# Fox's new reality show - "Temptation Island" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 20, 2000, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520 "2000-12-20T14:53:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kellibelli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e480ec/32.png) [@kellibelli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellibelli)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/1 "2000-12-20T14:53:03Z")
I have seen commercials for it, and unless my comprehension isnt what it used to be, the show is like this: They take a few ‘committed’ couples, and put them on a lush resort style island with a group of sexy singles _who try to seduce them and break up the relationship!!!_ Is it just me, or is this the most fucked up thing ever? Whats next? Maybe they put a group of stressed out parents in a room with bad kids and push them till one of them beats a kid! Oh, here is one: they put a bunch of suicidal people in a movie theater with guns razor blades etc, and show Sad movies until one of them cracks! This is fucking sick stuff - _purposefully_ breaking up a relationship… And where in hell do they find the ‘sexy singles’ willing to degrade and debase themselves on television as ‘homewreckers’??? What is television coming to? I thought FOX learned their lesson with **Who Wants to Prostitute Themselves to a Millionaire**! ---
**Author:** ![Myrr21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Myrr21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrr21)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/2 "2000-12-20T15:10:21Z")
Yeah, saw that ad. Christ, how hard is it to say “bugger off, I’m taken”? You’re supposed to wait until _after_ years of marriage for this sorta thing :rolleyes: Though I would applaud if it somehow involved having to run away from wild animals; that’s always funny. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/3 "2000-12-20T15:15:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kellibelli \* > \*\*Oh, here is one: they put a bunch of suicidal people in a movie theater with guns razor blades etc, and show Sad movies until one of them cracks! > \*\* I’d watch this one! 😉 I guess people are that bored that they’ll watch shows like this. I know I’m not gonna be watching though. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/4 "2000-12-20T15:16:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Maybe they put a group of stressed out parents in a room with bad kids and push them till one of them beats a kid! > > ``` > Oh, here is one: they put a bunch of suicidal people in a movie theater with guns razor blades etc, and show Sad movies > until one of them cracks! > > ``` Great Kelly, now you’ve given them not one, but _two_ ideas! Dollars to doughnuts says at least one of these shows will be slated for next year’s mid-season line up. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/5 "2000-12-20T15:20:04Z")
There’s already a show like this, without the island. It’s called ‘Change of heart’ or something similar. They have a ‘Love Connection’ type set, bring out a couple, then bring out someone that one of the couple has just dated. “Will they stay together?” Horrible. ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/6 "2000-12-20T15:33:35Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by kellibelli \* > \*\* > Oh, here is one: they put a bunch of suicidal people in a movie theater with guns razor blades etc, and show Sad movies until one of them cracks!_\* You know this one doesn’t sound half bad. I’d pay to see it. Hell, I’d be a producer. I’m sure I could think of creative ways of sending the “message”. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/7 "2000-12-20T15:38:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Is it just me, or is this the most fucked up thing ever? As far as I’m concerned, it’s the end of the world as we know it. But I feel fine.😃 ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/8 "2000-12-20T15:43:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kellibelli \* > \*\*And where in hell do they find the ‘sexy singles’ willing to degrade and debase themselves on television as ‘homewreckers’??? \*\* are you joking? surely you’ve heard of **Jerry Springer** and you even mentioned the “who wants to prostitute themselves to a millionaire”. there is **no** shortage of people willing to do whatever they must in order to get on TV. ---
**Author:** ![lucie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed8c4c/32.png) [@lucie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucie)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/9 "2000-12-20T15:47:59Z")
What’s even more screwed is that they found four couples willing to do it. And everyone looks like they are extras on “Baywatch”. Kind of pushes the definition of reality show. Only took one season for commercial TV to get back to the comforting illusion that all real people look like underwear models. ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/10 "2000-12-20T16:43:54Z")
Okay, suspension of disbelief aside, how _committed_ do you think these couples are? “I’m so committed to my boyfriend, I’m going to take him to an island where lots of hot people try to break us up, because I’m THAT sure that our love will last forever.” Please. More like “I really, really, really, really want to be on TV, and will debase myself in whatever way is necessary. I met this girl when I was waiting tables in LA, we are posing as a couple in order to get on the show. This could be my big break!!! Ooh, look at my biceps!” I doubt all that much separates the couples from the singles. It’s gonna end with one big happy orgy, after a lot of hairpulling and fake moral angst. If they could promise me charging wild animals, I’d watch it. But since they can’t, I’ll just be skipping that one. ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/11 "2000-12-20T16:51:45Z")
I agree that the whole thing sucks and is horrible and a symptom of cultural decline and that Fox ought to be ashamed of themselves. But what really makes it a pointless exercise is that it is on network TV where T&A is forbidden. _Temptation Island_ has an extremely high T&A potential; one of the very highest ever. It seems to me that the crux, the heart of the matter, if you will, is squandered by being on Fox. On network TV, such a show will just be another teeny-bop porn-tease a la MTV’s whats-its-name; thanks, but I’ll pass. But on the right channel - Showtime or Playboy etc. - it could be a cross between _Survivor_ and _Emmanuelle in Paradise_. EPIC ratings. Still, there’s hope. I am reminded of the immortal words of Marge Simpson: “You know, Fox turned into a hard-core pornography channel so slowly, I barely even noticed.” ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/12 "2000-12-20T17:01:07Z")
He said it was just a name! What he meant is that Monster Island is actually a peninsula. Personally, I think we’re about five years away from Running Man. ---
**Author:** ![McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19adc/32.png) [@McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/13 "2000-12-20T17:04:52Z")
Just out of interest what do these “committed” couples get out of this? ---
**Author:** ![Screwtape](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Screwtape](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Screwtape)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/14 "2000-12-20T17:20:37Z")
Why can’t America quit trying to combine every single thing that gets on the toob with soft-core porn? There are a few exceptions, but even they seem to carry an element of “let’s laugh at the ugly people.” Other than that, unless every person who sees you wants sex with you, forget about getting an acting job on TV in America. I can just see what aliens viewing our TV are saying: “Ohh, so pert, so curvy, and a Nobel-prizewinning physicist/biologist as well! And only 22! How does she find time?” I’ll be a few channels over, watching “Jonathan Creek” and Hamish Macbeth." ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/15 "2000-12-20T17:25:58Z")
I agree that for a TV show the idea sucks. But, for a single horny person, the prospect of getting someone to pose as your mate and sign up for that show so you can be seduced by underwear models? Yeah, sign me up! ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/16 "2000-12-20T23:37:06Z")
_looks horribly embarassed_ What’s T&A? I just got laughed at yesterday for not knowing what it means, so… Someone, enlighten me? And put me in for a huge “That’s Horrible” vote. I’ve seen “Change of Heart” a few times (Give me a break! It’s on after Angel and no one wanted to get off teh couch to turn off the TV and by the time it started we were hypnotically horrified…). It just shows how much meaningful relationships mean to fame-grabbers. ---
**Author:** ![kiffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@kiffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiffa)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2000, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/17 "2000-12-21T00:17:42Z")
I just finished reading “She’s Come Undone” which includes a description of a 1950s TV program that my Mom used to watch while she ironed clothes in the afternoon. I remember just the basics. Here goes the plot: three or four contestants tell their sob stories to the mc and the audience. Husband fired, critically ill kid, no house/car/job and just about living on the street…the stories are really heartbreaking. The ladies usually cried while telling their story, the mc prods them for more emotions and then the audience votes on who should be QUEEN FOR A DAY. The winner gets a new washing machine or refrigerator and something to help the family out of their current predicament. She smiles thru her tears of happiness… I don’t remember what happens to the losing candidate-queens. I have no problem with charity or helping folks out, but there is no need for folks in need to grovel and cry. And yes, there is no threat of violence like the low-lifes on Springer or weird sexual relationships [I schtuppped your mother and now I am moving in on your father]. Queen for a Day, the afternoon talk shows [early Oprah, Sally Jesse R\*&^%$? etal], Springer … there’s a lot of history there leading up to these reality tv programs. It ain’t sumpin’ new. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2000, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/18 "2000-12-21T00:33:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LaurAnge \* > _looks horribly embarassed_ > What’s T&A? Well if you don’t know, _I’m_ not gonna tell you. Just kidding. T&A = Tits and Ass. ---
**Author:** ![Totoro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Totoro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Totoro)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2000, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/19 "2000-12-21T01:46:20Z")
This show is poop. Clear and simple. The Fox execs must truly have shit for brains. To quote, “Fox has sunk to a new low” (Lisa Simpson). I can’t believe that anyone would actually agree to be on this show. “Hey Fox! Break up me and my boy/girlfriend’s relationship! I want a million bucks, or a quick fling! Whichever comes first!” ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2000, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520/20 "2000-12-21T02:27:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Personally, I think we’re about five years away from Running Man. I can’t fucking wait. In fact, I will apply to be one of the Gladiators. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foxs-new-reality-show-temptation-island/46520.md?page=2)