On now: Secret Millionaire in Detroit

**innercitydoc** · March-13-11, 07:32 PM

A San Diego real estate developer is spending the week living off of $50 in a run down neighborhood. Kudos for the producers showing the positive side of the city.

**Jimaz** · March-13-11, 09:34 PM

Got a link? Or a TV channel or a radio frequency? What's the point in starting a thread without directing readers to what you're talking about?

**maxx** · March-13-11, 09:41 PM

The rundown neighborhood is the positive side of the city???

Buy American · March-13-11, 10:18 PM

I think innercitydoc was being sarcastic with the producers. The show was on at 8pm on WXYZ. It showed the very worst of Detroit. It was on the Northeast side. I saw a sign with Alma Street on it and one of the people he spoke to referred to St. John Hospital in Detroit. The house this guy rented was the absolute pits.

**JTistle1** · March-13-11, 10:30 PM

I thought that the organizations they focused on were a positive part of the city

**davewindsor** · March-14-11, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by innercitydoc

A San Diego real estate developer is spending the week living off of $50 in a run down neighborhood. Kudos for the producers showing the positive side of the city.

I'd like to know how the Secret Millionaire is actually a secret? I thought they were going to use hidden cameras. They didn't. So, how real is this show? How does a guy spend a week living off of $50 with a camera crew following him around? Then, you have to get people to sign a waiver that allows them to show the footage on Secret Millionaire; otherwise, they've gotta put black circles hiding their faces. How can you sign a waiver and not know before you even speak that you're gonna be on this show? I wonder if some of the $110K he donated gets refunded to him as a tax credit by the State of Michigan.

**Goose** · March-14-11, 11:33 AM

The people that were the beneficiaries of the money were the positive part. The actual footage and description of the city was of course what the rest of world thinks of Detroit, crap.

I would assume that they told the participants some different story regarding the camera crew, and they probably didn't have to sign a waiver until after the secret was revealed.

**j to the jeremy** · March-14-11, 12:52 PM

I have to say I pretty much agree with Bill Maher regarding these kinds of shows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=g0EVLrIut5E

**innercitydoc** · March-14-11, 01:29 PM

Just to make Jimaz happy: http://abc.go.com/watch/secret-milli...D=google_sem_1

**Jimaz** · March-14-11, 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by innercitydoc

Just to make Jimaz happy: http://abc.go.com/watch/secret-milli...D=google_sem_1

A sincere thanks for that. It's important to state it up front though because many of us don't follow deliberately popularized mass media.

Hats off to millionaires with a heart!

Even more so to those who do this clandestinely

On second thought, Maher nailed it. I knew there must be some reason I loathe mass media.

**Marc** · March-14-11, 11:42 PM

I hope Dave Chappelle comes back from his farm and makes a parody of this...it's begging for it.

**rjk** · March-15-11, 06:59 AM

I've noticed that the local tv news stations are mimicking these type of shows with their feel good stories.
Last week after the big snow storm one of the leads on the local news was a five minute story about some guy who shoveled his neighbors sidewalk. They way they were patting this guy on the back you would have thought he was up for sainthood.

**R8RBOB** · March-15-11, 08:12 AM

Originally Posted by j to the jeremy

I have to say I pretty much agree with Bill Maher regarding these kinds of shows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=g0EVLrIut5E

Maher's final New Rule was on the money. I watched Undercover Boss just once from beginning to end and I hated it. Anyone who worked in any industry knows that the boss don't give a fuck about the workers. Their love is for the shareholders. That is why they can move thousands of jobs to China and India and Vietnam and not have a care about how their former workers are going to get by. I won't waste time with Secret Millionaire because they are using the poor for ratings.

**davewindsor** · March-15-11, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by Goose

I would assume that they told the participants some different story regarding the camera crew, and they probably didn't have to sign a waiver until after the secret was revealed.

So what you're saying is that they lied about why the camera crew was there. Are you now saying that it's ok for a real estate guy to lie to achieve his goals?

A large chuck of the whole mess that triggered the multi-trillion dollar loan bailout was caused by people lying to get real estate loans. So, it's ok for this real estate guy to lie about his camera crew, right? The ends justifies the means? This real estate guy is quite the savior and this show is quite the role model for society, I guess.