Average Joe
Encyclopedia
Average Joe is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...

 show broadcast on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 beginning in 2003. There were a total of four seasons, the first two following the original show premise, and the last two bringing back contestants from prior seasons.

Show Premise

Instead of attempting to make a "dream couple" between two extremely attractive people, Average Joe tried to get 16 to 18 ordinary men to win over the heart of a beauty queen
Beauty Queen
"Beauty Queen" is the second song from Roxy Music's second album, For Your Pleasure. The lyrics refer to Ferry's girlfriend, Valerie Leon, one-time UK beauty queen, B-movie actress and model working in the Newcastle area, circa 1973.-Musicians:...

. The men were what the producers considered to be average in appearance, with many being overweight
Overweight
Overweight is generally defined as having more body fat than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is a common condition, especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary...

 or underweight
Underweight
The term underweight refers to a human who is considered to be under a healthy weight. "Underweight" means weighing less than what is expected to be a healthy person . The definition is usually made with reference to the body mass index . A BMI of under 18.5 is usually referred to as underweight...

 and nerd
Nerd
Nerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...

y, or awkward in their behavior and personalities.

Prior to the show's start, the beauty queen was not aware she was to be dating "average" men. She was instead led to believe her show was going to feature only handsome suitors. (The second series, taped before the first one aired, also contained this element, thus avoiding the problem associated with the second season of Joe Millionaire
Joe Millionaire
Joe Millionaire is an American reality television show that was broadcast on Fox beginning in January 2003. It was broadcast in the UK that same year...

.) Halfway through the show, several handsome suitors appear and compete against the average Joes.

Throughout the show the beauty went on various dates with the men, both in groups and individually (at her choice). When the attractive suitors show up, there were also competitions between the rival groups of men. At the end of every episode the beauty votes to send a certain number (usually four) of the men home. In the end, she must pick only one to go on an intimate vacation with.

Average Joe

The first two Average Joe series were intended to be somewhat of a mockery of traditional set-up shows such as The Bachelor and Joe Millionaire
Joe Millionaire
Joe Millionaire is an American reality television show that was broadcast on Fox beginning in January 2003. It was broadcast in the UK that same year...

. The show was marketed to have an implied moral
Moral
A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...

 subtext, namely that beauty was only skin deep, and that personality could ultimately triumph over looks. However the first two seasons ended in a way that seemed to prove the opposite. In Average Joe, Melana Scantlin
Melana Scantlin
Melana Scantlin is an American television co-host, former beauty contestant, and reality TV participant who has competed in the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA pageants....

 chose Jason Peoples, one of the attractive suitors, over Adam Mesh
Adam Mesh
Adam Mesh is an American entrepreneur, stock trader, television personality and author. He is the CEO and founder of The Adam Mesh Trading Group. Adam Mesh was first introduced to television audiences in the 2003 hit NBC show The Average Joe...

, the last remaining average Joe.

Average Joe: Hawaii

The second season, Average Joe: Hawaii, Larissa Meek
Larissa Meek
Larissa Meek is a former beauty queen who has competed in the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA pageants and a reality television personality who starred in Average Joe: Hawaii.-Pageants:...

 chose attractive Gil Hyatt over average joe Brian Worth. A few days later, on a "honeymoon
Honeymoon
-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...

" between Hyatt and Meek, Larissa revealed she had once dated Fabio
Fabio Lanzoni
Fabio Lanzoni ; born March 15, 1959), widely known simply as Fabio, is a famous international Italian fashion model, spokesperson and actor who appeared on the cover of hundreds of romance novels throughout the 1980s and 1990s....

, which caused Gil to leave her in disgust. Meek now owns a website design and art company registered and situated in Fort Lauderdale, which is Hyatt's hometown. They are not a couple any longer, according to Meek's blog. She said "we gave it our best but decided to part ways."

Average Joe: Adam Returns

The third season, Average Joe: Adam Returns, featured the return of rejected contestant Adam Mesh, this time as the object of the affections of 19 female contestants. The women in this situation were a mixture of fairly attractive and average, with the busload of "babes" arriving later sent home immediately by Adam. In the final episode, Adam chose saleswoman Samantha Trenk over schoolteacher Rachel Goetz. http://www.realitytvworld.com/index/articles/story.php?s=2451

Average Joe: The Joes Strike Back

The fourth season entitled Average Joe: The Joes Strike Back started airing on June 28, 2005. The name references Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...

. In this season, one rejected Joe from each week received a complete makeover and the opportunity at another chance with the show's beauty Anna Chudoba
Anna Chudoba
Anna Chudoba is a Polish born model featured on the NBC television show Average Joe: The Joes Strike Back, which aired in the summer of 2005...

. In the end, Anna chose Average Joe Nathan Griffin over model/bartender Rocky Fain, breaking the 'Joes' losing streak. A contestant on Average Joe: Hawaii, Alfred LaPonza 'Fredo', along with two other men, sued NBC claiming the network used ideas of theirs on the show. Matt Hoffman, who later appeared on Big Brother 12 (U.S.)
Big Brother 12 (U.S.)
Big Brother 12 is the 12th season of the American reality television series Big Brother. The HouseGuests moved into the Big Brother House on July 3, 2010 and the season premiered on July 8, 2010. The show was broadcast on CBS and Showtime 2 for 75 days, concluding on September 15, 2010 when Hayden...

was a contestant on Average Joe: The Joes Strike back, and was eliminated on the first episode of the season.

Syndication and other spinoffs

GSN
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...

 had acquired the first two series in 2004, but the network no longer airs the show. Episodes can now be seen on the Fox Reality Channel
Fox Reality Channel
Fox Reality Channel was an all reality television channel available on cable and satellite television in the United States. It was launched on May 24, 2005 and was owned by the Fox Entertainment Group. It featured many shows that were previously on the Fox network...

.

A role-reversal version of the show, with a series of ordinary women who were to compete for the love of a very handsome man, to be entitled "Plain Jane", was announced as being in the works, but such a show never materialized. The title was eventually used for another reality series with a different concept.
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