Dating : The Most Perplexing Television Series Finale Episode

Reality TV has undergone quite the evolution in the past two decades. What began with one show depicting scantily clad young people competing for a monetary prize in Survivor has since evolved to shows about everything from fishing industries to practical jokes to romantic relationships. One of my favorite shows to come out of this development is Nathan For You, a show that parodies business fixer-upper reality tv using shocking marketing tactics. If you are unfamiliar with the series, the show is in and of itself quite perplexing. There is no real comparison to it. In some ways it resembles shows like the Carbonaro Effect or Punk’d by tricking people into going along with the ridiculous. However, unlike those shows, the schemes must be elaborate enough to fool both business owners and customers. There is also no filmed reveal that the scheme was a joke at the end, solidifying the perception that Nathan is a just a man with highly original consulting ideas. Several of his schemes have caught national attention without the public knowing that the work was actually done for a tv show.

Each episode introduces Nathan’s elaborate plot to help out a struggling business. These plots have included poop flavored frozen yogurt, populating trees near a car wash with pigeons, creating a national fitness craze around moving boxes, and in a personal favorite episode, convincing people that a bar with normal customers was showing a production of a show called “No Smokers Allowed”. The episodes never fail to be absurd, and all sorts of twists take place as he goes to extreme lengths to fulfill his vision. His relentless pursuit of these schemes combined with his awkward manner (usually including several long awkward pauses throughout the episode) and his rock-solid poker face create a surreal environment for these episodes to unfold in. Each episode leaves the viewer with disbelief at the possibility of pulling it off.

Perhaps even more endearing than Nathan’s mastery of his awkward nature are the types of people that he encounters. Responsible for what is quite possibly the single oddest collection of craigslist ads, Nathan finds all sorts of characters to help him complete his tasks. One of these characters is a Bill Gates impersonator who helps attract business for a souvenir shop.

After recently finding out about the fourth season of Nathan For You, I had to return to the show that I had been so enamored with in high school. Even after re-watching several older episodes of the show and an episode from the fourth season, nothing could have prepared me for what took place in the season 4 finale. The show ventured away from its typical business advising and, instead, resembled another reality tv show: Catfish. The hour and a half long episode follows Nathan’s quest to help Bill Heath, the Bill Gates impersonator from season 2, find his long lost love Frances. Bill had not heard from Frances since 1961, and made it known to Nathan over several visits to Nathan’s offices he wished to find her. The finale chronicles the journey that takes places after Nathan agrees to help.

Instead of guiding the episode towards a final vision, Nathan stands by as he helps Bill Heath in his quest. Nathan travels with Bill to his home town in Arkansas, where they stay for several weeks to follow the bread crumbs that might lead to Frances. Several schemes are created in the attempt to locate Frances, which involve using a former age progression specialist, creating a fake movie crew, and hosting a 57th high school reunion for which Bill pretends to be a former student. Along the way, Nathan gets to know a family member of Bill’s and more about Bill’s past. Nathan also uncovers letters exchanged between Bill and Frances that show the true nature of their relationship, which is not the relationship described by Bill. The letters reveal a very deep love held for Bill by Frances, but they also reveal that Bill had not been faithful to Frances. In Nathan’s typical no-nonsense manner, he confronts Bill for leaving out pertinent information about his former relationship.

The episode is more humorous in its depiction of Bill Heath, a real person who is not trying to put on a face for a camera, and the nobility of his desires, even if they didn’t come from the most honest of places. You get a satisfying closer look at what Nathan might be like out of character with shots from Bill and Nathan’s shared hotel room. It’s as funny as it is heart-warming to watch the great lengths that Bill will go to in order to recover his old romance.

When the episode finished, I was left feeling utterly perplexed. You never know what to expect when watching this show, but I was left with a feeling of having witnessed something truly special. The episode serves as a demonstration of what could only be possible from a reality tv show like Nathan For You. Perhaps another reality show about people trying to find their long lost loves could exist, but it probably never would have selected Bill Heath as a candidate on account of his compulsive dishonesty. Instead, Nathan found Bill through an unrelated request, and yet a story better than any most tv love stories was able to come out of it. Only through a parody reality tv show not about romance could I so fully appreciate an honest story about a man and his quest for his lost love.