By OMC Staff Writers   Published Jan 09, 2001 at 5:38 AM

"Temptation Island" debuts on FOX 6 on Wed., Jan. 10, at 8 p.m. We have an exclusive sneak preview and five patently male reviews of the new show!

Jeff Sherman

Reality-based television shows don't do a whole lot for me. Heck, I'm a guy who thinks that network television programs other than an occasional "Friends", "ER" or re-run of "Sports Night" are basically mind-numbing crap for the brain.

That being said, I was a bit skeptical when FOX 6 dropped off the first two episodes of FOX's "Temptation Island", a new reality-based show produced by Rocket Science Laboratories. Don't get me wrong, I was jazzed and proud to be one of "chosen few" to preview the show (many thanks, David Todd) but knowing the show's story line and FOX's track record with these types of shows, I wasn't holding my breath for a big hit. After all, this was the network that gave us shows like "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?," "When Animals Attack 3" and the huge family favorite, "Alien Autopsy!"

In a nutshell, "Temptation Island" and its male host (Mark Wahlberg, no, not Marky Mark) take four unmarried, but somewhat committed, couples at a crossroads in their relationship and 26 singles that are looking for love to Belize where they all test the waters of temptation. The couples, who are willing (some, even excited) to test their relationships, are set up on a variety of dates with three of the singles that best reflect their ideal mate. After two weeks of exploring the single world again, the couples decide where their hearts really want and should be.

If you've seen the FOX ads for "Temptation Island", they are a tad misleading. I know, FOX over-hype something? Never! The show isn't really a sex-filled romp with naked people running all over. It's a look into what makes the sexes tick.

"Temptation Island's" first two episodes provided decent entertainment value. Not too corny or edgy, the show is kind of a "Survivor" meets "Real World" and "Blind Date." The four couples are somewhat "normal", but don't really seem like the kind of folks you would see at a Water Street bar on a Friday night. They know they are "on camera" and they know if they are good, book deals and People Magazine fame await them.

Let's be honest here, these couples are willingly pimping themselves and their relationships on national TV And, if you ask me, at least three of four relationships were broken before they even got to the island.

Once aboard, the couples are housed in separate villages and then get to glance over the singles. Both the men and women like some of what they see; human nature has its way of guaranteeing this. Next, each single gives a brief intro and the couples get to vote one male and one female off the island. The ones who the group thinks pose the biggest threat are gone.

Next, each male and female in the couples gets to block one single from seeing his/her significant other. Basically saying "I think my woman or man would be attracted to you, you are out of the game!" Sounds fair.

The rest of program will be a series of games, dates and creative temptations. At one point, the host of the show gives the couples an opportunity to send a video message to their mates that they have not seen in days as well as see videos of dates that their respective others have been on. Ouch. This proves rather interesting and kinda funny.

"Temptation Island" might speak to some in the generation and even empower (if that's the right word) a few couples to wonder, "what if we were in that situation?" and "are we really meant to be." Then again, maybe it's just a television show.

Either way, "Temptation Island" debuts on FOX 6 on Wed., Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. It only runs four weeks so it's good for those who fear commitment. It's fun, not too corny and worth at least a watch. Just you watch, "Temptation Island" just might right the ship of some of the failed FOX shows of the past.

Bobby Tanzilo

I should admit up front that I don't watch these kinds of shows on TV and I've come to despise the pathetic airing of personal laundry that has come to be called "reality TV."

So, it will surprise you little to know that after finding myself mildly amused by moments in Fox's new "Temptation Island," the most I can muster is a mildly offended yawn.

Here are eight people in four relationships that appear fundamentally flawed, searching only for celebrity. What are we to think when one woman suggests that after five years with her boyfriend, the time has come to test his loyalty?

"Temptation Island," like most TV is, in the end, pretty benign stuff. Never truly shocking, never truly ground-breaking, just another variation on an exhausted theme. But "Temptation Island," seems as slightly less benign than some of its "Survivor"-like ancestors.

Here's the idea: take four couples in relatively long-term relationships, fly them to an exotic locale and do as much as possible to dash those relationships to bits. It's all in good fun and may sell some prime commercial time.

My suggestion for next season we can do "Going Postal." Four meek, very moral, anti-handgun librarians are whisked away to Cancun, where they will be handed pistols and set upon by bands of roving gangs for two weeks. After 14 days of constant terror, we'll see if any of them cracks and lets loose a barrage of bullets.

Of course, who's kidding who? Folks will love "Temptation Island," because it's as fun to watch other people be miserable as it is to ogle beautiful people in skimpy bathing suits. Just because I'm not watching, doesn't mean it won't sell.

I'll try to lighten up.

Andy Tarnoff

"Temptation Island" is kind of like a train wreck. You don't want to watch, but you can't turn away. As if the other reality-based television shows didn't stoop low enough, now there's one that encourages people to cheat on their spouses. (I don't think anyone got divorced after being mauled on "When Rabid Animals Attack 3").

This isn't to say I won't watch this farce. Hey, when my nightly TV routine resorts to Howard Stern, USA's "Strip Poker" and MTV's "Undressed," I'm not too high and mighty for "Temptation Island." But I'll stop short of saying I found the sneak preview issues all that engaging.

It seemed heavy on dialogue and light on scantily clad undulating singles, but one can't have everything. I did particularly enjoy the scene of the humping dogs that was apparently spliced in for no reason.

I found it particularly ironic that the couples seemed so surprised by every cruel twist and turn their host sprung on them. This wasn't supposed to be a religious retreat to Belize, after all. They all knew what they were getting into.

Anyway, for all my high falutin' literary criticism, don't be surprised if you see me zoning on out my couch watching the show. In a prime-time schedule without Sports Night, there's not a whole heck of a lot to engage a viewer these days, and hey, skin sells.

Paul Doro

With "Temptation Island," Fox tries to have it both ways. The show's premise is sleazy and offensive but it ends up being all talk and no action (at least what we saw). Fox appears to be under the delusion that if they focus on the aftermath instead of the activity, then that makes it all okay and somehow respectable. At the same time it is difficult to muster any sympathy for people who choose to be on this program. If you like "Survivor" or "The Real World," "Temptation Island" is for you. Others needn't bother.

Michael Brenner

If you put me on Temptation Island, I would be spelling out "HELP" in driftwood on the beach the first day. FOX's latest flop is just like all the other reality-based shows, but without the fancy camera work, hip music, engaging characters, and a story line to follow. The first 30 seconds of the show was spent insulting my intelligence (and art degree) by giving dictionary definitions for the words "tempt" and "temptation." Then cut to the cheesy interviews. We are introduced to our cast with 10 second blurbs that tell us nothing except how insecure they are about their relationships. It seems apparent that all these Club Med castaways are expecting to cheat, or at least get even for being cheated on.