I would pay a huge sum of money to see how uncomfortable this situation would turn out. Former Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens, who is in the middle of the entire steroid situation for the Mitchell Report though he firmly denies he took any, has been given an invitation to appear on the hit (thanks to coming after American Idol) FOX game show The Moment of Truth. The show sent a letter to Clemens’s management to appear on the show and answer a few questions, clear his name for the whole steroid situation if he is really truthful, and pick up $500,000 for charity.
Howard Schultz, the creator and executive producer, wrote to Clemens, “People have stood in awe at your incredible accomplishments in baseball. This show could let the world know that you are an incredibly courageous person, as well as to clear your name in front of a nationwide audience, all in the name of charity.”
No response was made as of now, but I think it would be rather interesting to do this. I mean, you know he’s not going to, but if he’s truly innocent it would be perfectly fine being strapped to a lie detector (which I know is not always truthful) and win money for charity. Hell, this is a format basically made for celebrity contestants. Get a few more with some shady pasts and make them admit. I wish I was kidding, but I could only think it would bump up the ratings. Would the show be too exploitative at that point? Definitely. Would it be more entertaining if the ratings start to slip? As a person who relatively enjoys the new FOX show, definitely again.
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Lie detectors are massively, incredibly inaccurate. They’re little better then chance, particularly in a situation like this. He’d be a fool to go for it, like anyone on that show.
I don’t think Clemens will do this, unless it’s done live, (and that’s doubtful) I think he’d be concerned that the producers would rig the lie detector and just for doign the show he’d be subjected to public ridicule (now there’s a scrabble word), although then again, he might do it since it would be for charity (he does a lot of charity work) and he might want to get the public on his side.
and I agree Alex celeb contestants might be a good idea since the majority of things they’d be asked fans already know (or they think they know)
The Moment of Truth is talking about going the celebrity route after one show? Yes! Please apply the game show “kiss of death” to your show after a week.
Clemens might put himself at more risk, both financially and professionally, if he would do this for a possible $500,000 for charity. Clemens is worth gosh knows how many tens of millions of dollars, if not in the 9 digits. There’s no reason for him to go on a game show to potentially reveal things which could ruin his 1st ballot Hall of Fame eligibility, and possibly go as far as severely damaging Major League Baseball over the equivalent of pocket change for Clemens.
I’m quite surprised… You’re actually suggesting that FOX make the Standard-Issue Game Show Jump-The-Shark (SIGSJTS) move of having celebrities on the show, and only one episode has aired? Alex, I’m absolutely…
Well…
Hm… You might have a point. But here’s the thing: As soon as they introduce their first celebrity contestant, they can no longer go back to having civilians on the show again. All of a sudden, we get these big huge names on the show, and when we revert back to John Doe, the show has lost all of its magic. “Who cares about this guy? I’ll never hear his name again, likely,” the crowd will say. “But Paris Hilton on the hot seat (or whatever it’s called, I have yet to see the show), now that’s worth watching!”
This is a very rough analogy, but this is what is coming to mind… Right now, we’re (figuratively) watching the Jerry Springer Show. Normal people reveal their secrets on national television to their families, everyone freaks. Roger Clemens joins the fiasco, and it goes from revealing secrets on Springer to revealing secrets on Oprah. After we’ve seen these high-class secrets revealed (and a few hundred cars are given away), will we really want to turn the channel back to Springer?
Note that I used the words “if the ratings start to slip”. People are looking over that.
Obviously I’d rather have civilians. If the ratings get bad, hey, celebrities might be funny. I’m really not watching for a game. I’m watching to laugh and feel uncomfortable.
True, I guess I didn’t take that line into account. But is it bad that we’ve already gotten the SIGSJTS ready, and we’re only one episode in? I mean, best of luck to them, but have we already prepared ourselves for the show to dip?
Hey I give FOX some credit, do something you’d know you got a 99.9% shot it’s not going to happen, but get EVEN more exposure for your show, especially with Amnesia coming on air here soon. So I highly doubt we having the “SIGSJTS” happening here, but look what’s going on with AYSTAFG, they do occasional celeb games, no problem :)
Let’s face it, that this is even conceivable says a lot about the format.
But also, what Chris said. It’s better if it doesn’t happen. The mere rumour keeps the show in people’s minds, which in turn will make Amne$ia look more clearly a rip-off.
Here’s a slogan:
FOX - the world’s best marketers of the world’s worst television.
If FOX were to have celebrities on the show, the ratings would only be determined based on WHO they have on there. If Britney Spears were to appear, people might tune in because this is all current news and might score big for the younger demos but if Paris “I’m a sex tape whore that nobody cares about” Hilton were to come on, say good night to the show. It can be a risky move but chances are after this “possibly might be aired” episode, they’ll probably stick to average contestants.