Real men wear a bra and panties.

Tough Enough 3

original airdate: 10-31-02

After two seasons of this show, it was already pretty obvious that wrestling is HARD. But no matter how much the producers try to convey that, I don't think they'll ever be able to get it across adequately.

One contestant left after only two days, and now, after two weeks of training, another has left. Lisa, a non-descript contestant even among this crowd of non-descripts, leaves very dramatically while the others are out partying. They return to find her gone, and the cameras don't give the audience any clue where she went. Big explains the next morning that Lisa called him and asked to leave, but there's none of the vitriol or anger that greeted Jill's departure earlier.

So despite the efforts to the contrary, the cast is already down from 13 to 11, again removing the trainers' ability to make the cuts they want to make and keep control of their potential wrestlers.

Granted, they would have cut Lisa anyway; she may have been an acceptably good athlete but she was not doing well in the ring, and had an annoying habit of laughing after each move she did wrong. I'm almost surprised she had the luxury of quitting; Al and Bill seemed pretty close to blowing up and dismissing her on the spot earlier.

But then, when doesn't Bill seem close to blowing his gasket? Unlike the calm, patriarchal Al Snow, the former Hugh Morrus (or so I'm told) is a volatile sort with a very veiled sense of humor. He's an exaggeration begging to be impersonated, but when Jonah loses a bet and actually has to show off his "Bill" it's quite a shock when he doesn't rip Jonah's little head off.

Oh, yes, the bets are back, and with a vengeance. Big explains that it's an integral part of the business and the camaraderie, and they are to live and die by the bets they make. Win or lose, there will be no going back.

That doesn't really stop Jonah and Eric from trying, though, after they lose a bet with the house spaz, Scott. If he can get a girl's phone number during their fun night out, both of them agree to wear a bra and panties to the beach the next day. Scott, at once stunningly and unsurprisingly, gets not one but TWO phone numbers.

Stunning because from what we've seen of him, he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but unsurprising just the same - why bother introducing the sequence if it's not going to end that way? Of course, I think it would have been wise to verify those numbers before taking the next step, but rules are rules. Live and die by the bet.

Despite the whining and wheedling from the two transvestites-to-be ("If we'd won we wouldn't have made you do it!" - shyeah, right!) "Erica" and "Joanie" are provided with appropriate outfits for the beach. The former wears a full fitted bathing suit, more embarrassing than a bra and panties any day, and the latter wears a shocking pink flowered "tankini."

The day at the beach is laid back, full of swimming and volleyball and fun, until Scott takes an ill-advised dive for the ball and injures himself on the volleyball net. He's torn a ligament in his thumb, which should be immobilized for 6-8 weeks to heal properly. No word on what he'll do next.

Regardless of his decision, which if he chooses to leave would drop the cast down to 10 members, there will be a cut in next week's episode. Again, I thank the producers for making the timeline this time around much clearer. If the next episode does not follow on the chronological heels of this one, we'll know about it.

I've got no clear winners and no favorites; I think this season's format hasn't given much time to the contestants' personalities, and what time has been given was to people I don't like. I don't particularly care for Scott, except as TV entertainment, I like Eric but don't think he has much potential, and Jonah is still a meatball. None of the three remaining girls have done much to endear themselves to me, and in fact Kelly is the only one I don't actively dislike yet.

Of course, the men are maybe owed more of a shot this time around, so my early predictions are Eric and Nick. Because I don't totally hate either of them, and slow and steady might win this race.

Sarah Stanek