ABC's The Proposal is a "geyser of bad ideas" from the creator of The Bachelor

The A.V. Club

The Jesse Palmer-hosted reality show, pr from Mike Fleiss, premiering Monday, is an "ill-considered step backward for human dignity," says Alex McLevy. In fact, it's very reminiscent of Fleiss' 2000 Fox reality TV disaster Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?, which nearly sank his career. "When the premiere episode of this new series began, it seemed there was no way ABC would be dumb enough to bring back the most appalling and cringeworthy elements of a roundly scorned TV special from nearly 20 years ago," says McLevy. "But as it turns out, ABC is exactly that dumb. The shudder-inducing concept is just what it sounds like: One man (or woman—progress!) introduces themselves via voice-over to the studio audience, then takes an assigned place behind a wall where they can’t be seen, to sit, like an especially empowered Peeping Tom, and watch as 10 contestants are paraded out to present themselves as potential spouses. "