'Beauty and the Geek 4' premiere pairs couples, reveals twist to cast

The "gorgeous but academically impaired" women and "brilliant but socially challenged" men met each other for the first time during last night's special two-hour fourth-season premiere broadcast of The CW's Beauty and the Geek, which also included a surprise ending for the contestants.


Following a 40-minute casting special led by Beauty and the Geek third-season lovebirds Nate Dern and Jennylee Berns as well as host Mike Richards, the nine geeks and nine beauties competing in the show's fourth season arrived at the house.

The guys -- David, a 28-year-old fire department administrator from Paramus, NJ; Jesse, a 26-year-old software engineer from Cincinnati, OH; John, a 22-year-old analog circuit design student from Frederick, MD; Josh, a 21-year-old UC Berkeley mechanical engineering student from Oakland, CA; Joshua, a 26-year-old student from Phoenix, AZ; Luke, a 23-year-old student from Cincinnati, OH; Tony, a 26-year-old medical student from Fort Smith, AR; Will, a 25-year-old server from Raleigh-Durham, NC; and William, a 23-year-old software engineer from Haworth, NJ -- met in the study.

The girls -- Amanda, a 25-year-old model from Warren, OH; Erin, a 22-year-old hair stylist from Carol Stream, IL; Hollie, a 26-year-old theme park performer from Providence, RI; Jasmine, a 22-year-old nanny from Norwich, CT; Jennifer, a 26-year-old waitress and model from Ontario, Canada; Katie, a 25-year-old retail store manager from Davenport, IA; Natalie, a 22-year-old waitress and Hooters promotional model from Raleigh, NC; Rebecca, a 24-year-old student from Crown Point, IN; and Shalandra, a 26-year-old bartender from Little Rock, AR -- met in the den.

One by one, each girl and each guy then left their respective room to introduce him or herself to the members of the opposite sex by showcasing their "greatest talent."


Some of the highlights included Will singing science-fiction music; David foam-sword fighting with Jasmine; Josh revealing he's the president of a rubberband club; Jesse realizing he could be bench pressed by Jen; Rebecca giving a massage-therapy demonstration on Luke; Natalie tying a cherry stem with her tongue; Joshua's mom gush about to the girls about her son via a cell phone; and Tony demonstrating how to tie a bow tie.

Despite putting themselves out there, Mike informed the groups that they wouldn't have the luxury of picking their teammates -- at least not yet -- and instead told them they'd have a night to think it over as they participated in the "first ever Beauty and the Geek slumber party."

As the guys and gals mingled, some started to envision who they'd like as a teammate.  David said in an "ideal world" Katie would be his partner, and he also wanted no part of teaming up with Jasmine.  Luke and Hollie also seemed to hit it off pretty well.  Joshua was the big winner of the night, as he was the only geek who was invited by the girls to sleep in one of their cabanas.  The rest of the fellas slept in what Jesse described as the "dude's tent."

"Having women want me is a relatively new experience," explained Joshua, who had the pleasure of sleeping next to Amanda.  "I do wonder why they want me.  Maybe they think I'm pathetic and need the most help, which might very well be true."

The next morning the groups participated in their first challenge, which had the girls taking an intellectual skills analysis and the guys taking a social skills analysis.  The winners would "determine the course of the entire game," according to Mike.  The guys individually met with a psychologist and various exercises included sketching their ideal woman and hugging a female manikin.  The girls met individually with a psychotherapist and had to alphabetize countries and solve simple math problems.


Once everyone had been tested, Mike revealed Shay and Joshua scored the lowest.  But that was actually a good thing, because it meant they were the winners of the challenge and had the opportunity to determine all the fourth-season couples. 

"Having people's lives in your hands, trying to figure out what you actually want to do with the pairings, trying to figure this out," said Joshua.  "It's exciting and terrifying."

Joshua and Shay then met with each of the girls and guys individually to take suggestions on who they wanted to be paired with.  While there was a lot of campaigning going on, the decision still solely belonged to Shay and Joshua. 

"This is obviously what makes making the pairings interesting," explained Joshua.  "You can try to pair people who actually help each other, or you can try to make pairings that will be absolutely horrible and then try to increase your own chance of winning.  It wasn't an easy thing to do at all."

When Shay proposed that she and Joshua should form a couple, he was hesitant since they both scored so low in the first challenge.  But they still decided to do it, which Mike said "goes against all conventional wisdom."


"Originally I didn't think it would be good for me and Shay to be paired," said Joshua.  "But then I changed my mind.  I realized people won't necessarily see us as a threat." 

Amanda and Tony were the second pair, and she was pleased with it to his amazement.  David wasn't so thrilled about being paired with Jasmine.

"I was suddenly worried," said David, as Jasmine didn't even know which guy David was.  "I trusted Joshua and Shay to match me with my preference, Katie," he continued.  "When Jasmine became my partner, I said, 'Oh dear Lord, I just screwed myself."  Joshua was worried unsatisfied pairs may target he and Shay since they made the decisions.

Erin was paired with Jesse, and she was happy because "he's so cute;" Natalie went with John, and he thought they made a "difficult team to beat;" William was paired with Jen even though he wanted Hollie or Rebecca, so he was "surprised and disappointed." Rebecca got Will, and he "was certainly happy" because he "didn't have a preference;" Hollie was paired with Josh, even though she wanted to be with Luke and Luke wanted to be with her; but Luke ended up with Katie, who was "happy."

Before the new couples got to know each other a little better, Mike revealed another twist of Beauty and the Geek 4 --  the inclusion of one hunky guy and one nerdy girl who would be competing as the tenth pair. 


Sam, a 26-year-old party promoter from Davis, CA who is serving as the hunky guy, and Nicole, a 25-year-old Tufts University musicology graduate student from San Francisco, CA who is serving as the nerdy girl, were then both introduced to the other couples.

Beauty and the Geek 4's next episode will air Tuesday, September 25 at 8PM ET/PT on The CW.






About The Author: Christopher Rocchio