TVSquad

On January 23rd, FOX will debut its newest gameshow, The Moment of Truth. On the show, contestants will have to answer 21 increasingly personal questions honestly (as determined by a polygraph) to win $500,000. Now, that's a lot of cash, but is it worth revealing your deepest feelings on national television while your family, friends, or spouse sit on stage and heckle you? After trying it out today, I really don't know.

FOX set up a Moment of Truth Booth here in Santa Monica at the Third Street Promenade and let people try out the game in front of shoppers and other passers-by. For those of you who haven't been to Santa Monica, the Promenade is an open-air shopping mall with street performers, restaurants, and sadly, way too many homeless people. I'll give you the run-down of the questions they asked me after the jump.

*First let me apologize for not taking any pictures. I just forgot to bring my camera. So, you'll have to settle for my amazing descriptive abilities.

Okay, so I walked down to the Promenade expecting to see a line of people and a rather large stage set-up but no, not one person was even lurking around the booth looking interested. And the booth? It was only slightly larger than a photobooth but it was outfitted with a fairly large place for me to sit, and a screen outside the booth so onlookers could watch me squirm as I was interrogated.

I got into the booth and was given a mic and a little wire covered in plastic to hold between my forefinger and thumb. This little wire, I was told, measured my pulse and my temperature. I have to admit I was a little upset that they didn't strap me in and attach little nubs to all my fingers. But it's FOX, not the FBI, right? In front of me was a mirror and a camera. Behind the mirror was my interrogator.

So, he started with some "set-up" questions to gauge my pulse at rest. How old are you? What color is your shirt? Are you married? Where are you from? Then he started in with the tougher stuff (nothing too crazy though because we were out in public). Are you proud of your husband? Yes (True!) Does your husband completely satisfy you? Yes. (False!) I don't know why I said "yes." I mean, no one can be completely satisfying all the time in every way. That was a dumb move on my part.

Other questions the interrogator got me on were about my husband's friends and my boobs. Do you like it when men stare at your chest? No. (False!) Well, I guess it depends on who's looking. If it's you, scary question wizard, then, no, I don't like it that you are probably undressing me with you eyes. I should've said, "Well, I don't know. Why don't you ask my boobs?" The last one was a doozy. Do you ever fantasize about any of your husband's friends? No. (False!) I'm such a liar. When I got out of the booth, my husband asked me why I didn't say 'yes' to the last one. I said I didn't know. I guess I got nervous. Then he said, 'who do you fantasize about?' and it was at that point that I realized I should've come to Moment of Truth Booth alone.

Final Thoughts about The Moment of Truth:

• Mark L. Wahlberg is the host. Yep, it's not that Mark Wahlberg. It's the other one. *Sigh*
• While I wondered why more people hadn't shown up for The Moment of Truth Booth on the Promenade, I could kind of see why. Firstly, most people who live in Santa Monica and actually use the Promenade for shopping are pretty desensitized to this kind of stuff. Secondly, if you've seen any of the commercials for this show, you'd probably think twice before just jumping in a polygraph booth with the unseen inquisitor (especially when there's no money to be had).
  
• I doubt I will watch this show. It seems like it's going to be stressful--not really entertaining or controversial--just plain stressful. What do you think? Will you watch The Moment of Truth?