Beauty and the Geek was 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" (young women who have relied primarily on their looks) and a group of "Geeks" (young men who have relied primarily on intellect rather than social aptitude or looks) 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 was put on indefinite hiatus in order to stoke renewed interest in the show, and perhaps the addition of innovative twists to the format.
[Adalian, Josef. "'Geek' not very popular with CW", Variety, April 28, 2008] In October 2008, casting began for a sixth season,
[TVSeriesFinale.com: "Beauty and the Geek: Plans Underway for New Season of Reality Show" October 31, 2008] scheduled to air on MTV, with minor celebrities as the beauties.
[The Hollywood Reporter, "'Beauty and the Geek' could go to MTV: Network in negotiations for celebrity version of the series" by James Hibberd, November 19, 2008] Casting has been put on hold for an indefinite amount of time.
Season 1
Cast
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)"
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
|
Episode Progress
| # | Contestants | Episodes
|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
|
| 1
| Caitilin
| SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | WIN | WINNER
|
| Chuck
| SAFE | WIN | SAFE | WIN | WIN | WINNER
|
| 2
| Mindi
| WIN | SAFE | RISK | RISK | RISK | OUT
|
| Richard
| WIN | SAFE | RISK | RISK | RISK | OUT
|
| 3
| Scarlet
| SAFE | SAFE | SAFE
| SAFE | OUT
|
|
| Shawn
| SAFE | SAFE | WIN
| SAFE | OUT
|
|
| 4
| Lauren
| SAFE | SAFE | SAFE
| OUT
|
|
| Bill
| SAFE | SAFE | SAFE
| OUT
|
|
| 5
| Krystal
| SAFE | RISK | OUT
|
|
| Brad
| SAFE | RISK | OUT
|
|
| 6
| Erika
| RISK
| OUT
|
|
| Joe
| RISK
| OUT
|
|
| 6
| Cheryl
| OUT
|
|
| Eric
| OUT
|
|
The contestants won the competition.
The contestant won the challenge and their pair was safe from elimination.
The contestant's partner won the challenge and they were safe from elimination.
The contestant did not win the challenge but their pair was safe from elimination.
The contestant and their partner survived elimination.
The contestant and their partner was eliminated.
The contestant or their partner won the challenge and were also eliminated.
Season 2
Cast
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.
Challenges & Eliminations
Season 3
Cast
Episode Progress
| # | Contestants | Episodes
|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
|
| 1
| Megan
| SAFE | SAFE | SAFE
| SAFE | SAFE | WIN
| WIN | WINNER
|
| Scooter
| SAFE | SAFE | SAFE
| SAFE | WIN | SAFE
| WIN | WINNER
|
| 2
| Cecille
| WIN | SAFE | SAFE
| RISK | WIN | SAFE
| RISK | OUT
|
| Nate
| WIN | WIN | SAFE
| RISK | SAFE | WIN
| RISK | OUT
|
| 3
| Jenny Lee
| SAFE | SAFE | SAFE
| WIN | RISK | RISK | OUT
|
|
| Niels
| SAFE | SAFE | SAFE
| WIN | RISK | RISK | OUT
|
|
| 4
| Nadia
| SAFE | SAFE | WIN
| SAFE | SAFE | OUT
|
|
| Mario
| SAFE | SAFE | WIN
| SAFE | SAFE | OUT
|
|
| 5
| Erin
| SAFE | RISK | SAFE | SAFE
| OUT
|
|
| Drew
| SAFE | RISK | SAFE | SAFE
| OUT
|
|
| 6
| Andrea
| SAFE | SAFE | RISK
| OUT
|
|
| Matt
| SAFE | SAFE | RISK
| OUT
|
|
| 7
| Sheree
| SAFE | WIN | OUT
|
|
| Piao
| SAFE | SAFE | OUT
|
|
| 8
| Tori
| SAFE | OUT
|
|
| Sanjay
| SAFE | OUT
|
|
The contestants won the competition.
The contestant won the challenge and their pair was safe from elimination.
The contestant's partner won the challenge and they were safe from elimination.
The contestant did not win the challenge but their pair was safe from elimination.
The contestant and their partner survived elimination.
The contestant and their partner was eliminated.
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 (Jenny Lee & Niels) | Andrea & Matt | Cecille & Nate
|
| 4
| Beach Escape Challenge (Cecille) | Fitness Instructor (Scooter) | Erin & Drew | Jenny Lee & Niels
|
| 5
| Building a Doghouse (Megan) | Collecting Phone Numbers (Nate) | Nadia & Mario | Jenny Lee & Niels
|
| 6
| Ranch Duties Challenge (Megan & Scooter) | Jenny Lee & Niels | Cecille & Nate
|
| 7
| Who Changed the Most (decided by previously eliminated contestants) (Megan & Scooter) | Cecille & Nate | Megan & Scooter
|
| Winners
| Megan & Scooter
|
Episodes
The Beauties Meet the Geeks, Part 1
First aired January 3, 2007
- Beauty Challenge Winner: Cecille
- Geek Challenge Winner: Nate
- Teams at Risk: None
- Eliminated: None
The Beauties Meet the Geeks, Part 2
First aired January 3, 2007
- Beauty Challenge Winner: Sheree
- Geek Challenge Winner: Nate
- Teams at Risk: Erin & Drew, Tori & Sanjay
- Eliminated: Tori & Sanjay
Geeks Get Naked
First aired January 10, 2007
- Beauty Challenge Winner: Nadia
- Geek Challenge Winner: Mario
- Teams at Risk: Andrea & Matt, Sheree & Piao
- Eliminated: Sheree & Piao
Beauties Pimp Their Geeks
First aired January 17, 2007
- Challenge Winners: Jenny Lee & Niels
- Teams at Risk: Andrea & Matt, Cecille & Nate
- Eliminated: Andrea & Matt
Beauties and the Beach
First aired January 24, 2007
- Beauty Challenge Winner: Cecille
- Geek Challenge Winner: Scooter
- Teams at Risk: Erin & Drew, Jenny Lee & Niels
- Eliminated: Erin & Drew
Geek Love
First aired January 31, 2007
- Beauty Challenge Winner: Megan
- Geek Challenge Winner: Nate
- Teams at Risk: Jenny Lee & Niels, Nadia & Mario
- Eliminated: Nadia & Mario
Down On The Farm
First aired February 7, 2007
- Challenge Winners: Megan & Scooter
- Teams at Risk: Cecille & Nate, Jenny Lee & Niels
- Eliminated: Jenny Lee & Niels
Beauty Queen and Geek King
First aired February 14, 2007
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, eventually asked contestants to vote against him. This led to Megan and Scooter winning 7 to 2, with the remaining contestants not voting once a majority had been reached.
- Winners of Beauty and the Geek: Megan & Scooter
- Runner-ups: Cecille & Nate
Beauties and Geeks Reunite
First aired February 21, 2007
Megan and Scooter and the other eliminated cast members reunite to talk about their experiences on the show and what is in store for them in the future.
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. In episode 6 the geeks have their make-overs
Cast
| The Beauties | The Geeks
|
Amanda Hanshaw[Reality TV World: "INTERVIEW: Amanda Hanshaw dishes about 'Beauty and the Geek 4'"]
"Aspiring Playboy Model" | Tony Tran[Reality TV World: "INTERVIEW: Tony Tran talks about leaving 'Beauty and the Geek 4'"]
"Medical student"
|
Erin Schneider[Erin Schneider (Season 4) on MySpace (private)][Reality TV World: "INTERVIEW: 'Beauty and the Geek's Jesse Yeary, Erin Schneider dish"]
"Beautician" | Jesse Yeary[Reality TV World: "INTERVIEW: 'Beauty and the Geek's Jesse Yeary, Erin Schneider dish"]
"Lives with parents"
|
Hollie Winnard
"Professional Betty Boop" | Josh Bishop-Moser[Berkley Engineering: Beauty & the Geek: ME senior lands role on TV show]
"Rubberband Club President"
|
Jasmine Moore[Jasmine Moore (Season 4) on Myspace (private)][Reality TV World: "David Olsen and Jasmine Moore win The CW's 'Beauty and the Geek'", By Christopher Rocchio, December 5, 2007]
"Babysitter" | David Olsen[TV star helps Somerville kids beat the drums]
"LARPer"
|
Jennifer Carter
"Cigar Model" | William McDonald[TV Guide: BATG's Sparring Duo Calls Truce in Final Round]
"Server, Online gamer"
|
Katie
"Sorority Girl" | Luke Neyer[TV Guide: Made Up But Moved Out: BATG Sends Katie and Luke Home]
"Robotics Engineer"
|
Natalie Reeves
"Ultimate Hooters Girl" | John Gardner
"Perfect 5.0 at MIT"
|
Rebecca Nichols[INTERVIEW: "'Beauty and the Geek's Will Frank, Rebecca Nichols dish", By Christopher Rocchio, 10/11/2007]
"Cocktail Waitress" | Will Frank[INTERVIEW: "'Beauty and the Geek's Will Frank, Rebecca Nichols dish", By Christopher Rocchio, 10/11/2007]
"Software Engineer"
|
Shalandra "Shay" Champ[Last name per Reality TV World: "INTERVIEW: Joshua Green talks about 'Beauty and the Geek'" Nov. 15, 2007]
"Beauty Pageant Queen" | Joshua Green[Joshua Green (Season 4) on astro.princeton.edu, Joshua Green (Season 4) on MySpace, Joshua Green (Season 4) on LiveJournal]
"Astrophysicist"
|
Sam Horrigan
"Club Promoter" | Nicole Morgan[Nicole Morgan on MySpace]
"Musicologist"
|
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) (Josh) | 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
|
There was no elimination room finale; instead, the two challenge-winning teams selected a team to eliminate directly.
In the final episode on December 4, 2007, David and Jasmine 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
[Beauty and the Geek, season 4, episode 13].
This season was taped during the summer, due to the prominence of
Comic-Con International on one episode.
Season 5
Season 5 premiered on March 11, 2008 taking over the timeslot of
Reaper.
[Breaking News - CW Plans Midseason Makeover | TheFutonCritic.com] 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.
Cast
Note: John, Amber and Jillian were all eliminated before the teams paired. Jonathan was left without a partner and was therefore eliminated.
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
| Amanda & Tommy
|
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
| N/A
| 1.9
|
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 Brazil, the original American show is aired with Brazilian Portuguese subtitles on the paid TV channel Multishow and it's called As Gostosas e os Geeks (The Hotties and The Geeks).
- In Denmark, the show was called "Skønheden og nørden", and was filmed at the end of 2005, beginning 2006. It was aired of TV3 and TV3+.
- In France, the original American show is aired with French dubbing on NRJ12.
- 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
[Bimbos et Intellos : dossier dans Entrevue. - Tvnews, actu de la télévision et des médias au quotidien], and other one in Mexico under the title ) La Bella y el Nerd which is being transmitted by TV Azteca now.[Mip Briefs: France takes 'Beauty' - Entertainment News, TV News, Media - Variety] The first episode of Turkish Show TV's Güzel ve Dahi (The Beauty and The Genius) was aired on July 7, 2007.[Çubukçu, ''Güzel ve Dahi'' programı için RTÜK'e başvurdu / Siyaset / Milliyet İnternet]But after some public pressure against showing unintelligent contestant girls, the producers had to cancel the show.
- In Belgium and the Netherlands, a Dutch version of the show is produced by VTM and RTL 5. The first season aired late 2006, a second season in September 2007 and the third season in early 2009. The Dutch version is called Beauty & de Nerd.
- A Spanish version, broadcast 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 Abott Reif Hemeiri, began airing on July 23, 2008 on Israel 10. The casting was done with the temporary title היפה והגאון ("The beauty and the genius")
[Casting video for the Israeli version], while the final title was היפה והחנון ("The beauty and the nerd").
- Beauty and the Geek Australia debuted on October 8, 2009 on Channel 7.
[Ganska, Helen, "Two WA geeks on Beauty and the Geek Australia", The Sunday Times, 6 Otober, 2009]
