Deadly TV game shows have always fascinated me because the accounts of games shows in movies, Rollerball, and Stephen King's The Running Man have always struck me as completely plausible. As good as we try to be (and I do think that many people try very hard), part of us wants to be seated in the front row of the arena while the lion devours the luckless gladiator.
When Survivor and Fear Factor hit the air, I thought we had come closer to realizing murderous games in modern times. And last night, I think television came even closer with Fox's "The Moment of Truth." After watching a kinder and gentler version of American Idol, I kept Fox on because I wanted to see what more people could do for the chance at fortune and fame. And I wasn't disappointed. I watched as a man revealed his vanity and dishonesty and probably hammered a nail in the coffin of a marriage for the chance to win $100,000. Another confessed his addiction to gambling and the fact that had just rifled through his colleagues things. And the host hadn't even gotten to the truly tough questions.
Why I think this show stands apart is that it's found a way to rip off the masks people wear on reality show/competitions. Rather than offer people the chance to win $1 million if they can fool their competitors, The Moment of Truth, rewards them for revealing their private selves. I guess in the age of the blogging, Twitter and YouTube, people have found that they don't need a priest or a psychoanalyst to pry their souls open. The promise of fame and/or fortune is enough.
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