BIO:
Dirty Rotten Cheater
Jan. 06, 2003
By Michael Farkash
(Pax) 8 p.m. Mon., Jan. 6
Now this is more like it -- a game show where one of the players secretly
gets all the answers, and tries to slip under the radar to avoid exposure.
Meanwhile, contestants are ruthlessly eliminated and lose all their prize
money.
A guilty pleasure, maybe, but fun and suspenseful, definitely. "Dirty Rotten Cheater" ought to be a big hit for Pax.
The show evidently draws its inspiration from the reality show genre,
and it's a successful translation. Plenty of bickering and insults keep the
tension alive, and host Bil Dwyer delivers comic zingers that are legitimately
funny.
A series of questions are asked, many dealing with relationships, and
players must match the responses on a list of 10 to win prize money.
At the end of every round, the players pick the person they think is
the cheater. If they're wrong, everyone loses money and the accused player
must leave the island -- er, I mean the game show set -- forever. If the
guess proves right, the cheater gets tossed out, and another "cheater" is
secretly picked for the rest of the rounds.
Ultimately, the monetary prizes aren't huge, but the emotional conflicts
are, and that should keep a lot of competition fans tuned in.
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