Parents' Guide to The Pick-Up Artist

Like so many other TV shows, The Pick-Up Artist succumbs to reality-show shenanigans like dramatic lighting and music that make it seem like the guys are competing for are the highest stakes ever. But while those trappings can get a bit tiring, the show itself is sufficiently entertaining for adults and older teenagers -- as long as you can take Mystery's messages with a healthy dose of salt. Viewers may find themselves rooting for at least a few of these hapless Romeos, hoping that their lives will truly change. But since Mystery seems intent on turning them into an army of "mini-pimps," you have to wonder whether the change will actually be for the better.

At first, it seems like Mystery should have a credibility problem when it comes to picking up women. For one thing, there's his improbable name. For another, he has a penchant for bad headwear, the worst offender being a large, Mad Hatter-style model covered in fur. But the fact of the matter is that if a man named Mystery can charm a member of the opposite sex wearing something as ridiculous as that, then he must be pretty good. Of course, viewers later learn that the name and silly get-up is all part of Mystery's plan to make himself different from every other guy in the bar. It's also a little unsettling to find out that -- like that pair of man-tracking females who famously wrote The Rules for women -- Mystery and his pals have developed a patented method for hunting and scoring with the ladies. They casually throw around terms like "the two-set" and "the kiss close" like they're talking about professional sports ... and you realize that they've studied their subject extensively.