TV: The (soon-to-be) Bachelor

“The (soon-to-be) Bachelor” has followed Gov. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., during the past year as he has struggled to juggle his official duties with his life as a married dater. Filmed primarily in Argentina, the governor finds the New South more appealing than the Old.

In this week’s season finale, titled “Don’t Cry For Me, South Carolina,” South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford returns to his home state as the camera follows. Viewers are promised an inside look into the juicy and unexpected. The governor discovers that his appearance on public television talking about his Argentinian soulmate has had a less than stabilizing effect on his marriage. Unbeknownst even to producers, Sanford flew to Argentina without advising staff or constituents of his intention to participate in the discontented spouses’ dating program.

A little rusty on his legislative tricks, Sanford tries to bring Argentinian beef onto the Statehouse floor, only to find it less successful than his livestock-incorporating cut-the-pork stunt. In a last-ditch effort to honor biblical marriage laws, Stanford asks his wife if she would support a polygamous relationship. Ultimately unable to handle life without his soulmate, the episode climaxes with the governor’s dramatic musical solo from a Statehouse window before he heads off to the international terminal.

E-mail: wallacen@indiana.edu