The Bachelor: Paris (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

The Bachelor is an American reality television dating game show debuting in 2002 on ABC. The series has been renewed through fall 2007. Chris Harrison has hosted all of the show's seasons. The show airs on Mondays at 10pm eastern/9pm central.

About the Show

The series revolves around a bachelor courted by 25 women. The show follows the bachelor as he goes on a series of dates with the women, some of them group dates, some one-on-one dates. On each episode women are eliminated, generally during the rose ceremony at the end of the episode, but sometimes on the dates (during what are called "elimination dates"). The process culminates towards the end of the season with a few of the women going on overnight dates and meetings between the bachelor, the women, and their respective families. The program is a roller coaster ride of emotions for both the Bachelor and the women. At the end of the show, the bachelor is to pick one woman with whom he would like to continue a relationship. Sometimes he proposes marriage and sometimes other levels of commitment.

The series quickly gained popularity. Many of its catchphrases have entered into the pop culture lexicon, such as the refrain, "Will you accept this rose?" The runner-up from the first season, Trista Rehn, later starred in The Bachelorette, a spin-off program in which the format was gender-reversed. In light of the fact many of the couples formed during previous seasons later ended their relationships, the premise of finding true love has proven difficult to sustain. To maintain interest, producers added an assortment of "twists" to the format. The fourth season featured Bob Guiney, popular comic relief from the first season of The Bachelorette. The fifth season featured NFL player Jesse Palmer. The sixth season had yet another new twist, as the women of the house were forced to choose between two eligible bachelors. They chose fisherman Byron Velvick; he ultimately ended up with none of the original women, as season four contestant Mary Delgado returned to the show and became his final choice.

The Elimination Process

According to the summary on ABC.com, each new Bachelor episode contains a rose ceremony where one or more contestants are eliminated. Eliminations are based upon date performance, which is how the ladies relate to the bachelor on the dates. The bachelor must follow a process of elimination where his bachelorettes are narrowed down week to week by presenting the women he wishes to keep with a single rose. The catch to the show is that at any point during the process if a woman decides she is no longer interested in the bachelor, although he may still be interested in her, she may leave. A few have actually done so over the course of the show. For some of the women on the show, the bachelor will visit their hometowns and they in turn will meet the bachelor's family. In the end the bachelor will be down to one lady, the lady whom the bachelor picks for himself.

Ratings

Solid ratings throughout the eighth completed editions have resulted in an average audience of nearly 10 million viewers, with some decline in the series' more recent seasons. While much of the series has aired on Wednesday nights "? in a timeslot now occupied by Lost "? its ratings slide reversed somewhat with a move to Mondays in January 2006.

Season 8

The show was renewed for an eighth season and first ran on January 9, 2006. The season was set in Paris, France, and featured bachelor Dr. Travis Lane Stork, a 33-year-old emergency medicine resident from Nashville, Tennessee and a graduate of Duke University and University of Virginia. In the final episode that aired on February 27, 2006, Stork gave the final rose to fellow Nashvillian and kindergarten teacher Sarah Stone, a 26-year-old University of Tennessee alumna. Just more than a week after the airing of the finale, and nearly four months after the eighth season wrapped, Stork and Stone announced they were no longer a couple in a joint interview with Nashville's daily newspaper, The Tennessean. Both cited contractual post-production obligations to remain apart as a major reason the relationship failed. In a season fairly free of wild behavior, one of the more memorable moments of the show involved bachelorette and fellow doctor Allie Garcia-Serra, who angrily confronted Travis after she was not given a rose in the first episode

Season 9

The Bachelor: Rome, the official title of The Bachelor's ninth season, began airing on October 3, 2006. This season was set in Rome, Italy, and featured the bachelor "prince" Lorenzo Borghese, a 34 year-old pet cosmetic entrepreneur who was born in Milan but has resided in Manhattan since 1987. The show had a new twist this season: two beautiful Italian women, Agnese and Cosetta, were suddenly added to the cast of twenty-five, adding new tensions. Agnese stayed on the show until after the group dates, when Lorenzo eliminated her because of their communication barrier. Lorenzo picked Jennifer at the final rose ceremony on November 27, 2006, leaving Sadie with a broken heart. On January 17, 2007, it was reported that Lorenzo and Jennifer were no longer seeing each other. He and Sadie went on a few dates when she moved to New York, but a relationship reportedly did not blossom.

Season 10

The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman, the official title of The Bachelor's tenth edition, premiered Monday, April 2, 2007. The season starred Andy Baldwin, a triathlete and U.S. Navy doctor, and ended with Baldwin proposing to his final bachelorette in the last episode which aired May 21, 2007.

On May 9, 2007, the New York Post correctly reported in advance of the finale that Tessa was the final rose recipient, but incorrectly reported that she had declined his marriage proposal.

According to an article published on August 16, 2007 on TMZ.com, Andy Baldwin and Tessa Horst have called off their engagement. Baldwin tells In Touch, "When the fantasy wore off and the reality set in, we both realized that we weren't ready to be engaged. We're very much in love and are hopeful for the future."

Season 11

The Bachelor 11 premiered on September 24, 2007. The new Bachelor is Brad Womack, 34, a successful, self-made entrepreneur. Womack lives in Austin, Texas and co-owns four bars (two of which, The Chuggin Monkey and The Dizzy Rooster were popular with the Real World: Austin cast members) with his brothers, both of whom are married.. During the course of the series, Brad stated, "The ultimate outcome is me at the end, getting on a knee and giving her a ring and moving back to this beautiful city and having fun." With the two remaining finalists, Deanna and Jenni, awaiting Brad's decision, the season finale, which aired on November 19, 2007, revealed that Brad could not commit to either of them and in doing so made history in the TV series by becoming the first bachelor not to choose either of the two remaining finalists. The Bachelor 11's finale broadcast concluded with Brad sitting on the edge of the final Rose Ceremony altar and staring at the unused engagement ring he had selected earlier that day.

The Bachelors

Season	Bachelor	Occupation	Winner	Proposal	Status of Relationship
1	Alex Michel	management consultant	Amanda Marsh	No	Broke up after several months
2	Aaron Buerge	Vice President of a chain of family-owned banks	Helene Eksterowicz	Yes	Broke up after several months
3	Andrew Firestone	sales manager of Firestone Family estates	Jen Schefft	Yes	Broke up in December 2003
4	Bob Guiney	created a mortgage company	Estella Gardinier	No	Broke up after the show aired. He is now married to soap opera star Rebecca Budig.
5	Jesse Palmer	football player	Jessica Bowlin	No	Broke up after several months
6	Byron Velvick	professional bass fisherman	Mary Delgado	Yes	Currently engaged; wedding reportedly planned for 2007
7	Charlie O'Connell	actor	Sarah Brice	No	Broke up as of September 2007
8	Travis Lane Stork	ER doctor	Sarah Stone	No	Broke up after the show aired
9	Prince Lorenzo Borghese	cosmetics entrepreneur	Jennifer Wilson	No	Broke up in January 2007
10	Andy Baldwin	doctor, triathlete & Naval officer	Tessa Horst	Yes	Called off the engagement one month after the finale, but continued their romantic relationship. As of November 2007, they are still an item.
11	Brad Womack	bar owner from Texas	No one	No	N/A

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