Episode 1 Recap

[PlatypusBen]

This social experiment begins with the geeks arriving at the mansion in stylish black Coopers. Then the group of unsuspecting women arrives. With visions of charming hunks dancing in their heads, Bryan explains the real reason they were chosen; they all have something in common … low I.Q.’s. Then, the guys, in a separate room, are told they were chosen also because they have something in common; none of them ever received a free ride because of their looks. (On the brighter side, they’re all brainiacs with high ranking I.Q test scores.) Finally, they are told, they will be paired up into 7 teams, where they will attempt several challenges in order to win a shocking sum of $250,000. Both groups are left with their mouths hanging open.

First we get to meet the geeks. I have to admit, underneath the overall, outer geeky look, some of the guys have extreme makeover potential. Brad is the first to be thrown in to the roomful of beauties. He proudly announces membership in MENSA, (a fraternal-like group of high achievers and smart folks). A bank teller and business student, Brad auditioned for the show at the coaxing of his mother and sister. With weightlifting and playing the guitar as hobbies, so far Brad doesn’t appear to be the king of geeks. He is chosen by Krystal, a confident, well-spoken NBA professional dancer and make-up artist. Krystal, who bears a slight resemblance to Cher, doesn’t seem too disappointed over being paired with Brad. They eagerly head upstairs to choose their room, where to Brad’s surprise they will be sharing a bed.

Assistant Boy Scout Master Shawn is coupled with beer spokesmodel Scarlet, who seems relieved, and says Shawn isn’t “so bad”. Shawn, also a MENSA member, sorely lacks experience with the fairer sex. As they head upstairs, Scarlet informs Shawn that she will need a room with two single beds. Oh well, so much for being bedmates.

Next we meet “soon-to-be Dr.” Chuck who is studying functional neural medicine with hopes of pursuing a career dealing with brain traumas. Before long, we will discover that Chuck might want to consider changing his specialty to nasal medicine. Chuck experiences a brain freeze as he is introduced to the ladies. He stammers a little, but finally says he should be chosen because of his ambition of becoming a doctor. (hmm … cha ching! … money) Caitilin, who is an aspiring fashion expert, chooses him because she feels he is sincere and “cute.” Her zeal of betting on horse races may have been a small, underlying reason for her selecting Chuck. They happily head upstairs to choose their room.

Cheryl, who appears to have both brains and beauty, is a University of Texas business major, moonlighting as a cocktail waitress. Taking a look at Eric, her gawking partner, she admits she likes what she sees. Tall and lanky, computer programmer Eric doesn’t seem too disappointed with Cheryl either.

Shy golden boy Joe steals the affections of the 3 remaining girls when he tells them that he is an English major who enjoys tutoring kids. Although the girls all think he’s a tad short, Erika, the aspiring model/actress is charmed and thinks Joe is “sweet and cute.” As Joe heads up the stairs behind Erika, his first, second and third impressions are, “She’s hot, hot, and really, hot.” Erika hopes to teach Joe that even beautiful girls have their share of flaws.

Real live V.P. of the Dukes of Hazzard fan club, Bill is mesmerized at being chosen by lingerie model and former cheerleader, Lauren. Known by her friends as “the life size Barbie,” Lauren gives Bill a bright, charming smile. Neither of them seems to be depressed at being paired together.

Lastly, we have Richard, who may very well win the prize for “king of the geeks". He becomes giddy as soon as he lays eyes the girls. Admitting he has never kissed a girl, he chooses Mindy, the classic sorority gal, who is majoring in special education with hopes of becoming a teacher. As they finally settle on their bed, Mindy announces, “Good, I’ll get a chance to spoon.” Clueless, Richard wonders what she means and assumes she is referring to feeding him with a spoon. Boyish Richard also has a nerve wracking habit of flailing his arms dramatically as he talks.

The group awaits details on their first challenge. The girls will be tested with 5th grade subjects, such as history, math etc, while the guys will be faced with the challenge of using their coordination and skill in the art of dancing. The winning team will be exempted from elimination, and will ultimately have to choose a team to put up for elimination. Chuck suddenly gets worked up about the dance challenge, and develops a gushing nosebleed.

The teams work together on quizzing lady team members on 5th grade academics. Cheryl feels 5th graders must be quite smart to pull off the answers to some of these questions. (How do you spell nickel?) Then, each of the teams practice or make attempts to teach the guys basic dance moves. Richard reaches excited mode, but finally settles down for a good nights’ sleep with Mindy.

They arrive at the elementary school for their first round of competition. Each of the cuties will be given typical 5th grade school questions. A wrong answer will eliminate each girl from this part of the competition. As they start off with a spelling quiz, Lauren is asked to spell the word “tattoo.” Leaving out a “t”, she gets it wrong and steps off to the side. Next, Crystal is asked which state is furthest south, North Carolina or South Dakota. She walks away with the wrong answer. After several rounds, only Mindy, Erika and Cheryl remain. Immediately Cheryl misses the spelling of “calendar” so only two are left. Finally, Erika misses the question, “What is the state capital of New England?” Of course, she doesn’t realize there is no state capital of New England, so Mindy becomes final winner.

Richard is totally psyched about the dance competition, and becomes almost slap happy with excitement. Eric, who is first up, misses a dance step, and becomes too frazzled to finish. He walks off the stage. Chuck gets a great start with his dance partner, Caitlin, but again becomes overwhelmed and develops another nose gusher during the competition. Gracefully, they both continue to dance in spite of the blood spurting here and there. Richard, totally funny and goofy, later gets down on himself for making a small mistake. His partner tries to encourage him to not be so negative all the time. When Joe and Erika dance, Erika is amazed at how passive and eager to please Joe is. Maybe she gets a kick out of having the control factor? The judges announce the dance competition winner: with 35% of the votes, Richard wins. He and Mindy will be selecting both teams to send to the elimination room.

After the group toasts Mindy and Richard’s win with a bottle of bubbly, they all decide to head to the hot tub to relax. Unashamed, each of the girls jump in without hesitation. The geeks, with their swim suits pulled clear over their belly buttons, have to be coaxed to join them. One of the guys asks the girls what qualities they look for in a guy, and the girls all agree that trustworthiness and spontaneity is a plus. The geeks all aspire to be spontaneous and trustworthy.

Oddly, Erika has a realization …. she thinks Brad is “hot” and since she’s missing out on snuggling, she sneaks out of the room she shares with Joe, and tip toes into bed with Brad, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Krystal, his roommate. The next morning, Erika quietly sneaks back to her own room before anyone notices. Later, she confronts Joe, and wants to know if he’s heard anything about her. Joe, who already knows she hooked up with Brad, doesn’t let on. He is upset, but admits that he is used to being overlooked by girls.

Then it’s up to Mindy and Richard to select the two teams to go up for the elimination challenge. Mindy chooses Cheryl and Eric, while Richard picks Erika and Joe. Both teams will be quizzed. The guys are quizzed on pop culture, and the girls are quizzed on history in politics. As the girls go first, Cheryl misses the first and third questions (Al Gore’s running mate, and the current Prime minister of England). Erika guesses right on which US president is on the dollar bill. She also gets the next question, “which political party is represented by a donkey” correct. The score ends 2-0 with Cheryl being eliminated with an incorrect answer for “which US president was in office during the Civil War.” (She answers, Hoover.)

The guys are next. Joe gets the first pop culture question right. (Which performer sings a song called “In Da Club”?) His answer - 50 Cent. Eric is asked which singer wears a cheerleading outfit in the video, “Hit Me Baby One More Time”. He also guesses right with Britney Spears as his answer. Next Joe is asked which Madonna song is also the name of a popular dance. Not knowing, Joe turns red and blurts out, “Like a Virgin?” Wrong again!! Finally, Joe takes the competition with the last correct answer.

Eric and Cheryl end up losing the competitions and although they are eliminated, both agree they had a great learning experience. Eric ends by saying, “What it all comes down to - we’re all just people.” Hopefully they’ll maintain that thought process during next week’s episode

[DoubleHeart]

this was one of my favorite seasons!