Maybe it’s the wisdom that comes with age ‘- or that comes from skipping class to watch too many marathons on VH1 ‘- but something about all these celebreality shows just doesn’t seem so authentic to me anymore.

Back in 2005, I was still willing to believe. Back then, Flavor Flav had just had his heart crushed by Nordic skyscraper Brigitte Nielsen ‘- a woman so ridiculously hot in the Eighties that even Sylvester Stallone had to get in on the action. Brigitte stumbled her way into Flav’s heart on the ‘Surreal Life,’ her incomprehensible accent (a probable mix of eastern European and Jack Daniels) no obstacle for the famed hype man.

On ‘Strange Love,’ the spin-off that chronicled their flourishing romance, Flav brought Brigitte home to meet his six kids and his mom, the dread Mrs. Drayton. But it didn’t work out, and back to Europe she went, into the arms of her much younger, very patient fianc’eacute;, who seemed to have no qualms whatsoever about leasing his woman out to Flavor Flav for a few weeks to film a torrid, nationally televised love affair.

Flav seemed understandably saddened by the way things went down with Brigitte, and so weren’t the rest of us. Enter 15 ladies of questionable quality and intent, out to compete for what remained of Flav’s heart in what would henceforth be known as ‘Flavor of Love.’

Some of the ladies on the original ‘Flavor of Love’ were nice-looking (like Smiley), while others seemed a bit rough around the edges. Contrary to her name, Hottie was, in fact, not so hot, especially once she jumped into a pink bikini that impressed upon most viewers the importance of network censorship.

And some of the ladies on the show were just plain crazy, which is how ‘I Love New York‘ later came into existence.

‘He combined my two favorite things ‘- vodka and ranch dressing,’ says New York, a.k.a Tiffany Pollard, about a potential suitor on one of the two installments of the hit show, ‘I Love New York.’ After being spurned twice by Flav on the show ‘- but first bedded by him, which imparts a timeless lesson onto young girls (don’t have sex with Flavor Flav until after he gives you gold fronts) ‘- VH1 decided to make it up to New York by giving her the chance to find love on her own terms.

But since Flav and New York, the dating shows on VH1 have morphed into something else entirely ‘- a fiery, voracious beast that feeds on high ratings and cheesy game show challenges, all aimed at bringing the show’s contestants one step closer to winning the love of whichever pseudo-celebrity is up for grabs.

‘Rock of Love,’ the dating show starring Bret Michaels of Poison fame, seemed more promising than ‘Flavor of Love’ at first. Having been raised on Poison, I approached the show with more enthusiasm than perhaps is tasteful. Sadly, the show quickly turned predictable.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘

The girls, all made of silicone, restayline and far too much peroxide, were essentially the same as the girls on ‘Flavor of Love,’ but blonder. Around this time, certain questions began to plague me as I anxiously waited through each week’s elimination ceremony. Could this be scripted? Could this all just be the same show, over and over again, in a different wrapping?

Certainly as matchmakers, VH1 can’t boast the same success rate as eHarmony. Cupid’s arrow has made some strange love matches over the years, including the oft-forgot liaison between Whiteboy and Pumkin (alums of I Love New York and Flavor of Love, respectively).

Yet its season finale pairings, like that of Flav and Deelishis or Bret and Ambre, always seem to founder in the harsh light of actual reality.

Maybe ‘Daisy of Love’ will be different. The show, which premiered this week, stars Daisy de la Hoya, the runner-up of ‘Rock of Love 2.’

Riki Rachtman also joins the ‘cast’ of ‘Daisy of Love,’ under the auspices of needing to protect Daisy from the onslaught of ‘fakers’ and ‘phonies’ that have somehow inveigled their way into the mansion (no words on how Ms. La Hoya was essentially the same thing back on ‘Rock of Love 2’ have yet been uttered).

But despite what VH1 suggests, they’re not friends. In fact, Rachtman and Daisy probably only know each other from the ‘Rock of Love 2’ reunion, when he was helping shield her frail body from the blows and scratches delivered by Heather, the feisty runner-up of the original ‘Rock of Love.’

Rachtman’s role as Daisy’s sidekick on the show seems like a calculated one, intended to inject a little life and star power (Rachtman was the much-lauded former host of ‘Headbanger’s Ball’) into an otherwise bland show about a groupie trying to find love with a bunch of aspirant musicians and burn-outs.

Which, come to think of it, doesn’t seem so bland, after all. The dating shows on VH1 may be scripted and may all be the same, but at this point, who cares?

Anything beats ‘The Bachelor.’

Shayna Murphy can be reached at [email protected].