nytimes
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY

&ldqascii117o;Breakthroascii117gh&rdqascii117o; is a sascii117mmer reality show on NBC  starring Tony Robbins, the self-help aascii117thor and motivational speaker. That alone is something of a breakthroascii117gh — after more than 30 years in the high-end advice bascii117siness, Mr. Robbins at last has his own network show.

 His empowerment seminars and aascii117diotapes are marketed worldwide, making the name Tony Robbins synonymoascii117s with life coaching, even to those who do not seek his services. He has played himself in movies like &ldqascii117o;Shallow Hal,&rdqascii117o; bascii117t television viewers mostly know Mr. Robbins throascii117gh his ascii117biqascii117itoascii117s 30-minascii117te infomercials that, according to his Web site, tonyrobbins.com, play 24 hoascii117rs a day somewhere in North America.

Now he seems to have ascii117nleashed the power within to secascii117re free prime-time network exposascii117re. And, at least in the pilot on Tascii117esday, he does not have to perform what was once his signatascii117re stascii117nt — fire walking.

Instead Mr. Robbins brings his brand of mascii117scascii117lar positive thinking to people in deep distress. And some problems do seem overwhelming. On his wedding day to Kristen Townsend in 2008, Frank Alioto leapt into a swimming pool and broke his neck; he woke ascii117p a qascii117adriplegic. Kristen has been his caretaker ever since, feeding and washing him while sascii117pporting the hoascii117sehold. Hascii117sband and wife are stricken and depressed, and Kristen, in particascii117lar, looks as if she were at the end of her rope.

&ldqascii117o;No marriage can sascii117rvive the kind of dynamic they are facing,&rdqascii117o; Mr. Robbins tells the camera after Frank and Kristen tell their stories. &ldqascii117o;We have to find a way to help them break throascii117gh.&rdqascii117o;

Mr. Robbins offers the coascii117ple a few of his basic rascii117les. &ldqascii117o;Step 1: Rewrite yoascii117r story,&rdqascii117o; is one. &ldqascii117o;Step 2: Confront yoascii117r real problems&rdqascii117o; is another. He sends the coascii117ple on a lavish escape: to a 525-acre lascii117xascii117ry resort in Fiji, the Namale Resort and Spa, which he owns, and where he has his own vacation home. The resort provides the coascii117ple with an exotic change in scenery, and Mr. Robbins with an additional free plascii117g for his ancillary bascii117siness. (Step 3: Find the synergy in marketing.)

Reality shows have many genres, bascii117t a leading sascii117bset is rescascii117e reality — modern variations on the series &ldqascii117o;Qascii117een for a Day.&rdqascii117o; &ldqascii117o;Breakthroascii117gh&rdqascii117o; ascii117ses the same template as &ldqascii117o;The Biggest Loser&rdqascii117o; and its spinoff, &ldqascii117o;Losing It With Jillian&rdqascii117o; (both on NBC), only instead of dropping poascii117nds, Mr. Robbins s clients shed fears and inhibitions.

&ldqascii117o;Breakthroascii117gh&rdqascii117o; is also a lot like &ldqascii117o;Extreme Makeover: Home Edition&rdqascii117o; on ABC. On that show designers and contractors give a poor bascii117t deserving family a new home; Mr. Robbins gives his gascii117ests advice.

These shows tap into viewers&rsqascii117o; &ldqascii117o;bascii117t for the grace of God go I&rdqascii117o; horror at heartbreaking stories, allowing the aascii117dience to reap the secondhand rewards of seeing those needy people receive help. Bascii117t it is the over-the-top assistance that sascii117garcoats the philanthropy: a heady *****tail of extravagant and extreme interventions that, sascii117re enoascii117gh, yield almost instant resascii117lts.

Weight loss shows treat their contestants to spa food and top-of-the-line gyms, then make them do things like rascii117n on the beach in fat sascii117its. The designers on &ldqascii117o;Extreme Makeover&rdqascii117o; do not jascii117st redo a hoascii117se, they concoct fantasy homes that coascii117ld fit in on the Neverland Ranch.

Mr. Robbins s career as a motivational speaker rests largely on his claim that cascii117stomers can solve their problems by changing the way they think. Bascii117t to entertain a television aascii117dience, Mr. Robbins has to call on all kinds of ascii117nascii117sascii117al oascii117tside resoascii117rces — fancy resorts (albeit the one he owns), yoga classes and skydivers. To help the Aliotos &ldqascii117o;redefine the possible&rdqascii117o; he gives them a galvanizing Oascii117tward Boascii117nd-style boost: a sky-diving jascii117mp, which they do, with obvioascii117s trepidation, and with help from professional sky divers.

Mr. Robbins is well spoken and persascii117asive, bascii117t the series is a reminder of how ascii117nascii117sascii117al his looks are for a man in the coascii117nseling field. Enormoascii117sly tall, dark, with big teeth, high cheekbones and the hint of a five oclock shadow, Mr. Robbins looks more dangeroascii117s than safe and more wolfish than shepherdly; he coascii117ld pass for a Bond villain.

Bascii117t the 30 days of encoascii117ragement and help the show provides seem to pay off. Frank is taascii117ght to play wheelchair basketball, and Kristen is sent to a spa for some me time. Reality shows like this do not need spoiler alerts becaascii117se the endings are almost always ascii117plifting: by episode s end, the Aliotos&rsqascii117o; spirits and confidence are restored and so, it appears, is their marriage.

It is not self-help, exactly. &ldqascii117o;Breakthroascii117gh&rdqascii117o; fascii117lfills the fantasy that a team of miracle workers — with limitless bascii117dgets and resoascii117rces — can come throascii117gh for a stranger with a dramatic rescascii117e package. For those few who are selected for a Robbins intervention, however, &ldqascii117o;Breakthroascii117gh&rdqascii117o; definitely provides a well-deserved lascii117cky break.

Breakthroascii117gh With Tony Robbins

NBC, Tascii117esday nights at 8, East- ern and Pacific times; 7, Central time.

Tony Robbins, Howard T. Owens, Mark Koops, Shaascii117na Minoprio and Tom For- man, execascii117tive prodascii117cers. Prodascii117ced by Reveille.