“FEAR Factor” Photo from NBC
It had been months since we watched “Fear Factor,” so we were amazed to see it as an even more grueling test of endurance and willpower than ever, occasionally to the point of painful cruelty and even abject debasement.
In one episode, two teams of women and two of men first tried to collect as many “Fear Factor” flags as they could, while they separately did their best to keep from falling off a huge net suspended in midair from a helicopter—even as jets of water from powerful hoses were trained on them to dislodge them from their tenuous perch! Whew.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the teams were required to swallow extremely hot sauces that caused them to gag and retch, and even impaired some of their physical functions.
They then had to toss lighted flares into oil drums situated rather far away from them, and the team that scored the most hits won.
It was instructive to see that, in both challenges, the same female team came out on top—so, as the episode rushed pell-mell to its finale, it was generally expected that the women would continue to hold sway.
But, not so fast: The final test turned out to involve speed and muscle power to an inordinate degree—so, for the first time, the female players found themselves struggling to keep up with their bigger, taller and faster rivals.
The final test itself was quite complicated, with something like five different steps that tested a wide range of skills and abilities. Adding to the final challenge’s extreme degree of difficulty was the fact that a lot of swimming and struggling and flailing around in ice-cold water was involved—so, the heretofore dehado guys were suddenly—ganado!
They were just too fast and strong, and made fewer errors, so when the smoke cleared they were thrilled to realize that they’d won the whole darned tilt!
The runner-up ladies were philosophical about how the whole challenge had turned out, and consoled themselves with the fact that, for a long while there, they’d made the guys cry uncle!
From this viewer’s vantage point, however, “Fear Factor” was sometimes too “cruel” in the ways that it tested its players’ resolve to stay in the competition and not drop out due to the inordinately difficult and even painful tests the show had lined up for them.
We know that, because it’s been telecasting for so many years, the production has to “push the envelope” and keep thinking up new and increasingly more demanding challenges to keep viewers interested, involved, excited—and viewing.
But, when contestants collapse and clutch at their innards and can’t resume an upright position for many minutes on end, we believe that the production has crossed a line that should be observed, because no “exciting” competition is worth significant risk to contestants’ physical and mental well-being. It really is only a game, after all!