Plot: What’s it about?
As if we thought television couldn’t reach a new low, it has. With all of the hype of "reality-based" TV shows being the rage, it was inevitable that something like this would come around. It’s commonly thought that women are only after men who are: 1) Attractive. 2) Have money. and 3) Come from a good background/education. Well, ladies…meet the man of your dreams! Graduate of Harvard Business School, Alex Michel is the ultimate Bachelor…and now he has his own television show to prove it. Fear not, as the good folks at ABC have provided us with another bachelor for Season Two. I kind of thought this was an April Fool’s joke when I first heard of it. One man is essentially thrown in with 25 very attractive (and need I say, desperate) ladies. In a perfect world, we assume they would want him because he’s a nice, charming guy that’s looking for a good girl. The thing is that these guys usually don’t do it on national television; they get out there and try (i.e. "bars") like the rest of us. But then again no one said life was fair.
For those of you who saw the television show and the "shocking" finale, this gives you more of what you want to see…women bad mouthing each other and giving us the cat fights that we all love to see! I’ll probably take some heat for that one. For it seems that every advance the women’s movement takes forward, things like "The Bachelor" take it back a few steps. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be the first to admit that us men have a long way to go to. I mean who is really more despicable here, the women or the one man? But for every person like me who can’t believe this stuff sells, there are sorority houses full of women who can’t get enough (trust me, I’ve heard them talk about the show). If you’re a fan of this show, then this is really for you. Running at some 2 plus hours, this gives you almost everything you want and then some. I don’t know if I’d call it a "recommendation", but you all know who you are!
Video: How does it look?
Presented in a full-frame format, just as it appeared on TV, The Best of the Bachelor looks a bit better than when it originally appeared. One of the great little things about these discs is that they make just about any image look and sound better. If you’re looking for plenty of female eye candy, then look no further than the near flawless images here. No real noticeable errors can be found, yet this doesn’t always equal a top notch transfer. Let’s just say that this isn’t something you’ll watch for image quality.
Audio: How does it sound?
As we might expect, the only mix on this disc is an English Dolby Surround stereo. Just as on television, the mix sounds good at best. Though, since the processing is being done in the digital domain, it does have a richer, fuller sound. Dialogue is very clear, though there is some yelling, crying and such that can make it hard to understand what is being said at times. This, of course, is no fault of the DVD…that’s just how the sound ended up. Again, this isn’t something you’ll watch for audio quality either.
Supplements: What are the extras?
While the supplements box is filled with plenty of things like "Amanda’s Final Thoughts" and "Alex’s call to Trista after his final decision", they’re just a collection of featurettes that fill up some space. There’s really nothing of depth here, just more of what was included on the actual DVD. It kind of makes you wonder why they decided that these were the supplements? For fans of the show, there’s no doubt that they’ll want this disc. For me, I consider it yet another sign of the apocalypse…
