Flavor of Love - The Complete First Season

At their peak in the late-1980s, who could've predicted that Public Enemy's hype man would become one of reality TV's biggest stars? For William Drayton Jr., AKA Flavor Flav, the journey began with VH1's The Surreal Life 3, which spawned Strange Love (co-starring the inimitable Brigitte Nielsen), culminating in Flavor of Love, a down and dirty version of ABC's soft-focus Bachelor. Instead of a tall, bland hunk, the prize is a diminutive 46-year-old with a unique vocabulary ("Yeah, Boyeee!"), an unusual dress sense (Viking helmets, sci-fi sunglasses, wall clock necklaces), and his own "Body Man," Big Rick. Over the course of this 10-part series, 20 women compete to become Flav's lady love. Seeing as the show is made for cable--and that this is the unrated edition--that means risqué language and revealing outfits are fair game (there's even a little Girls Gone Wild nudity from a few Flavorettes). Because Flav isn't good with names, he doles out some easy-to-remember handles. There's the moody Rain, sensitive Smiley, catty New York, etc. In each episode (except for the recap), he eliminates one to five contestants. Those left standing "know what time it is." Challenges include hot tub-speed dating, a fried chicken cook-off, and Vegas-style roulette. A cross between Jerry Springer and a rap video, the "celebreality" extravaganza is an explosion of hair extensions and false eyelashes set to a soundtrack of screaming and crying. Nonetheless, Flavor of Love pulled in the punters--the finale was the highest rated program in the network's history--and was renewed for a second go-round, indicating that America was "feeling" the Flav...and that the winner split the crib. Guests include Nielsen and Flav's Church-going mom, Anna. --Kathleen C. Fennessy