TVSquad

Oprah has finally been lured into primetime for more than an Oprah Winfrey Presents mini-series outing. The grande dame of daytime will bring two new reality series to ABC.

The first - Oprah Winfrey's Big Give - follows ten people, who are given money and resources and then must find a "dramatic and emotional" way to help others with the cash. There will be weekly eliminations, and the winner will have his or her "wildest dream" made a reality. Oprah has promised that the eliminations won't be humiliating as they are on other reality series. If this set-up sounds familiar, it's because Oprah did the same thing on her show.

This could be an interesting conceit because, as anyone who has ever worked in philanthropy will tell you, giving away money is not as easy as it sounds. Which cause do you choose to highlight with your giving? Do you want to affect the greatest number of people, or affect fewer people more profoundly? Do you help people directly or indirectly? It's a little strange to have eliminations, but we'll have to see how they're managed. I just can't imagine saying - "Contestant Number One, AIDS is so 1991 and not nearly as telegenic as the Sudanese orphans or abandoned polar bear babies. Sorry, the tribe has spoken."

The second series is called Your Money or Your Life. Each episode will feature a family facing a financial crisis. An "action team" will move in to give each family a money and lifestyle make-over. It's the old Peace Corps motto about teaching people to fish instead of picking up the check at Red Lobster. I'm not sure it makes for appealing television. Pimp the family's ride, swap out the wife, have the dad drop 100 pounds and give the kids a super sweet sixteenth b-day, then you've got yourself a show.