I didn't expect last week's premiere episode of Shaq's Big Challenge to be compelling or inspirational or to make me tear up. But my husband is a personal trainer and intent on watching to see how the fitness experts interacted with the kids and on a weekly basis, we nurture a very serious reality TV co-dependency, so we tuned in. I was surprised and pleased, even in the painful interviews with the teenage and 'tweenage participants and upsetting shots of them exhausted after four minutes on a treadmill, to see how well the show handled the issue of childhood obesity and how Shaquille O'Neal invested himself in the process to get these kids healthy.
The show centers on Shaq's intent to halt childhood obesity in this country, a very big task even for a much-celebrated basketball star with an impressive team of doctors and trainers and behind-the-scene movers and shakers surrounding him. The main players, though, are the six children who have been diagnosed by doctors as "morbidly obese" and who, with Shaq's motivation and the team's expert input, have committed to getting healthy through diet, exercise and teamwork. Shaq is a force of compassion and empowerment and intimidation unto himself. He is straight-forward and funny and caring with the kids and it all seems very genuine, which is what you'd hope for but sadly not expect from a reality show host.
There was a moment in last week's episode when an immature kid - a kid who plays video games all day and who's 285 pounds only add to his severe self-esteem issues -- is the last one left on a track during a run. Shaq sees how he's barely making it and tells the camera that he knows this is a kid who has felt defeated and alone his whole life. And then he does something brilliant. He send the other kids to run behind the boy, even though they are done and sweaty and wiped out. As they all head toward the finish line, the parents are cheering from the stands and the kids are jogging in a pack together and the boy is beaming. That's when I lost it and that's why I'll be tuning in tonight for the second episode. Will you be tuning in for show #2, too?
