In 'Joe Millionaire,' Fox returns to it roots

In 'Joe Millionaire,'
Fox returns to it roots

Down in the cellar. Cynical spoof of 'Bachelor'

By Toni Fitzgerald

    When Fox is being good it turns out first-rate programs that are very much in the mainstream of primetime TV, with a bit of Fox edge added.
   When Fox is being bad, it turns out programs that are mostly Fox edge, with nothing mainstream about them, almost as parody of what we think good TV ought to be. They are the bad boys at the fraternity party.
   Fox is about to be bad again--way bad.
   Remember the fiasco that was 2000’s “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire”? Remember the months of cleaning up after the disastrous special, in which the alleged millionaire bachelor wasn't a millionaire--or much of anything else? Remember Darva, who only wanted to be left alone, and said so on every talk show for months?
   Consider "Joe Millionaire," a reality series Fox will air in early January.
   The show appears to be a goof on ABC's hit "The Bachelor," with deep cynicism sliding in place of the schmaltz.
   Rather than a straight prospective-groom-picks-among prospective brides, which is tacky enough, certainly, we have Fox fooling women into believing that the groom is a millionaire when in fact he is a penniless laborer.
  The 20 women participating in “Joe Millionaire,” which debuts Jan. 6, think that Joe recently inherited $50 million from a rich relative and is looking for someone to grow old with and spend money on.
   Fox provided the money to woo the women, including use of a chateau.
   As Joe winnows down the potential pool of women, much like "The Bachelor," he will give his female castoffs jewelry of increasing value as a kind of thanks-for-playing prize, until he’s finally left with one love.
   Once that drama has played out, the truth is revealed. (No mention of marriage here, so Fox executives seem to have learned at least one lesson.)
   Joe tells his chosen one he wants to stay with her.
   If the woman reciprocates his feelings and says she wants to continue dating, all the while thinking he's a millionaire, Joe finally will tell her the truth: He’s a construction worker who makes just $19,000 per year. No rich, dead relatives included.
   "In a way, we're ripping the mask off the people [who sign up for shows like 'The Bachelor']," Fox executive vice president for alternative programming and specials Mike Darnell told Daily Variety. "We find out whether they're really doing this for love."
   The Fox fun, of course, comes when the audience watches the fireworks that go off when the woman learns she has been conned.
For all this to work, much secrecy was needed in the production of the seven-episode series.
   Secrecy was so well kept that only a few Fox executives were aware that the series was in production. It was even filmed in Paris under the working title “The Big Choice.”
   “They did that to help with secrecy,” says a networks spokesperson.
   “That’s a huge component of the show. If the girls found out that he wasn’t really a millionaire, that kind of left us without a show. So that’s the big twist, that’s why they kept even executives from finding out.”
   Fox desperately needs a hit. The network suffered through a dismal November sweeps period in which its 18-49 numbers were nearly 30 percent off last year’s.
   None of its new shows has really taken off this year, and some have been outright bombs. “Joe Millionaire” replaces one of them, the David E. Kelley flop “girls club,” Mondays at 9 p.m.
    Fox will not entertain comparisons of "Joe" with "Multi-Millionaire." For all the recriminations, even remorse, after the fact, that show was still a huge hit, a point all but forgotten. The show scored a 7.4 18-49 rating against then-ABC juggernaut “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and attracted 23 million viewers in its final half-hour.
   The network basically swore off reality shows for a short period after the “Multi-Millionaire” debacle, but it couldn’t stay away for long. One year later came “Temptation Island,” an early hit that too became controversial when network executives learned that one of the couples on the show had a child together, a violation of the rules.
   Of course, Fox’s biggest hit in the past few years has been the star searcher “American Idol,” which provided big 18-49 ratings last summer and is already gearing up for a winter debut.
   “Joe Millionaire” obviously can’t become a franchise like “Idol.” After the final show, everyone will know the plot twist. Fox insists that this seven-episode show is one-time run, no matter how popular the program becomes.

-Toni Fitzgerald a staff writer for Media Life

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