# Challenge show with a week to learn a skill? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-show-with-a-week-to-learn-a-skill/653257 "2013-03-18T14:33:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-show-with-a-week-to-learn-a-skill/653257/1 "2013-03-18T14:33:14Z")
I’m trying to remember short lived show from about a decade ago. The premise was basically that some joe schmoe was given some task and they had a week to learn how to do it. If they could do it live on stage at the end of the week, they would win some money. The whole training process was recorded and aired. The one example I remember was a dad had to learn how to hula hoop five at once for X number of minutes, and he had never used a hula hoop before. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-show-with-a-week-to-learn-a-skill/653257/2 "2013-03-18T15:28:47Z")
Was the show called [Faking It](http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-21808)? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-show-with-a-week-to-learn-a-skill/653257/3 "2013-03-18T15:48:23Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Was the show called [Faking It](http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-21808)? Doesn’t look like it. They just had to learn some skill, not a job. And every knew it was something they were learning. I’m pretty sure it was on a broadcast network, during the game show boom. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-show-with-a-week-to-learn-a-skill/653257/4 "2013-03-18T16:22:11Z")
Well, it was based on a Japanese show called “Happy Family Plan.” Its UK equivalent was called “The Moment of Truth” (which was, of course, taken for another, much more controversial show here), but I haven’t quite recalled/found what the American title was. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-show-with-a-week-to-learn-a-skill/653257/5 "2013-03-18T16:25:48Z")
Wait, I have a dim memory of this - somebody spinning plates. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-show-with-a-week-to-learn-a-skill/653257/6 "2013-03-18T16:28:37Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Well, it was based on a Japanese show called “Happy Family Plan.” Its UK equivalent was called “The Moment of Truth” (which was, of course, taken for another, much more controversial show here), but I haven’t quite recalled/found what the American title was. Yep, that’s it! Some Googling got me to [The Big Moment](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Moment) in the US.