Oh god, what a train wreck. You'd think with all the feel-good reality shows over the years, any producer worth his 7 figure paycheck would know you have to give us a reason to want the people getting the windfall to get the windfall, but most of the segments, we are given NO IDEA why we should care. No 3 minute package showing all their troubles and tribulations--just some celebrity knocking on some stranger's door, then a FULLY dressed family coming out to the street full of people they somehow didn't notice trying to fake surprise. And then they're given some fairly unimpressive amount of money, or, if they're Hispanic, made to answer questions and crawl about picking fake bills out of the dirt.
And through it all, we get to listen to Ryan Seacrest -- who likely made more money in the time it took to air any ONE segment then the whole lot of 'em got in the entire show--tearfully act like this is the most spontaneous, heart-warming thing ever while LYING THROUGH HIS $100,000 teeth about it being a surprise on the part of the obviously prepared recipients.
Look--I'm all for reality shows that center on charity and benevolence over greed and competition--but OMG you have to have SOME basic storytelling competence to pull it off, and you shouldn't blow smoke up our asses about the shoe-wearing-beneficiaries of your charity being "surprised" at home. (They aren't, and they do a painful, humiliating job of trying to act like they are at the behest of the producers of this dreck.) Horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE show that has no respect for its audience or the people it makes lie, dance and crawl for trinkets and dollars.
