"There was a little girl and she had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead. And when she good, she was very, very good; but when she was bad, she was horrid!"
This show reminded me of that little girl in the poem. Its premise was simple: keep telling the truth, no matter how embarrassing the questions, and you can win big bucks. It started out well, actually. The earliest contestants didn't have to reveal any earth-shattering information. And some of the answers actually seemed cathartic. One man told his son that he had not gambled away his college fund (as his mother had always claimed.) His answer was declared correct, and a father/son hug ensued. Another man admitted he belonged to the Hair Club for Men. He seemed relieved and happier that now everyone knew. And finally, there was Ray – the zenith for the series. He was a jovial, lovable blue collar worker. His only bad revelations were that he had looked at dirty magazines and occasionally fantasized about other women. But when asked if he would cheat on his wife if he knew she'd never find out, his answer was an emphatic and truthful "No!" Another question revealed the fact that he was hurt when his wife's parents refused to attend their wedding, but even that admission seemed to have a healing effect on both him and his wife. Ray left with 100 grand, and smiles on everyone's faces.
And then came the blonde. Mercifully, I don't remember her name. But if Ray was the zenith of the show, she was its nadir. She admitted to all kind of things – not wearing her wedding ring so people wouldn't know she was married, cheating on her husband, and secretly feeling she should have married her first boyfriend instead. Even though she'd passed one plateau of prize money after revealing all that, she foolishly kept on playing, only to be tripped up on the question, "Do you think you're a good person?" She answered yes, but apparently really thought otherwise. It was miserable to watch.
After that, the healing moments we'd witnessed in earlier shows never seemed to happen again. A poor sweet wife lost all her prize money when she said her husband was the best lover she ever had and it was declared as false. Her husband tried to comfort her but she left in tears. Another man admitted that he falsified documents at his job, leaving him open to possible criminal prosecution. One more contestant brought a ray of hope when he told his wife he had not dated any of her sisters prior to dating her. She was delighted with the news, and he smiled and added, "I told you so." But then the last question was "Have you ever cheated on your wife?" and he admitted that he had. He did win $100,000, but his wife was clearly devastated.
I never saw the show again after that. It only ran for a couple more episodes. MOMENT OF TRUTH – it had its moments, but the truth was it did more harm than good.
This show reminded me of that little girl in the poem. Its premise was simple: keep telling the truth, no matter how embarrassing the questions, and you can win big bucks. It started out well, actually. The earliest contestants didn't have to reveal any earth-shattering information. And some of the answers actually seemed cathartic. One man told his son that he had not gambled away his college fund (as his mother had always claimed.) His answer was declared correct, and a father/son hug ensued. Another man admitted he belonged to the Hair Club for Men. He seemed relieved and happier that now everyone knew. And finally, there was Ray – the zenith for the series. He was a jovial, lovable blue collar worker. His only bad revelations were that he had looked at dirty magazines and occasionally fantasized about other women. But when asked if he would cheat on his wife if he knew she'd never find out, his answer was an emphatic and truthful "No!" Another question revealed the fact that he was hurt when his wife's parents refused to attend their wedding, but even that admission seemed to have a healing effect on both him and his wife. Ray left with 100 grand, and smiles on everyone's faces.
And then came the blonde. Mercifully, I don't remember her name. But if Ray was the zenith of the show, she was its nadir. She admitted to all kind of things – not wearing her wedding ring so people wouldn't know she was married, cheating on her husband, and secretly feeling she should have married her first boyfriend instead. Even though she'd passed one plateau of prize money after revealing all that, she foolishly kept on playing, only to be tripped up on the question, "Do you think you're a good person?" She answered yes, but apparently really thought otherwise. It was miserable to watch.
After that, the healing moments we'd witnessed in earlier shows never seemed to happen again. A poor sweet wife lost all her prize money when she said her husband was the best lover she ever had and it was declared as false. Her husband tried to comfort her but she left in tears. Another man admitted that he falsified documents at his job, leaving him open to possible criminal prosecution. One more contestant brought a ray of hope when he told his wife he had not dated any of her sisters prior to dating her. She was delighted with the news, and he smiled and added, "I told you so." But then the last question was "Have you ever cheated on your wife?" and he admitted that he had. He did win $100,000, but his wife was clearly devastated.
I never saw the show again after that. It only ran for a couple more episodes. MOMENT OF TRUTH – it had its moments, but the truth was it did more harm than good.