Married by America (partially found Fox reality show; 2003)
Married by America was a reality show broadcast from March 3, 2003, to April 14, 2003, on Fox.[1][2] The premise of the show revolved around five single people to, as the title says, be paired up with other people "by America" (family members and phone-in voters).[3] The other major gimmick of the show was that the singles would pair up with the strangers "sight-unseen" with a wall separating them on stage, meaning that they could only talk to each other.
If a couple successfully got married on the set, they would win a huge sum of money.
Controversy
In the show's short time on the air, it managed to drum up a great amount of controversy over its content; one affiliate in North Carolina (WRAZ) dropped the show after its premiere for how it "demeans and exploits the institution of marriage",[4] and a year after its cancellation, the show received a $1.18 million FCC fine over an episode which contained explicit footage of whipped cream being licked off a stripper's breasts and a man being caressed by strippers.[5][6] The fine was eventually dropped to $91,000 in 2009 and then dropped entirely in 2012.[7]
The show also dealt with a contestant who was revealed to have been already married after the first episode had aired; in the end, none of the couples on the show ended up married, making the show a failure.[1][3]
Availability
This show has never been rebroadcast or released on home video; only a few full episodes have turned up online. Additional clips can be found online, one featuring the premiere's opening and another showing a compilation of Tony Ross' time on the show. Another clip can be found on a Parents Television Council compilation of "worst clips", namely the controversial stripper footage (not linked due to its graphic content).
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.realitytvhallofshame.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?mode=1&article=article1034.art&page=1
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364837/fullcredits
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.fansofrealitytv.com/forums/married-america/5888-married-america-episode-one-recap.html
- ↑ http://www.crosswalk.com/1189857/
- ↑ http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2004/FCC-04-242A1.html
- ↑ http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/married-america-fined-fcc
- ↑ https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090202/tv_nm/us_marriage;_ylt=Ah1O6jcn1kz.84IZcJTG86JxFb8C