Who's Your Daddy
Recap and (Hopefully) R.I.P.
By Eleanor Meilinger
January 4, 2005
I was very apprehensive about reviewing this show. In order to approach it with a relatively open mind -though I'm not sure that's possible considering the images conjures by the title/premise alone - I did not do the usual research prior to watching the single episode. I did, accidentally, catch Ken Mok, one of the creator/executive producers, on an entertainment show where he claimed that the entire crew was driven to tears each time they viewed the tapes for editing. After seeing the results, I have to guess that these were tears brought on by guilt and second thoughts about creating such an exploitive and manipulative piece of RTV fodder. From the opening sequence through the closing credits, I felt my skin crawl. Even if this show had been produced with the best of intentions, the gimmicky approach to such a serious subject was almost too much to bear. I've been told that if the ratings were good, the producers have five more episodes in the can; that makes me feel guilty that I may have contribute to the series success.
It makes you wonder how many other avenues of exploitation they may plunder in order to come up with new concepts for "reality" television. Perhaps, if this show "takes off" we'll get to see something along the lines of "Who's Life is it Anyway" where a patient and his family plays for the opportunity to pull a random plug - one leads to riches, the other to… Or how about "You Bet Your Life" where a patient awaiting a kidney transplant interviews perspective donors -guess the one who is the right match and you win, get it wrong…
Sounds awful? With shows like "Who's your Daddy?" already on the air, something like that can't be too far behind. Do you think they had the title and then scrambled to come up with a concept to fit? Maybe they set out to copy the tabloid TV premise of testing the DNA countless potential fathers who have no interest in being declared "the winner" in the game of paternity roulette. Those episodes always draw high ratings. You have to think about those unwitting babies growing up and discovering that a tape exists where their mother went on national television to confront the man who unknowingly contributed one half of their genes, and seeing the animosity that existed when the truth was finally uncovered. We know that a casting call went out for people seeking their birth parents. From there, what the producers settled on was to select a woman who was given up for adoption at birth and present her with eight men who could potentially be her biological father. If, at the end of the show, she can correctly identify the right man, she will win a prize of "almost" $100,000; if not, the man who successfully deceived her will take the cash -in the manner of the classic game show "To Tell the Truth"
Is it any wonder that the "heroine" of this piece, T.J., appears for the first time looking like a cross between a contestant on "The Bachelor" and a stripper? Once they had the tabloid title, why not promote the "sleaze" factor? T.J. arrives via limo to meet the host, Finola Hughes, a soap opera veteran (how apropos!) dressed in a sexy black halter dress, which reveals her generous attributes, looking more like she was seeking a date than a dad. She acts surprised to see eight men emerge from the door of the mansion where Finola has told her the man of her dreams awaits and breaks down into tears. From the looks on some of the men's faces, I'd say a few were happy that this wasn't their daughter and they were sizing her up for other potential roles in their life. I seriously hope the producers didn't expect us to think that she was not aware that finding her birth father was intended to be part of a game and that she thought that the "real" father would miraculously appear, alone, behind the doors. Because that seemed to be the impression they were shooting for with the hokey breakdown scene.
Prior to this, Finola fills us in on the upcoming excitement. She points out that the hilltop mansion will be the scene of "the most fascinating and emotional reunion show ever." We were then introduced to T.J., who explains her circumstances and the quest to find her birth parents. Loving, adoptive parents had raised her. They made no secret of the fact that she was "chosen" rather than conceived by them. She only began to think about finding her birth parents when, while attending a "family" reunion, she was told by an insensitive aunt that she "didn't count". From age 16 to 24 she began her quest but hit a bureaucratic brick wall, discovering only that her father was present at her birth, both parents had struggled with the decision to give her up and that her father had been 19-years-old and in the military when she was born. T.J. had enlisted in the Army herself and hopes this fact will make her father proud when they finally meet. She has been in contact with him through the Internet and is happy to know that he was looking for her also. No mention is made at this time about her birth mother, but I suppose "Who's Your Mommy?" was not as catchy a title…
Before you start sending nasty email, I apologize about the "stripper" remark, but seriously, who dresses like that to meet their father for the first time. I know this is a Fox show but I am not sure what kind of audience they were expecting to appeal to. They most likely had a hand in dictating the sex appeal factor they desired in the contestant. From the beginning you can see that T.J. is a really nice woman who is truly moved by the prospect of finally meeting her father (either that or an aspiring actress with untapped potential) you can't help but root for her. They did a good job casting the eight potential "paters" as well. Some of them seem genuinely moved by the experience, others look embarrassed to be there; the reality of what they are trying to pull off takes its toll.
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