"Boy Meets Boy" questions

[+ Charlie]

I missed the first couple of episodes, and I'm wondering if any of these questions was answered then. How was James chosen for this role? How were the "mates" recruited? What ground rules were laid down for James's interactions with the mates? What grounds rules for the mates' interaction with one another? How long did it take to conduct this experiment in the desert? (one week? two weeks? a month?)

Since most of these young men are supposedly employed, I wonder how they can afford to spend so much time playing the game and possibly going off on a long vacation to New Zealand afterwards--it's not the sort of situation that most employers would consider suitable for a leave of absence, and they can't very well lie about what they are doing if it's being filmed for national TV distribution.

[+ Charlie]

I missed the first couple of episodes, and I'm wondering if any of these questions was answered then. How was James chosen for this role? How were the "mates" recruited? What ground rules were laid down for James's interactions with the mates? What grounds rules for the mates' interaction with one another? How long did it take to conduct this experiment in the desert? (one week? two weeks? a month?)

Since most of these young men are supposedly employed, I wonder how they can afford to spend so much time playing the game and possibly going off on a long vacation to New Zealand afterwards--it's not the sort of situation that most employers would consider suitable for a leave of absence, and they can't very well lie about what they are doing if it's being filmed for national TV distribution.

[+ Hoover42]

RE:

 

As I recall, there was very little information revealed about the show in any of the episodes. In other words:

 

Q: How was James chosen for this role?

A: They didn't say.

 

Q: How were the "mates" recruited?

A: They didn't say.

 

Q: What ground rules were laid down for James's interactions with the mates?

A: They didn't say

 

Q: What grounds rules for the mates' interaction with one another?

A: They didn't say

 

Q: How long did it take to conduct this experiment in the desert?

A: One week.

 

I'm hoping that once the show is over, we'll get more information from either James or one or more of the mates (on talk shows or whatever).

 

...Hoover

[+ Hoover42]

RE:

 

As I recall, there was very little information revealed about the show in any of the episodes. In other words:

 

Q: How was James chosen for this role?

A: They didn't say.

 

Q: How were the "mates" recruited?

A: They didn't say.

 

Q: What ground rules were laid down for James's interactions with the mates?

A: They didn't say

 

Q: What grounds rules for the mates' interaction with one another?

A: They didn't say

 

Q: How long did it take to conduct this experiment in the desert?

A: One week.

 

I'm hoping that once the show is over, we'll get more information from either James or one or more of the mates (on talk shows or whatever).

 

...Hoover

[+ Charlie]

RE:

 

One week?!! I can't imagine how they could have all those elaborate dates and winnow the field down from 15 to one in a single week!

[+ Hoover42]

RE:

 

OK, I’ve reconstructed the timeline and it looks like the whole thing takes place over an 8-night, 9-day period as follows:

 

Day 1:

 

- Andra and James meet the mates.

- Everyone breaks up into small groups to chat and flirt.

- James and Andra meet with two different groups of mates to gather intelligence.

- During a brief break, Andra and James compare notes and pick favorites.

- As evening arrives, everyone participates in a Luau.

- James meets a few of the mates for one-on-one talks.

- Later, James eliminates three mates, Chris, Jason, and Brian A.

 

Twelve mates remain.

 

Day 2

 

- James and Andra have a quiet poolside breakfast.

- The mates spend time socializing.

- James and six mates go out for dancing lessons in the desert.

- That afternoon, James has a one-on-one with Franklin.

 

Day 3

 

- Six mates go out for a day of rock climbing. James becomes paralyzed with fear and is assisted by Wes.

- James chooses has a one-on-one with Darren; the two share lunch.

- Meanwhile, Andra spends the day with the remaining six mates shopping for gifts for James.

- Over dinner, Andra and the mates present their gifts to James.

- Later, Jim, Paul and Marc are eliminated.

 

Nine mates remain.

 

Day 4

 

- Everyone spends the day resting.

 

Nine mates remain.

 

Day 5

 

- The mates horse-around in the bathroom, and Dan presses his butt up against the glass shower door.

- James helps Andra pick out her clothing for the day.

- James, Andra, and some of the mates pile into a car for trip to the zoo.

- James has a one on one at the zoo with Matt.

- Back at the house, everyone has lunch and Darren reads an off-color poem to the group.

- Andra pulls James and Dan aside so that they can straighten out Dan’s conflicting comments.

- The mates play karaoke with Coco Peru. Since he can't sing, Sean dances for the group instead.

- James dances with Wes.

- The nine mates are divided into three groups of three and James eliminates Matt, Michael, and Dan.

 

Six mates remain

 

Day 6

 

- The group spends the morning horseback riding; it's James first time on a horse.

- At the end of the trail, James pulls Brian's name from the hat, and the two have lunch together; gusty winds and blowing sand make it unpleasant for both.

- Later, James and Franklin ride home in the limo and chat while the five other mates take a van home.

- Back home, Andra shares dinner with the mates, and James has another one-on-one with Darren. Franklin becomes annoyed when he sees Darren kissing James.

- After dinner, Sean escorts James back to the mates house; the two do not seem to hit it off well.

 

Six mates remain

 

Day 7

 

- Wes prepares breakfast in bed for James. The two men seem to bond.

- Later that morning, James eliminates Darren, Robb, and Sean.

- James is informed that at least one of the remaining mates is straight.

- James breaks the news to a devastated Andra.

- James then leaves for a one-on-one at the spa with Franklin.

 

Three mates remain.

 

Day 8

 

- James and Brian head out for an early morning balloon ride.

- James and Brian share breakfast at a nearby resort.

- Later, James has a one-on-one with Wes, including a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, and an intimate poolside dinner.

 

Three mates remain.

 

Day 9

 

- The final decision will be made

 

...Hoover

[+ Charlie]

RE:

 

Bravo!!

[al]

RE: Schedule

 

Maybe that explains why James walks around with that "deer in the headlights look"?

 

Pretty hard to think out a coherent strategy at that pace.

[+ Hoover42]

RE:

 

Thanks, Charlie!

[Guest sniper]

RE:

 

IT was actually more compressed that that. So far, each episode has been one day, with the exception of the one where they gave him the night to think about his decision, buit the next episode picked up the same day. When the group was larger, he would take half of them out in the morning and half out in the afternoon(keep in mind this was shot in the summer, when the days are longer). And I think the "one-on-ones" were probably about an hour long. I don't think there was any day of rest. Looks like 6 or 7 days to me.

[+ Charlie]

RE:

 

I doubt very much that this was shot in the summer, when no one goes out to do anything strenuous during the day, because the temperature in Palm Springs is about 115 degrees. This was probably all done last winter.

[Will]

RE:

 

Charlie's observation that Boy Meets Boy was probably shot last winter reminds me of a question that keeps nagging me: Did James sign some kind of contract that obligates him not to speak to the media about his experience on the show itself? If it happened last winter -- which would also explain the choice of New Zealand, where it's summer when it's winter here -- then James and everybody else has certainly kept their mouths shut. This show has gotten under my skin. Well, perhaps not so much the show itself as the various interpretations of it I've encountered on the Message Center and elsewhere. I hope that once we know who the "lucky" man is, the participants will be able to talk. Somehow I have the hunch that BMB is worth some thinking about, much the same way that the early African American situation comedies on TV were, all the way back to Amos 'n' Andy. In other words, there can be discrimination even where none is intended.

[+ deej]

RE:

 

>Charlie's observation that Boy Meets Boy was probably shot

>last winter reminds me of a question that keeps nagging me:

>Did James sign some kind of contract that obligates him not to

>speak to the media about his experience on the show itself?

 

I'd be surprised if he didn't sign a killer of a restrictive NDA.

 

Most of the "reality" shows are 100% "in the can" before the first show airs. The marketing campaign is done, the trailers are done, the editing is done. By the time we see the first show, it's all over for those involved.

 

It's like watching a cooking show ... the goods are already in the oven, pre-cooked. ;-)

 

Expect the press junket once the conclusion is known.

 

I haven't even seen this show and it's got under my skin a little. ;-)

[Guest DevonSFescort]

RE:

 

Hope no one minds if I tack another, unrelated "Boy Meets Boy" question on, having only seen the first two episodes: What are the commercials like on the more recent episodes? From what I remember they had the kind of ads that I normally associate with late-late-night TV -- a lot of "Call 1-800 now" commercials. This made me wonder if advertisers were squeamish about running ads during "Boy Meets Boy." For people who would like to see more gay reality shows of this sort in the near future, it would probably be a good sign if more "ready for prime time" advertisers have started climbing on board.

 

For some reason I can't remember the ads on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" except the gay Orbitz ad, but I think I vaguely recall that they were more like what you'd expect to see on a popular prime time show.

[Guest sniper]

RE:

 

They had a couple of Orbitz ads and Queer Eye promos on BMB.

Teh daytime reruns though, I think the ad time actually belongs to the local cable company and not Bravo, that's why you see the 800 number crap.

 

Remember too that Bravo does not normally pull very big Nielsen numbers - I don;t think this is that different from the commercials they normally air in the timeslot.

 

Given that the show has something to offend everyone(either that it's a gay show or that the twist is seen by many of us as cruel to the gay leading man), I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people declined to sponsor it.

[Guest DevonSFescort]

RE:

 

>Teh daytime reruns though, I think the ad time actually

>belongs to the local cable company and not Bravo, that's why

>you see the 800 number crap.

 

The times I watched, though actually WERE the prime time slots. That's why I was struck by it, but if, as you say, Bravo does not normally pull big Nielsen numbers, it could just be the normal level of advertising for them, even at prime time. On the other hand, sometimes shows that do well in the Nielsens still never manage to bring in the big advertising bucks, which can be even more important in determining their long-term fate than the ratings.

 

>Given that the show has something to offend everyone(either

>that it's a gay show or that the twist is seen by many of us

>as cruel to the gay leading man), I wouldn't be surprised if a

>lot of people declined to sponsor it.

 

My thoughts exactly. I wonder how its advertising revenue compares to that of other similarly slotted Bravo shows? And what kind of ads is the NBC run of "Queer Eye" getting?