stunts
TV 101: "Save Our Show" Stunts Are Dumb
Recently, fans of NBC's 'Chuck' decided to stage flash mobs as a way to raise awareness about a show that seems to spend 99% of its time on the cusp of cancellation.There are two things wrong with doing this. The first is that the solution to the ratings issues 'Chuck' has is obvious (and one that I've written to NBC about several times). California State Law prohibits me from outlining here exactly what my idea is, but just know that it involves Yvonne Strahovski, a string bikini, and several gallons of apple butter.
My second problem with the flash mobs is far more complex and nuanced, but if I had to sum it up into a sentence, it would be this: anyone who participates in a stunt to try to get a show to remain on the air is dumb.
New Stunt, Prank Shows Coming to MTV

We heard yesterday that MTV is finally getting rid of the "music television" in their logo, because obviously it was just getting in the way of all of the other stuff. So what types of shows can we look forward to coming up on the network? More stunts and reality of course, according to Variety. One is 'Dudesons in America,' which will feature four guys from Finland who do wacky stunts and pranks. Yes, this is MTV and this involves probably pain to the participants, so Johnny Knoxville is one of the show's producers. (Side note: "Dudesons" is a fantastic name, isn't it?) An earlier 'Dudesons' series ran on Spike a few years ago.
The other show is 'MTV's Parkour Challenge,' which will feature talented athletes competing against each other in "urban sports': running up walls and in and out of buildings and jumping and what not.
Most audiences will know parkour from the opening scene of the James Bond movie 'Casino Royale,' where Bond chased the guy through the construction site.
What You Missed Last Night: Conan gets kicked in the chest
(Side note: TV Tattle wonders if Conan is having trouble getting guests since this is Ho's third appearance since June. Or maybe Conan just loves doing stunts.)
Wipeout renewed for a third season
As I've mentioned here before a few times, I'm a fan of Wipeout. It's silly and pretty much boils down to people getting hit by something and falling down into water or mud, but I'm a guy and sometimes I want to watch a show where somebody gets hit by something and falls into water or mud. A lot of other people like the summer show too, and now ABC has announced that the show has been renewed for a third season.
If you want to be on Wipeout, you have to sign a huge release
So I watched a repeat of the first episode of ABC's new game show Wipeout, and I'm not sure what to think of it. Like most American males, I like seeing people* fall from high, wet places and get punched in the face, but I'm not sure how many weeks I can watch the thing. I'm also not happy with the plugged-in comments from the hosts (John Henson and John Anderson) we have to listen to. For every really funny comment there are seven that make you groan. And I wonder if the show will just grow tired after a few weeks.
But there's no denying that there are some wild stunts here. Everytime someone goes sailing off that ramp in the dark or bounces on those giant balls and their body jackknifes and hits the water I'm thinking, these people could easily break their necks. Sure, Survivor has crazy challengs and Fear Factor had nutty stunts, but this stuff seems especially dangerous. And that's why ABC has them sign a 50 page release.
A preview of ABC's new stunt show WipeOut - VIDEO
Mahalo Daily took a trip to the gigantic set of ABC's new summer show. That day, they were testing the storm simulator. It costs $100,000 just to turn on. Mahalo Daily also talked to the casting director (for those of you who are interested in trying out for season two). The video is after the jump.
WipeOut premieres tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET / PT on ABC. Will you be tuning in?
Another network game show in the works
Count 'em off. There's Deal or No Deal and Show Me the Money. Identity starts on NBC next week. CBS is developing a kiddie genius quiz show and a revamp of Name That Tune. Howie's outing was no fluke. Game shows are back on network TV in a big way. The latest game show-related announcement comes from ABC. The network has teamed up with the Weakest Leak production team to translate Germany's Wetten das...? (Wanna Bet?) to US television. Wetten das...? has dominated German airwaves for two decades. The broadcast is part musical variety show and part game show. In the game show portion, a person says that they can do some wacky stunt. Celebrity guests than take bets on whether or not the person can actually accomplish the stunt. If the celebrity loses the bet, than he or she has do something equally wacky.
Steve-O God what is he doing on the red carpet?
I never watched Jackass when it was on television (is it still on?), so I had no interest in seeing it when it hit the big screen a few years ago. Now Jackass 2 is out, and the boys hit the red carpet the other night for the premiere. And Steve-O decided to turn the red carpet a little yellow while he was there.
Click this link to see Steve-O urinating on the red carpet. That's right, actually urinating. Reuters had the story, but they took down the pic that went with it. Luckily, Gawker has it. (Note: NSFW or anyplace else.)
David Blaine to hang from Brooklyn Bridge
That's going to be the magician's next stunt on ABC. He's going to hang 135 feet above the water from the Brooklyn Bridge for a long period of time.It was reported a few weeks ago that Blaine's next stunt would involve living with various dangerous animals in the jungle, but it looks like while that project is still in the works, it's going to be a documentary and not one of his stunts.
The NY Post piece above says that last week he was hanging from the bridge with suspension wires. But I'm still not sure what the stunt will be. Will he be hanging from suspension wires? If so, I'm not sure what the "stunt" aspect is. Or maybe he was just practicing and he'll be hanging from his hands or something?
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