Not quite as sadistic as Strike It Rich, which gave money to contestants based on who had the saddest story, and viewers would call a special phone number and donate to their needs. Entire families would hoof it out to New York City to try to get their problems solved on TV, and then they'd fail the contest, and they'd have to rely on local charity to get them back home or else just huddle on the streets until they could.
"The supervisor of the Travelers Aid Society said, 'Putting human misery on display can hardly be called right.'"
Oh, what simpler times! Luckily, we've moved past those outdated moral standards and now have The Learning Channel, the rest of reality TV, and the internet. Five stars for progress!
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