Obsession, Part 1: Wipeout!

The Obsession posts will be ongoing posts, making their way onto the blog when I can write about them.

I am a little late to the game(show) on this one, I know.  I rarely watch ABC so I didn't know much about it.  But thanks to Wipeout Fridays on TruTV, I have been able to see what some people make such a fuss about this show.

I LOVE IT.

Seriously.  The people that go on this show are nuts.  Basically, you willingly go onto a game show and get the crap beaten out of yourself, all to try and win $50,000.

I would never be a contestant.  No way.  For one thing, I've watched enough episodes to know that I like my body in one piece.  Second, I couldn't go on it due to having lower back problems.  I would end up paralyzed.

The show starts with 24 contestants and they get narrowed down to 12 after they go through the Qualifier Course.  (Just a heads up, little to no one EVER makes it through that course without wiping out.  The first obstacle is usually designed to knock you out of your shoes (which has happened on numerous occasions).

After that, the 12 get reduced down to 6.  And depending on the week, the 6 get whittled down to 3-4.  The 3 or 4 final contestants get to go to the Wipeout Zone, where the winner wins $50,000.

Throughout the show, the commentary is performed by John Anderson (watched him for years on SportsCenter on ESPN) and John Henson (the first host of Talk Soup on E!).  And on the field talking to the contestants and adding commentary is Jill Wagner (remember the "You gotta put Mercury on your list" girl?).  Jill was there for the first 4 seasons and then for season 5, the field commentary was done by Vanessa Lachey.  For season 6, Jill is BACK!  I really liked Vanessa but I MISSED Jill.

I see a lot of painful looking falls on this show but the worst has to be the "scorpion".  Seriously, bodies aren't supposed to bend that way.  Watch this VIDEO and pay attention about 15-17 seconds in and see if if doesn't make you cringe.  Ouch.

But since it's not MY body getting bent backwards, it's really therapeutic.  Does that make me a sadist?

Also, those obstacles?  They are thought up and TESTED.  Yes, there is a group of people that work for Wipeout called the Black and Blue Crew.  (I am going to assume that you can figure out why they have that name.)  They test these obstacles for months sometimes to make sure they are contestant ready/safe.  Last week, they were testing in 34 degree weather at around 1am.  Yuck!

Wipeout is filming season 6 now and is due to air on ABC this summer, early June I believe.  But you can catch TONS of reruns on TruTV on Friday and Saturday nights.  And, TBS just started airing reruns as well, Monday through Friday at 2:00pm EST.

So, if you're having a bad day or trying to find a little bit of sanity that you thought was gone, tune into Wipeout and get a dose of therapy.

It's time for my therapy.