Are You an 'Average Joe'?

Two weeks to go for The Average Joe Season 4, and for me, it just won't end soon enough.

Let’s be kind for moment and call this slop reality soup. It’s a simple recipe, really. Take a generous helping of The Bachelor, mix in a slice of Beauty and the Geek and a dash of Extreme Makeover. Add equal parts tension and melodrama and bring to a rolling boil. Garnish with exaggerated plot twists, and voilà! You have yourself a new dish comprised entirely of yesterday’s leftovers.

NBC’s latest chapter in group dating is all about putting a fresh face on an old series, and on its contestants. Out of shape? Lacking charm? Nervous around women?

No problem. It’s nothing a little reality TV can’t repair.

In the Beginning
With personalities as extreme as their looks, the Average Joes—18 so-called ordinary men vying for the love of the same beautiful woman—range from overweight and hairy to feeble and nerdy. And though the group covers a spectrum of personas, they do have one thing in common: They’re anything but mundane. Whether laughably extroverted or shockingly sheltered, they all bring at least one quirk to the table. Each episode depicts a series of both one-on-one and group dates, and each week, a few Joes are sent packin’.

Of course, nothing is actually that simple. Fundamental to the reality TV model is planting “unexpected” twists and turns. For example, when the show’s fair maiden first arrives, she’s expecting an assortment of eye-catching suitors to sweep her off her feet. Alas, rather than the strapping young hunks she envisioned, she’s greeted by the less-than-proper Joes. Later, just as the men begin to get comfortable, producers roll in a group of beefy tough guys with dashing looks sure to spoil the Joes’ chances with the dreamy damsel.

With the first two seasons sticking to the original model, Season 3 turned the tables, reviving a former Joe and giving him the pick of the ladies. Season 4 (The Average Joe: The Joes Strike Back) brings in a new twist: “Can a new look really make all the difference?” For the Joes, that means being picked over is a small step away from being made over. Every week, a booted Joe is selected to undergo a transformation to see if the reality TV geniuses can mold him into a heartthrob.

So What’s a Joe?
Though producers have done their best to stir the pot in hopes of making Season 4 spicier than ever, The Average Joe phenomenon ultimately hasn’t changed. The premise remains simple: You’re either a jock or a geek. And geeks fumble around mindlessly while jocks admire themselves, their biceps glistening in the sunlight. Take it from Rocky, one of the show’s chiseled contenders: “Guys who are out of shape, they pine over girls like this. I’m the guy who dates them. ... This is the way the world is.”

We’re reminded again and again that average folks are something to be mocked. So why are we all so enthralled? Watching the Joes belly-flop into the pool while the hunks lift weights poses an obvious question: If the world according to Joe is comprised of two separate (and unequal) classes, which do I belong to? For me, and probably for you, the answer is unsettling. Why? Because most of us aren’t jocks, we’re Joes. And Joes simply don’t have what it takes.

It’s not as though a show with an Average Joe theme can’t be done in such a way that avoids leaving viewers as casualties of the reality TV war. First-time WB series Beauty and the Geek paired less-than-intelligent (but very pretty) women with less-than-cool (but über smart) men, asking the duos to learn from each other. In the end, the guys were more confident and the girls realized you can’t judge a Joe by his cover—even if he’s a lifelong member of the Dukes of Hazzard Fan Club.

But for the NBC Joes, there’s no such luck. In the end, few will be surprised if (yet again) the beefcake jock gets the eye-batting girl while everyman gets “life coaching” and a haircut. Will it be a recipe for success? Can a new look really revive a stale show?

Should any of us care?