! What a fool idiot.