I really enjoyed it.

I'm very adamantly against reality television, but I'm a fan of the Rock and the "Fear Factor"-like quality of the show appealed to me. I decided to marathon all 8 episodes today, and was really surprised at how involving and engaging it was. Yes, at some moments it feels very manipulated and "Hollywood"-esque, but I'm glad I stuck with it. I thought Patty was very deserving of the title and enjoyed watching her journey throughout. Of course, Charles is probably the biggest hero of them all, and it's sad that he didn't get any cut of the pot (but damn, with a wife like that, he's a winner in my eyes). I'm also really surprised that Marty made it to the final five, but I'm glad that Patty won by a landslide.

A lot of people here seem to be pissed about the winner, but the show wasn't all about physical challenges, and I respect the fact that the contestants essentially dictated their fates directly through their actions. Then again, the most likely guy to win -- Dr. Dave -- played pretty selflessly and close to the vest and ended up losing. Charles sacrificed himself, when it was likely Marty would have easily gotten eliminated in the final round. Marty was the most gung-ho of them all, but he was also a selfish ass and primarily focused on himself. Darnell played very smartly, but at least he got his share ($50,000) and was very direct about his motivations. Of the final five, Patty was definitely the dark horse and unlikely favorite, and also the single person who changed the most throughout the series -- of course, the producers probably knew this would happen when they chose her as the "wild card" of all the contestants. At any rate, manipulated or not, I found the whole thing very entertaining.