With the lack of love directed at Age of Love, it’s quite possible its first season will be its last. But if NBC decides to give it another go in the future, there are a few improvements they will have to make if they want folks to tune in again.
The main one? If you’re going to call the show Age of Love, and make age the central dividing characteristic, at least make it a fair fight.
As many BuddyTV commenters have noted, the difference in age was not equal between the 20-something Kittens and the 40-something Cougars. Mark Philippoussis is 30, and therefore was closer in age to all of the 20-somethings that he was to almost any of the 40-somethings. (He was equally distant in age from Megan, at 21, and Jayanna, at 39.)
True love might be able to transcend any differences, but it’s quite possible the bachelor at the heart of a dating show might not find himself completely immediately lovestruck by any of the ladies the casting director has selected. In the absence of overwhelming chemistry, people usually return to some of the other criteria usually considered when looking for a relationship: compatibility, interests in common, similar outlook, shared future goals etc.
Mark wasn’t only closer in actual age to the 20-somethings, it seemed he might be closer in maturity level as well. His past relationships have been with younger women, and, as many skeptical viewers noted, he was engaged to an eighteen-year-old. If in the past, he has found himself having greater compatibility with younger women, it seemed clear from the first episode that things would wind up the way they did.
So a realistic choice for a bachelor for a similar division of ages would be maybe a slightly older man. And here’s a thought: what about someone who already has children? After all, some of the Cougars were divorcees with kids and some major life experiences under their belts. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Let’s face it: having kids is important, and although it’s still possible for women to have children later in life, if the bachelor already has kids, it might ease some of the pressure on the older women to fulfill that part of the romantic expectation as well. Plus having kids of his own might give him a little more of the emotional maturity that Philippoussis was lacking.
This might be a moot exercise as again, there’s no plans announced yet to run another season of Age of Love. But if NBC decides to chance it again, one hopes they listen to the feedback of the viewers and add some much needed reality to the reality series.
– Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Staff Columnist, BuddyTV
