Reality-based television shows such as Fox’s “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?” are all the rage among some viewers, but others question how appropriate the programming is.

“Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?” aired Feb. 15 and featured a group of women contending for the chance to marry supposed-millionaire Rick Rockwell, whom they had never met before.

According to Newsweek magazine, 23 million viewers tuned in to the show, which featured “‘Dating Game’-style questions” posed to the 50 contestants and a brief swimsuit competition.

Rockwell chose Darva Conger, a 34-year-old emergency-room nurse, as his bride. They were married on the show, went on a chaperoned honeymoon and split up a few days later, creating much media hype and criticism.

Stephen Coon, associate professor of journalism and mass communication, said he thinks Fox made a mistake by airing the show, but he can understand why the network did it.

“I understand the philosophy behind what Fox was trying to do. They wanted to set themselves apart from the traditional networks,” he said.

Coon also said the high ratings “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?” received “shows that there is an audience out there for that type of programming.”

Gary Wells, distinguished professor of psychology, also said he thought Fox showed poor taste with “Multimillionaire.”

“It probably insulted a lot of people with regard to their views on the institution of marriage,” he said. “We’re striving as a culture to figure out why we have such high divorce rates, and the show depicted this type of marriage as an acceptable way to go.”

Wells, however, is unsure if the high ratings indicate anything about American society.

“I don’t necessarily think it says anything about our society, but it does say something about human nature,” he said. “People can be disgusted by things they can’t turn away from. I don’t think we should assume that because people tune in, they approve of it.”

Scott Myers, assistant professor of sociology, offered a different take on the show.

“I don’t think they went too far putting that on TV. The context for this show is 21st-century America, where the value of marriage has been diminished,” he said.

Part of the original contract Fox had for the show stated that “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?” would be re-aired at a later date. If asked to advise the network on whether to re-air the show, Coon said he would advise the network against airing it again.

Myers said he would tell Fox to re-air the show but also to “devote some time at the beginning of the show to a panel discussion and information session, where you discuss the realities of the show and what it means.”

All three professors said setting boundaries for what types of shows can be aired on television is unnecessary.

“I’m pretty much one who believes the marketplace should dictate what type of shows are on TV,” Coon said. “You should be able to decide for yourself whether you want to watch shows like that.”

Kelly Sailer, freshman in agricultural studies, agreed that Fox should not rebroadcast “Multimillionaire.”

“I would say no because I think it was more of a joke than anything else,” she said. “It made marriage a joke.”

Jamie Weeden, freshman in elementary education, said she was concerned about children seeing programming such as “Multimillionaire.” “Some shows like this are unnecessary with what they show in them,” she said.

Wells, however, offered some optimism about shows such as “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?”

“Sometimes bad events, and I consider this to be a bad event, lead people to do better things, oddly enough,” he said. “Maybe there’s an upside to this, if it makes people talk about the issues surrounding it.”