Accept This Rose

I have been waiting for this day since the moment Jimmy Kimmel announced that Ashley Hebert would be our next Bachelorette. It’s basically like Christmas morning: I barely slept last night, replaying ABC’s skanky preview footage in my head over and over and thinking of all the possibilities ahead of us.

I think I speak for all of us when I say I’m ready to erase the last 8 weeks from my memory and start over with our favorite twisted stepchild of the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise, Bachelor Pad!

So just based on previews alone, here are a few of the things I’m MOST excited about in this season:

• Jake and Vienna. Duh. Oh yeah, and Kasey.
• Figuring out why Gia is back
• Ella. I can barely remember this girl from Jake’s season, but from what I’ve seen in the previews she is a DRAMA. SHOW.
• Laughing at the fact that they all have to sleep on bunk beds, and watching them awkwardly(and audibly) hook up in the bunk beds while everyone else is in the same room.
• Catching up with a few of my all-time favorite guys: Kirk, MStag, and Ames
• Shamelessly skanky “challenges”……think last year’s kissing contest, the “who do you think has fake boobs” game, etc.
• The addition of the Fantasy Suite option after each date — can we make the point of this show any more obvious?? Sleep your way to the top.
• Remember when no one really wanted to hook up with Gwen last time because she was really old and awkward? Well, Melissa is the new Gwen.
• Figuring out if “Erica Rose” (why do you have 2 names?) ever takes that damn tiara off

And that’s just the beginning.

If you haven’t joined our fantasy league yet, click HERE to submit your guesses for tonight’s premiere! Be prepared for some fun bonus questions along the way too.

And finally, since a lot of you are probably wondering how exactly does this show work, we thought we’d quickly review the rules of the game so that everyone is prepared for tonight:

OFFICIAL BACHELOR PAD RULES (borrowed from another site):

First of all, the show starts on Monday, August 9; it will run for six episodes. There will be 11 girls and 8 guys. The female and male contestants will sleep in bunk beds in the same living area. They will compete in different challenges (one challenge per week); the finalist will take home $250,000. It appears that the girls will compete against girls and the guys – against guys.

 The winner of each challenge (one guy and one girl) will receive immunity, which means that they will be safe from the next night’s elimination. They will also have a chance to go on a group date with 3 girls or 3 guys of their choice (respectively) and grant immunity (give the rose) to one of the dates. At this point, they can hook up with the recipient of the rose and continue on with their date; they can also choose to spend the night at the fantasy suite.

 The weekly eliminations will be done in the following manner: The guys will get together to vote out a girl and the girls will vote out a guy. The guys will place a headshot of the girl they want to be eliminated into a ballot box, and the girls will do the same with a guy’s headshot. Chris Harrison and Melissa Rycroft will preside over the elimination ceremonies; they will be the ones to reveal who gets sent home.

 When the contestants get down to 4 guys and 7 girls, each of the guys will be told to save one girl of their choice. That’s when 4 competing couples are established; the other 3 girls will be sent home. The remaining couples begin competing against each other.