Moment of… Truth?

Published February 19, 2008

By Bridget Treco

It’s unfortunate that a great network like FOX, which has provided us with quality entertainment for over a decade, has fallen so behind in ratings that it was forced to introduce a new game show: Moment of Truth.

Here’s how it works: unsuspecting hopefuls are taken backstage and asked some “juicy” questions with a lie detector test. Twenty-oneof those questions will be used when the contestants are taken onstage with the host, Mark L. Wahlberg (very, very different from the famous actor we all know and love, and easily distinguished by the “L”). The contestants are unaware of the results of their lie detector test when they get onstage.

Wahlberg reiterates the questions to the guest, and they must answer “yes” or “no.” Then, the “computer” will confirm the truthfulness of their answer, or deny it. If the contestant is telling the truth, they win money (up to $500,000). If lying, they are sent home.

Now, seriously, couldn’t FOX be doing something better with its money? Should we really be rewarding people for answering truthfully to questions like, “Have you ever fantasized about having sex with a woman other than your wife?” Um, last time I checked, our economy isn’t in great shape.

The questions exceed the harmlessness of that last gem, unfortunately. Interrogations range from the extreme, “Are you afraid of dying because you’re overweight?” which was asked to an obese middle-aged man; to the downright inappropriate, “Have you ever made yourself throw up after eating?” asked to a young beauty pageant contestant. But they only get worse. On an upcoming episode, an obese woman asks a teenager, “Do fat people disgust you?” And in cases with married contestants, the spouse is always present in the audience for questions like: “Would you cheat on your wife if you knew she would never find out about it?”

I mean, since we are relying on the efficiency of a lie detector, these people can’t really lie, and they can’t really refuse to answer the question either (although that is an option) because then we would know they did something horribly embarrassing or life-shattering. It’s a disturbing concept for a game show, and I wonder who these people are whom they get to participate? I guess if you really needed the money, it wouldn’t matter if your fiancé found out that, deep down, you didn’t think they were “the one.” Who even needs relationships when you have an easy way to half a million dollars through a great television program like this?!

From the message board on the official Moment of Truth website, it doesn’t seem like anyone has anything positive to say about this show. The exception is one crazed viewer, who writes, “This show was designed to aid in the ruin of the contestants’ lives! It’s pure evil. But the TRUTH is…I love it!” I must admit, it’s a disgusting show which basically reveals the crumbling of America, but it’s hard to stop watching.

I’ve tried to think of a better title for this show, but a line from another post on the message board has put it better than I could, “This show should be re-named: ‘How to Destroy Yourself, Your Friends, and Your Family for Money.’”

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