First Impressions - Beauty and the Geek 2

The surprise show of the summer was easily Beauty and the Geek (see my review of season one - I Got the Brains, You Got the Looks). Usually I flee from anything that would be hyped “From the twisted mind of Ashton Kutcher,” but the commercials for the show were so funny, I ended up watching it and loved every second of the show. But the brilliance of the show was that none of the cast members actually knew what they were getting into. A lot of reality shows die quickly after the first season because once everyone, including the contestants and viewers, know what to expect. Joe Millionaire even went from the most watch episode of that season to something nobody watched.

So one can expect a falloff from a show like Beauty and the Geek and there is even a possibility that some of the hot chicks faked dumb to get on the show although on the flip side, it can be pretty hard to fake geeky. There’s even a dental assistant in the beauty group and really how dumb can that girl be? At least I’m hoping that someone who sticks sharp objects in my mouth has had plenty of formal education no matter how attractive she is. But to keep the contestants on their toes they already switched things up giving one team the power to change up the pairing however they want.

One thing the show has going for it is that even with the unpredictability factor taken out of the equation, is that good casting could make up for it. Last year had break out start Richard Rubin who started out the season with “Never Been Kissed” label whenever they showed his name which would change every time he got lucky. And this season they may have actually found someone who could even out geek Richard in Josh Herman with his afro, muttonchops, and happens to suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder. To add to his geek cred, he’s also a museum critic. Seriously how do you get a job like that?

There is even a celebrity in the cast, well if you consider someone in the Guinness Book of World Records a celebrity. And that would be Tyson Mao who holds the world record for solving the Rubik’s Cube. And to impress the ladies last night he was able to solve it behind his back. Joe Block, the Speed Chess Champion must be jealous. Rounding out the geeks are Ankur Mehta who holds multiple degrees from M.I.T., Brandon the Neurobiologist, which none of the beauties have correctly pronounced, Chris who unwisely makes his own clothing, Karl the Dungeon Master with the Peter Brady haircut, and Wes Wilson who works with monkeys and lasers presumably at the same time.

As for the ladies, none of them stick out like last year’s lingerie model, Lauren Bergfeld. But this season does include Amanda Horan the hairstylist, Brittany Knott who is labeled “the innocent one” which I have a feeling is nice for the dumbest, beer spokesmodel Cher Tenbush, Danielle Gonzalez the cocktail waitress, Jennipher (yes that’s how she spells it) Johnson the camp counselor, Sarah Coleman is the dental assistant, Thais is your token model this year, and Tristin Clow who one up’s Danielle and is a cocktail waitress/shot girl. And since I’m shallow here’s how I rank the girls:

1. Tristin
2. Thais
3. Brittany
4. Sarah
5. Cher
6. Danielle
7. Amanda
8. Jennipher (yes that’s how she spells it)

Verdict: No where near as entertaining as My Name Is Earl, but still worth taping because there is a good chance Josh has a mental breakdown. As for a prediction I say Sarah and Wes end up winning.