|
I don't watch much television at all, but even I am vaguely
aware of the rash of completely stupid new game shows that seem
to be popping up like diseased boners all over the place.
Normally, this wouldn't bother me much, because as I already
said, I don't watch a lot of television. But the mere existence
of these new game shows offends me, taking the worst elements of
shitty entertainment like Survivor and combining that with
embarrassingly simple questions that your average fifth grader
should be able to answer with ease.
As I sat down one Sunday evening to watch The Simpsons, I had
the horrible surprise of finding out that it was pre-empted by
an "exciting sneak preview" of a new game show called "The
Chamber" (which has just been cancelled, fittingly enough). I'm
sure some of you out there have seen this, where they strap
someone into a perilous rotating chair and throw them into a
giant Easy Bake oven, and force them to answer a barrage of
stupid questions as blood rushes to their head and flames burn
the flesh off their face. And if that wasn't exciting enough for
you, they have the ARBITRARY NUMBER METER, constantly keeping
track on the contestant's progress as they face certain
embarrassment in front of the vapid audience. "Uh oh! Looks like
Bob is reaching his DANGER LEVEL, he's approaching a rating of
nearly 300!" What this 300 actually represents, they never say.
If it's heartbeats per minute, consider me impressed.
Evidently, given the show's recent cancellation, this
tried-and-true formula for television feces just didn't cut it.
It must not have been exciting enough. No one died, after all.
Don't let the overall compassion of recent months fool you,
we're still a nation of bloodthirsty bastards, eagerly awaiting
the next wanton display of morbid violence, so long as the
person being killed or maimed signed a waiver beforehand, of
course. And I am SURE the TV executives have that in mind as
they plan and prepare the next big season of game show
entertainment.
I happen to know an "insider" in the industry, and they were
able to drop a few little scoops of information my way regarding
some of what we can all look forward to next season. Here's a
taste of what's to come:
· In the "suspenseful action mixed with uninteresting trivia"
category comes "Twenty Question Naked Razor Bungee Drop",
wherein contestants will have to shout the answers to stupid
questions with a megaphone while bungee dropping into a narrow
glass tube lined with razor blades. Exciting "power meters" and
"health level bars" will clutter the screen, promising to add to
the sense of danger involved.
· "Real Survivor", where contestants have to pass
challenges such as fighting over a single set of scuba gear in a
small airtight chamber that is slowly filling with water. Six
contestants enter every show, and only one walks out!
· An idea imported from Japan, "Dick Chop Porn Bombardment
Super Attack!!!" is another in the "self-discipline/control"
genre (ala "The Chair"). In this show the all-male contestants
are strapped into dentist chairs and shown a series of
pornographic images. Here self-control is of utmost importance,
because contestants who reach a state of erection have their
penis sliced right off with a high-powered laser beam!
Naturally, all contestants are carefully screened to make sure
that no homosexual "cheaters" end up on the show.
· And finally, my personal favorite: "Insane School Psycho
Killer Guy", which is something of a departure from the
normal question and answer format. In each episode, a different
psychopathic killer is liberated from prison and hidden
somewhere inside of a school between homeroom and first period.
Littered throughout the school is an assortment of
comical/bizarre weapons, such as giant rubber mallets, rabid
hamster darts, and sacks full of big round black bombs. It's a
more open-ended show than some of the others; the students
merely have to survive, the convict has to somehow escape the
school and then the cops that have already been dispatched to
the scene outside (which should add to both his desperation
level AND the overall entertainment value!). The winner receives
a $1000 shopping coupon at "Doilies Unlimited" (if it's the
school the student body splits the prize).
ACTION PACKED!
That's pretty much all I have now, but you can see that things
are already getting more exciting than dizzying chairs and
dastardly heart monitors. Someday I'm sure the nation will be
able to look back on these milder, friendlier game shows we have
now and laugh at how "easily amused" we were back then. Hell,
many of us are laughing already. And not in a good way.
note:
Protoclown once tried out for an episode of Double Dare, but
slipped on "pie shrapnel" and sprained his ankle.
|
