Tonight at 8p
Wipeout celebrate its 100th episode. That is equal hundreds of black & blue marks, left several men without the ability to have kids and thousands of laughs as people try to run a course that should not be run by any human being.
When this episode taped on a freezing windy LA day, I was there to talk to
John Henson about the accomplishment and it is something he is very proud of.
So is he willing to put his pride aside and run the course himself? He told me, “I have never tried any obstacle nor will I. As I like to say that’s like asking Dr Drew if he has tried heroin. I am on the other side of that equation. I am trying to to talk people out of running the course.”
So since he has seen hundred of people try this course, can he predict who will make it all the way to the end. He said, “I think that is kind of the beauty of Wipeout, you can’t necessarily predict a certain body type that is going to excell at this course. There is a lot of problem solving involved in running the course.” Then he added, “It is not necassarily the biggest, the fastest and strongest who is going to succeed, sometimes it is the most cunning. And there is the whole aspect of chance.” He concluded by saying, “That is one of the things I find most fun, you never know who is going to succeed.” He then brought up the example of little Ariel from Alaska, who was the first person to actually complete those big balls. Not a big strong man, but a little woman from way up North. And talking about up North, his favorite contestant on the series so far is Vonti McRae. She is a big chested woman who could hold a lot of mud up there. When you watch her appearance on the show, you can see why she was so memorable to him and to us.
Now if you want to be the next Ariel or Vonti, he told us what they are looking for, “They look for outgoing people. People who are here to have fun. There’s no way you can stand at top of the course and not know what is about to happen to you.” And about that start of the course, he shared what he looks forward to with it. He said, “I am always interested to compare the enthusiasm and optomism at the beginning of the course to the bedraggled wet rat drawn out of the water at the end.”
Since this show has no end in sight, what would he like to see with the next 100 episode? Here’s what he’s waiting for, “I am just waiting for them to come up with new and inventive ways to test the limits of the human spine.” Cause then he explained, “Every now and again I see a Wipeout and I’m like OMG do we need to get new jobs now? And then they pop up and start running.” So tune tonight and every Thursday at 8p to see what ways they will come with to the limits of the human spine. I personally tune in because I am a sadist and I love to watch them hurt themselves!
