Game Show NewsNet

Episode 7 - August 3

So I'm watching the WWE's Monday Night Raw... Yeah, that's right, I watch wrestling! Anyways, they are having their Diva Search, where women are competing for $250,000. Why is this pertinent, you ask? Simple, I'm looking at one of the women when I realize 1 of them is Maria, one of the 3 remaining women left on Outback Jack! This gets me wondering whether she will be eliminated soon.

In case you don't remember, we are down to Natalie, Marissa and Maria. They are currently en route for a big challenge, Jack's mom! They are crossing the croc infested water without hesitation, an act a few weeks ago that would have required a miracle. Each of the girls state how this experience has taught them a whole lot about themselves. The group comes to a tree with a huge ant farm on it. Jack tells them that they are a great source of protein. He proceeds to eat several of them, I'm thinking is this Fear Factor? Worse, he tells them, "Eat the green part , that's the ass!" Maria is the first to go and admits that they do taste very good. The ants seem to have a sweet and sour taste. I'll stick to my sour patch candy, thank you!

They finally reach Jack's "mumsy" as he calls her. The ladies each introduce themselves to the lady whom they have to now impress. One thing that is evident is that Jack and his mom have a strong bond, so having the mom on a girl's side might just swing the whole competition. It seems that Jack's mom was in a serious accident once which put her on life support. Throughout the whole time she was there, Jack never left her side. The ladies sit down with mommy without Jack, and all the questions begin to fly. From what is their biggest flaw, to if they can see themselves married with Jack. All the girls give the politically correct answer to play it safe. Then there was the sex before marriage question, haha. Natalie says she'd wait to make it special while Marissa feels that that's up to the two people. Eventually mom gives Jack her opinions. She feels Maria is beautiful, Marissa is intelligent, and Natalie is cute. Jack seems to be leaning towards Natalie because he believes opposites attract.

Now its time for dating again. Jack thinks that Maria is hiding something from him for some reason. He questions Marissa's motives on whether she loves him or just wants to win the competition. Oddly enough, the uber B@#ch tells him to pick the one his heart tells him to, no matter who it is. WOW! Natalie's date goes normal with no problems, she's in the lead pulling away I think. Next day JD brings us some tapes for people who know the ladies. Each tape is some of the girls' family members talking about each of them. No dirt unfortunately, I thought this was a wasted gimmick which could have really led to Jack knowing more about each girl. All the people are too vague obviously trying to get their person over.

Jack's decision is coming closer. His mother tells him to follow his heart, but he feels that his heart is telling him three different things. He meets up with the ladies one more time. Maria tells Jack that she doesn't are who wins, but to not pick Marissa. Jack seems stunned by her move, saying she'd rather see him with Natalie. He's got to wonder if the ladies were onto something by voting Marissa off. Marissa claims that she is here for Jack, not to just win, Jack seems to still wonder I think.

So here we go, JD, mom, the girls, and Jack are all here. Let me tell you guys that talking about this scene would not give it justice no matter how I write it. Jack calls Natalie and Marissa and asks them both to stay. At this point, Jack begins to cry having to make this horrible decision. Maria is taking it even worse as she is in hysterical tears. Her knees buckle, her mascara runs and she realizes she is going home. Jack tells her to come here with a voice trembling with tears and emotion. He tells her that he's sorry for the decision he had to make and that she is very special. They embrace several times. Maria is crying, mom is crying, JD has his head down, and even Marissa can be scene feeling the sadness. I encourage everyone to go to the following link to view this scene.

http://www.tbs.com/stories/story/0,18822,34430,00.html

Maria then heads over to mom and is consoled by her. Mom hugs her and shares some tears with her. This is more emotion than in any Bachelor episode I've scene, even more than in the elimination on the last day of For Love or Money. This scene alone makes this one of the truly genuine and successful shows of reality TV in my opinion.

Oh wait, there's still one more episode to see and find out who Jack picks!