This brainchild of Mark Burnett and Jeff Probst, the executive producer and host of “Survivor,” is the latest spin on the bucket-list idea. The twist is that the person checking off things to do before he dies isn’t fictional (as in the film “The Bucket List”) or young and healthy (as in the MTV series “The Buried Life”). He’s actually dying.
The program — a CBS special on Thursday night that is also a pilot for a potential series — makes some nice things happen for Roger Childs, a 41-year-old from Broomfield, Colo., who has Lou Gehrig’s disease and has been told he has just a few years to live. Mr. Childs doesn’t actually make a list; that would remove the element of surprise. The producers make it for him and keep it secret, which means they can employ standard reality-show devices like cryptic clues (on ornate cards, as in “The Amazing Race”) and dramatic reveals.
To give the show some reason for existence beyond voyeurism and packaged catharsis, the notion of inspiring the audience is introduced: “Roger Childs is living for the moment,” says Mr. Probst, who serves as host. “By the end of tonight maybe you will be too.”
Because this idea can’t really be demonstrated on screen, it needs to be repeated frequently. Mr. Childs gives a speech to his assembled family and friends about pursuing their passions, after which Mr. Probst asks them to raise their hands if they will be “different tomorrow as a result of sharing this day with Roger.”
The life-changing adventures, in this case, look like a lot of fun for Mr. Childs and his family, though they’re somewhat tame viewing. Interested in outer space and at one time a budding pilot, Mr. Childs receives a tour of the Kennedy Space Center from the astronaut Buzz Aldrin, watches a space-shuttle launch and gets a ride in the back seat of a jet trainer, doing rolls while the soundtrack plays U2’s “Beautiful Day.” For the finale a college roommate he hasn’t seen in 20 years helps him ski down a slope at Telluride, Colo., to Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida.”
(If the show is picked up as a series, it’s a safe bet that the bucket-list items will continue to involve dramatic movement and opportunities for aerial photography and propulsive soundtrack music. If your last wishes involve time with the family or reading Tolstoy, don’t bother applying.)
If people do draw inspiration or a few honest tears from watching “Live for the Moment,” then no harm done. Of course most of us don’t have a production company willing to make the arrangements and foot the bill for our unfinished dreams, so the show’s lessons might be a little difficult to apply. And it seems like a Faustian bargain for Mr. Childs in any case: as happy as he appears to be during the filming, the fact remains that he and his family have spent a significant portion of his remaining time on earth dealing with a reality-television crew. Unless getting on television was his greatest wish all along.
Live for the Moment
CBS, Thursday night at 8, Eastern and Pacific times; 7, Central time.
Jeff Probst and Mark Burnett, executive producers; Mr. Probst, host. Produced by Jeff Probst Inc. and Mark Burnett Productions.
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