Average Joe was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
reality televisionReality 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...
show broadcast on the
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
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.
Instead of attempting to make a "dream couple" between two extremely attractive people,
Average Joe tried to get 16 (in the sequel, 18) ordinary men to win over the heart of a
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:...
.
Average Joe was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
reality televisionReality 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...
show broadcast on the
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
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 (in the sequel, 18) ordinary men to win over the heart of a
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 all extremely average in appearance, with many being
overweightOverweight is often used interchangeably with pre-obese and 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
underweightThe term underweight refers to a human who is considered to be under a healthy weight. 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
nerdNerd is a term often bearing a derogatory connotation or stereotype, that refers to a person who passionately pursues intellectual activities, esoteric knowledge, or other obscure interests that are age inappropriate rather than engaging in more social or popular activities...
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 MillionaireJoe Millionaire was an American reality television show 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 BachelorThe Bachelor is an American reality television dating game show debuting in 2002 on ABC. The show is hosted by former game show host and news anchor, Chris Harrison.A 14th season is scheduled to air in early 2010.-About the show:...
and
Joe MillionaireJoe Millionaire was an American reality television show broadcast on Fox beginning in January 2003. It was broadcast in the UK that same year...
. The show was marketed to have an implied
moralA 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 ScantlinMelana 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 PeoplesJason Peoples was the "winner" of the television reality show Average Joe, in which "Average Joes" competed to win the attentions of Melana Scantlin, Miss Missouri USA 2002...
, one of the attractive suitors, over
Adam MeshAdam Mesh is a nationally recognized stock trading coach who was the star of NBC’s hit reality show The Average Joe and then The Average Joe–Adam Returns. Prior to appearing on reality TV, Adam ran two successful trading companies enabling hundreds of beginning traders to make millions in the...
, the last remaining average Joe.
Average Joe: Hawaii
The second season,
Average Joe: Hawaii,
Larissa MeekLarissa Meek is a former beauty queen who has competed in the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA pageants and a model who was the star of the television show Average Joe: Hawaii....
chose attractive Gil Hyatt over average joe Brian Worth. A few days later, on a "
honeymoonA honeymoon is the traditional holiday taken by newlyweds to celebrate their marriage in intimacy and seclusion...
" between Hyatt and Meek, Larissa revealed she had once dated
FabioFabio Lanzoni , widely known simply as Fabio, is an Italian male fashion model who appeared on the cover of hundreds of romance novels throughout the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life & modeling:...
, 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. 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 ChudobaAnna 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.
Syndication and other spinoffs
GSNGSN 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 slogan is "Play Every Day"...
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 ChannelFox Reality Channel is an all-reality television channel available on cable and satellite television in the United States. It was launched on May 24, 2005 and is owned by the Fox Entertainment Group. It features 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.
See also
- The Bachelor
The Bachelor is an American reality television dating game show debuting in 2002 on ABC. The show is hosted by former game show host and news anchor, Chris Harrison.A 14th season is scheduled to air in early 2010.-About the show:...
- Joe Millionaire
Joe Millionaire was an American reality television show broadcast on Fox beginning in January 2003. It was broadcast in the UK that same year...
- The Average Joe Show (Internet Radio show) theaveragejoe.us