i admit that i'm as much of a sucker for cheesy, reality-based television as anyone (save the various versions of "survivor". i've never seen a full season and never had any interest in most of the seasons except for the final few episodes of the spring '02 season, whatever that was. marquis, maybe?). i've been a long-time "real world" junkie and enjoyed the last season of "road rules" as much as anyone else in the mtv generation. i missed the first season and a half of "the bachelor" but was hooked on aaron's quest for "love" once i started watching this fall. and i've been looking forward to taping "the west wing" (my all-time favorite television show) so i can lounge in the living room with my roommates and make snide yet invested comments about "the bachlorette". and i was all sorts of excited about the fact that "the it factor," which i missed most of first season, is back on bravo at a time at which i can actually see it. i admit this and still love myself for it.

yet i've got to say, "joe millionaire" pisses me off like you wouldn't believe. i've seen two episodes now and find myself sitting there the entire time, one eyebrow arched in disbelief and disdain.

i thought it would be like "the bachelor" in the respect that our "prize" man, evan, would get to know these girls and find himself engaged in meaningful conversation and whatnot. torn between the deep connections he's making as evan the multi-millionaire and the deceit he's weaving as evan the construction worker. we could feel for evan and his beloved as they come closer together, only to inevitably be ripped apart when the truth of his life comes to light. etc. etc. etc.

instead, we get a cocky, slightly jeering guy who parades these money-hungry, ridiculously superficial women around, making them do embarrassing tasks like shoveling manure out of a stable for two seconds of face time on national television and a cheesy piece of jewelry. he goes through this whole thing about how he's looking for someone who loves the "real" him, yet then selects a woman and says the reason he chose her is because she's hot. meanwhile, when a woman is selected, she's too busy drooling over her necklace to spend any time thinking about the fact that she had intended to fall in love on the show. deep and meaningful? not so much.

but it doesn't even make for interesting television. the entire show is choppy, cheesy and anti-climatic. i keep waiting for something good to happen, but it never comes around. do i care about who evan chooses? nope. is there any character (and yes, i use the word character intentionally) that i like? maybe zora, but even that's pushing it. they're just all so greedy and despicable that i'm completely turned off.

ugh.