Reality TV, for better or worse?

Mr. Rockwell picked Ms. Conger from a field of 50 women who posed and answered questions during Fox's latest twist on reality television - Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?

Riveting in a horrifying sort of way, Tuesday's two-hour broadcast from the Las Vegas Hilton made one wonder: Have women become this desperate or cynical? Why can't a multimillionaire find his own wife? Who thinks up this stuff?

Only the last inquiry has a solid answer: Mike Darnell, the clever man behind Fox's animal-attacking, police-chasing specials. Mr. Darnell has said he was inspired by the highly popular ABC game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and wanted to extend its premise of wish fulfillment.

What he came up with was an undeniably entertaining, at moments even touching program. It was also grossly sexist - and sad.

The women - who were narrowed to 10 semifinalists, then five finalists before Mr. Rockwell, a 42-year-old real-estate developer, proposed to Ms. Conger, a 34-year-old emergency-room nurse - did not get to see him or learn anything about him, other than his wealth, until a few minutes before he chose.

Meanwhile, his identity a secret, he got to look them over in bathing suits and watch them get grilled during two question-and-answer sessions that seemed designed, at least in part, to measure how compliant they would be. What would they do if they found another woman's phone number in his pocket? What would they tell him if he asked about past relationships?

His friends and family members also got to vote, on a scale of one to 10, on how they liked each answer.

One of the finalists was Shanti M. Williams, a 20-year-old college student who grew up in Carrollton and Denton, and now lives in San Diego. In a phone interview Wednesday, she said she wasn't bothered by the format.

"I don't think it could have turned out better," she said. "There really was nothing to lose. They paid for everything, and I got to meet a great group of girls."

But what if . . .?

Ms. Williams said she believes in fate. Mr. Rockwell turned out to be not for her. In any case, she said, an agreement signed by both parties includes the option of an uncontested annulment during the first year. As for the honeymoon - bride and groom have separate bedrooms, she said.

Still, during the televised wedding ceremony, Mr. Rockwell - by all appearances a normal multimillionaire - kept staring at Ms. Conger, who tried to stay locked on him, too, even as she shook. Then the weirdest part happened.

"The rings you are about to exchange represent your love," said the Nevada judge performing the ceremony. "The giving and receiving of these rings show everyone your commitment and your trust in one another. . . . Only you can let it fade away."

Huh? These people don't even know each other's shoe size. Nevertheless, they're on their honeymoon in an undisclosed location out of the country, and Fox is fielding a lot of press calls.

Was there a prenuptial agreement? Yep. A "health" screening? Yep.

And the bottom line? The show, which will be repeated in a one-hour version Tuesday, drew an audience that steadily grew to 22.8 million in its last half-hour, not quite the numbers for that other Millionaire but highly respectable for Fox.

Not that the same thing can be said for the show itself.

U Related editorial.30A

Carin Baer/Fox

AT FIRST SIGHT: Darva Conger and Rick Rockwell met and married Tuesday on Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?