The Devolution Will Be Televised
Richard Lawson · 01/23/08 10:19PMMark L. Wahlberg, host of other proud and noble Fox shows Joe Millionaire and Temptation Island, is now our emcee for Moment of Truth, a "game show" that Entertainment Weekly calls "Genius" (or, maybe not). Tonight was the grand premiere. It's pretty much the nadir of the contemporary challenge show, which began so innocently with Regis Philbin shouting at poor, trivia-spouting office assistants. Contestants are asked to answer a series of horribly awkward questions (Would you have your wife get lipo if she got fat? Are you a gambling addict?) while three friends, lovers, or family members watch on in sweaty, money-craving horror. Are they telling the truth? Are they lying? Only predetermined lie detector test results will tell. The longer you tell the truth, the more you win. Watch here as Ty, a former professional football player and current personal trainer who has already admitted to checking out other dudes' "privates", takes the plunge, much to the chagrin of wife Catia. He leaves with nothing. Not even his dignity, which he traded in not at the door, but at some indefinable date years ago, when all of us gurgling Americans threw up our hands and said "Fuck it, gimme some cash."