LAST EDITED ON 09-23-04 AT 10:40 AM (EST)"9 Reasons to Hate Shawn"
I want to start off by saying that this is my first ever summary for Reality TV World. I have only been here for less than a year, but it has been a great less than a year. When I signed up to summarize The Benefactor, I never thought that so many people would be interested in this show, and better than that, we have Mark Cuban posting here! I got my work cut out for me, so let's get to the summarizing.
Last time on The Benefactor:
Richard was cut for calling the game stupid, and he was stupid for even saying it. Laurel was cut for being too timid even though she got naked in her audition video. William and Grayson faced each other in a rousing game of Jenga. William won, and our “poker player” was sent home.
13 people are left. How many people will Cuban cut tonight?
Mark gathers everyone into the living room to explain today's test. The players will be split into three teams. Linda, Dominic, and Shawn are the captains and will pick three players to be on their team. Since there are 13 people left, one person will be left out and will lose their shot at a million dollars. Wouldn't the least liked person just be eliminated then? Oh, wait. Shawn is safe. Never mind. Reason #1.
Linda picks Chris. Dominic picks Tiffaney. Shawn picks Latane. Linda picks Kevin. Dominic picks Femia. At this point, Dominic tells us that his strategy was to pick all the hot girls. That's a great strategy, Dominic. Show Mark how shallow you are.
Before they get back to picking, Shawn tells Mark that if he handed her a million dollars, she would not take it unless she busted her backside to get it. Shawn, you're in a competition to WIN a million dollars. Reason #2. Alright, back to the picking. Shawn picks William. Linda picks Spencer. Dominic picks Christine.
It's now between Kathy and Mario to see who goes. For the final pick, Shawn chooses.....Mario. That means Kathy loses her shot at one million dollars. Kathy gets pissed that Shawn picked Mario instead of her, especially because Shawn's reason was that Mario left his family to be here, which is pretty poor reasoning. Haven't they all left their family to be a DAW on television? Reason #3. Shawn than explains that she didn't pick Kathy because she's a woman, and Shawn hates women. Good because women (and men) hate her. Reason #4.
Mark now tells them that time is his most valuable possession. The teams will have three hours of Mark's time and 2,500 dollars to spend. They can do whatever they want during that time and have until the next day to come up with a plan. Mark warns them to not waste his time or they may lose their shot at one million dollars.
Commercial break. What? You want me to summarize the commercials too? Forget it because I wasn't paying attention then. Besides, there are other writers that do that, so I don't want to infringe on what they do.
When we come back from commercials, Team Linda gets their time with Mark. It doesn't start off well, but Kevin then reminds everyone how much of an Oprah fan he is and that the worst thing about being on the show is that he can't watch Oprah. Yes, he actually said that.
The team decides to take Mark to Scottish Rite Children's Hospital. A hospital Mark has been to many, many, many, many, many times. Apparently, none of them thought to ask Mark if he had been there before. When they get back, Mark tells them they didn't use the time wisely. Not good.
Commercial break.
We return, and Dominic's team gets their time with Mark. They decide to show him a fun time and start by driving him to an arcade in a Stretch Hummer. Mark seems to have a lot of fun there, although it seemed odd he won every game. You didn't notice the obvious suck up, Mark?
Commercial break.
When we come back, Shawn's team now gets time with Mark. William starts off on a bad foot by rambling on a bit, which annoys Mario quite a bit. The team takes the Dominic route and takes Mark to Speed Zone. Again, Mark wins everything. They're sucking up again, Mark.
The team then tries to get Mark on one of those balls that shoots up in the air. Mark backs out of it because he is scared of heights (can't blame him I'd avoid it too). The team didn't have a backup plan and finished 45 minutes early. Reason #5. Mark is upset that they wasted his time like that. Have you figured out which team loses?
Commercial break.
We're back, and Mark chooses Shawn's as the losing team. He then tells them that two members of the team will be eliminated. Mark takes them to an elementary school and tells them that three second graders will decide who is eliminated. He tells us that kids are the best judge of character and will be able to see right through them. They should be able to. I can.
William is the first one up. When asked about his favorite sport, he says scuba diving. That's a sport? William also tells the kids of a story when he swam away from an eel. He seemed very nervous throughout the whole thing.
Latane is next. Apparently, if he wins, he will give his money to one of the kids. The kids also tell him that he looks like Dirk Novitski. Personally, I think he looks like a blond Mark Cuban. Latane also gives one of the kids a piece of candy. The kids seem to really enjoy him.
Mario is the next one. His favorite sport is playing video games. Mario also shows them his Star Wars tattoos, but they don't seem impressed.
Shawn is the final contestant and seems confident that she will win since she teaches second graders. Reason #6. When asked who is her favorite Mavs player, she says number 13. Yay, number 13. Who doesn't love number 13? Reason #7.
Commercial break.
And we're back. Mark confers with the kids, and you get the same thing I already explained, so let's move on. He then does a mockery of The Apprentice and now it's time for the eliminations. Mark tells them that the kids have decided that William and Mario don't get a chance at one million dollars. He tells Shawn that she squeaked by because it was very close between her, William, and Mario. Reason #8.
Mark then takes Shawn and Latane to Chili's to meet the other contestants. The contestants are very happy Latane came back but are upset Shawn is still here. Reason #9. Some confessionals and the show is done.
Next time on The Benefactor:
The contestants have 12 hours and 1,000 dollars to complete a project. And four contestants are cut.