Moment of Truth

Last night Fox debuted its newest reality show, Moment of Truth. In this show, contests, before they come on the actual show, are asked 50 questions while connected to a lie detector. A polygraph specialist analyzes their test report and determines which answers were true and which were false. Then on the actual show, they are asked 21 of the same 50 questions. If they answer all the questions truthfully, as determined by the results of their polygraph test, they win $500,000. There are 4 levels of questions. After each level completed, the contestant has the option of walking away with the amount of money for that level. Contestants also have to answer any question asked. They can chose to stop at anytime, but once a question is asked, they must answer it. And to add a little more drama, 3 of the contestant's friends/family are there to observe and hear all the answers.

This show has the potential to be awesome. However, the staging of it ruins the show completely. The contestant is asked a question. There is then a long pause before he answers it. Then there is an even longer pause before a computer generated voice says, "that answer is true" or "that answer is false." Some of the questions are very probing. One contestant last night was asked, "have you delayed having children because you are not sure if Catia (his wife) is your ideal partner?" He answered, "yes." The voice then announced, "that answer is true." Now mind you, his wife was right there are he answered the question. He eventually got knocked out when asked, "have you ever touched a female client more than necessary during a personal training session?" He answered, "no." However, the computer announced, "that answer is false."

There are such great opportunities for drama during the show, but the long pauses detract from it. I don't know why the producers thought these pauses would be good and add tension, but they only serve to drag things out. For a show like this, you need continued momentum to hold interest, 10 to 15 second pauses in the action make the show crawl. I was really hoping to be enthralled by this show. I wasn't. I will give it a second chance, but if it doesn't get better. It's over.