Gee, to hear the producer of NBC's new series "Fear Factor" talk, you'd think this show is some sort of public service. That it's not lowest common-denominator programming that reaches its nadir in the first episode (Monday, 7 p.m., Ch. 5) when the contestants strip to their skivvies and have 400 live rats dropped on them.

"To me, the attraction of this show is that it's fun," insisted executive producer Matt Kunitz. "The contestants had a really fabulous, fun time doing the show, and I think people watching it are going to have as much fun watching it."

I, for one, am at least a little bit worried about people who find getting dragged by horses, being suspended 100 feet in the air and having to climb around the outside of a wet car or spending time with those rats either "fabulous" or "fun." Or, in future episodes, watching contestants eat sheep eye balls, walking a beam hundreds of feet in the air, spending time with snakes or spiders, or be attacked by vicious dogs.

The show, hosted by Joe Rogan ("NewsRadio"), features six contestants and three stunts per hourlong episode. Contestants who either fail or refuse to complete a stunt are eliminated on the first two stunts; the third has a time factor built into it and the one who completes it most quickly wins $50,000.

No one actually gets hurt — at least not seriously. Contestants are tethered to ropes when performing their high-wire acts. And all is not entirely as it seems — not only did the contestants get tetanus shots before the rat thing, but those rats were lab rats. "They are as clean as a rat can be," Kunitz said.

There is indeed a certain watchability to the show — but it's the sort of thing that slows down traffic because people are, almost against their will, craning their necks to see some horrific accident.

Laughable as it is, those involved in the show actually did maintain that they are performing some sort of public service. Kunitz pointed to a story in TV Guide in which Jerilyn Ross, who was identified as the president of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, said, "It's good to see people face their fears and triumph over them."

"So, in fact, I think we're doing a good thing," Kunitz said. "It's healthy to see people triumph over their fears. If you have similar fears — say you're afraid of heights and you watch six people get up and successfully walk a beam and get over their fear of heights — you might, sitting at home, say, 'You know what? I can get over this fear.'

"And I think all of the fears that we're tackling are just common fears that most people probably have a similar fear, and it's probably not such a bad thing to watch people overcome their fears. So I don't really see the negative in it."

Apparently, he only read one sentence in that magazine article. That same woman went on to say, "These things can truly traumatize kids and affect them forever." And she expressed great concern that some young viewers might mimic the stunts they see on "Fear Factor."

"I can see it now," Ross is quoted as saying in TV Guide. "A teenage boy says, 'I saw it on TV last night. I dare you to do it.' "

That, of course, is something the show's producer and host completely discount as a problem — despite the fact that they include a disclaimer at the top of the show telling viewers not to try any of this at home.

"There's almost no fear (of copycats) because where are you going to get a helicopter or a jet ski and get people to drive two semis down a deserted road at 60 miles an hour and jump in between them," Rogan said. "There's no danger almost of anybody ever being able to re-create this unless they're some multimillionaire who's just really bored."

Excuse me, but that's both disingenuous and dangerous. Kids may not have semis, but they do have cars. Kids may not have cranes and beams, but they do have boards, roofs and trees. And some kids do have horses.

It's easy to agree with Rogan when he says, "I think at some point in time you have to take a personal responsibility for your kids. If your kids are out running around getting drug around by horses, maybe your kids need a little more supervision than they're getting. You can have as many disclaimers as you can, but you can't stop stupidity."

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But that's just another example of television refusing to take any responsibility for what it feeds kids.

"Come on, it's a game show," Rogan said.

A highly distasteful, potentially dangerous game show.


E-mail: pierce@desnews.com

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