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Last night’s dramatic twist on ABC’s The Bachelor was hard to watch.  The twist had been leaked weeks ago, so it wasn’t all that shocking, but to see it play out was difficult.

In case you missed it, beloved Bachelor Jason Mesnick proposed to the perky Melissa Rycroft. They looked very happy and it seemed real.

Then, minutes later on the After the Final Rose special (actually it was filmed 6 weeks later) Mesnick dumped Melissa and instead chose Molly, the other girl. Jason says the chemistry with him and Melissa was off and he couldn’t stop thinking about Molly.

Jason insists he and Rycroft were already broken up before the After the Final Rose show, but she seemed stunned by the news—and she was still wearing her engagement ring. And why did he choose to break up with her publicly, with the cameras rolling? That’s the fishy part, and it just doesn’t jibe with Mesnick’s nice-guy image. Smells  like a ratings ploy to me.

All in all, a sad ending for a promising bachelor. I hope Jason’s pay-day was worth it.

With all the hype on ABC’s The Bachelor, all the times host Chris Harrison promises “The most shocking…dramatic… final rose ceremony ever” it’s usually just that: a lot of hype. With the exception of Bachelor 11 Brad Womack, who DID shock by picking NEITHER of the women.  Okay, yes, I admit my jaw dropped at that one.

This time there’s reportedly a shocker too. But you’ll have to wait for the After the Final Rose special to see the real drama. I wrote an AC article with some of my spoiler speculations:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1485056/the_bachelor_13_spoiler_jason_mesnick.html?cat=39

But, mine is just that: speculation. And a lot of spoilers have come out since then. I won’t try and piggyback on a story that fellow blogger Reality Steve broke last week. If you’re interested, Google it.  He researched hard, posted Youtube videos and he claims to have some inside information, so I’m believing what he is saying. Still, no one knows for sure until Monday night. It’ll definitely be must-see TV.

I love reality TV. I know, I know. But it’s mindless and at least there’s always a steady stream of new episodes airing, even through the summer. You gotta love that.

Right now, my DVR is bogged down with shows to watch, most of them reality. So here’s a quick scoop on what happened this week on the shows, in case you didn’t have time to watch ALL of them. Or in case you never watch them and just want the Cliff Notes version:

The Bachelor- Jason dumped Jillian, so the final two are Melissa and Molly. No surprise there. But the promos show a big shocker coming up in 2 weeks. See my previous blog for more info on that.

American Idol- The contestants are being whittled down to the final 12. I was surprised by a few of the eliminations. I was not sad to see Tatiana the laughing hyena go home.

Survivor-  Can we call this Cut Throat Island? Already, the “granny” of the group was targeted to go home, just based on her age,  but she’s proved herself since then so she may be around for a couple weeks. Instead, a troublemaker, Candace, was sent packing this week.

The City- Not sure if you consider this show reality, but here. New Years Eve in New York and Whitney and Jay were actually spotted kissing! Also, Erin is sad over breaking up with Duncan. Well what did she expect when she tells him she’ll always love her old beau J.R.?

Until next week, people!

I’m not sure why I’m not feeling this season of American Idol. Maybe it’s because the audition process is too long. Maybe it’s because it feels bogged down with the 4^th judge, Kara. Maybe it’s because there’s annoying contestants like Tatiana, the laughing hyena. Maybe I’m just bored with hearing the same old critiques  every week, like singers being “pitchy”. Maybe I’m just tired of looking at Simon’s  flattop haircut.

I don’t know what it is.

What I do know is, I’ll be more into the show once they pare things down. They start out with WAY too many singers. I personally don’t enjoy the audition weeks or even Hollywood week.  I like when they have it down to 12 good singers. Which is where I think they’re at after last night’s episode. I’ll have to check my DVR and forward it to the end to see where it left off. I’ll keep you posted.

ABC’s The Bachelor always has a lot of filler, always promises “shocking” and “dramatic” developments. It’s usually just a lot of fluff. The exception was Brad Womack’s (season 11) final rose ceremony, when he picked neither of the girls. Yes, that was a shocker.

But this season’s previews promise even more drama than Womack’s failure to commit. There are a few possible scenarios I can come up with (for more on that, check out my Associated Content article,” The Bachelor 13 Spoiler: Jason Mesnick Picks His Final 2—or Does He?” which will be published by next week).

So last night, Jason sent Jillian home. Now he’s left with Melissa and Molly. The preview scenes for the finale show Deanna Pappas paying Jason a visit, making it look like the show is headed in another direction, as in reconciliation between the two of them. But keep in mind, everything is carefully edited, so this show rarely pans out the way they make it appear.

In any event, expect a twist on the finale. Or at least something that will make Jason do some thinking.

Next week the rejected women tell all. Then, The Bachelor 13 season finale will air on March 2, followed by part 1 of the After the Final Rose update show.

Former Bachelorette/Resident Heartbreaker Deanna Pappas apparently has a new love: Real World Paris alum, Ace Amerson.

It’s been 6 years since we were first introduced to Amerson on MTV’s The Real World. At the time he was quite the party animal. These days Amerson is a bar owner. He and Pappas met at one of his bars last November and have been together ever since.

Amerson may have more in common with Pappas than any of her other suitors, especially since he is from Georgia.  Amerson’s hometown status is a big plus for Pappas, who wants a man who will live near her family.

This is a reality romance that we’ll have to keep an eye on. It’s clear from Pappas’ track record that she likes the bad boys!

Last night’s episode of The Bachelor was one of my favorites—the girls’ hometown visits.  Jason went to the hometowns of 4 of the girls to meet the parents: Jillian, Molly, Naomi and Melissa.

While there were some wacky family moments—Naomi’s mom burying dead dove and Molly’s mom forcing Jason to draw a kindergarten-like picture of her daughter– there was also a disappointment for one of the girls. Melissa, the clear front runner in this “competition” made like an orphan. That is, her family refused to be a part of the show, so he would not be meeting them. They’re private people, she explained. Jason seemed bummed too, as he really likes Mel and wanted to meet her family. Even stranger, he found out that her closest friends don’t know her family either. Something a little strange about that…

In the end—and this is a SPOLIER ALERT in case you didn’t see the show (President Obama’s speech pre-empted the show for 60 minutes, so some DVRer’s may have missed the last hour), Jason sent Naomi packing. No surprise there. He never seemed that into her.

Coming up is a romantic trip for 4 to New Zealand. Oh, and Jason’s ex-love Deanna Pappas makes  a surprise visit to see Jason. In New Zealand. She must have something pretty darn important to discuss with him!

We seem to be seeing less and less of Whitney Port on her MTV series, The City. She’s actually taken to being a bit player on her own show, doing the same nodding and consoling  with her New York friends that she did with Lauren Conrad on The Hills. The City needs to be renamed The Allie Show, because model Allie has been the main character for the past 3 weeks.

Allie, who’s the girlfriend of Whitney’s boyfriend Jay’s  best friend (yeah, I know) had  a bad week.  People’s Revolution founder Kelly Cutrone called her skinny. And the whole show was about that!

As I said last week, I really kind of like Allie. She’s actually more interesting than Whitney and definitely more appealing than the stuffy Olivia Palermo. Still, if The City doesn’t start showing more of Whitney’s life, I’m wondering if she’ll be out of a job next season!

Last night’s episode of ABC’s The Bachelor was a tough one. For single mom, Stephanie, anyway. While its been obvious all along that bachelor Jason wasn’t physically attracted to Steph, he definitely liked and respected her. Last night’s rose ceremony proved once again that nice girls finish last.

Jason’s attraction to both Melissa and Molly are clear. With the other 2 ladies that are left, Jillian and Naomi, it seems that he is searching to find something that isn’t there. With next week’s hometown visits, Jason will whittle his picks down even more. But I think, unless something goes really awry on the hometown dates, the final 2 look to be Melissa and Molly. And if Melissa doesn’t win this thing- and Jason’s heart–  in the end, I’ll be shocked.

Seems like so far this season on American Idol, the producers have kept most of the Wackies at bay.  Guess they got wind of the fact that it was hard to take the show seriously as a competition, when the first 2 weeks were filled with blatantly talentless singers, clearly planted in there for “entertainment” value. And yes, a few Crazies.

Sure, they still have a few during the auditions, but they’ve cut it way back. I’m glad, to be honest. I never liked like that mean spirited part of the audition process. I don’t need to see Simon—and even Paula—roll their eyes, snicker, and make fun. Like I said, there’s still a few here and there, but not nearly as many as there has been in past seasons.

 Tonight it’s the end of the auditions and then it’s off to Hollywood!