The Bachelor is a reality television dating game show that debuted in 2002 . This United States show airs on the ABC network. It stars a wealthy bachelor wooed by 25 women. The bachelor narrows down the 25 and eventually selects one. The show includes series of group dates until there are few remaining bachelorettes, then they go on individual dates with the bachelor, and finally overnight dates and meetings with the bachelor and bachelorettes' families. The Bachelor may determine whether he would like to propose to the winner or not.

The series quickly became a word-of-mouth hit, with dialogue such as "Will you accept this rose?" and "Most dramatic / shocking rose ceremony ever!" becoming popular reality TV catchphrases. The runner-up from the first season, Trista Rehn , later starred in The Bachelorette , a spin-off show in which the situation was gender-reversed. Over time viewers began to grow cynical of the "true love" premise, as every couple from the first five seasons broke up, in some cases very badly. To sustain interest, a number of twists were introduced. The fourth season featured Bob Guiney , popular comic relief from the first season of The Bachelorette . The fifth season featured NFL player Jesse Palmer . The sixth season had yet another new twist, as the women of the house were forced to choose between two eligible bachelors. They chose fisherman Byron Velvick; he ultimately ended up with none of the original women, as season four contestant Mary Delgado was returned to the show and became his final choice.

As ratings begin to fall quickly, the show was moved to a new timeslot and city ( New York City ). The seventh bachelor was Charlie O'Connell , who had appeared on the series Sliders with his brother Jerry O'Connell . The new rules were that there "were no rules", as women fought over group dates, Charlie was allowed to give women roses on group dates instead of waiting for the rose ceremony, and the ceremony itself became a forum for bickering and arguing between the female contestants.

The show was renewed for an eighth season and first ran on January 9 , 2006 . The season was set in Paris, France , and featured bachelor Dr. Travis Lane Stork, a 33-year-old emergency medicine resident from Nashville, Tennessee and a graduate of Duke University and University of Virginia . In the final episode that aired on February 27, 2006, Stork gave the final rose to fellow Nashvillian and kindergarten teacher Sarah Stone, a 26-year-old University of Tennessee alumna. Just more than a week after the airing of the finale, and nearly four months after the eight season wrapped, Stork and Stone announced they were no longer a couple in a joint interview with Nashville's daily newspaper, The Tennessean . Both cited contractual post-production obligations to remain apart as a major reason the relationship failed. In a season fairly free of wild behavior, one of the more memorable moments of the involved bachelorette and fellow doctor Allie Garcia-Serra, who angrily confronted Travis after she was not given a rose in the first episode.

The show is copyright and produced by AND Syndicated Productions, Inc.

Host: Chris Harrison

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