Can You Handle the Truth?

With the writers' strike still going strong, The Moment of Truth is sadly one of the few TV shows on

By Kristin Dos Santos Jan 24, 2008 8:54 PMTags
Moment of TruthKelsey McNeal/FOX

Okay, it's official: The AMPTP and WGA need to return to formal negotiations and bring an end to this strike—now. 'Cause TV pretty much hit an all-time low last night, and I'm not sure how much more we TV fans can take.

One of the very few original offerings last night was the premiere of a new reality show called The Moment of Truth on Fox, which turned out to be the most cringe-worthy and reckless piece of television programming we've seen in a very long while.

The gist: After hooking up contestants to a polygraph machine, host Mark Walberg (sadly, not formerly of the Funky Bunch but rather the Temptation Island guy) gave the two first victims a shot at $500,000 by asking them such questions as:

Have you ever thought you might have a gambling problem?
Have you ever done anything that would give your wife a reason to not trust you?
Are you delaying starting a family with your wife because you're not sure she'll be your lifelong partner?

For the record, the answer to all those questions was a resounding yes, so the aim of this series seems to be watching these contestants' careers, marriages and relationships crumble right before our eyes. (And yes, the friends and wives and girlfriends are sitting front and center to witness the torture firsthand.)

And you wanna know how many people tuned in to see the Truth? Twenty-three million. Yep, 23 million viewers! That has to be right up there with the river of blood as a sign of Armageddon.

So, tell me, did you see the Truth? And if so, what did you think of it? Am I being too harsh? Comment below.

Regardless, let's take a moment to say a little prayer that the writers and producers, who are still in informal talks this week, will get back to that negotiation table and work this puppy out.