DVD Review: The Best of Cheaters, Vol. 1

According to KRIS-TV website out of Corpus Christi, TX, four men employed by the reality show Cheaters, including host Joey Greco, director Hunter Carson and two security guards, have been indicted on charges of assault with bodily injury, unlawful restraint and hindering apprehension as a result of a confrontation between a woman and her estranged husband over her relationship with a Fort Worth police captain.

To see for yourself first-hand how the Cheaters’ crew operates in action, there is no better place to start than with The Best of Cheaters, Volume 1, a television series that provides a front row seat to the emotional carnage that results when a relationship, either gay and straight, ends due to betrayal and infidelity.

Cheaters, a successfully syndicated show since 2000, is the synthesis of two of the milestones of the reality show genre. It combines COPS and The Jerry Springer Show as philandering significant others are investigated and confronted by injured parties; all caught on camera for our sordid voyeuristic pleasure.

I can’t tell if the show's opening is serious or an attempt by the producers to conceal their exploitation of people’s misery for fun and profit. The show refers to itself as “inspirational chronicles of humankind.” It then goes on to state that the show is “dedicated to the faithful and presented to the false-hearted to encourage their renewal of temperance and virtue.” A noble sentiment to be sure, but there would be no show without the false-hearted, so whom are they kidding?

Each episode of Cheaters has the same series of events, beginning with an introduction from the client about their relationship. Then, the investigation begins with detectives trailing the loved ones and recording their activities. And you can be certain that there are always activities of an adulterous nature because a show entitled Faithful wouldn’t make for compelling television. Hidden cameras that the client has installed in their home record some of these activities, which are usually pornographic.

Once the case is made that the loved one has been cheating, the client is presented the information, which leads to the confrontation because "resignation" and "acceptance" also don’t make for compelling television. The client, the program’s host and a number of camera crews swoop in on the unsuspecting adulterer in different stages of transgression, anywhere from holding hands to coitus. The emotions fly as the client expresses pain and outrage, both verbally and at times physically, while the host voices moral outrage to the loved one and the paramour. Most times, the camera crews baffle the loved one, but there are a few cool customers who try to deny their shenanigans with an “are you going to believe your eyes or me” attitude.

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Article Author: El Bicho

This writer is a member of The Masked Movie Snobs, a collective that fights a never-ending battle against bad entertainment. Follow at twitter.com/ElBicho_MMS

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  • The Best of Cheaters, Vol. 1: Uncensored The Best of Cheaters, Vol. 1: Uncensored

    A client of the show suspects that his or her significant other is cheating and calls CHEATERS for help. The CHEATERS private investigators look into the matter with a camera crew in tow to capture all of the action. ...

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