Jack/Nancy/Michael/Marline/John
- July 17
Imagine being locked in a room with four other
strangers, your life practically on trial as you are entered in a contest for
$25,000, simply for being yourself, in the most unique game show in the world.
This is the premise of GSN's latest original series, "Without Prejudice?"
But this promises to be anything but easy as the
factors that divide us - and the jury - are put to the test. Another important
thing to remember is that it is not about who needs the money the most. In fact,
the one question that is taboo is "What are you going to use the money for?"
Round 1: FIRST IMPRESSIONS
As Dr. Ludwig says, psychologists say that you
make your first judgment of a person within 15 seconds of meeting them. The
panel will meet tonight's players... and then get rid of one of them. Tonight's
players...
Jack Bennis; 25; West Hills, CA
Nancy Heinbock; 74; Oklahoma City
Michael Graham; 27; Fort Worth, TX
Marline Gonzalez; 36; Encino, CA
John Jennings: 38; Calabasas, CA
The panel judging them: Julie-Christie Neal, R.
Jay Fullmer, JJ Snyder, Dave Boulanger, and David Rhodes.
Julie-Christie believes that Marline is doing
well for herself, whilst R. Jay thinks that a) Marline could do well for
herself, and b) Nancy is "one foot in the grave". JJ thinks John is creepy. Dave
likes Jack (he can relate to his age, both being young guys). Julie-Christie
didn't get anything from Michael. Then R. Jay drops the bombshell you've been
hearing about so often...
"I don't like Michael. He's a native Texan, and
being from Texas I have to support that, but I don't like him on the fact that
he's black." He doesn't like them based on his experience, with them "thinking
the world owes them something." He's opposed to affirmative action, BET, and the
NAACP.
This coming from a Polynesian. This brings out a
reaction from David, the only other black person in the room, calling R. Jay
"out of his mind", "ill-informed", and "an idiot." R. Jay tells him to get a
grip? WHA?!
Enough of that, let's get to the first vote.
Dave: JOHN
David: JACK
Julie-Christie: JOHN
R. Jay: JACK
JJ: JOHN
So based on first impressions, John is the first
person to be eliminated, 3-2. He saw it was coming. "I'm too damned good
looking." He doesn't contend with being creepy-looking. He goes from being
well-off to poor in a matter of seconds on a day-to-day basis. He helps people
out as a real-estate investor, and the money would've been "more working
capital."
Round 2: BACKGROUND & EDUCATION
Nancy was born in Oklahoma City to a grocery
family. Her sisters were twins. Her father started drinking on account of work
and became an alcoholic. They never had spare money. She believes she had a good
childhood, still.
Michael was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. His
mom was still in high school. His father was never around. He has two
half-brothers and one half-sister. He never got into drugs. Instead, he was top
of his high-school class. His father died when he was 11, killed in a drug shoot
out. Michael decided to drop out of college and went to a Bible institute.
Marline was born in Cari, Colombia. Her parents
were separated. Mother moved to the US for work, and after her grandmother died,
she emigrated to the US illegally. She wanted to go to high school. "Those three
years were going to make my life."
Jack was born in Shreveport, LA, raised in
Houston. His father was a mechanical designer and mother was a secretary. He was
known as "the guy who was always in trouble." He butted heads with his father
growing up. Father wanted him to focus on school only, no girlfriends and no
other friends. He was always pranking due to his rebellious nature.
Julie-Christie thinks that Jack is hiding
something by the way he's talking. Dave suggests that he's on Xanax. JJ thinks
that he's grounded. R. Jay likes Michael making it through his "sob story". Dave
says that it's not so much a sob story. JJ thinks that they've all overcome
adversity to some extent, although Nancy is content with her life right now.
Round 3: WORK & PERSONAL LIVES
Nancy met her first husband on the police force.
They were divorced after 23 years. Nancy calls their courtship immature. Then
she met her second husband and after three months, got married again. He too was
a law enforcer. History repeats. Nancy, as a result, went into a depression. Her
income: $24,000 a year on retirement.
Michael graduated and traveled the world, asking
God to send him to "the people that everyone forget about". He also has a good
eye for fashion, hoping to open a boutique to fund his ministry. His income:
$19,000 a year.
Marline wanted to help her family members become
citizens of the US. She gave birth to her son Justin when she was 22. Her
income: $56,000 a year.
Jack is a former Marine, joining to get away from
his father. He was one of the first to cross the border from Kuwait to Iraq in
March of 2003. He was there when Saddam's statue fell. Meanwhile, one of his
mates jokingly suggested that Jack should get into the adult film industry. He's
done so for 2 1/2 years, having done between 600 and 700 scenes. His income:
$180,000 a year.
Turns out that Jack DID have something to hide.
Jack Junior. JJ thinks that Jack is misled, heading for an unhealthy path. Which
is a different feeling once you hear that he's a Marine. David says that there
are things that you should say, and there are things that you shouldn't say.
Dave and R. Jay don't see him being in porn as a problem. R. Jay sees Nancy
being a "total bee-yotch", going through so many men. Julie-Christie thinks that
either Nancy or Michael... could be gay. Dave likes Michael. David calls Michael
a doofus hipster.
Now to vote again...
Dave: NANCY
David: JACK. "Porn destroys lives, and I'm not going to support that."
Julie-Christie: JACK
R. Jay: NANCY
JJ: JACK
Sure enough, being in the porn industry turns out
to be a downfall for Jack. "The panel is missing out. It's a nice life in the
adult industry. Big boobies. Good times. Travel. Sex." He would've used the
money for... well, good times and fast times in a limo. Good choice in the
panel.
Round 4: BELIEFS. All three are quizzed on
three subjects.
|
Sex & Violence
in the Media |
Job
Outsourcing |
Right to Bear
Arms |
Nancy |
Too much sex doesn't set the
right example for our children. |
Who in the US is going to buy
that product that doesn't have that job? |
For their own protection. |
Marline |
Too much exposed to our kids;
confusing our teenagers. |
Unfair; they still work hard,
deserve more |
For their own protection. |
Michael |
WAY too much sex & violence in
the media; people running the show are glorifying negativity. |
Corporate greed; manufacturing
warehouses. |
Everyone shouldn't have the
right to own guns; "I've seen what guns can do." |
Julie-Christie has a problem with Michael. She
knows his father was shot, but he could've easily been stabbed or lit on fire.
"You need to blame pencils for misspelled words and matches for arson." Dave
agrees, but people shouldn't be buying guns just so. He thinks that there should
be documentation. R. Jay says that a drunk driving a car can be a deadly weapon.
David thinks Michael is wrong. He's getting uncomfortable with his
"victimization". JJ agrees with Michael. If people have the tendency to be
violent, why are we enabling people to do that? "This isn't the Wild West, you
guys." The rest of the panel lash out. David says that he wants to even the
playing field.
Dr. Ludwig then asks the panel if the incident at
Virginia Tech wouldn't have happened were it not for the ability of firearms. JJ
can't say whether or not it would've happened.
Round 5: BEHAVIOR. This round is aided and
abetted by secret footage filmed with a production assistant they thought was
another contestant. The fake contestant is given too much money in their
expenses and we see how the real contestant acts when they think no one else is
watching.
"Sheila" was credited for $226, but she was given
$441, making it known that she's going to keep the difference.
Nancy tells the fake PA about the incident,
giving "Sheila" the benefit of the doubt. Michael calls up someone, obviously
confused about what he's going to do next. He too tells the fake PA of the extra
bills. Marline follows the same recourse that Michael does.
David tells of Michael & Marline's cell phone
issues. Dave thinks that they might be trying NOT to sabotage their opponents.
R. Jay thinks that calling up his friend is petty. NONE of them, meanwhile, said
that you shouldn't take it. Nancy, meanwhile, gives her the benefit of the
doubt. JJ doesn't have any problem with the cell phones. Michael was clear in
the fact that it wasn't right.
Time for another vote.
Dave: NANCY
David: MARLINE
Julie-Christie: MARLINE
R. Jay: MICHAEL
JJ: MARLINE
So Marline is the third person denied the cash.
It was a tough decision, but in the end, the panel had a hard time connecting
with her. She became very defensive in coming to the US. She would've invested
it into her real-estate business and supported her family.
Final Round: THE INTERVIEW. Again, any
question is fair game save for the question of what the money is going toward.
Nancy is first. R. Jay wants to know how she
views relationships. "I don't believe in cheating. I'm a one-man-woman." Dave
wants to know what she learned from her marriages. "I think that I would
probably been more sexually responsive to my husband. I think that me being kind
of innocent about these things didn't really realize how it important was it to
a man." Julie-Christie wonders if she's... well, you know... "Honey, sometimes,
I'm not even happy." And her health, R. Jay? Just fine. "I feel blessed to be
out there and meet all these people. I've had a very good life."
Michael is next. R. Jay opens the floor. He
brings up the fact that he was racist, but he wants to give him the benefit of
the doubt. He thought that the phone call was petty. He wants to know about his
outside influences. "My mother. She's been strong. She's been the same solid
person from when I can remember to today. She does not budge from her decision.
She will be strength for people." Julie-Christie asks him about gun control.
"They're not just for criminals." Michael: "I've never shot a gun. I've seen
what guns have done to my friends. Do I know everything? No, but for me, Guns
have been a tough thing to deal with." And homosexuality? "I know a lot of
people who are homosexuals. I'm not." Dave's question to R. Jay about how he
feels on his prejudice... "That's your opinion. But I did the benefit of the
doubt. I think he does good things." Michael's response: he thinks this
experience was pretty cool. "You don't have to judge a book by its color."
Julie-Christie and JJ both like Nancy. She's not
perfect, but she's lived a good life. David loves Nancy, but won't vote for her.
Now the final decision. Remember, the panel is
now voting for a winner. The verdict...
Dave: MICHAEL
David: MICHAEL
Julie-Christie: NANCY
R. Jay: "It's gonna be the shocker of the day. I voted for MICHAEL."
JJ: "I adored Nancy... but I voted for MICHAEL."
By a 4-1 vote, Michael wins $25,000... But first,
let's bring Nancy back. She would've chosen Michael as well. He deserved it.
What would Nancy have done with the money? She would've gotten a new car for
herself to give her car to her grandson. She also wanted to get a friend's teeth
fixed.
And now, Michael is told that he has won. He's
also told that R. Jay voted for him to win. "We need to help you with the
wardrobe as well." The final question, what is Michael going to do with the
money? He's going to buy a camera for his kids in Colombia AND raise a roof at
the orphanage. "There's gonna be a lot of kids who are going to be taken care of
because of this."
I believe the panel is pleased with this
decision.
So in the end, it was Michael Graham, a
27-year-old evangelist/fashion designer, who got the cash. That was "Without
Prejudice." Next time, five more people compete for $25,000 just for being
themselves.
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