Beauty and the Geek

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Beauty and the Geek
Format	Reality
Starring	Brian McFayden Mike Richards
Opening theme	Pet Shop Boys - Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)
Country of origin	USA
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	48
Production
Executive producer(s)	Ashton Kutcher Jason Goldberg Nick Santora
Running time	42 minutes (60 with commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel	The WB (2005-2006) The CW (2007-2008)
Original run	June 1, 2005 – May 13, 2008
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Beauty and the Geek is a reality television series on The CW. It has been advertised as "The Ultimate Social Experiment" and is produced by Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg and Nick Santora.

The premise of the show consists of a group of "Beauties" (attractive young women) and a group of "Geeks" (young men who have relied primarily on intellect and are socially inept) who are paired up to compete as couples for a shared $250,000 and other prizes. (For the fourth season, the producers modified the formula to include an extra team consisting of a male "beauty" and a female "geek". For the fifth season, the beauties and geeks competed against each other at first, and teams of one beauty and one geek were not selected until the end of episode three.) Each beauty lives together in a room with her geek during the course of the competition. There are challenges shown each episode, one testing the beauties on a primarily academic subject, and another that has the geeks competing in a more popular/social realm. The winners of the challenges select a total of two teams to compete against each other in a pure "quiz show" type question and answer session, with the team getting the fewest number of questions correct being 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 character, 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 and Belgian-Dutch versions. Commercial promos for the show featured a different theme song, "The Geeks Get the Girls" by American Hi-Fi.

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 8:00 p.m. EST on The CW. The fourth season premiered on September 18, making BATG the first series to premiere for the CW for the 2007-08 television season. Beauty and the Geek was renewed for a fifth season, which premiered on March 12, 2008.

The fifth season will be the final one until enough time has passed to make the format seem fresh again or if producers come up with a new twist to the format.^[1]

Contents 1 Season 1 1.1 Cast 1.2 Challenges & Eliminations 2 Season 2 2.1 Cast 2.2 Challenges & Eliminations 3 Season 3 3.1 Cast 3.2 Challenges & Eliminations 4 Season 4 4.1 Cast 4.2 Challenges & Eliminations 5 Season 5 5.1 Cast 5.2 Challenges & Eliminations 6 Ratings 7 International versions 8 Footnotes 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Season 1

[edit] Cast

The Beauties	The Geeks
Cheryl "Cocktail Waitress"	Eric "Computer Programmer"
Erika Rumsey[2] "Life-Sized Barbie Doll"	Joe "Has never been on a date"
Krystal "NBA Dancer"	Brad "Mensa Member"
Lauren Bergfeld[3] "Lingerie Model"	Bill "Vice President, 'Dukes of Hazzard' Fan Club"
Scarlet "Beer Spokesmodel"	Shawn Bakken[4] "Assistant Boy Scout Master"
Mindi "Sorority Girl"	Richard Rubin[5] "Never Kissed a Girl"1
Caitilin "Aspiring Fashion Expert"	Chuck "Medical Student: Functional Neurology"

Note 1: Richard's title evolved throughout the show as he kissed Krystal, Lauren and Mindi over the show's course, hence being at first "Has never kissed a girl", then "Has kissed one/two/three girl(s)"

[edit] Challenges & Eliminations

Week	Beauty Challenge (Winner)	Geek Challenge (Winner)	Eliminated	Survived Elimination
1	Fifth Grade Knowledge (Mindi)	Dancing Competition (Richard)	Cheryl & Eric	Erika & Joe
2	Car Repair (Caitilin)	Massage (Chuck)	Erika & Joe	Krystal & Brad
3	Rocket Science (Caitilin)	Women's Fashion (Shawn)	Krystal & Brad	Mindi & Richard
4	Math (Lauren)	Get Girls' Phone Numbers (Chuck)	Lauren & Bill	Mindi & Richard
5	Outdoor Challenge (Caitilin & Chuck)		Scarlet & Shawn	Mindi & Richard
6	How much do you know about your partner (Caitilin & Chuck)		Mindi & Richard	Caitilin & Chuck
Winners	Caitilin & Chuck

[edit] Season 2

[edit] Cast

The Beauties	The Geeks	Notes
Amanda "Hairstylist"	Brandon "Assistant Neurobiologist"	Amanda's original partner: Chris Brandon's original partner: Tristin (changed after Week 1)
Brittany "Tanning Salon Administrator"	Joe Block[6] "Speed Chess Champion"
Cher Tenbush "Beer Spokesmodel"	Josh[7] "Museum Critic"
Danielle Gonzalez[8] "Cocktail Waitress"	Karl[9] "Dungeon Master"
Jennipher "Camp Counselor"	Ankur Mehta[10] "MIT Graduate"
Sarah "Dental Assistant"	Wes "Tracks Monkeys With Lasers"
Thais "Model"	Tyson Mao "Rubik's Cube Record Holder"
Tristin "Cocktail Waitress/Shot Girl"	Chris[11] "Has Only Kissed One Girl"	Tristin's original partner: Brandon Chris's original partner: Amanda (changed after Week 1)

Note: Original partners Chris and Amanda won the first week's quiz challenge and were given the power to switch the partner of one team with another team or they themselves can switch partners. They choose the latter and broke up the team of Brandon and Tristin.

[edit] Challenges & Eliminations

Week	Beauty Challenge (Winner)	Geek Challenge (Winner)	Eliminated	Survived Elimination
1	Quiz (Amanda & Chris)		No eliminations
2	Public Speaking (Cher)	Karaoke (Tyson)	Amanda & Brandon	Tristin & Chris
3	Assemble a computer and burn a song (Cher)	Interior Decorating (Joe)	Thais & Tyson	Tristin & Chris
4	Makeover for the Geeks	Speed dating (Wes)	Tristin & Chris	Cher & Josh
5	Strip poker (Brittany)	Party planning (Josh)	Danielle & Karl	Jennipher & Ankur
6	Frumpy flirting (Jennipher)	Fashion photography (Joe)	Sarah & Wes	Cher & Josh
7	Navigation (Cher)	Shopping (Josh)	Jennipher & Ankur	Brittany & Joe
8	How their partners think (Cher & Josh)		Brittany & Joe	Cher & Josh
Winners	Cher & Josh

Note: Winning Beauty Cher Tenbush and Geek Wes Wilson were actually dating each other during the run of the show.

[edit] Season 3

[edit] Cast

The Beauties	The Geeks
Megan Hauserman "Playboy Model"	Alan ("Scooter")[12] "Harvard Graduate"
Cecille "Bikini Model"	Nate Dern[13] "Singer: Star Wars Band"
Jennylee "U.F.C. Ring Girl"	Niels Hoven[14] "Had A Perfect S.A.T. Score"
Nadia Underwood[15] "Sorority Girl"	Mario[16] "Owns 25,000 Comics"
Erin "Voice Teacher"	Drew[17] "Trekker"
Andrea Ciliberti "Beauty Pageant Queen"	Matt "M.I.T. Graduate"
Sheree "Former Hooters Waitress"	Piao "Has Only Kissed One Girl"
Tori Elmore[18] "Model"	Sanjay[19] "Virgin"

[edit] Challenges & Eliminations

Week	Beauty Challenge (Winner)	Geek Challenge (Winner)	Eliminated	Survived Elimination
1 (Part 1)	Library Search (Cecille)	Social Challenge (Nate)
1 (Part 2)	News Interview (Sheree)	Stand-up Comedy (Nate)	Tori & Sanjay	Erin & Drew
2	Museum Tour Guiding (Nadia)	Model Quiz (Mario)	Sheree & Piao	Andrea & Matt
3	Geek Makeover & Charity Auction (Jennylee & Niels)		Andrea & Matt	Cecille & Nate
4	Beach Escape Challenge (Cecille)	Fitness Instructor (Scooter)	Erin & Drew	Jennylee & Niels
5	Building a Doghouse (Megan)	Collecting Phone Numbers (Nate)	Nadia & Mario	Jennylee & Niels
6	Ranch Duties Challenge (Megan & Scooter)		Jennylee & Niels	Cecille & Nate
7	Who Changed the Most (decided by previously eliminated contestants) (Megan & Scooter)		Cecille & Nate	Megan & Scooter
Winners	Megan & Scooter

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. The majority of the contestants were torn between wanting Nate to win, and his partner, Cecille, to lose. Nate, believing that winning would only reinforce Cecille's behavior, asked contestants to vote against him. This led to Megan and Scooter winning 7 to 2.

[edit] Season 4

Season 4 featured several changes and was by far the most controversial one. One male beauty is paired with one female geek, but the rest of the pairs remained the same way (i.e. a male geek and a female beauty). The season was also extended from 8/9 episodes to 13, featuring a recap on week 7 and the cast growing from eight pairs to ten. This was also the first season to have a pair voted out (Natalie and John on week 8) instead of eliminated through a quiz, which sparked some controversy, much like Sam's previous experience in show business, despite the fact that many other beauties had some previous acting experience as well.

[edit] Cast

The Beauties	The Geeks
Amanda Hanshaw[20] "Aspiring Playboy Model"	Tony Tran[21] "Medical student"
Erin Schneider[22][23] "Beautician"	Jesse Yeary[23] "Lives with parents"
Hollie "Professional Betty Boop"	Josh "Rubberband Club President"
Jasmine Moore[24][25] "Babysitter"	David Olsen[26] "LARPer"
Jennifer "Cigar Model"	William "Server, Online gamer"
Katie "Sorority Girl"	Luke "Robotics Engineer"
Natalie "Ultimate Hooters Girl"	John "Perfect 5.0 at MIT"
Rebecca Nichols[27] "Cocktail Waitress"	Will Frank[27] "Software Engineer"
Shalandra "Shay" Cham[28] "Beauty Pageant Queen"	Joshua Green[28][29] "Astrophysicist"
Sam Horrigan "Club Promoter"	Nicole Morgan[30] "Musicologist"

[edit] Challenges & Eliminations

Week	Beauty Challenge (Winner)	Geek Challenge (Winner)	Eliminated	Survived Elimination
1	Intellectual Skills Analysis (lowest score wins) (Shay)	Social Skills Analysis (lowest score wins) (Joshua)	No eliminations
2	Debating (Sam)	Rap Off (Will)	Amanda & Tony	Natalie & John
3	Anatomy Body Paint (Rebecca)	Romantic Picnic Basket (Will)	Hollie & Josh	Erin & Jesse
4	Rocket Building (Sam)	Massage Skills (Jesse)	Rebecca & Will	Jen & William
5	Teaching 3rd Graders (Shay)	Prom King or Queen (John)	Katie & Luke	Sam & Nicole
6	Comic-Con Superhero Challenge (Sam & Nicole)		Erin & Jesse	Natalie & John
8	Mayan Glyph Memorization (Sam)	Salsa Dancing (David)	Natalie & John 1	Shay & Joshua / Jen & William1
9	Zoology/Insect Challenge (Sam)	Flair Bartending Challenge (David)	Shay & Joshua	Jen & William
10	Wine Challenge (Jasmine & David)		Jen & William	Sam & Nicole
11	America decides the winner		Sam & Nicole2	David & Jasmine2
Winners	David & Jasmine

Note 1: There was no elimination room finale; instead, the two challenge-winning teams selected a team to eliminate directly.

Note 2: In the final episode on December 4, 2007, Jasmine and David won the $250,000. For the first time, the show's winner was decided by America's votes, four months after the taping of the first 12 episodes^[31].

[edit] Season 5

Season 5 premiered on March 11, 2008 taking over the timeslot of Reaper.^[32] For the first three episodes, the beauties competed as a group against the team of geeks. The remaining beauties and geeks then paired off to compete against the other pairs, as in previous seasons.

[edit] Cast

The Beauties	The Geeks
Amber "Runway Model"	John English[33] "Child Genius"
Jillian Beyor "Playboy Cyber Club Model"	Jonathan Prater[34][35] "Mama’s Boy"
Tiffany "One Tough Mama"	Jim Babcock[36] "Video Game Programmer"
Cara "Aspiring Soap Star"	Chris Follett[37] "MIT Oceanographer"
Tara McComas[38] "Daisy Dukes Hostess"	"Cowboy" Joe Cortez[39][40][41] Assignment Desk Editor
Randi "The Navy Diva"	Greggy Soriano[42][43][44][45][46][47] "Self-Proclaimed ‘Gaysian’"
Kristina "Daddy’s Girl"	Jason Prager[48] "One Buff Geek"
Leticia Cline "Extreme Sports Model"	Matt Carter[49] "The Poet"
Amanda Corey[50][51] "Hawaiian Tropic Model"	Tommy Severo[52] "Sweater Vest Enthusiast"

Note: John, Amber and Jillian were all eliminated before the teams paired. Jonathan was left without a partner and was therefore eliminated.

[edit] Challenges & Eliminations

Week	Challenge (Winner)		Eliminated	Survived Elimination
	Beauties	Geeks
1	Getting Phone Numbers (Beauties)		John	Chris, Joe, Jonathan, Tommy
2	Talent Show (Geeks)		Amber	Amanda, Jillian, Kristina, Randi
3	Flag Football Game (Beauties)		Jillian1, Jonathan2	Chris1, All Geeks except Jonathan2
4	Science Fair (Cara)	Love Hotline (Tommy)	Tiffany & Jim	Leticia & Matt
5	Geek Makeover & Soap Opera Challenge (Leticia & Matt)		No Elimination3
6	Garbage Math (Kristina)	Geek Firefighter (Tommy)	Randi & Greggy	Tara & Joe
7	Building a Sled (Amanda & Tommy)		Kristina & Jason	Leticia & Matt, Cara & Chris, Tara & Joe4
8	Plumbing (Leticia)	Geeky Girls' Makeovers (Chris)	Tara & Joe	Amanda & Tommy
9.1	How Well Do You Know Your Partner		Leticia & Matt	Amanda & Tommy, Cara & Chris
9.2	Former Cast Members Hunt in LA (Amanda & Tommy)		Cara & Chris	Amanda & Tommy
Winners	Tommy & Amanda

Note 1: For this challenge, one member of each team was to temporarily join the opposing team. It was then revealed that if the team lost their new member would be automatically eliminated.

Note 2: The remaining beauties were asked to pair up with a geek. Tara, the last beauty, chose Joe, eliminating Jonathan since he was left with no partner.

Note 3: After winning the challenge, Leticia & Matt were given the right to pick one team to go with them at the world premiere of Prom Night and chose Randi and Greg. The four remaining teams had to send one team to elimination for the next week and had chosen Tara and Joe after a geek drag fashion show contest.

Note 4: Instead of elimination trivia, each losing team cast a vote for another team to be eliminated. Since the teams all had one vote, Tommy and Amanda picked Kristina and Jason as a tie breaker, sending them home.

[edit] Ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total estimated viewers per episode) of Beauty and the Geek on The WB and The CW:

Season	Timeslot	Season Premiere	TV Season	Rank #	Viewers (in millions)
1st	Wednesday 9/8C	June 1, 2005	Summer 2005	N/A	N/A
2nd	Thursday 9/8C	January 12, 2006	Mid-Season 2006	123	4.2
3rd	Wednesday 8/7C	January 3, 2007	Mid-Season 2007	127	4.0
4th	Tuesday 8/7C	September 18, 2007	Fall 2007	133	3.3
5th	Tuesday 8/7C	March 11, 2008	Mid-Season 2008	TBA	1.8 (Through 4/8/08)

[edit] International versions

• 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.
• A Bulgarian version of the show started at October 3, 2005 on bTV.
• 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)
• A Colombian version debuted on Canal Caracol in May 2006, called La Bella y el Nerdo (The Beauty and The Nerd).
• A Portuguese version started March 2007, 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, called Красавицы и Умники (Beauties and Smarties)[1].
• A new version of the show is now set to debut on TF1 in France under the title Bimbo et Intello, however recent reports claim it will not be aired anytime soon^[53], and other one in Mexico under the title La Bella y el Nerd which is being transmitted by TV Azteca now.^[54] The first episode of Turkish Show TV's Güzel ve Dahi (The Beauty and The Genius) was aired on July 7, 2007.^[55]But after some public pressure against showing unintelligent contestant girls, the producers had to cancel the show.^{[citation needed]}
• In Belgium and the Netherlands, a Dutch version of the show is produced by VTM and RTL 5. The first season aired late 2006 and a second season aired in September 2007. The Dutch version is called Beauty & de Nerd.
• A Spanish version, broadcasted by Telecinco, was called Nadie es Perfecto (No-one is Perfect), and it was a failure.
• In Israel, a Hebrew version of the show, produced by Reyif HeMeiri, is scheduled to air during the summer of 2008 on Israel 10. The casting was done with the temporary title היפה והגאון (Beauty and the Genius)^[56], while the final title is היפה והחנון (Beauty and the Geek/Nerd).

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• Official Site on The CW
• Beauty and the Geek on Facebook
• Beauty and the Geek at the Internet Movie Database
• Beauty and the Geek at TV.com
• Beauty and the Geek Fansite Including Season 5 Gallery and News
• Beauty and the Geek UK

[edit] External links