The Bachelor, Byron Velvick

Tonight on ABC's The Bachelor, professional Bass fisherman, Byron Velvick narrowed the field of beautiful women and prospective brides from twelve to eight.

The producers of the show decided to add a twist by bringing back two women from previous shows. One of them got a rose. One did not.

When the two women were first introduced during Byron's Mystery Date, Byron didn't know who they were because he had not watched The Bachelor II or IV.

These two women were selected because they were simply "looking for love" not because some sophisticated "scientifically proven" software program identifying their core values, assets and interests deemed them to be an ideal match for Byron Velvick.

They didn't have a matchmaking service like eHarmony to determine it was worth decreasing the chances of the current women in the house to bring these two in "the game."

But they should!

Instead the casting application to become a Bachelor or one of the twenty-five Bachelorettes is brief.

The producers ask for your name, age, height, weight, whether or not you have any children, your occupation, your phone number, your email address, whether or not you are twenty-one years of age (this is required), your address, and an explanation as to why you should be on The Bachelor.

They also ask for a digital photograph of yourself, and that is it.

The Bachelor's Application is the same.

In contrast eHarmony, the fastest growing relationship site on the Web, requires that you create a Personality Profile of yourself, and an extensive one at that.

This summer, I went to a wedding for one of our best friends who found love again via eHarmony after his ex-wife left him for another woman.

Thanks to work of Dr. Neil Clark Warren, founder of eHarmony, CEO Greg Forgatch and the company's employees, my good friend -- as well as over 6,000 other men and women -- have found a soulmate and life partner.

eHarmony claims there are twenty-nine dimensions that create compatibility and play a key role in the most successful relationships.

They use these dimensions to identify the right match for you.

Clearly, this company has devised an intelligent way of matching singles.

Either The Bachelor needs to partner with eHarmony, or eHarmony needs to start a show that competes with ABC's The Bachelor.

Here's my recommendation for ABC and The Bachelor:

1) Partner with eHarmony, which could also become the sponsor of the show.

2) Choose your bachelor and have him fill out eHarmony's in-depth relationship questionnaire.

3) Have the women who want to be part of the show fill out eHarmony's profile and put eHarmony's unique Compatibility Matching System to work.

4) Use eHarmony's system to winnow down the applicants to the top 200 candidates.

5) Put the top 200 candidates through The Bachelor screening process.

6) Narrow the field down to twenty-five bachelorette candidates after the producers have extensively reviewed each of the profiles and after personal interviews have taken place.

This would add tremendous credibility to the show. Especially when everyone is wondering why the producers have clearly forced Byron to keep Krysta around.

Patterning with eHarmony would provide a new, and credible "twist," which would engender audience loyalty. As it stands, the producers are losing the audience through increasingly desperate ploys.

At the very least, ABC ought to buy all future Bachelors and Bachelorettes a copy of Dr. Warren's book:

Date...or Soul Mate? How To Know If Someone Is Worth Pursuing In Two Dates Or Less

Next season, they'll have yet another book of Warren's to consider.

On January 5th, 2005, Warner Faith will release, on behalf of Warren, Falling in Love for All the Right Reasons : How to Find Your Soul Mate

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful and match-made-in-heaven living!

~ Jennifer King

Inspire & Be Inspired(R)