Strangers on the Air, Exchanging Vows

I am totally in agreement with Brian Lowry regarding “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?” (“Women: As They Roar . . . or Choose Richer Over Poorer,” Feb. 15).

This is just another example of how the tabloids are taking over all forms of entertainment. We’ve gone backward to the turn of the last century, when freak shows were all the rage. It’s a shame that modern-day television executives feel that they have to cater to the lowest common denominator.

It’s humorous in a twisted way, but how sad do these women’s lives have to be for them to be willing to marry a total stranger?

JOE McGAHA

Upland

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On “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?,” a man chose his bride from 50 women in a beauty pageant format. She wanted his money; he wanted a trophy; neither of them ever met each other before. The judge who officiated proclaimed the union was based on the love and trust they developed (I guess in the 90 seconds in between their meeting and the wedding).

After all this, I hope people think carefully about the proponents of Proposition 22, because they are trying to protect the sanctity of marriage from gay people who have been together for 30 years.

JEFFREY CABOT MYERS

Los Angeles

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The Fox travesty seems to denigrate the institution of marriage more than any gay couple ever could. Maybe Sen. Pete Knight could start a proposition against trashy shows like this rather than one that attacks two people who truly love each other.

CHRISTIAN F. HOKENSON

Burbank

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How silly is it to have on the ballot a proposition to outlaw same-sex marriages in California when we broadcast TV shows like “Multi-Millionaire” as a glittering example of the “sanctity” of heterosexual marriage? Count me as one more vote against the initiative.

BOB LOZA

Burbank

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I find it odd that Lowry is suddenly so offended by a program like “Multi-Millionaire,” calling its love-at-first-sight premise “cracked” and “irresponsible.”

Where was his outrage following the pilot episode of “Dharma & Greg,” where the strangers-turned-couple do precisely the same thing? I guess getting married on a moment’s notice is romantic when it’s fiction--but when it’s reality, it turns “callous.”

JONATHAN BOURNE

Santa Monica

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The show was billed as “the most-watched wedding since Charles and Diana,” but I was reminded of what a grim marriage, ending in divorce and spectacle, that turned out to be.

DOUGLAS WRIGHT

Los Angeles

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I think Fox’s new show needs a new title. How about “Gold Diggers”? Better yet, what do we call a woman who sells herself for money? I guess programming has finally hit rock bottom.

CHRIS THATCHER

Santa Monica