"Primetime: What Would You Do"
Airs Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at 10:00 p.m. on ABC7
abcnews.go.com/whatwouldyoudo
When people see a situation that cries out for action, do they step in, back away or just walk by?
What if you witnessed two well-dressed women stealing from an open house? What if a obviously confused elderly man was about to get behind the wheel of a car? What if you noticed wedding crashers at a relative or friend's special day? Using hidden cameras, "Primetime: What Would You Do?" sets up everyday scenarios and then captures people's reactions. Whether people are compelled to act or mind their own business, John Quiñones reports on their split-second -and often surprising-decision-making process on "Primetime: What Would You Do?"
Often people speculate on how they might act in a difficult situation, but this series shows what they actually do in the face of everyday dilemmas that test their character and values. Tuesday's scenarios include:
OPEN HOUSE THEFT: Two well-dressed women show up at an open house to see a 1.4 million dollar home for sale and are soon stealing everything in sight. Will other visitors to the open house notice and say or do anything? And will the response be different if the thief is black or a man?
ELDERLY DRIVER: Drivers over 70 years old have the second highest fatality rate per mile, only after people under age 25. When confronted by an obviously senile, confused man who wanted to get behind the wheel, would strangers take away his keys or help him move out into traffic? And would more people intervene if two 10-year-old granddaughters were also getting in the car?
WEDDING CRASHERS: A real bride and groom, who are working with "What Would You Do," want to see how their wedding guests respond when they discover two men have "crashed" their wedding. Will their guests throw the crashers out or welcome the dashing duo with open arms? There's a job opening at your company and your friend asks you to forward his resume to your boss. You notice that he's lied on his resume about his previous job experience. This week's interactive scenario asks viewers: "What Would You Do?"
"What Would You Do?" has won awards from the Chicago International Television Festival, and the Avon Foundation's 2006 Voice of Change award for exposing "injustice and wrongdoing against women and bringing the message of domestic violence to the mainstream." The foundation called the program "an important work of journalism that illustrates the unwillingness of many people to become involved or speak out against domestic violence."
