As many of you know, I am a huge fan of reality TV. I DVR all the Bravo shows, Real Housewives of Orange County, Real Housewives of NY, Top Chef, Flipping Out, Project Runway, Work Out, hell I've even watched Top Design with the snarky interior designer, Jonathan Adler. I love these shows. I consider these type of shows as the thinking man's reality TV. The characters are interesting, somewhat intelligent, and the drama doesn't seem as staged as most of the ridiculous shows out there like, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, Rock of Love, Flavor of Love, and the most outlandish one of all, I Love New York. I mean have you ever seen A Shot at Love?! Everybody on that bottom of the barrel show seems as if they're all struggling actors who are following some sort of wacked out script, e.g.,The Joe Schmo Show. For all of you who are not familiar with the show, The Joe Schmo Show was a parody of a reality TV show filled with characters played by real actors, except for one gullible contestant. What made the show so great was the real guy was such a genuinely nice guy. When he discovered that the show had been one elaborate practical joke on him, even though he was stunned, he still wanted to think that "his friend" on the show wasn't an actor, but a real guy. It was as if he didn't want the friendship to be fake as well. It was sweet, but also kind of sad. You really felt for the guy.
In my book, there's a good reality TV, bad reality TV, and god awful reality TV, and the latter category is where the new Fox show, The Moment of Truth falls under. It's beyond bad. This show brings me back to when I first saw The Running Man , the 1980's movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger about a futuristic game show where runners must run for their lives as they are hunted by professional killers. It features several fake commercials, one of them for a game show called Climbing for Dollars which shows a man climbing a rope, desperately grabbing dollar bills as a pack of ravenous Dobermans jump to maul and kill him. When I saw that movie as a young girl, I remember thinking how ridiculous that commerical was, but now I wouldn't be surprised if a show like that is in the pipeline at Fox. Because if they can develop a show like The Moment of Truth, then Climbing for Dollars is not too far fetched.
The Moment of Truth is a show where contestants are asked very personal questions - the type of questions that should never be asked, nevermind answered. And yet, there are a parade of morally corrupt individuals who go on this show to win money as they reveal their inner most secrets. Okay, I've watched this show a few times because I've been trying to wrap a brain around it. My boyfriend and I seem to think it's staged in some way. I'm not sure if the contestants are played by actors or these "truths" are actually part of the script the contestants must follow. I saw one episode where a woman was asked if she had cheated on her husband, and she said YES. She didn't even hesitate; she just blurted it out as if she had been asked if she wanted pickles on her sandwich. It was completely bizarre, especially since her husband was sitting only a few feet away from her, looking completely horrified.
My boyfriend came up with the conclusion that the people who were going on this show were already broken up or were in the process of breaking up with their significant others, so it didn't matter. I really don't know. What I do know is the masterminds at Fox who thought up this despicable show have really sunk to a new low. I'm not sure where reality TV goes from here. It's a sad state of affairs when you're sitting on your couch, eating popcorn while you watch people destroy their marriages and relationships. What's next? It's frightening to think...
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