“The Bachelor” is now in its 17^th season and the show is returning on Monday, January 7, 2013 at 8pm on ABC with a totally new season with its usual host, Chris Harrison. This year’s bachelor is a 29 year old insurance agent from Dallas, Texas named Sean Lowe. After falling in love with Emily Maynard, on last season’s “The Bachelorette,” and being a runner up on the show, he is back this season to find his one true love. Just like in previous seasons, Sean will have his choice of a group of ladies to eventually become his fiancé. Throughout the season, he has to “play the field” and find the lady he connects with the most and wants to spend the rest of his life with…..possibly. Shakefire had the chance to preview the season premiere episode of season 17 for you reading pleasure.

I know of “The Bachelor” show, but have never actually sat through a whole episode until now. I can see the appeal for women about a lonely guy finding “true love” within a pool of eligible bachelorettes. The show is reality TV meets soap operas and rom-coms, but in supposed “real life.” However, I do feel the show sets the feminist movement back several decades and they expect women in this day and age to wait for their “knight in shining armor.” That concept of the show I do not agree with and the show’s counterpart, “The Bachelorette,” is just as bad. Seriously speaking, how difficult is it for a good looking person with a good job and a stable family to find someone to marry? The show is supposed to be real, but is unrealistic on so many levels.

As for Sean, he is a moderately good-looking guy with a ripped body, but does resemble a monkey when he smiles. In this episode, you get to learn a little bit more about Sean, his personal life, and his background. He lack personality and is either a bad actor or naturally comes off as really cheesy in the show. How this guy is not able to find a wife is very hard to believe. There are lots of women out there looking for a modest-looking tool to call their husband or soul mate. I do not feel bad for him at all and I think the show would have been a lot more interesting if they picked a normal looking person, or a minority, or someone of the same sex for this season. The formula for the show is tired and boring and needs to be spruced up or revitalized.

Lastly, there are the women in the show Sean gets the chance to choose from. In this episode, you get to meet each of the ladies and hear their stories and why they are supposedly on the show. I admit the crowd is a bit more diverse this season than past seasons, but not by much. In terms of looks, they range from okay looking to “Why are you even on the show because you are gorgeous and stunning?” As for their stories, there are some pretty odd ladies this season and sob stories galore, but I still did not feel any remorse for any of them. Also, there is a surprise mystery contestant you get to see in the first episode to add some drama and suspense. To find out who it is, you are going to have to watch the premiere, if you are a fan of the show.

My overall opinion of this show and this episode is for a reality show, it did not feel realistic at all. It felt too scripted and the contestants were un-relatable and too perfect to not be able to find a mate on their own. There were some surprise guests on this episode and a couple of homoerotic scenes, but not enough to make me like the show or want to watch future episodes. I am a fan of rom-coms and several chick flicks, but this show was not for me and did not feel as real. However, this is the perfect show for most female audiences that still wish and dream of their perfect heroic knight coming to the castle to save them, but they have to understand its all a fantasy and things change when the cameras go off. For those reasons, I am giving this show and this episode a “D.”