In Defense of "The Moment of Truth"

By Barry Garron

Fox's new reality game show/exercise in exploitation, "The Moment of Truth," had huge ratings in its premiere on Wednesday night, right after "American Idol." Not much of a surprise, though. Low IQ mud splashing would do well after "American Idol" which, come to think of it, is a reasonably good description of "The Moment of Truth."

But, please, don't get the wrong idea. I come to praise this show, not bury it. My colleague, Ray Richmond, in his candid review, roundly condemned the show. And his points are well-taken. One can watch this show and conclude that if Fox had a shred of decency, it would die of loneliness.

For those who didn't see it, here's how the show works: Host Mark Walberg brings out an individual who has previously been asked 50 questions while hooked up to a lie detector. (It is assumed, despite a considerable body of evidence, that the lie detector is 100 percent accurate.) The individual, seated opposite their spouse or significant other, family and friends, is asked up to 21 questions. If the answer given agrees with the truth discerned by the lie detector, they walk away with $500,000.

The questions grow more embarrassing. After about five or six, they are virtually guaranteed to destroy the most important relationship in the contestant's life. What's more, it's  possible, if not likely, the individual will not get a dime for all the mental pain and humiliation that is bound to follow.

The first contestant, for example, was asked if he delayed having children because he had doubts about the longevity of his marriage. He said he did and the lie detector agreed. Later, the guy, a physical trainer, was asked if he touched female clients more than he needed to. He said no but the lie detector said yes. End of game. Not one cent for the contestant, which is too bad because divorce lawyers don't work on retainers.

If you're thinking only a moron would agree to such degradation and future suffering for potentially no reward, I would reply, "Precisely." And that's what makes this show so great.

When the questioning  ends, so does the moron's marriage or relationship, thereby reducing considerably the likelihood that the genes will be passed down to another generation. Can you name another game show that makes a bigger contribution to society?