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Wipeout

FiGuRe

17-1

"Wipeout"

"Wipeout" is an American game show series in which contestants compete in what is billed as
the "world's largest extreme obstacle course." The show is taped at the Golden Oak Ranch in
Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, California, 40 miles north of Los Angeles. There are two ways
that you can become one of the 24 contestants competing in each episode. For more details,
visit the ABC Web site and look up "Wipeout" for each option.

Once all contestants are chosen, the games begin. During an episode, contestants compete

through four rounds of competition until a fi nal winner is crowned "Wipeout Champion." Some
new qualifi er stunts have been added to the course--including the "Double Cross," the "Pitch
Fork," the "Blob," the "Fence Flapper," and the "Smack the Wall Sweeper" to name a few.

The 12 quickest fi nishers of the fi rst round move on to the second. These challenges vary,

but the challengers once more face the likely possibility of ending up taking a plunge into a
muddy pit. Six contestants survive this round and head on to round three, which narrows the
fi eld down to the top four survivors. The third round resembles the fi rst because the players
must traverse a huge and complicated challenge course. As in the earlier courses, getting soaked
is extremely likely. The challenger who completes the fi eld in the shortest amount of time
claims the grand treasure of $50,000.

The challenges change each week, but always feature offbeat and comical obstacles,

such as the "Sucker Punch," the "Sweeper," the "Dizzy Dummy," or the "Dreadmill," and the
"Wipeout Zone." "Wipeout" has become an extremely popular television show, with TV Week
recently naming it the third most viewed reality program in the world. It is loved not only for
the exciting obstacles faced by the contestants but also for the funny and ironic slant mood of
the commentary by John Henson and John Anderson.

Jill Wagner offers additional commentary and reactions, and also provides interviews with

the contestants fi lmed before their turn begins. Generally only those who pass the fi rst round
are introduced, and each are assigned a nickname that is used throughout the game. However,
during the "Wipeout Zone," the show takes an epic and serious turn, with the humor dialed
down, and serious background music instead of its lighthearted theme music.

"Wipeout" fi rst aired on January 3, 2009, grabbing mammoth amounts of viewership. If

you enjoy watching reality shows and are looking for a good laugh, then "Wipeout" is a must
see show. "Wipeout" was nominated for a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award and was voted by
Entertainment Weekly's readers as Reality TV's Guiltiest Pleasure.

Sources: abc.com, buzztab.com.

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