Emotion Rescues Reality Show

On weekdays, the 3 p.m. time slot has carved out a well-worn identity on the TV landscape. This is the domain of talk shows, local news programs and court squabble-fests. So what is a feel-good reality show about pivotal events in women’s lives doing here?

The producers of “Life Moments,” which debuted Monday on KNBC-TV Channel 4, are hoping the show will become a habit for daytime viewers looking for something a little different, a little uplifting. And although they stumble getting there on occasion, initial episodes of the show pull it off more often than not.

One of Monday’s four segments offered a perfect example of this qualified success. The story involved a single mother who has worked double shifts while saving for a down payment on a house that will enable her to finally move out of her grandparents’ home. But even as she grows excited about moving day, she frets that she doesn’t have any money left for furnishings.

Enter NFL star Jason Sehorn, whose foundation has secretly taken care of that detail and added $5,000 to her down payment to boot. So when the woman turns the key, she will see a house equipped with everything right down to the paper towels in the dispenser.

Yet when she gets to the house, Sehorn and the program’s staffers are all out front and, before she can walk through the door, they tell her what they have done and what she is about to see, which sort of kills the surprise element.

But when she finally walks through her newly furnished home, her tears and genuine gratitude manage to save the piece.

Other segments, including those about a woman who carries her sister’s implanted embryo to term and a 49-year-old woman who takes up tackle football, are similarly marred by production missteps. But darned if you won’t find yourself choked up here and there nonetheless.