It's January, The Bachelor is back, and all is right with the world. :)

Last night's episode was one of the best premieres of the show in years. Of course, Chris Harrison started out as always with saying that this was the best looking bachelor yet (and since they always say this, I can't WAIT to see who they choose next season, because this one will be hard to top!). But the noticable difference was that they went back to the original formula for the first meeting (ball gowns, getting out of the limo, etc.), and that the episode was only an hour. That meant we didn't have the hour of meeting each girl, which was so tedious. The bottom line is that we don't need to see footage of them telling their friends or getting on the plane. Just put them in the limos already. (thank you ABC)

Travis really seemed like the perfect bachelor. Not only is he cute, but he's smart -- a serious departure from some of the other bachelors. And he, at least from the 20 minutes we saw last night, seems like a genuinely nice person. Of course, my husband thinks I only watch the show to comment on the hair and dresses of the girls (and really, what were some of them thinking???), but I like the guy too. ABC did a great job casting this season, even with the girls who you knew right away would never see a rose. Princess? Your name is Princess? And Jaime, who I think might have gotten a rose had the producers helped her to choose a different dress and hairstyle (she seemed really nice, but really out of her element). And then there was Allie.

Oh Allie. Your eggs are rotting. You're ready for the reproductive years. And you just don't know why the bachelor didn't give you a rose. How on earth are you a doctor if you can't see signs like that. Can you imagine it -- you walk into her office with a broken arm and she sends you in for a CAT scan because she can't figure out why you can't move your arm. Oh my. I only wish he had kept you around for one more week so we could have seen you on a group date. That would have been great television. Although I did like that they rolled the credits over her accosting a producer, who just didn't know what to do.

There were a couple of girls that I was surprised he let go -- Venus (who was also a doctor, although he might not have ever known that) and April, who he seemed to like. Oh well. Cutting so many women at once is bound to leave you open to make a few mistakes. At least he didn't say the wrong name. Once the dates start, we'll really know who is who. I can't wait!