During the red carpet event, we are introduced via reel to this seasons Bachelor, Chris Soules, who is apparently referred to as "Prince Farming." Chris was on the last season of "The Bachelorette" with Andi Dorfman.
The reel is five minutes of Chris doing things that farmers do. We see shots of him walking through crops, driving a tractor, shoveling seeds in a combine, hauling said shovel over his shoulder, carrying a fishing pole to fish in the stream with his fathe r… you get the picture. The reel ends with Chris and his personal trainer who have set up a pseudo CrossFit gym in the barn, using hay barrels and farming equipment to get in shape for the show.
To really emphasize that Chris is a farmer, he tells us that he "doesn't want to count his chickens before they hatch," which I think means he doesn't want to get too excited, but I don't speak in farming metaphors as they relate to "The Bachelor."
While most of the hour-long red carpet special is just Chris Harrison interviewing couples that have met through the show and Nikki, we do get to "meet" a few of this seasons contestants.
First, we meet Britt, a 27-year-old waitress living in Hollywood, who sometimes stands on Hollywood Boulevard (gross) holding a sign that says, "Free Hugs" to brighten peoples' days.
Next, we head to D.C. where we're introduced to Jillian, a 25-year-old national news producer who is doing flips and cartwheels outside of the White House. You know, because she lives in D.C. After she tells us that she hopes she can find a man who loves a strong woman, they zoom in on her at the gym doing pull-ups with a heavy weight and chain strapped between her legs. Get it?
They close her intro with her posing in a romper, a statement necklace and high heels, because not only is she athletic and strong, she also cleans up well.
On to Amanda, who is a ballet teacher from Lake in the Hills, Illinois (seriously). We meet her while she is teaching a ballet class. In the next shot, she tells us, with HUGE eyes, that she lives with her mom because she doesn't like to pay bills or clean or cook. So, what they're saying is that she'll make an exceptional wife.
After big-eyed Amanda, we meet Whitney, who is a fertility nurse but should actually be a princess at Disneyland because that's what she sounds like when she speaks.
They zoom in on Cinderella (Whitney) in her home, where she asks her pet dog "could Chris be your daddy?" and I can already tell we're going to have issues with this one.
We head over to Maple Valley, Washington, where 21-year-old Mackenzie sits alone by a flowing stream where she tells us that Chris is "hot, mature and grown up. So, he's like a man. Which is what I want. It's perfect." You kind of have to forgive her for that because she's only 21.
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Now we're taken inside of an airplane to meet Alissa, 24, because she is a flight attendant. The writers must have had a brainstorm for this one, because we are fed at least 10 witty Bachelor/flight attendant puns during Alissa's intro. I think my favorite was "love is like flying because when you're up, you're up." Mostly because she says this while she hands out roses to the passengers. Either that or, "I would love to fly off into the sunset with Chris" as the plane heads into the sunset.
Best Bachelor Chris Line from Episode One: “I wish I was a polygamist right now.”