No Lives Destroyed On Disappointing 'Moment of Truth' Premiere
Perhaps Mike Darnell, Fox's President Of Alternative Programming and Slowly Destroying the Fabric Of Our Society, slightly oversold his much-anticipated lie-detector show, The Moment of Truth, when he claimed back in November, "You're either going to love it, or think it's the end of Western civilization," as last night's premiere was maddeningly short on the kind of shamelessly exploitative moments we'd been hoping for; neither of the show's first two contestants, confronted with the possibility that their lives could unravel because of a nationally televised confrontation with The Truth, suffered the kind of debilitating stroke or heart attack teased during the pre-release hype.
Above, the debut's anti-climax: a personal trainer caught in a lie about his too-handsy technique, a revelation that will probably win him the business of clients eager to be groped during their workouts. (Weirdly, his spouse didn't seem too troubled by the fact he was putting off starting a family because he was unsure about their relationship.) Still, we hold out hope that subsequent episodes will better fulfill the concept's soul-eroding promise; by the end of the season, it's likely that Fox will have unearthed at least one contestant willing to admit that he secretly fantasizes about his brother-in-law while making love to his wife in an effort to complete the show's $50,000 level.