Cupid

EPISODE 5
THE KEEPERS AND THE WEEPER

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Last week, CUPID's ten Suitors took their first shot at winning the heart of Lisa Shannon, the girl who comes with a million-dollar dowry, provided she and the guy America chooses get hitched, and stay hitched, for at least one year. Some fared better than others, especially when it came time to face up to Lisa's two tart-tongued best friends, Laura and Kimberly. Dominic, Hank and Paul escaped relatively unscathed, while Evan, Ken and Robert A. felt the sting of CUPID's arrows. But America's vote was revealed, and it served notice that one of these guys would no longer be among those vying for Lisa's affection. As host Brian McFayden said, "You think it's bad getting dumped? Try getting dumped live on national television� It so sucks."

First, Brian introduced Lisa's Top Ten, the last guys standing after the nationwide search to find Lisa her mate for life. After welcoming back Lisa Shannon (who planted a raspberry-scented kiss on a very surprised Brian's lips) and her two "guard dogs," Laura and Kimberly, it was time to get down to business and reveal which of the ten guys was going to get the shaft on live TV.

As the suspense mounted, and the studio audience groaned, Brian asked the two guys who received the lowest amount of votes to join him on stage: Rob and Ken. Brian then informed the two visibly tense Suitors that America had decided that Ken would live to love another day. Thus Rob became the first guy officially to get dumped by Lisa, and CUPID.

Before exiting, Rob hugged Lisa and offered these parting words: "Good luck with everything. I just wish you the best. These are all great guys." Lisa seemed genuinely sorry to see Rob go, telling him that she hoped to see him after the show.

But with Rob gone, the focus shifted back to the remaining nine guys and their second dates with Lisa. This time out, the game plan was for the Suitors to take Lisa out on a date and expose her to one of their hobbies, with the hopes of revealing a little bit more about themselves to the woman they hoped to marry.
( Goodbye to Rob )

JOE'S DATE: DREAM HOUSE-HUNTING
First out of the gate this time was Joe, the real estate developer from Elmwood Park, Illinois, who decided to take Lisa on a hunt for dream houses�while posing as husband and wife! Lisa gamely went along for the ride as the two checked out some truly magnificent pieces of real estate. In the first house, they got cozy on a sprawling couch in the screening room as Joe clearly enjoyed their little game of make-believe channel-surfing. Next on their tour was a Bel Air mansion complete with an indoor pool and bowling alley, which Joe and Lisa took in with huge smiles on their faces. When the realtor told them the house was selling for $22 million, they couldn't help but burst out laughing. But Joe imagined that he and Lisa might be able to look back together one day on their day of looking at million-dollar dream houses and say, "Guess what? Now we got one!"

Now it was time for the post-date commentary. Laura loved that Joe was a take-charge kind of guy, but not too controlling, adding, "The two of you always seem to be at ease when you're together. I just adore you." Kimberly agreed with Laura, taking special note of Joe and Lisa's discussion of children: "For (Lisa) to mention seeing the little kids running around? That's a pretty good sign."

Clearly pleased--and why not? He'd just faced the firing squad without taking a single hit--Joe could barely speak, managing to sputter, "I am such a loss for words." But Lisa happily spoke for him, saying her parents used to take her looking at houses when she was a kid: "I learned a lot about you. We have a lot in common. I had a great time, and I hope you stick around." With the audience cheering mightily, Joe responded, "I hope one day we can take our kids looking for houses also."
( House hunting with Joe )

EVAN'S DATE: HEATING UP ON THE ICE
While Evan cringed in his seat, his date was screened for the audience. After taking Lisa to the beach last week, Evan, the girls volleyball coach from Huntington Beach, did a complete one-eighty and took Lisa ice skating on this date. Not that Evan's much of a skater. In fact, he's been only twice before, but his hobby, he claimed, "is learning new hobbies." Before taking the ice, Evan cracked Lisa up by giving her some oven mitts to keep her warm. After a couple of laps around the rink, the two collapsed against the boards and traded stories about their childhoods. Evan revealed that he was the class clown in school, while Lisa told him about caring for her infant brother when she was only six years old. When Evan pointed out that they were complete opposites, Lisa didn't seem bothered in the least: "That's good. Opposites attract." The two enjoyed some post-skating snuggling (much to the delight of the studio audience), after which Evan whole-heartedly agreed with Lisa's assessment, saying "I feel a very strong attraction there, mentally and physically, which is beautiful."

Back onstage, with the studio audience roaring their approval, it was time to find out how Laura and Kimberly felt about Evan. For her part, Laura was impressed with Evan's performance on the ice, reminding him that she'd been suspicious of him last week, but she seemed pleased to report, "You didn't let me down. I like the whole extrovert guy/shy girl thing. It works for me, and obviously it's working for the two of you." Even Kimberly, who'd slayed Evan last week, admitted she might've been wrong about him: "The date was extremely romantic, and she's obviously attracted to you.

Having expected to get kicked when he was down, Evan showed up with a voodoo doll for his former nemesis Kimberly, who was clearly thrilled to receive the present. The love for Evan kept flowing as Lisa told him, "Evan, like you said on the date, 'opposites attract'. And obviously in this case, opposites really do attract."
( Ice skating with Evan )

RENDA'S DATE: POETIC LICENSE TO FLIRT
On their first date, Renda had showed Lisa his goofy side by taking her strolling on the boardwalk in matching afro wigs and referee uniforms. This time, the street hustler and poet from Queens hoped to showcase his "romantic, creative side" by treating Lisa to an afternoon of reading and writing poetry. Renda got the ball rolling by suggesting they write about what they've both been going through on the show, particularly the mounting pressure on all the Suitors to "connect" with Lisa. Renda was blown away by Lisa's poetry ("With the wrong use of the word, or was it just misheard?") and asked her jokingly if he could manage her poetry career. Renda then placed their writing in a plastic container attached to a cluster of balloons, and "released (their) poetry into the world." Renda wrapped up their date by giving Lisa an Eskimo kiss, which consisted of tenderly rubbing their noses together. It seemed pretty clear that Lisa enjoyed this display of affection a lot more than the cheek-rattling "Zerbert" she had received from Renda last week. As for Renda, his second date with Lisa had gone "according to plan."

After watching her friend's date with Renda, Laura said she was really pleased to see his more romantic side, but there was one thing she was curious about: "Last week was the Zerbert, this week was an Eskimo kiss. What are we in store for next week? The butterfly kiss? When are you gonna step up and show us the real deal?" But Kimberly had a slightly sourer take, telling Renda, "You don't have to worry about me overusing the word 'connection,' because I don't think there is much between you two."

Down but not out, Renda shot right back, "If there's a connection festering, then let it fester. If not, then one of the other guys deserves it." Lisa rushed to Renda's defense, saying that Kimberly had been clamoring for Lisa to find a creative guy. Now, "You bring something creative and she's ripping on you for it. Don't listen to her!"

ROBERT'S DATE: BOWLING OVER LISA
Robert, the fitness model from Los Angeles, took Lisa bowling because it reminds him of the game of Skittles, which he played as a child in his native Austria. After explaining the difference between Skittles and bowling, Robert stepped up to the line and offered Lisa a unique training tip: "Your eye is the ball right now." Lisa did her best to follow his instructions, then clapped graciously as Robert hurled a strike. Perhaps sensing that he was striking out with the bowling, Robert turned to song in an attempt to woo the fading Lisa. Mixing ballad with rap, Robert, sounding like Arnold Schwarzenegger at open mike night, performed an apparently original song ("It's so nice, it's so right, we gonna be together tonight") that left Lisa visibly wincing and the audience hooting and hollering.

Also left wincing was Laura, who picked up where she had left off by tearing into Robert even more viciously than she had last week: "Let me at him. I still despise you. I'm embarrassed to be in the same country as you, let alone the same room." With the audience reacting loudly to her nasty comments, Laura warned America that if they voted for Robert, "I'll hunt you each down one by one." Kimberly echoed Laura's sentiments, telling him "I think you're completely nuts. And I don't mean that in a good way."

Robert tried to defend himself, sputtering that he'd thought "It's better for us, to take it more slow and easier. And hopefully, later on, we'll have a more romantic date." Lisa snapped at Laura for being so rude, but told Robert, "I think that you need to find out more about me before you proclaim your love for me. I'm not Oprah Winfrey. I can't interview you all the time."