'Wipeout' brings fall into focus
Posted: Thursday, May 28, 2009 7:00 AM by Kurt Schlosser
Filed Under:
TV, Web
With the passing of the Memorial Day holiday and the anointing of another "American Idol" champion, it's time to get down to the serious business of fall. I mean summer. I mean fall TV, in summer. Clearly put, "Wipeout" is back.
Last summer's surprise reality hit on ABC has returned for its second season of slips, trips, splashes and muddy mishaps. This isn't highbrow stuff. It's no glorified karaoke competition in front of 30 million viewers. They're not sending Rod Blagojevich's wife off to the jungle to eat bugs and no one's raising eight kids here. But it's entertaining summer fare and a welcome distraction from droughts, wildfires, hurricanes and sharks -- all of which will be terrorizing the nation come August.
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The big red balls on "Wipeout" are designed for one thing only -- check the name of the show for a clue.
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But for all the fun you can get out of watching contestants come crashing down on the many varied "Wipeout" obstacles, you still can't beat an unanticipated fall by an unsuspecting participant in that fall. For that kind of fun, forget reality TV and pass on those blooper shows of little kids being tripped by cats. Go to YouTube -- and sit down before you fall over laughing because these are my top five:
5.
Lady Falls Funny. This one looks like it hurt, and no I don't think it's funny to see people get (seriously) hurt. But the elaborate production involved in the stop-and-start slow motion video, coupled with a soundtrack, is worth a look.
4. Retarded Karate. I don't make the titles, and I'm pretty sure the only developmental handicap going on here is with anyone who doesn't laugh at this martial arts display.
3.
Grape Lady Falls. This one is a classic and unites the beauty of a news report with an accidental loss of footing. If you've had the wind knocked out of you, you probably sounded like this.
2. Indiana Diving Bloopers. Most blooper collections are pretty awful and are usually set to a Benny Hill soundtrack. And I normally avoid most diving mishap videos because I don't want to see someone smack the board with their head. Same goes for gymnastics -- neck falls are too scary to watch. But this video has everything that televised Olympic diving doesn't, and that's the horrible belly-smacking mistakes that happen when a turn falls half a rotation short.
1. Kelsey G. Oh, Frasier. Ouch! My hip hasn't felt the same since I found this video a couple years ago. I love Kelsey Grammer's voice, how it reminds me of the pompous ass on "Cheers" and how you couldn't script anything with a stunt man and get the same simple, painful pleasure as this clearly accidental stage misstep. It's all punctuated by a heavy Frasier sigh and an apology to the audience for his language. Sorry, that's funny.
