Isle of Ill Repute

The majority of Duke students who chose to watch men's basketball at 9pm on Wednesday night instead of Fox's new Temptation Island probably made the right decision. But while Temptation Island's success is far less assured than that of the Blue Devils this season, the show stands a fighting chance.

Temptation is reality TV Fox-style, which virtually assures that it operates on a morally reprehensible premise (see: Who Wants To Marry A Multi-Millionaire?, Greed). Temptation pushes the moral envelope even farther than those efforts-it isn't even a game anyone can win.

The concept: four couples are schlepped to an island resort off the coast of Belize, where they will live at opposite ends of the island for two weeks, surrounded by scads of gorgeous singles of the opposite sex. Along with placing the male and female dorms within stumbling distance of each other and providing romantic boat trips and gallons of free alcohol, the show also arranges "dates" between the temporarily-single folk and those sent there to tempt them. Their partners are later subjected to video tapes of these dates, along with the potential humiliation of watching their significant other having a hell of a better time seeing other people.

Otherwise, Temptation has no real twist. If the couples resist temptation, fine. If a swarthy single man steals another fella's woman, or a sly young vixen snags another girl's guy, they don't win a prize. The only enticement for the singles, presumably, is the satisfaction of finding out if you are cool enough to break up a long-term relationship. Given the lush setting and aforementioned gallons of free alcohol, that doesn't seem to be too tall a task.

The poor couples, rapidly discovering what they've gotten into, are in for some strife. The most intriguing-and hostile-couple, Ytossie and Taheed, are trying to face down Taheed's past cheating by putting him to the ultimate test. Given that the first episode ends with Ytossie bawling her eyes out at the whole mess, while Taheed hams it up with the ladies, they may get what they asked for. (In fact, they got less-news reports last night said that the couple were thrown off the island after producers discovered they already had a child together). The other relationships, while a bit less testy, grow increasingly uneasy as the game begins.

Temptation Island's first episode makes it difficult to tell how interesting the future will get. Most of the first sixty minutes was spent introducing the couples and their worthy adversaries. The tempting singles seem the more tantalizing end of the tale, with their array of unusual careers and interests (a rock singer, a massage therapist, a writer, a BMX enthusiast) contrasting with the couples' more typical fare. The singles also offer some incredible eye candy: The females include a former Playboy model, a Miss Georgia and a former Laker girl, while the men boast a model among their equally enticing crew.

The first show's tension came from its Survivor-style moment when the four spoken-for men and their mates had the opportunity to "vote off" the single deemed "most threatening." After tossing a guy who "looks like Sisqo," and a girl who, "had attitude," each of the partners was able to choose one person who could not go on a pre-arranged "date" with their partner. Predictably, everyone immediately gravitated to the forbidden fruit once turned loose.

While Temptation Island likely won't see much Emmy action, the show does put a surprisingly visceral twist on the concept of relationship drama. And while it blatantly panders the prurient, its action is no more unusual than any soap opera-and far less offensive than Fox's effort to debase the institution of marriage. Rather than contributing to some sort of apocalyptic moral decline in America, Temptation will likely be guilty of a more benign offense-burning out and being boring. For without the skin and coherent plot of a show like Sex and the City, watching couples hemming and hawing over their failing relationships just might not hold our interest long enough.