The Foolanthropist

I was sucked in on Wed night by the promise of what turned out to be one of the most least thought out asinine TV pilots I have ever seen.  The Philanthropist's premise is a billionaire who in the midst of a Nigerian hurricane has a crisis of conscience when he has a chance encounter with a little boy that reminds him of his late son.  This brief revelation disengages him from his glitzy and glamorous billionaire Richard Bransonesque lifestyle.  Upon returning to the US he once again traipses off to Nigeria in search of the town that the nameless boy said he was from.  Along the way meets a relief worker who is trying to transport vaccines to a remote village that is near the village he is trying to reach.  However, the vaccines are stuck in a corrupt customs lock up.  Promising to deliver the vaccines to a village our "hero" manages to buy off enough people, get himself arrested, solicit the help of a local drug kingpin, and get into a run-in with the DEA.  All this is before the real "action" starts, which is when after finding himself in the thick of the jungle the Foolanthropist manages to travel 25 kilometers by motorbike, without shoes, without food/water, and without any form of direction.  I'm not sure what is more absurd that the producers thought that they could convince their audience that he got through heavy jungle without food or map OR that I was part of the audience that was thought to buy into this premise. 

Anyways forgetting all the glaringly obvious coincidences and luck that the "hero" had I still have a major overarching problem with this show.  It reiterates the theory that if you have limitless capital and no heart you can do wonders in the world.  It is not that easy.  Sure money does take care of many of the problems and if you are a billionaire you can remove many obstacles.  What about the real heroes of the story?  The aid worker who was there long before the "hero" and will be there long after he leaves.  The best part of the whole show was a monologue that the aid worker has where she tells off the "hero" for thinking that he can come in there with all his money, do a little bit of good to ease his conscience, and then go back to the US and tell his friends what amazing things he did.  Unfortunately that little tidbit was probably missed by most of the audience as they were probably caught up in the adventure of the whole show.  I'm sure the same argument could be made about many of us who travel to do service work in India or other areas, but the major difference is that when we go the only things we have to offer is our compassion, our smiles, our dedication, and our hardwork.