Fox's Experimental Television

Like a lot of scientific experiments, "Temptation Island" is a mostly slow-moving, very expensive, very tedious attempt to gather data that will likely render few firm conclusions. The objective of the Fox network's study, now airing as the latest reality-TV venture on Wednesday nights, is to find out what happens when four unmarried couples are separated from their partners for two weeks.

Since we presumably know what couples do under normal circumstances--catch up on their reading and go out with old friends their significant others can't stand--Fox has huddled these parted lovers in the tropics to frolic with wily singles custom picked to be their "type." By betting on the demise of these relationships, the masterminds behind "Temptation Island" are presumably examining social Darwinism at work.

According to Dr. Helen Fisher, Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University and author of "Anatomy of Love: The Natural History of Monogamy, Adultery, and Divorce," we can view the premise of "Temptation Island" as an extreme version of the rules by which we all seek out the best possible mate. "It's natural to ask ourselves 'can I do better?'" says Fisher. "Even if we're not on an island, we all have the opportunity [to stray] all the time. We're mixing in the office, we're walking down the street. We're constantly lying in bed adding up the perquisites and drawbacks of our relationship. That's why we watch reality television. As we watch these other people struggling, it enables us to sort out of own feelings."

But even if we were babe- or hunk-alicious enough to parade for Fox's cameras in bikinis and front- and back-cleavage-revealing swim trunks 18 hours a day, would we really want to subject our own relationships to this cruel and unusual punishment? Dr. Fisher theorizes that love can be broken down into three categories: basic lust, the giddiness and euphoria of romantic attraction, and feelings of attachment and security. "But these three brain systems don't always interact," she says. "These couples have put themselves in a dangerous situation. All eight of these people feel attachment to their partner. But you can feel lust for someone while you're still feeling attraction for someone else. We're dealing with brain architecture that is the most primitive architecture we have."

As is its wont, Fox focuses narrowly on the lust category. Despite the show's occasional attempts to highlight moments of shrewd thinking--Shannon is impressed when her dates picks up the check at the cabana bar (does she really not realize Fox is paying for everything?)--none of these young people is engaged in anything more than what Fisher calls "short term reproductive strategies." If Fox were interested in Fisher's other elements of love, it would have presumably peppered its seducers with romantic poets, or at least investment bankers who would appeal to the women's hard-wired need for security.

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