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Newsweek, May, 2001 by Johnnie L. Roberts

"The Runner" seems to fit the times. In the new ABC reality show, hidden cameras follow a "runner" (though the whole trip isn't made on foot) as he or she travels across America. While viewers try to track the runner down, he or she must accomplish certain "missions," going to a fast-food joint in a specific state, for example, and ordering a cheeseburger. Each week viewers can pick up clues about the runner's whereabouts on the prime-time show, or on the official "Runner" Web site. Catch the runner and win as much as $1 million. If the runner makes it across the country undetected in 28 days, he collects the money.

OK, it's not the "The Sopranos." But when "The Runner" debuts in the fall, it will be groundbreaking in its own way. In airing the new series, which was created...

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