The end of days is near, and the Fox network has provided the most recent sign of the impending apocalypse. It's a little show that premiered last Wednesday and broke Nielsen ratings by retaining 96 percent of viewers from lead-in "American Idol." It's a show so heartless that it exposes infidelity, sexual harassment in the workplace and really bad hairpieces. "The Moment of Truth" is the reason why you can now sit down in front of a television and enjoy watching a really slow train wreck.
I'm all for terrible trash television, seeing as how I love VH1 and "Gossip Girl." I even relish a good "oh snap!" moment whenever an earth-shattering revelation is dropped, but for some reason, "The Moment of Truth" is just way too much for me. Not only is the show just plain wrong on many different levels, but it's bound to ruin a countless number of lives.
Here's the premise: Before the show, a contestant is hooked up to a polygraph test and is asked 50 questions. Afterward, said contestant comes on the show and is asked 21 of those 50 questions. If they were lying on their previous polygraph, they lose. What are they playing for? Five thousand dollars. That's worse than blood money, since the contestants have their family and friends at the taping, staring them right in the face as they confess to not thinking that their spouse is really the one for them or if they have an intense gambling addiction.
Take Ty Keck, a former NFL player and personal trainer, last week's first contestant. I didn't really like him at first look, nor did I much care for his foreign trophy wife. Everything started out cute and cuddly with questions such as "Have you ever looked at another man's genitals while in the gym shower?" He says yes - it's true - cue the audience to laugh. Then the show gets completely cold blooded. Host Mark L. Walberg (host of the equally horrendous "Temptation Island") asks if Keck has ever touched a female client a bit too much during personal training. He says no, turns out he lied - oops - there goes your job, Keck.
I cringed when Walberg then proceeded to ask if Keck would care to explain, which of course he didn't. Not only did the show just ruin his marriage to the beautiful mail-order bride, but he'll also never be working at the local gym any time soon.
As if I wasn't already prepared to gouge out my eyeballs as penance for witnessing this monstrosity of a television show, there's another aspect that hasn't even been touched on. It's really friggin' boring. This hour-long show could literally last about 15 minutes, if all of the uncomfortable pauses and "truth" delays were taken out. I sold a bit of my soul to witness this show, and chances are, if I'm bored, I'll sell a little more to watch more people ruin their lives for a bit of cash.
Be the first to comment on this article!