Oprah’s The Big Give: Extreme Home Makeover Meets The Apprentice
I just watched Oprah’s new reality TV show, The Big Give.
I really wanted to like this show. After all, it’s a reality show where the contestants compete to give money away, not to win it. I loved last year’s Oprah show where each audience member was given a $1,000 debit card and told to spend the money on others, documenting the whole thing using hand-held video cameras. So why does The Big Give feel so…icky?
This show treats giving like a competition. The contestants are in it to win it. There’s all the classic Apprentice reality-TV cliches: challenges, randomly chosen teams, judges and eliminations. “Give Big or Go Home.” Is this supposed to be inspiring? Do I need to have a “creative presentation” in order to make a difference in someone’s life? What if I don’t have connections to Jamie Fox, a rich uncle and one of those oh-so-convenient Sprint cell phones? What then, Oprah? Am I a failure in the game of charitable giving?
Sure, there were some tear-jerker moments. But I kind of forgot about all that once the Naked Chef told that guy with the crazy fashion-show-happy partner to “grow some balls.” Get out!
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LOL, I felt the same way when I saw the previews.
Cool idea to get people giving, but weird to make it an apprentice knock-off with just as much stress/drama.