Has or will ABC address RS's allegations?

[cantstopwatchin]

The thing is, at this point, that no matter what is shown, what is believed?

And then we've come full circle because isn't that the unofficial motto of the show-- "all is not as it seems". How many times have we heard that over the last few seasons?

No matter how it plays out, Fleiss & Co shot ABC in the foot based on how they edited the show. Melissa has been front-and-center the entire show; they showed her, more than once, saying that she's "unlucky in love" and is always the dumpee. Perhaps... their intention was that they would use those quotes as foreshadowing for the ultimate ending.

However... as they have proven in the past... they have absolutely no insight into how the 'average viewer' perceives the show. And instead of foreshadowing the breakup, they helped viewers to fall more in love with Melissa and to champion her in her quest for her 'fairy tale ending'.

If I were ABC, I would give whoever wrote the storyline/edited for the last few seasons their pink slips. Matt & Shayne made a pretty 'fairytale'; however, most of us could all see through it. Deanna & Jesse-- well, after their editing, the majority of us were thinking "Jesse????" because we really didn't know who he was and how he got to be F1. Now, they've set Melissa up to have her fairytale story, when, in fact it could be Molly who ultimately ends up with it. If that's the case, then they should've pulled back on Melissa and played up Molly more.

I admit, I'm curious to see how this all ends. That being said, they've lost me from here on out. I've got House and Gossip Girl, 24 and Heroes that I'd rather be watching instead of taping.

[dodie430]

Thank you!! This bit about people tuning in for the rollercoaster ride ONLY works if you give them the happy ending. You deny them that and they feel like crap. I don't care if Molly and Jason live happily ever after. What they did to Melissa is unforgivable.

The thing is.... not everyone is going to feel that way. There are literally millions of viewers who will suck it up exactly the way Fleiss & Co decide to feed it to them. They already have their numbers [which is their world equates to $$$ and renewals] and people will come back for the next installment. Even if all of this is true [and I'm not so sure it all went down the way RS intimates it did]... I will hate that I know what I know, but if I'm honest - I'll still watch the next go 'round.

And if I'm willing to watch [knowing what I know] - I'm sure there are millions more who are in the dark, willing to do the same. There isn't enough people who "Will never watch this show again!" to effect a Bachelor "Strike". I don't think it'll hurt the franchise at all, and in fact .... I think they're getting exactly what they wanted to get.

[dodie430]

Hear, hear . The thing that is most concerning with RS is how his allegations were taken like Manna from Heaven. Even if he is legit, who says that the info that was leaked to him was accurate, complete or even real? How do we know that he has checked it and covered all the basis? Finally, how do we know he has not been enticed by TPTB (many here do not have a problem believing Jason sold himself - why not RS)?

The short answer to all of these questions is that we don't know, so we should look at the facts he is presenting and judge them on their own merit. This is where, for me at least, his theories come up short. He is asking for a lot of leaps of faith that frankly do not match what I have seen on this show.

Just to be clear I believe that the producers of TB would manipulate and sell their soul for a single Nielsen point and would possibly stoop even lower than what RS is saying (and for all I know did), but this kind of a "nicely packaged" leak was suspicious from the start. :nono It mixes love and injustice and appeals directly to the most basic emotions in all of us, ensuring TPTB will drive up ratings!

I completely agree. RS use of phrasing in his explantion of "how it all went down", such as "Here's why I think this..." and "As far as I know...", tells me at least some of what he claims is supposition alone. And supposition based on information that may or may not be accurate. It's like those books where you choose A or B, and with each successive choice the path becomes more winding. I think there are some real truths out there, but it's difficult for me to accept his whole enchilda in its entirety, without wondering what chapter he's on and if he chose A or B.

[dodie430]

You know what PeteB? You can say all day that Reality Steve's is incorrect or incomplete, but how do you explain that there were multiple confirmations of the same information that came from different sources? It wasn't only Reality Steve that was hearing things, many others were hearing similar reports. This is not just one man with one source.

No one is going to say who told them what or where they got their information. No one is going to incriminate the people who talked about the show. It is great to get information here, but it would be terrible to get someone in trouble for saying it.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we are all wrong?
But what would the ideal scenario be now? Should we expect to see Molly as the F1 at the FRC? Should we see Melissa engaged to Jason and happy at the AFTR? Should we see Melissa dump Jason at the AFTR? What would be the right ending now that there are so many out there?

The only way this information passes muster as a deliberate leak is if the information is true, and the producers wanted to let it percolate for awhile to blunt the effect while driving up viewing for the FRC and the ATFR1

I know this wasn't directed to me, but I just wanted to say that while I do believe there is some validity to RS claims, I'm just not sure we have the entire story. I think RS does have some facts, but he has also drawn some of his own conclusions based on said facts. Sometimes it's natural and logical to deduce certain conclusions from certain evidence, but it doesn't negate the fact that there are other possibilities. And while some of what he claims may indeed turn out to be fact, it's the smaller nuances of this whole big affair that matter most right now. And in my opinion, those are what we don't have.

And absolutely everything he suggests to be true may turn out to be just that. But at this point, would it matter if it weren't? I don't think anything said by anyone that ran contrary to what RS claims, would be given any weight whatsoever in this climate. It will always be that they are "trying to cover it up".

I think the break-up on National TV is pathetic if true, but I'll still watch the next installment.

[dodie430]

And then we've come full circle because isn't that the unofficial motto of the show-- "all is not as it seems". How many times have we heard that over the last few seasons?

No matter how it plays out, Fleiss & Co shot ABC in the foot based on how they edited the show. Melissa has been front-and-center the entire show; they showed her, more than once, saying that she's "unlucky in love" and is always the dumpee. Perhaps... their intention was that they would use those quotes as foreshadowing for the ultimate ending.

However... as they have proven in the past... they have absolutely no insight into how the 'average viewer' perceives the show. And instead of foreshadowing the breakup, they helped viewers to fall more in love with Melissa and to champion her in her quest for her 'fairy tale ending'.

If I were ABC, I would give whoever wrote the storyline/edited for the last few seasons their pink slips. Matt & Shayne made a pretty 'fairytale'; however, most of us could all see through it. Deanna & Jesse-- well, after their editing, the majority of us were thinking "Jesse????" because we really didn't know who he was and how he got to be F1. Now, they've set Melissa up to have her fairytale story, when, in fact it could be Molly who ultimately ends up with it. If that's the case, then they should've pulled back on Melissa and played up Molly more.

I admit, I'm curious to see how this all ends. That being said, they've lost me from here on out. I've got House and Gossip Girl, 24 and Heroes that I'd rather be watching instead of taping.

See that's the thing... not everyone was rooting for Melissa. Granted I think the National "break-up" is pathetic if true, but I certainly didn't see their love story. I saw attraction, and caring, but no more than I saw with Jillian.

Most people I know [regular viewers] were about 50% for Jillian [before her ousting] 30% Melissa and 20% Molly. Interesting to note that the 20% for Molly were all guys....lol

So now they're mostly rooting for Melissa, but they aren't long-time fan basers. I think Melissa had such a large fan following on the net simply because she was sleuthed very early to be F1. Now surely some of those people would have been fans anyway, but just as surely some would not.

Anyway, just my opinion for what it's worth. I never like to see these girls hurt [whether I'm a fan or not] - but I just never cottoned to Melissa and most people I know didn't either. I hesitated to bring it up before because the main reason I heard was that Melissa was far too immature for the role she would step into. And I hated those debates on here about what constituted maturity. Personally for me it wasn't so much that as that I found her grating.

I really believe that the majority of viewers won't let it affect whether or not they watch again. They will eat what they are fed and move on.

[Silver18]

If TB is a total set up - who is going to watch it and more importantly, what will happen to this board????

[KashatheDiva]

If TB is a total set up - who is going to watch it and more importantly, what will happen to this board????

Many of us have believed for a long time that this was scripted and set up to a certain extent. So that won't surprise us or stop us from watching unless something better comes along.
And this board stays pretty constant. We enjoy each other and will come back either on other forums or most likely this same one.

[kultainen]

I completely agree. RS use of phrasing in his explantion of "how it all went down", such as "Here's why I think this..." and "As far as I know...", tells me at least some of what he claims is supposition alone. And supposition based on information that may or may not be accurate. It's like those books where you choose A or B, and with each successive choice the path becomes more winding. I think there are some real truths out there, but it's difficult for me to accept his whole enchilda in its entirety, without wondering what chapter he's on and if he chose A or B.

Ypu could be rght...or maybe its like most attorneys, you tell someone to avoid being sued (the easiest way to avoid it) by couching facts that are negative as opinion. Opinions can't form a defamation suit; facts can. So, saying "Here's what I think" instead of "Here's what happened" is the oldest trick in the book when spoiling or outing or whistleblowing. I don't know RS, so I can't say.

[cantstopwatchin]

See that's the thing... not everyone was rooting for Melissa. Granted I think the National "break-up" is pathetic if true, but I certainly didn't see their love story. I saw attraction, and caring, but no more than I saw with Jillian.

Most people I know [regular viewers] were about 50% for Jillian [before her ousting] 30% Melissa and 20% Molly. Interesting to note that the 20% for Molly were all guys....lol

So now they're mostly rooting for Melissa, but they aren't long-time fan basers. I think Melissa had such a large fan following on the net simply because she was sleuthed very early to be F1. Now surely some of those people would have been fans anyway, but just as surely some would not.

Anyway, just my opinion for what it's worth. I never like to see these girls hurt [whether I'm a fan or not] - but I just never cottoned to Melissa and most people I know didn't either. I hesitated to bring it up before because the main reason I heard was that Melissa was far too immature for the role she would step into. And I hated those debates on here about what constituted maturity. Personally for me it wasn't so much that as that I found her grating.

I really believe that the majority of viewers won't let it affect whether or not they watch again. They will eat what they are fed and move on.

I totally understand; I haven't been a tried and true Melissa fan either and have often wondered at the fanatic Melissa love here, but even though I preferred watching Jillian on my screen, I couldn't ignore the fact that they showed Melissa twice say that she'd been unlucky in love in addition to the time she said she'd always been the dumpee. Then, they played up the visit with her friends when they told Jason she'd never had a guy who really cared about her. All things pointing to her getting her happy ending here.

My MIL & SIL were over today and we talked about this season and they both said they thought it was Melissa, though Jillian was their favorite. When I said there's a rumor floating around that he chooses Melissa but ends up with Molly, they were so confused-- neither of them can understand why Molly is still around!

[theRealist]

RS has made a big mistake. He has been told things from people who were eager to shed some bad light on Fleiss and the show. Angry ousted contestants and angry (ex) employees of the show. IMO not the most reliable sources.
His biggest mistake was making up his own story around the things he was told.

Dates he mentioned don't match with what other sources know.

Jason's own family keeps telling us he doesn't know a thing and he made up a story around some tidbits he has heard.

If I have to choose between a story of some angry ex contestants and ex employees and a story of a first grade relative of Jason's, my choice is not to difficult.

Do you know for sure that these people were RS's sources? What dates does RS mention that don't add up? When or where did Jason's family make this announcement? On the other hand, the same could be said about Jason's family, maybe they are the ones changing the story, which would make more sense since the outcome doesn't show Jason in a very good light.