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FOX Digs 'Hole' in September, Buries 'Truth'

'Hole in the Wall' premieres on 9/11, 'Moment of Truth' held back for midseason

By Daniel Fienberg

August 7, 2008

'The Moment of Truth' host Mark Walberg
'The Moment of Truth' host Mark Walberg
FOX has pushed the next season of "The Moment of Truth" to midseason, making room for the premiere of "Hole in the Wall."

"Hole in the Wall," a transplanted formula that first hit on Japan's Fuji TV, will kick off on FOX on Thursday, Sept. 11 -- feel free to debate the appropriateness of the launch date -- in the 8 p.m. ET hour.

Hosted by Brook Burns and Mark Thompson, "Hole in the Wall" will attempt to capitalize on a format that has already been successfully transferred to Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Sweden and the U.K since its 2006 Japanese debut.

In "Hole," contestants stand at one end of a platform. Barrier walls move toward them. Each barrier wall has a segment cut out, sometimes a simple shape and sometimes a human form in various positions. Contestants simply have to pass through the holes in the wall. Sounds simple, right? It's a task that requires almost no effort if the hole is just a tall rectangle, but which can lead to jumps, ducking or more complicated contortion as the difficulty increases. If they fail, they end up pushed into a pool below for a humiliating splash.

Myriad clips are available on YouTube, if you're curious.

The team with the most points at the end of the competition will win $25,000 and the chance to face the "Blind Wall" for the opportunity to win an additional $100,000. We don't know what the Blind Wall is, but FOX tells us it's "dreaded."

"Moment of Truth" is now being held back for a midseason berth. The lie-detector reality series capitalized on "American Idol" and a variety of controversies to score strong ratings in its premiere last spring, but summer episodes haven't generated the same heat.

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