I eagerly tuned in to FOX for Wednesday night’s new game show “The Moment of Truth” with excitement. If you read my previous post the other week, I loathe reality TV and most game shows, but I don’t know… there was something about the advertisement FOX presented that made this concept so intriguing. The contestants are hooked up to a lie detector, and all they have to do is tell the truth 21 times in a row to win $500,000. Sounds easy right? Not when you have your friends and family seated feet away from you as you answer questions that will embarrass, humiliate, and possibly damage you.
I did some research on this quite controversial game show and found out that the Columbian version was axed when a woman admitted that she hired a hit man to get rid of her husband. After reading that, I wondered how far the American version will go. It can’t go that far… right?
The way this works is that all the contestants are asked over 50 questions without the lie detector before they’re actually on the air. But based on their answers and reactions, 21 are picked to be asked on the air. And it’s done in a strategic manner. You have 6 money levels, the first 10,000, second 25,000 and so on… and each level the questions get more difficult and more personal.
The first contestant on was a former pro football player. He had his wife, best friend, and a pale woman sitting between them who didn’t say a word the entire time… I think she was his sister maybe? Anyway, the show began and the first group of questions were fun and embarrassing for the contestant. He was asked, during your years in football, have you ever took a peak at other players as you guys showered? A roar of laughter followed and the camera zoned in on the contestant to watch him crack a smile and answer “Yes.” He gave the same reaction and answer when he was asked, Do you think you’re the best looking out of all of your friends? and Have you ever suspected one of your friends to make a move on your wife?
The first group of questions are just that fun. But then the next level, things got more intense. They dove deeper into the relationship between the contestant and his wife. They’ve been married for two years and seem to be quite happy, until he was flooded with questions he would most likely want to avoid at all costs. I forget the exact question, but the topic of having children was brought up where the contestant admitted that his wife’s lack of desire for kids has him rethinking whether or not they’ll be married forever.
Other questions that followed were: Since you’ve been married, have you used the Internet to flirt with other women? (answer: no) Have you ever done anything that would make your wife lose her trust? (answer: yes) You could feel the tension growing between the married couple. Another aspect to the show is that at anytime, the contestants friends and family can buzz in to prevent him from answering a question. At times, it seemed that he wanted them to, but curiosity for the truth always won and he was left for dead.
The last question that the contestant answered was: As a personal trainer, have you ever touched a female client inappropriately? He answered: no… but the lie detector revealed he was lying. He tried to explain how his hands sometimes slipped as he was spotting females, but he knew there was no use. He walked off the stage with little money and to his wife, only to have an extremely awkward and sugar-coated engagement. Certainly, he has a lot of explaining to do.
So what did I think of The Moment of Truth? My girlfriend kept calling me cynical for truly enjoying someone else’s cruel dilemma, but hey, they’re the ones who chose to be on the show. What I liked about it, besides its entertainment factor, is the question that is raised: How much is it worth to find out the hard, cold truth? It seems that some things are just better of kept a secret. Or is half a million dollars enough to heal the wounds created from the inexplicable errors of the contestants? What I didn’t like about the show was mainly its pacing. From the hour-long episode, the first contestant was asked about 10 questions until he lost, and then another contestant came on and answered only about 4 or so. There was way too much time in-between the questions, and the suspense they try to create from the pause between “That answer is……………. true” isn’t suspenseful at all.
Overall, I’ll probably tune into the next episode, but if there’s something else on then I’ll pass on The Moment of Truth.
The Entertainment Blur 