Wipeout

Wipeout is a global broadcasting phenomenon and currently one of the most popular game shows across the globe. It consistently tops the ratings in both the UK and USA, and versions have been filmed for several other countries including Australia, Canada, Spain, Greece and India. It is billed as the world’s biggest obstacle course and is a family show, equally popular with children and adults. The show is funny and events are dreamt up for their comic effect, with shot of people falling into water or mud replayed for comic effect. The American version is filmed in California, and most of the other versions are filmed on a specially built course in Argentina. The show starts off with 24 contestants, who compete in four different rounds. Contestants are eliminated in each round, leaving four to compete in the grand final, where the fastest person to complete the course takes the prize money. Differences between the US and international versions are only minor, with different numbers progressing through the rounds. In the UK version, only three compete in the grand final.

The Different Rounds

During the first round of Wipeout the contestants try to complete an obstacle course as quickly as possible to make it through to the next round. Obstacles are over mud or water, so contestants who fail get wet, or muddy, or both. The best twelve contestants progress to the next round, where there are a variety of challenges designed to eliminate another six contestants. The final six are then put through one final challenge against each other to find the four finalists. In the final, each contestant competes individually to complete a giant obstacle course against the clock, and the winner is the fastest.