I'm going there. I watch the Bachelor every Monday and was quite shocked by the finale last week. I've had some time to think about most aspects about it and decided that I would like to share my opinion and why I think ABC went too far. If you missed what happened on the finale and the very much anticipated after the rose ceremony here it is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCd2DhvTlVU
Jason proposed to Melissa on the finale and minutes later he dumped her on national television and then asked the runner up for a second chance. Now Jason and Molly are officially together and she is moving to Seattle to live with him. So did Jason go to far? I think both he and ABC did. Jason should not have proposed to Melissa in the end. It's not like that hasn't happened before. I also think ABC should have announced Jason and Melissa breaking up in another way. I think a lot of Bachelor fans think the after the rose special went to far. I usually think that ABC runs good programs and has integrity, but they totally lost touch of people's feelings when they aired the public breakup.
Message boards were filled with viewer comments. Here is an example of one.
That's the difference between children & adults. Children do 'what feels good' at the time--and that often gets them into trouble because they don't think of consequence. Jason seems to be an overgrown child. Ty will soon surpass his dad's maturity level, it won't take too long....
So did Jason go to far, or do you think he just did all of this because of his contract with ABC? Was this enough to make viewers stop watching the Bachelor? How much further will ABC go for ratings?
If anything I think people will turn in to see Jillian, the new bachelorette, since she was burned by Jason as well.
The Bachelor again. I haven’t seen the show so I can’t answer most of your questions. But however I believe that a television network can and will do almost everything to obtain higher ratings. NBC moved the Olympics for better ratings so why wouldn’t the other networks do similar things? ABC will probably draw the line when the Bachelor or some of the girls competing for him kills someone or anything worse. Everything “below” this line is probably acceptable when trying to obtain higher ratings. Everything except butt cracks of course.
I watched the finale and was so upset!! I really think that Jason went to far and the reason I say that is because I feel like even Chris was surprised by what Jason decided. I bet ABC loved the fact that they got more viewers because of the change of heart that Jason had but do I think that it was planned and in Jason's contract, No. I think that Jillian will have great success on the Bachelorette because she was like "America's Sweetheart" and the fact that she was let go by Jason will for sure make more viewers tune into ABC to watch the Bachelorette making ratings go way up!
People will continue to watch the show. ABC should not worry about a loss of viewers. I think people know what to expect with reality television, and that is to expect anything. An ending like this keeps people talking and creates interest for next season.
Unfortunately (and this is not how I feel) I think the Bachelor will pick up more viewers from this debacle. I am not a Bachelor fan, however I couldn't help but notice the media circus surrounding the surprising decision at the finale. It was near impossible not to have any clue as to what went on with all the coverage. I think ABC will pick up new viewers because of the media coverage over the surprising and unsettling ending. However, I'm scared for what the next Bachelor may do next season. What if he tries to outdo what Jason did this season? ABC does not think twice about the people's feelings on the show (especially not the girls who signed up to compete for one guy's attention). ABC is there for success in numbers-overall ratings. They got what they wanted and probably more for next year.
The recent debacle from the Bachelor, I am sad to admit, has gotten to people like myself. I will admit that I like watching people in bad situations, it makes me feel better about myself. Considering the current economic crisis, I can understand how people need a little "pick me up" by watching others suffer. Plus, these people signed up to be on the show, and in the spot light, so why not watch!