Critics Blast 'Temptation Island'

Jan. 9 -- Talk about your Fantasy Island. Picture this: You go on vacation with your sweetie — under the agreement that you might not go home together if one of you spots someone more appealing on the beach.

That’s the premise for Fox’s new reality-based TV series, Temptation Island, which has conservative and religious groups up in arms over the promos alone.

The six-part series debuts Wednesday. Four couples are brought to a steamy island overrun with scantily clad singles, and they’re urged to test the boundaries of their relationships. The couples mingle with the singles, whose role is to find out whether those already committed couples will be tempted to try out a new relationship.

Forget the Dating Game and Love Connection — in the fast-moving 21st century, dating is competition, and even those who have a partner are fair game. And if Fox can score some ratings along the way, it will certainly try.

Pick a Date, Any Date

In most circles courting other people’s property is considered taboo, but on this beach, which happens to be in Belize, it’s in the handbook.

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The four couples were separated so that the men and women, ranging in age from 21 to 35, could get to know the singles and figure out if they want to stick with their original love, or upgrade to a better “catch.”

Amazingly, the participants willingly put themselves through this mental torment without the promise of a big cash payout. Regardless of the outcome, there is no million-dollar type prize. The series is arranged like a game, with activities to eliminate the singles from the resort, and yet no winners or losers will be named. (Unless you count the potential for the occasional broken heart, or mended relationship, in the win-or-lose category.)

Fox will not say how this unconventional love story ends, but the mere concept is enough to start the critics sputtering.

“The producers of Temptation Island should be ashamed of themselves for trying to force the destruction of four relationships for the entertainment purposes of those low-lifes who consent to watch this trash,” says Brent Bozell, founder of the Parents Television Council.