Thursday, May 28, 2009

HouseTV: Wipeout Edition

I fought the urge to say "Big Balls Edition", accurate as it may be.

You know, I thought it might be a fluke last year when I took such immense joy in watching the TV show Wipeout. I figured that while I might still check it out now and then, it couldn't possibly be as much fun this season as it was last season. And then... I watched the premiere.

Holy crap. I don't know what primal urge this show taps into, but it most certainly does.



The reality/competition show is all about surviving a series of obstacle courses. But instead of taking the concept seriously (or faux seriously) like overseas hit Ninja Warrior, Wipeout relishes in the failure of its contestants. The course is designed for contestants to fall, stumble, and in some cases be launched into the air with hilarious results. In the end, two dozen competitors get weeded down to one winner, who walks away with the cash and most likely a series of bruises.

The key to the show may well lie in the editing and the bang up job of commentating done by hosts John Anderson and John Henson (with assists from Jill Wagner). Just see how they turn what would be a hilarious course run into a ridiculously hilarious course run:



But enough jibber-jabber. You can check out a rather informative article on the show over on the MSN website, check out the show's website on ABC.com (and watch the season 2 premiere there), and make sure to tune in and catch the show Wednesday night at 8PM on ABC.

(Note: For the net-impaired, ABC is apparently re-airing the premiere this Saturday at 8. Check it out then if you can.)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...
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HouseT said...

I love a good rant as much as the next person, but as I've stated before, I refuse to allow any comments that don't even pretend they referencing something in my post.

(With limited exceptions, of course.)