Oprah's Big Give is an upcoming ABC reality series (set to premiere on March 2 at 9pm) that will see ten contestants giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars across the country to strangers in creative ways.  Oprah's Big Give is being brought to us by   Today, ABC announced who will be judging these acts of charity (it is a reality elimination series, after all) – The Naked Chef Jamie Oliver, NFL Tight End Tony Gonzalez and Malaak Compton-Rock, wife of comic Chris Rock.  Each of the judges are known for their charitable efforts and have therefore been deemed the perfect judges for Oprah.  Ms. Winfrey herself will not appear in all episodes, but will make an appearance here and there. 

Charity is good.  No one is disputing this.  However, I think the notion of judging acts of charity isn't exactly going to sit right with a lot of people.  Doesn't giving away money creatively pale in comparison to giving away money effectively?  Teams will help out “unsuspecting strangers” with acts of charity and though there's nothing wrong with that at the core, I'm not sure that having a network make money off a show about charity is helpful.  Oprah does great things all the time, and any charity is good charity, but isn't this just a step above televangelism? 

The premise of Oprah's Big Give, people traveling and thinking of creative ways to distribute money, is reminiscent of the Dave Eggers novel “You Shall Know Our Velocity,” in which two friends travel the world, giving away thousands of dollars to strangers in inventive ways.  What struck me about that book, and about its core notion, is that giving anonymously is almost certainly more personally rewarding than taking credit for such acts.  The contrivance of surprising strangers with charity in front of TV cameras so Oprah and Disney can make advertising revenue feels a bit wrong.  But, that just might be me.

-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: TV Guide
(Image Courtesy of ABC)