I vividly recall watching this episode as a teenager. This is basically a Rod Serling-esque chilling parody of a daytime game show. A middle class white couple and a poor black woman (Juanita Moore of "Imitation of Life") and her son compete for $100,000. The catch? They have to perform degrading stunts for the television audience. The couples have to slap each other in the face and then publicly confess their most humiliating secret (the image of Juanita Moore confessing her past prostitution in front of her son on camera haunts me to this day). The final degrading stunt is for one of the couples to perform an act of Russian Roulette on national television. What happens? Will they do it? You'll see.
I remember thinking this episode of the religious anthology "Insight" was really over-the top and horrifying when I saw it in the late 70s or early 80s. Unfortunately, it was a grim and nearly accurate prophecy of what television was to become in the following decades. Somewhat of a cross between "Network," "Idiocracy," and "The Shape of Things to Come."However, modern audiences who are accustomed to the reality shows that this show predicted will not be greatly impacted by this.
I remember thinking this episode of the religious anthology "Insight" was really over-the top and horrifying when I saw it in the late 70s or early 80s. Unfortunately, it was a grim and nearly accurate prophecy of what television was to become in the following decades. Somewhat of a cross between "Network," "Idiocracy," and "The Shape of Things to Come."However, modern audiences who are accustomed to the reality shows that this show predicted will not be greatly impacted by this.