Imagine reading a casting call for a new reality series, asking for men who consider themselves “the life of the party.” Then, if you can, imagine arriving at a tropical mansion, complete with pool and hot tub. As you look around, you realize the other contestants of this reality show aren’t exactly what you’d call “Bachelor” material. On top of all that you meet a less-than-ecstatic former beauty queen, get slapped with the label “average” and, then just as things are looking up, a slew of “hunks” enter the mix. Clearly, they would also be vying for the affection of a woman who claims that looks aren’t important. Riiiight. Welcome to the latest reality TV gimmick, NBC’s “Average Joe.”
The surprising hit of last fall hooked viewers with ads that cut from clips of scantily-clad single gal Melana running on a beach to her facial reactions as she is introduced to her batch of bachelors.
I started watching halfway through the season when Melana dressed up in a fat suit and pretended to be her cousin, to see how the suitors reacted when the roles reversed. As the “hunks” remained relatively quiet on the matter, Zach and Adam, the original average Joes, bashed the cousin, introducing America to the term “DUFF” — Designated Ugly Fat Friend.
Which leads me to wonder, in a genre that constantly introduces new takes on a bored concept, why isn’t there a show called “Average Jane?” With the tables reversed, how would a “hunk” react when introduced to a slew of obese, acne-ridden or gangly women?
Both Melana and “Average Joe 2: Hawaii’s” Larissa contemplated leaving the show after their first confrontations with their bachelors. However, as many pointed out, Melana’s two remaining average Joes weren’t all that unattractive. Yet she still astonished viewers by choosing pretty boy Jason, who still lived at home with his parents, over funny and successful Adam, who showered her with attention and when it comes down to it, wasn’t actually “average” at all.
Maybe the real question is whether viewers would tune in to see a bunch of plain Janes. After all, my guy friends were the ones watching “Average Joe” from the beginning and I only tuned in to see how these guys treated a woman without Melana’s beauty queen figure.
Yet what kept me watching was a desire to see Adam beat out the lackluster Jason in the race for Melana’s superficial heart. As one of my roommates explained, “The people watching that show were guys, drooling over the would-be swimsuit model and hoping that if an average Joe could get a kiss from her, then maybe they could too.”
I highly doubt these same droolers would tune in to see plain Janes win kisses from a hunk each week. For that matter, I don’t think I would, either.
Medill senior and PLAY television columnist Katherine White milks it for all she can. She can be reached at [email protected].