tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post7148537452873842485..comments2024-03-28T18:01:28.997-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Oh, my groin!Alan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-87608415293909870352008-06-26T13:34:00.000-04:002008-06-26T13:34:00.000-04:00Wipeout was repetitive and unfunny. The final cour...Wipeout was repetitive and unfunny. The final course was so badly rigged with water & pyro you could hardly see the action.<BR/><BR/>And as a MXC fan, Wipeout simply pales in comparison. MXC keeps it short, has better jokes, weirder challeneges and never fails to get me to laugh.<BR/><BR/>I'm still a sucker for the now-hackneyed reality-show stuff, so I Survived was much more entertaining. I do hope that the squabbling will spill over into the game and vice versa.<BR/><BR/>I give Survived props for using subtitles -- imagine this 15 years ago, couch potatoes eating subtitles!<BR/><BR/>And one weird nugget that wasn't on the first show (or I missed it) was that Ben, the older guy, is Punxsutawney Phil's handler. That explains why he showed up at the airport wearing a top hat.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-15815335791341437742008-06-26T11:09:00.000-04:002008-06-26T11:09:00.000-04:00I thought "Wipeout" was boring and the commentary ...I thought "Wipeout" was boring and the commentary juvenile (I was disappointed with Henson's jokes, especially as I usually like him). I guess I like these things more when I have a rooting interest in the contestants, which is why I'll probably give "I Survived A Japanese Game Show" a go after all the Carlin specials on HBO :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-61633257828983375032008-06-25T22:48:00.000-04:002008-06-25T22:48:00.000-04:00I fall into the "laughed like crazy with my kids" ...I fall into the "laughed like crazy with my kids" camp.<BR/><BR/>I thought there was a (very) little bit of MST3K with Henson and Anderson's commentary. Had the feeling of happening post-edit. Anderson had all the good lines. <BR/><BR/>Sometimes stupid TV is genius.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05135139008278044619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-35293195911630600402008-06-25T19:28:00.000-04:002008-06-25T19:28:00.000-04:00I've seen a lot of positive comments about Wipeout...I've seen a lot of positive comments about Wipeout, so it was nice to read that someone else didn't care for it. I didn't think any of the "commentary" was very funny, and it got old after a while. I'd rather watch MXC or Ninja Warrior any day.<BR/><BR/>I Survived a Japanese Game Show was better. I was a little annoyed that it had the standard reality show gimmicks, but I thought that the teams competing and the absurdity of the game show was enough to make it entertaining. I don't care who wins or who is eliminated, but I'll at least tune in again to see what they do next.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-52168797986671998852008-06-25T18:42:00.000-04:002008-06-25T18:42:00.000-04:00I laughed my ass off during Wipeout. There's some...I laughed my ass off during Wipeout. There's something funny about watching people bounce off the big balls(!) or get punched in the jaw and fall in the water. I can't help it.<BR/>I didn't realize that ISAJGS was a reality show as others mentioned. It's set up as a series record on the DVR though so I'll probably watch it as I get the chance.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09545939153999772046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-38561566976710238562008-06-25T17:29:00.000-04:002008-06-25T17:29:00.000-04:00I think what makes Tashiki's Castle (which is redu...I think what makes Tashiki's Castle (which is redubbed in English and shown as MXC on Spike) much more interesting is that normally reserved and non-self-aggrandizing Japanese people are running the course and getting slaughtered. It's a culture that sometimes takes things too seriously and laughing at itself by taking things as un-seriously as possible.<BR/><BR/>The American version - Wipeout - suffers by comparison because the contestants seem to be all too aware with being on TV and becoming minor stars. They play up there "humiliation" because they are too aware that that is what they are there for, and it doesn't seem as natural. Turning it into a timed competition with a big cash prize feeds into this sense that it's more about American Ego than Humility.<BR/><BR/>Nevertheless, I will probably watch more of them. Like American Idol, the early parts with random bad participants are more interesting than the 'final 12' stage and beyond, and I agree with the comment that the early obstacle courses are actually more interesting than the more straight-forward Final Course. I like the farcical early wipeouts enough to overlook the increasingly serious (and boring) competition aspect.<BR/><BR/>ISAJGS started off interesting, but became bogged down by adhering too much to the reality show format - reward for the winners, punishment for the losers, confessionals, inter-character drama, the elimination at the end (sappy 'walk away' music included). None of that is interesting compared to the games the Japanese play and wanting to see more of that alone. The rest is just time-consuming noise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-83148290280656700432008-06-25T17:10:00.000-04:002008-06-25T17:10:00.000-04:00I enjoyed John Henson's commentary. His snarky re...I enjoyed John Henson's commentary. His snarky remarks were exactly the sort of thing my wife and I say to each other when watching these kinds of shows.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, I thought I Survived... was just awful. It was a lame rehash of The Apprentice, filled with boring annoying people we don't care about. It wasn't even a real Japanese game show! It's just some fake crap they made up for the show. What's the point?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-49031100704749690962008-06-25T16:21:00.000-04:002008-06-25T16:21:00.000-04:00MXC is a much better show than Wipeout -- faster-p...MXC is a much better show than Wipeout -- faster-paced, less repetitive, and funnier, if more obscene. <BR/><BR/>It would have been a lot better if people were eliminated for falling in -- watching people struggle afterwards gets tedious. <BR/><BR/>Haven't watched the second show yet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1388444377875877982008-06-25T16:18:00.000-04:002008-06-25T16:18:00.000-04:00I was a big fan of Most Extreme Elimination Challe...I was a big fan of Most Extreme Elimination Challenge on Spike TV, and thought of it immididiatly after seeing the first ad for Wipeout. It takes all of the falls, which made it funny besides the point, and gets rid of all the parts that make it funny on purpose.<BR/><BR/>Even for summer fare, this looked pretty lazy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-6175292973550729132008-06-25T16:09:00.000-04:002008-06-25T16:09:00.000-04:00I enjoyed "Wipeout."What made it even more fun was...I enjoyed "Wipeout."<BR/><BR/>What made it even more fun was my almost 4-yr-old son was giggling through the entire thing. And therein lies part of the appeal for me - the chance for my son and I to sit and have a good time laughing together at a show that appeals to kids (for the antics) and adults (the commentary). Sorry - but I'm a fan.<BR/><BR/>I was NOT a fan of the Japanese show, though. VERY disappointed to find out it's a reality show as opposed to a game show. I most likely won't watch that one again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-71600274716379695342008-06-25T15:46:00.000-04:002008-06-25T15:46:00.000-04:00Completely agree regarding Henson's commentary. I...Completely agree regarding Henson's commentary. I'm kind of a sucker for the football in the groin -- and hence for the whole America's Funniest Home Video/YouTube sports blooper genre -- but the advantage of YouTube over AFV (nee AFHV) is the absence of unnecessary and irritating commentary. As in baseball, sometimes an announcer just needs to shut up and let the on-field play speak for itself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-29589481294655344402008-06-25T15:40:00.000-04:002008-06-25T15:40:00.000-04:00I was fine with Henson, though there's some residu...I was fine with Henson, though there's some residual Talk Soup goodwill there for me, too. The only painful thing about Wipeout is the fact that there's actually something to win, and that the final obstacle course just isn't fun.<BR/><BR/>But I could seriously, seriously, seriously watch people try the Big Balls (and listen to Henson say "Big Balls") for an hour at a time. First half of Wipeout is a keeper.<BR/><BR/>I also think that MXC (aka "Japanese People Hurting Themselves") is the greatest television show ever made. So, context.<BR/><BR/>Shocked to tune in and find out "I Survived..." was a series and not a one-off special. As a solo special with lots of bizarre footage, it would have been great. I don't care about inane rickshaw punishments or travelogues or any other batch of reality show contestants.<BR/><BR/>In conclusion, Big Balls.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-55753407229864355302008-06-25T15:34:00.000-04:002008-06-25T15:34:00.000-04:00I watched this show at the gym yesterday, with no ...I watched this show at the gym yesterday, with no audio and without the supposedly insufferable commentary, and I found it to be...well, a rip-off of G4's Ninja Warrior. The big difference? While Ninja Warrior consists of people falling into the mud, it also has its share of real athletes who can actually make it through the first few rounds (and even when they don't, it's still exciting). From what I could see, there was no athleticism in "Football in the Groin," just people who responded to the casting call and wanted to be on TV.<BR/><BR/>I'd rather watch Hans Moleman for a half an hour than another episode of Wipeout.David Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05532307445508580342noreply@blogger.com