Static Zombie

Train Wrecks and Vacuums

One of my guiltiest pleasures is back on television for its third season. Beauty and the Geek pairs brilliant but socially clueless guys in their twenties with gorgeous but not very learned women of similar age. But it's not a dating show. Each week both sexes undergo challenges to push them out of their comfort zones, with contestants ostensibly reinforcing their partner's efforts with encouragement and mentorship. The genius of the show is that although there's $250,000 on the line for the team that makes it to the end, this isn't a cutthroat eyes-on-the-prize competition. And while the show isn't above capitalizing on its contestants' limitations for humor, it doesn't try to humiliate them. The whole framework stresses the value of the experience itself, of having the opportunity to grow beyond the stereotype nature and society have trapped them in.

When they come in, both sides are train wrecks in their own ways. The guys clearly have it worst, since most of them wear their geekiness like a badge. Upon meeting his attractive teammate, one of the geeks informs her that he's proudest of being able to recite a stupefying number of digits of pi. Another earnestly declares that if he had to make a choice between Star Trek and a woman, he'd choose Star Trek. These guys have no idea how to dress, talk, or act outside of a graduate program, and watching them embody every negative stereotype of smart people is sometimes viscerally painful.

But the women are equally bad in their own way. Most are stunning, but their very beauty has kept them from realizing their own potential. One proudly displays her practiced pouting technique which, she says matter-of-factly, is usually all she needs to get her way. And she's not alone. Many boast that they use their good looks to get what they want. One claims she hasn't read a book since fifth grade. These women exist inside a bubble containing little else but themselves and their beauty products. They rhapsodize about how happy shopping makes them, but can't identify our vice president, the square root of 100, or Tony Blair.

Week by week couples are eliminated until only one remains to claim the money. But along the way, some amazing transformations occur. It's hard to tell how much the women gain from the experience-- it's hard to overcome a lifetime of flirtation with a couple of weeks' worth of cramming and positive reinforcement. But for the guys, there's the sense that their time on the show might genuinely have helped them break out of their shells and become more social. A couple of weeks in, the surviving men get a fashion makeover that blows your mind. It's astounding what a good haircut and a stylish outfit can do to even the geekiest man's image. It's then up to the men to live up to it by not flashing the Vulcan salute to every pretty woman they meet.

If you missed the first 2-hour episode, don't despair-- the CW is rerunning it later this week, so it's not too late to set the TiVo. Perhaps the best thing about watching Beauty and the Geek is that one finds oneself truly rooting for these people to overcome... themselves. And I can turn to the gf and point out, "See? It could be so much worse."