SBS has scored big with the Chinese dating show 'If You Are the One'. It's a cracker of a show that espouses more relationship wisdom than all the American self-help TV programs combined.
In a nutshell (Chinese Gingko for the sake of this review) we have 24 girls behind 24 modules, each one with a buzzer.
On the other side of the set, the host, Meng Fei, welcomes us warmly with wit as sharp and shiny as his stunning bald head, as the first male candidate comes shooting down a futuristic elevator.
The live TV audience goes "WOOooooOOOooooo!"
We see the guy's shoes and pants legs and then we cut to ads.
Damn SBS, you're such a tease.
Ads are over and we cut back to the Star Trek vertical transporter and the rapidly descending dream (hopefully but usually not) dude. And bang - there he is stepping onto the catwalk, making his way to Mr Fei.
And in the seconds it takes him to reach the charming host, the 24 Chinese girls behind their glowing soapboxes have stripped away the guy's thin exterior and reached deep into his soul. They have glimpsed at his fears - his strengths, weaknesses, flaws and passions.
So if the fellow shuffles. If his shirt's un-tucked. If he happens to resemble a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
Well, he's going to hear about it.
And a bunch of big loud red buzzers will go off at once. Only men with the lightning-fast moves of a Kung Fu Master can defend themselves against a red buzzer blitz.
But the girls are almost always right. Could be their PhDs in advanced human behaviour. Whatever it is, they know these guys, and they are going to tell them straight.
Girls lean over their neon pulpits like stunning leggy Oriental priestesses, and drop bombs like: "I think you are like a Russian Babushka doll -- all the smiling and laughing hides your pain and suffering deep down inside!"
Another Amazonian former rower exclaims: "I think I may be better than you."
The guys agree and sincerely thank the girls for their crippling critiques.
Usually the guys are even tougher on themselves. During their three get-to-know-me video clips they progressively point out their flaws, each one worse than the previous.
"I have never had a real relationship," is common. "I fell in love with the girl next to me in high school chemistry class - I finally declared my love 10 years later when I saw her at the mall. She did not know who I was."
"My passion is collecting cicadas," says one male contestant, pushing his glasses up as they slide down his nose.
Incredibly girl number four replies: "This is my passion too."
She continues: "I find your protruding teeth lovely."
These girls are tough, but they also choose guys that wouldn't get a look in the West - passion, worth ethics and family values often trump good looks and charm.
Despite, or because of, his 'prominent incisors' number four has not pressed her red buzzer.
The geek chooses this beauty...
The audience goes "WOOooooOOOooooo!"
And they leave hand-in-hand with a pair of souvenir ladies fashion shoes, a trip to the Aegean sea, and maybe a wonderful life together collecting insects.
Does it get any sweeter?
They actually say this on the show.