Fox’ Latest Reality Experiment Locks Money-Hungry People in an Underground Bunker for an Indefinite Period.
I watched the first episode of Fox’s Unan1mous prepared to loathe it. To my unending surprise, I was not repulsed. Given Fox’s history with outrageous, offensive, over-the-top reality series, it hadn’t occurred to me that I would not hate this one.
I’m certainly not going to rave about Unan1mous and call it a great show or one of the best new series of the year. In fact, it is really rather shameful. But if there is a place on broadcast television for the equivalent of junk food, Fox has planted a stake there with this program. If nothing else, Unan1mous is indeed a distinct alternative to its punishing time period competition: CBS’ Criminal Minds, NBC’s Law & Order, ABC’s Lost and UPN’s Veronica Mars. It remains to be seen if this oddity will appeal to the young audience that tunes in to its lead in, the American Idol results show. (Unan1mous premieres tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET.)
Before continuing, let me make clear that the bizarre spelling of the title is accurate. The “i” in the middle of the word “unanimous” has been replaced by Fox with the numeral “1.” The bizarre spelling alone will have critics, writers and editors gunning for this show, because it is one more irritating detail to worry about in producing copy. (Critics will also likely trash this show because it is cheap reality fare. But recent ratings successes at VH1 and Bravo indicate that the public appetite for such stuff is only getting stronger.) I guess the “1” is meant to reflect the central competition in the show: Nine people want to pocket a cool $1.5 million (or less as the show continues), but there can be only one winner, and that person must be the sole choice of the other eight.
Unan1mous will be categorized as a reality series, but there is nothing even remotely real about it. In tonight’s opener, the nine people with their eyes on the prize are brought to an underground bunker. (The location is not specified–perhaps it’s a closed studio set.) The announcer tells us they have “no idea what lies ahead,” to which I can only respond, “What kind of people put themselves in that kind of position, especially if they don’t know about the money?” The answer, at least at first pass, is nine people you probably wouldn’t want to be stuck on a bus with, let alone locked away with in an underground prison that has no windows, no clocks and no connection with the outside world.
There is also no way out–unless one of them really wants to throw the others into hysterics. If anyone chooses to leave before the game is over, the remaining amount of prize money at that time will be immediately cut in half. That seems to be motivation enough for these people to remain locked away from their families and friends for an open-ended period. Sadly, their unfortunate choices don’t seem as disturbing as they once might have given the way our society increasingly worships money and those who have it. Even the most aggravating player–a belligerent minister who asserts, “money is the root of all evil”–chooses to stay in the game when offered a consequence-free opportunity to exit.
Weekly tasks include silently voting for the person who should receive the grand prize, and also voting to see who will be eliminated. The latter procedure is orchestrated in a unique manner, as far as elimination shows go. Secrets about several players are revealed in anonymous fashion. The group is then asked to decide which is the worst of those secrets. The person behind the winning secret is tossed from the competition, but the eliminated players are still kept in the bunker. They’re no longer eligible to win the big prize, but they still vote for the person they want to receive the cash. At least I think those are the rules … it is clear from the start that anything goes on this show.
Adding to the oddness (as if being kept underground in a windowless bunker completely out of touch with the world, the passing of time, etc., isn’t odd enough), the players sometimes receive their orders from a disembodied electronic female voice very much like that of “Mother” in the 1979 science-fiction thriller Alien. When not taking orders from “her” they are made to respond to the host of the show, an agreeable geek who appears only on a monitor to guide them through voting and other activities.
In true reality television style, some of the people here will clearly do anything to get the cash. One particularly loathsome fellow described as “a ladies man” tells the group he has testicular cancer. He’s lying, but Kelly the big-mouthed minister believes him. That’s surprising because liars usually know when somebody else is lying (it’s like trying to kid a kidder), and she’s got a huge untruth in her own past, revealed at the end of the premiere.
If the group makes a unanimous decision next week, the show will end. But if ratings support it, Unan1mous could continue for weeks or months until the players decide on a winner. It is unclear how they will fill their time. Which brings up an interesting aspect of this show: The group in the bunker is also denied access to media of any kind. (That’s also true of CBS’ summer series Big Brother, although its houseguests enjoy numerous diversions, including sunshine and outdoor sports.) This may be reason alone to watch the show. Forget the money! What happens to people in 2006 when they are totally cut off from the media? Can there be happiness without television, cell phones, computers, iPods, Blackberries and multi-tasking? I’m guessing not, because Fox says Unan1mous is a “social experiment that will spiral completely out of control.”
