'Temptation Island' brings an evil, trashy joy to its audience

By Melissa Gollob

Daily Arts Writer

Attempting to find success exploiting people's personal lives once again, Fox premiered "Temptation Island." This new reality show selected four committed couples for two free weeks of paradise. The catch is they don't spend the time together. Instead, they place their relationships on the line and try to withstand the temptation of thirteen attractive singles specially chosen to seduce the opposite sex.

During the two weeks apart, all eight must go on five dates with at least three different singles. The dates are taped and shown to their counterparts on the opposite side of the island. Armed with this information, they go to the ritual bonfire where the women vote off the most threatening single female to the group and the men do the same with the most intimidating single male.

Last week, the four couples introduced themselves and explained why they accepted the invitation to the island. Ytossie and Taheed have been together for five years. Ytossie wants to see if Taheed will make a commitment to her finally and if he will stray from her again because she caught him cheating in the past. Kaya and Valerie are testing their relationship so that Kaya will realize that Valerie is the only woman for him. In Kaya's words Temptation Island, "... is like the Pepsi challenge" to him. Shannon and Andy enjoy exotic foreign places and seem like the most down to earth couple on the show. Mandy and Billy are totally oblivious to the ramifications of coming to the show. Mandy even believes that she deserves to be humbled by watching other women swarming around Billy because he endures her constant flirting with other men.

Once the couples arrived on Temptation Island, they spent two days together learning the rules of the game. On the second day, the scantly dressed singles arrived to a mixed welcome. Both sexes began to realize that one of those singles could in fact break up their relationship. To put their minds at some ease, each half of all the couples were able to ban one single from dating their partner. The women all selected different female singles while the men focused on the massage therapist by choosing him twice. Thus, banning him for dating two of the four women.

The couples finally parted after a good-bye dinner when their fears about each other materialized. All the participants seemed surprised that they felt so vulnerable and watching them stirred empathy. Watching fictional characters mess up their lives for leisure can be enjoyable but when the people on the screen are real, the repercussions of their actions seem too high a price for entertainment. The producers are tempting fate and playing with people's lives. Not only the couples, but also the singles are being used as pawns for an hour's worth of trashy television.

Tonight, the dating begins as the temperature on Temptation Island rises. Some will be relieved after viewing the date tapes at the bonfire while others will be shocked with disbelief. Either way "Temptation Island" will take pleasure by showing people's most intimate and awful moments when their hearts break and confrontations become inevitable.