Can you handle Shaq's Big Challenge?

Since Kari doesn't have cable, sometimes I get sucked into her latest Network TV obsession. This past week, it was the debut of the new ABC show "Shaq's Big Challenge." The premise? Using skilled nutritionists and Shaq's, umm... Shaqness (I guess), six "morbidly obese" kids (all weighing somewhere between 180-220 lbs) aim to eat healthy, exercise, and as Shaq puts it, "save their own lives." I suppose it's the whole life-or-death thing that makes this a big challenge.

In the first ep, after Shaq personally visits each kid, he just sets up a gym and leaves to go do some press. The kids are left to their own devices. Obviously, as masters of their own training programs, they don't live up to Shaq's expectations. Shaq's personal trainer, whose biceps are bigger than his head, spies on the kids, then reports back to Shaq and basically tells him that the children are pathetic liars. Nice one, dude. Why don't you work on getting yourself back into proportion, OK?

Not so shockingly, this sets the scene for the next episode, where Shaq will likely start whipping the kids into shape using boot camp tactics. At the end, I felt a little sorry for these poor manipulated, overweight kids. I might even check in a few episodes later to see if they're making any progress...