Beauty and the Geek (American TV series)
| Beauty and the Geek | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Brian McFayden Mike Richards |
| Opening theme | Pet Shop Boys - Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Ashton Kutcher Jason Goldberg Nick Santora |
| Running time | 42 minutes (60 with commercials) |
| Original release | |
| Network | The WB (2005-2006) The CW (2007) |
| Release | June 1, 2005 |
Beauty and the Geek is a reality television show, first aired by The WB network on June 2 2005. It has been advertised as "The Ultimate Social Experiment" and is produced by Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg and Nick Santora. Each season, 8 "beauties" (young women who have relied primarily on their looks thus far in life) and 8 "geeks" (young men who have relied primarily on intellect and are socially inept) are paired up to compete as couples for $250,000 and other prizes. Each beauty lives together in a room with her geek during the course of the competition. There is a competition during each episode, after which one couple is eliminated. By the end of the competition, many of the contestants say that they have learned much about interacting with people from a different social group (and positive lessons about the character of people from that group), positive things about themselves and their own characters, and often something about human nature in general. The theme song, "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" by the Pet Shop Boys (originally released in 1985), is used also on the British version.
Following the second season, the American version moved to The CW Television Network, the new network formed when both The WB and UPN ceased operations in September 2006. The two-hour season premiere for the third season aired Wednesday, January 3, 2007 at 8PM EST on The CW.
A Finnish version of the show, Kaunotar ja nörtti (The Beauty and The Nerd) started at September 4, 2005 on MTV3. The show was filmed in Estonia. On February 7, 2006 a British version of the show debuted on E4. Although there is no host, voiceovers are provided by David Mitchell. A Norwegian version will start on Norwegian TV3 in March 2006. It has been given the name Prinsessen og Professoren ("The Princess and the Professor"). In Denmark the original American show is aired with Danish subtitles. An Italian version started on Italia 1 in September 2006, called La pupa e il secchione ("The Doll and the Nerd"), hitting ratings records for the channel. An Estonian version also started on Estonian TV3 in September 2006 called Kaunitar ja geenius (The Beauty and the Genius) and a Colombian version also debuted on Canal Caracol in May 2006, called "La Bella y el Nerdo" (The Beauty and The Geek). The Portuguese version started March 2007 and it's called "A Bela e o Mestre" (The Beauty and the Master). The "master" word was used because there is no word in Portuguese that has the same meaning as geek. A Russian version has aired on REN TV. A German version called "The Model and the Freak" will start on ProSieben in 2007. A new version of the show is now set to debut on TF1 in France under the title Bimbo et Intello.[1]
Overview
Season 1
Cast
| The Beauties | The Geeks |
|---|---|
| Cheryl Elliott "Cocktail Waitress" |
Eric Chase "Computer Programmer" |
| Erika Rumsey "Life-Sized Barbie Doll" |
Joe Hanson "Has never been on a date" |
| Krystal Tini "NBA Dancer" |
Brad Hooker "Mensa Member" |
| Lauren Bergfeld "Lingerie Model" |
Bill Lambing "Vice President, 'Dukes of Hazzard' Fan Club" |
| Scarlet Garcia "Beer Spokesmodel" |
Shawn Bakken "Assistant Boy Scout Master" |
| Mindi Emanuel "Sorority Girl" |
Richard Rubin "Has kissed two girls" |
| Caitilin Stoller "Aspiring Fashion Expert" |
Chuck Munyon "Medical Student: Functional Neurology" |
Challenges
| Week | Beauty Winner | Geek Winner | Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spelling Bee (Mindi) | Dancing Competition (Richard) | Cheryl & Eric |
| 2 | Car Repair (Caitilin) | Massage (Chuck) | Erika & Joe |
| 3 | Rocket Science (Caitilin) | Women's Fashion (Shawn) | Krystal & Brad |
| 4 | Math (Lauren) | Get Girls' Phone Numbers (Chuck) | Lauren & Bill |
| 5 | Scarlet & Shawn | ||
| 6 | Mindi & Richard | ||
| Winners | |||
Season 2
Cast
| The Beauties | The Geeks | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Amanda Horan "Hairstylist" |
Brandon Blankenship "Assistant Neurobiologist" |
Amanda's original partner: Chris Brandon's original partner: Tristin (changed after Week 1) |
| Brittany Knott "Tanning Salon Administrator" |
Joe Block "Speed Chess Champion" |
|
| Cher Tenbush "Beer Spokesmodel" |
Josh Herman "Museum Critic" |
|
| Danielle Gonzalez "Cocktail Waitress" |
Karl Hench "Dungeon Master" |
|
| Jennipher Johnson "Camp Counselor" |
Ankur Mehta "MIT Graduate" |
|
| Sarah Coleman "Dental Assistant" |
Wes Wilson "Tracks Monkeys With Lasers" |
|
| Thais Soares "Model" |
Tyson Mao "Rubik's Cube Record Holder" |
|
| Tristin Clow-Thomsen "Cocktail Waitress/Shot Girl" |
Chris Saroki "Has Only Kissed One Girl" |
Tristin's original partner: Brandon Chris's original partner: Amanda (changed after Week 1) |
Challenges
| Week | Beauty Winner | Geek Winner | Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quiz (Amanda & Chris) | No eliminations | |
| 2 | Public Speaking (Cher) | Karaoke (Tyson) | Amanda & Brandon |
| 3 | Assemble a computer and burn a song (Cher) | Interior Decorating (Joe) | Thais & Tyson |
| 4 | Makeover for the Geeks | Speed dating (Wes) | Tristin & Chris |
| 5 | Strip poker (Brittany) | Party planning (Josh) | Danielle & Karl |
| 6 | Frumpy flirting (Jennipher) | Fashion photography (Joe) | Sarah & Wes |
| 7 | Navigation (Cher) | Shopping (Josh) | Jennipher & Ankur |
| 8 | How their partners think (Cher & Josh) | Brittany & Joe | |
| Winners | Cher & Josh | ||
Season 3
Cast
| The Beauties | The Geeks |
|---|---|
| Nadia Underwood "Sorority Girl" |
Mario Muscar "Owns 25,000 Comics" |
| Cecille Gahr "Bikini Model" |
Nate Dern "Singer: Star Wars Band" |
| Jennylee Berns "U.F.C. Ring Girl" |
Niels Hoven "Had A Perfect S.A.T. Score" |
| Megan Hauserman "Playboy Model" |
Alan "Scooter" Zackheim "Harvard Graduate" (See Winthrop House) |
| Erin Gipson "Voice Teacher" |
Andrew "Drew" Sawa "Trekker" |
| Andrea Ciliberti "Beauty Pagent Queen" |
Matt Herman "M.I.T. Graduate" |
| Sheree Swanson "Former Hooters Waitress" |
Piao Sam "Has Only Kissed One Girl" |
| Tori Elmore "Model" |
Sanjay Shah "Virgin" |
Challenges
| Week | Beauty Winner | Geek Winner | Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Part 1) | Library Search (Cecille) | Social Challenge (Nate) | No eliminations |
| 1 (Part 2) | News Interview (Sheree) | Stand-up Comedy (Nate) | Tori & Sanjay |
| 2 | Museum Tour Guiding (Nadia) | Model Quiz (Mario) | Sheree & Piao |
| 3 | Geek Makeover & Charity Auction (Jennylee & Niels) | Andrea & Matt | |
| 4 | Beach Escape Challenge (Cecille) | Fitness Instructor (Scooter) | Erin & Drew |
| 5 | Building a Doghouse (Megan) | Collecting Phone Numbers (Nate) | Nadia & Mario |
| 6 | Ranch Duties Challenge (Megan & Scooter) | Jennylee & Niels | |
| 7 | Who Changed the Most (decided by previously eliminated contestants) (Megan & Scooter) | Cecille & Nate | |
| Winners | Megan & Scooter | ||
Season 3 marked what may be the first time in the history of reality television that a contestant "threw" the game in the final round. All previously eliminated contestants were brought back to spend one more night in the mansion and to assess which of the final two teams had undergone the most personal change. Their votes on this question would determine the winner of the $250,000 grand prize. It was generally agreed that although Nate had undergone the greatest personal transformation of anyone in the cast, he was paired with the person who had changed the least. Many in the cast were torn between their desire to see Nate win and their desire to see Cecille lose. After concluding that his teammate Cecille had not changed and had missed what he felt was the point of the experience of being on the show, Nate lobbied for his castmates to vote against his own team, effectively handing the victory to Scooter and Megan.
Season 4
Casting instructions were posted on the The CW Television Network on January 24, 2007, the current deadline is unknown.
Season 4 will be taping in July, 2007. It will consist of 10 teams rather than the previous season's 7 or 8.
See also
External links
