'Bachelor Canada': Series Premiere

After 16 successful seasons of The Bachelor and 8 seasons of The Bachelorette, Canada’s CityTV decided to create a duplicate TV show full of Canadian guys and gals in Canadian locals. A Canadian Football League slotback Brad Smith is the first Bachelor to grace the Canadian series.

Surprisingly, they seem to have found a real man on their first shot. He’s sweet, commenting all the girls on their dresses, and his reactions feel very real and off the cuff. His conversations with the women seem genuine and reasonably unscripted, but we shall see if that continues in future episodes.

As the girls come out of the limo some of them definitely gave off some interesting first impressions. Some girls tried to pull out the gimmicks, but they didn’t always work. Mindy the hunter comes in declaring open season on love, and although Brad thinks her hiking boots are cute she’s sent back home. Jessica brought pompoms to do a cheer for Brad, but when she tried to get him to reciprocate it quickly went downhill. Kara brought the athleticism and “home run” metaphors. Fawn tripped like the baby deer she is (twice!), and was sent home to recover. The most awkward introduction garnered the first impression rose. Who knew that a really, really, long hug and a creepy comment would get you so far? Amber, the strip club server, rides in on a motorcycle. The worst of the girls is definitely Rebecca, or Bubba as she wants to be called. In a 50s style, puffy Minnie Mouse dress she comes across way too confident and makes a rude comment about one of the girls while still in earshot of Brad. Not the way to win his heart.

One of my main concerns for a Canadian version of this classic American reality series, was the decidedly small town aspect of Canada. To differentiate between the Canadian and American versions, I worried that the producers would choose many small town girls (aka, unattractive women) and small town landmarks (aka, embarrassing) but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The bachelor house is in beautiful Victoria, BC. I love that the west is being featured in this show instead of Ontario or other eastern provinces because we’re normally forgotten about compared to Ontario and Quebec.

My favourite girl so far, bound to quickly annoy me, is quickly adorable “pastor girl” Chantelle. She’s very giggly and innocent, but kind and caring as well. I love her so far because she seems so real like she could actually capture Brad’s heart. When they talked she brought up her cute gimmick of a book full of kids love quotes. What I liked is that Brad seemed interested in her even though she was the innocent girl. I’d say this means he clearly isn’t on this show just for the sex, but he did go for Whitney… My favourite moment with Chantelle was when she was being educated as to which women had fake breasts versus those with real breasts. She seemed so shocked by how the conversation had escalated, but coped really well and had a fun time. Here’s to hoping she continues to be a fun, bubbly girl on the show!

The only thing I found successful about Whitney’s appearance was that she didn’t get caught up in the Gabrielle drama. I’m sure Brad was told by the producers to keep her, which is why he easily got a 16th rose for tonight.

My biggest problem with the show is no Chris Harrison. I’m not feeling Tyler Harcott yet. Hopefully I’ll warm up to him, but he’ll never be as beloved as Chris Harrison is while he is so friendly with the contestants.

Girls still on the show are: Whitney (first impression rose), Bianka, Britany, Chantelle, Gabrielle, Kara, Laura B, Laura F, Melissa Marie, Michelle B, Michelle V, Nicole, Sophie, Stephanie, Tia, and Ana (extra rose).

Stay tuned for next week when the date cards start coming and drama flows freely.