The Bachelor's Journey Begins: Hearts Will Be Broken, Fairy Tales Will Come True, and Things That People Never Thought Could Happen to Them Will Happen to Them

By Finesse

[UPDATE: Check out Episode 1 recap here.  Episode 2 recap here.]

When you come back to work after two-and-a-half weeks of vacation, there isn't a lot to look forward to.  But then you stumble upon news that a new season of The Bachelor begins tonight on ABC at 8pm and you feel like Bruce Boudreau's wife when he is on a road trip - elated that the time is here.

For those new to the site, one of our raisons d'etre is to chronicle one of life's most precarious, but rewarding journeys - the journey to find love.  And there is no better place to follow this journey than ABC's franchise The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, even if it is only because in between nervous giggles, the contestants appear to be contractually obligated to remind the viewers that, yes, love is a journey.

"I could see myself falling in love with you.  What's your name again?"

We jumped into last summer's The Bachelorette after the half-way pole, and our late entry was a mixed bag: on the negative side, we missed providing our readers with analysis on the first half of the season, but on the positive side, we only had to watch half the season.  This year, we're going coast to coast.

To give you a sense of what to expect, check out a couple of our recaps of 2010's The Bachelorette with our favorite, Ali.

July 6: Live blog
August 3: The Bachelorette Finale: A Retroactive Conversation

This year's Bachelor is Brad Womack, who, in his previous turn as The Bachelor in 2007, dumped both of the final two contestants.  Presumably, his walls weren't ready to come down.  Will they be ready this year?

No one really knows what tonight's episode will bring, but we hope to be able to handicap the field for you tomorrow.  Stay tuned.