Episode Overview:  Tennis only involves one ball, so Mark Philippoussis is being seriously challenged in Age of Love as he has to do some crazy juggling to manage all these 20-something Kittens and 40-something Cougars.  The editors of the program have to do some fancy handiwork as well; it's already seeming pretty clear who has made the strongest impression on Mark, yet with so many players on the court, viewers still have to be convinced that there is some serious competition at hand.   For some women - Cougar and Kitten alike - it's all a little too much, and we have one meltdown and yet another threat of a walk-off.

Our hero, Mark Philippoussis, is joined by Mark Consuelos to discuss the next stage of the competition. Every time Mark C. appears, one gets the distinct impression that he might be feeling slightly emasculated having these “Let's talk about what girls you like!” conversations with Mark. He seems eager to butch it up, dropping his voice an octave or two and making sure the pepper the conversation with guy-speak like “man” and “bro.”

Mark C. informs Mark P. that the next date will be a beach date, surfing with three of the ladies. Mark selects Megan, Maria and Mary, making it difficult to resist filling the recounting of the date with alliteration. The women get the news, and back at the apartment, Amanda is bummed out to learn she won't be going with the others, saying she thinks she feels the strongest for Mark.

Too bad – she will not be getting a ride in his woody. He picks the M's up in an old-school woody and appears to really enjoy making jokes about his "woody.” Maria, the only 40-something on this date, must be really impressed by his refined wit.

None of the women has surfed before, so they all get a little banged up as Mark gives them a few lessons. However, it's the emotional upheaval that is getting to Mary. Mark takes Megan off for a private walk to enjoy her youthful energy. He seems to really connect with her, saying how well their conversation flows. Left back with Maria, Mary has to realize once again that Mark just doesn't seem to have any interest in really getting to know her.

She even makes an attempt to horn in on their alone time, but Mark is pretty dismissive of her. Just as he did at the roller rink, he once again cuts her off mid-story. While Mary has not been particularly likable so far on Age of Love, his behavior is flat-out rude to her. He's not really coming off as the most gentlemanly of fellows, which might explain why viewers have seemed somewhat reluctant to really follow his romantic progress.

It seems like even the contestants on the show might not be feeling particularly invested, like Maria. She feels ignored at the beach, and is once again making noises about this whole process not working, saying at her age, she doesn't “chase” a dude.

Meanwhile, back at the Cougar/Kitten lair, Amanda is keeping busy by cleaning and reading a book (?!!), trying to keep her mind off of what Mark might be doing with all the other women. The other two women back at the house – Jayanna and Jen – cattily confer about Amanda's feelings. They feel like she's clearly fallen too hard too fast, and Jayanna sniffs that she thinks this will turn Mark right off. She's not, she says, too worried about Amanda.

Good thing, because now it's time for some head-to-head Cougar vs. Kitten action. Amanda and Jayanna learn they will both be having a movie night with Mark. The trio has a private movie set-up outside, but before they settle in, Mark takes Jayanna aside for a one-on-one drink. Amanda, obviously: not happy about it.

Jayanna and Mark enjoy their drink, and have an easy comfortable time talking with each other. It seems, though – at least to this viewer – that it's a friendly, slightly sexually-charged rapport, not any kind of romantic infatuation. As they return to Amanda, Mark asks Jayanna if she is wearing any underwear, because if there is one thing you can say about Mark Philippoussis, it's that he is pure class.

During the movie, Mark deftly manages the tricky position of being sandwiched between two women uninterested in making a sandwich with the other lady. He turns his body towards Jayanna, building her sense of security as she reads his body language. She's missing part of what it's saying though: underneath the blanket, he's snuggling and holding hands with Amanda. Clever boy.

He sends Jayanna home, and makes out with Amanda. Later, in interview, he coyly says that Amanda makes him smile, but so do other women, and that if it had been Jayanna who stayed, he would have made out with her too. Sure, but she wasn't, and he didn't. While it's clear he's not opposed to making time with women from both age groups, even with the best possible attempts at editing, it seems impossible to fathom he's not going to ultimately select one of the 20-somethings.

But we have to slog through the actual competition, anyway, so next it's 48-year-old Jen's turn to have a one-on-one date with Mark, which grosses out the youngsters. Once again, I am assuming these young ladies, who find the older women so repugnant, are sporting some kind of locket or ring with hinged compartment in which they carry the cyanide pill they plan to ingest the minute they, too, become just ever so old.

Jen is given some tarty motorcycle togs to wear, and she and Mark tool off on a Harley to watch the sunset over L.A. and awkwardly kiss. They then play pool and do some “naughty flirting” as Mark puts it. They then make another go at the kissing, and this time it's probably less awkward for them. It's pretty much equally uncomfortable for the home viewer. Not, mind you, because of the age difference, but just that if there is any connection between these two, it's at most two horny ships in the night.  They seem to have no genuine emotional or romantic spark and so it's just kind of skeezy to witness them make out.

The Kittens chill back at the house, but Mary is once again having some sort of emotional meltdown about the lack of attention from Mark. Megan, wise behind her 21-years, sums up the only possible response to Mary's melodrama pretty well: “Good gravy!”

Jen returns to the lair and regales the Kittens with how fantabulous her date was. Since she's never before made any attempt to chitchat with the youngsters, they don't especially appreciate or welcome her “bragging.”

Time to prepare for the elimination ceremony. Maria is back at it, announcing she's sending herself home. Jayanna is still gunning for Amanda, thinking she's too emotionally invested already. Amanda is feeling unsure about things herself, worrying she might be the surprise elimination for the evening.

So what has Mark decided? First of all, Jen is asked to stay. Clearly a reality show gimmick. While Mark doesn't mind getting his kiss on with her, he's been completely fixated on her age in nearly every statement he's made about her. With that kind of focus, he's not going to ultimately pick her, but he can keep her around in order to keep another Cougar in the running.

Next, it's Megan and Jayanna who are asked to stay. Amanda then has her turn, and uses it to make the ever-appealing mildly-scary-intense “I'm just so very into you” speech. Mark is either not feeling it; does feel it, but has been scared crapless by the producers to keep his emotions in check; or may or may not feel it but is actually an automaton because his response to her letting loose is pretty underwhelming. But nevertheless: she stays.

So now it's Maria. Before she takes her turn, she gives a weepy Mary – with whom she has somewhat bonded – a little pep talk about self-worth and loving yourself, etc. Which makes it all the more disheartening when she once again backs down from her “This isn't working for me so I'm outta here!” stance. All Mark has to do is make some excuses for why he didn't pay enough attention to her, drop a few vague reassurances, flash a dimple at her, and she decides to stay. She tries to play it off very worldly, as though she's sort of staying on a lark, but the overall impression is that while she wants to appear to be a take-no-BS kind of lady, ultimately she will let the dude call the shots.

That means it's Mary going home, and hell hath no yada yada yada. When Mark says he hasn't really gotten to know her, she (rightfully) spits back that she doesn't think that's really her fault. If she had left it there, she would have left with the dignity she claims in interview (whilst sobbing) to have had. Instead, she makes the dignity-demolishing mistake of the rejected everywhere, which is to meet rejection with spiteful retorts. With an elegant, “Good luck, you'll need it,” and a few (sobbing) hugs with the other women, she's gone.

The preview for next week claims there is a game-changing moment coming up…let's hope because right now, Age of Love it seems to be a Kitten's game, so something to keep the diminishing viewer interest would appear to be in order.

- Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist