'Average Joe: Hawaii' is back, every bit as shallow as before

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer

Larissa Meek is the TV hottie who is supposed to be every guy's fantasy babe. Mario Perez

Some critics and viewers have been intrigued by the show's test: whether the inner qualities of an "average Joe" can be more attractive to a beauty than superficial hunkosity is. But the show may also be asking: Just how much more voyeurism can the TV viewing audience stand?

Despite the purported attention to inner beauty, the hot chick/average guy/surprise batch of hunks set-up is pretty shallow.

You don't see any "average Jane," points out points out University of Hawai'i professor Tom Brislin.

In the first "Average Joe," a beauty fell for a Joe before a handsome ringer diverted her affection. At the start of "Average Joe: Hawaii," Larissa Meek went into a tizzy when she met the new Joes, who she called "dorky."

Brislin, former chairman of the UH-Manoa communications department, says the new show "upped the 'geek factor' this time for what can only be an appeal to truly perverse viewing."

After a cursory look, Brislin took issue with the "averageness" of its new cast of Joes: "This group is average only in relation to attendees at a Star Trek convention. The hunks will undoubtedly have the upper hand."

In the long run, he wonders, "Who really cares?"

Brislin also wonders if the multiplication of "reality" shows in the last two years "is a kind of post-9/11 syndrome."

"Here's some reality we can handle, as it's really based in adolescent fantasy," he said.

Last week's season opener netted a 6.1 percent rating (that's a mere 9.6 million viewers) vs. the first "Average Joe" on Nov. 3 with a 7.4 rating (11.2 million), said Matt Tatham, manager of marketing and communications at Nielsen Media.

At its voyeuristic height, the original "Average Joe" made it into the Nielsen's Top 10 with a 11.1 rating, though that's a long way from the stratosphere of "CSI's" average rating.

Correction: University of Hawai'i professor Tom Brislin is former chairman of the UH-Manoa communications department. Information in a previous version of this story was incorrect.