'Elimidate' brings barbs, bile to city

If only life could be as it appears on TV.

The catfights. The cocktails. The cupcakes (but more on that later).

We're talking, of course, about "Elimidate," the dating show on the WB network in which four singles vie for the affections of one man or woman while cameras roll. Plenty of trash talk, wounded egos and — sometimes — nudity ensue as the prize date eliminates one competitor in each round.

But as some Seattleites learned during "Elimidate's" visit this week to the Seattle area, you can't believe everything you see on the telly.

"You watch the show and you think they've had four hours of partying and wild sex," said Roy Umlauf, a local attorney who witnessed part of the filming at the Hotel Monaco in downtown Seattle yesterday. "Elimidate" crews were spotted earlier at Kirkland's Marina Cantina and The Shark Club and the Catwalk Club in Pioneer Square.

"They're not even drinking," Umlauf said. "This is a sham!"

In fact, the Seattle contestants — a man and four women — downed a few as they got to know each other at the hotel restaurant, Sazerac. But before the alcohol could go to their heads, Nels, 22, (who asked that his last name be withheld) and his potential dates took a dinner break — at four separate tables. Maybe producers didn't want the competitors to get too friendly.

After eliminating one, the foursome moved across the street to the W Hotel, where the women wasted no time sniping at each other to get the attention of Nels, a 2002 graduate of the University of Washington, where he studied economics.

While crew members earlier had been feeding snarky one-liners to the contestants, the women — unnamed here to protect the secrecy of the show's outcome — needed no prodding when they settled in front of a fireplace in the hotel lobby. (The date later continued at a private home with a hot tub.)

One made fun of another's nasally voice. Another suggested a rival was an experienced lap dancer. A contestant who had come bearing cupcakes, cigars and a lei for Nels attacked the others' cooking skills. (Sample barb: "Do you even know how to make cupcakes? It's not hard.")

Nels, for his part, finds the show "hilarious." He said he hadn't seen it before he was approached by an "Elimidate" producer a few months ago. An air date has not been set for the show filmed yesterday.

Friends say Nels does pretty well for himself — with or without cameras. "He doesn't have a very hard time getting girls," said former college roommate Dave Dunlap, 22.

Pam Sitt: 425-745-7806 or psitt@seattletimes.com.