"Flavor of Love"

It all started so innocently and curtailed so tragically. Back in 2004, Public Enemy hype man Flavor Flav struck up an unlikely romance with Amazonian actress Brigitte Nielsen while filming Season 3 of "Surreal Life." The odd couple got their own spinoff, "Strange Love," which ultimately begat the cultural phenomenon dating competition known as "Flavor of Love." Before America could say, "I wanna go out with an aging former pop star or, as consolation, one of his or her failed pursuers," we were blessed with "I Love New York." Collectively, these 51 Minds productions raised the ratings bar and gleefully lowered viewing standards. They also introduced us to indelible household names like Buddha, Angelique, Hoops, Rodeo and the notorious Tailor Made. Tragically, the improbable franchise run ended when "Megan Wants a Millionaire" finalist Ryan Jenkins perpetrated the murder-suicide of himself and Playmate girlfriend Jasmine Fiore in 2009. But prior to that, it was a gloriously debauched, and mostly consequence-free, five years of television.

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(VH1)