10 Disturbing Game Shows That Made Contestants Do TERRIBLE Things

WatchMojo

Prepare to be shocked by the most outrageous game shows that pushed contestants to their absolute limits! From psychological torture to bizarre physical challenges, these TV programs redefined the meaning of entertainment at any cost.

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be looking at the most bizarre game show concepts

00:11that put contestants through an absurd series of challenges, all in the name of entertainment.

00:23American Gladiators

00:24The gladiators in ancient Rome risked their lives in brutal combat against each other,

00:28and sometimes even wild animals, just to keep spectators entertained.

00:31In the late 80s, American TV producers decided to cash in on that thrill with an equally

00:36intense but far less fatal competition.

00:53American Gladiators featured everyday contestants battling both each other and the show's own

00:57gladiators in grueling tests of strength, agility, and endurance.

01:01Contestants got tackled, battered, and knocked off towering platforms, all while wearing

01:05very little protective gear.

01:22The show was finally canceled in 1996, but made a brief comeback in 2008.

01:26Was it entertaining?

01:27Absolutely.

01:28But let's just say contestant safety wasn't exactly top of mind for producers.

01:39Dadagiri

01:40The Indian game show, Dadagiri, was every high school student's worst nightmare come

01:44to life.

01:54Its premise was similar to most game shows.

01:56Contestants competed in physical and mental challenges for a cash prize of 50,000 Indian

02:00rupees.

02:01But there was a cruel twist.

02:02The show also threw in a team of professional tyrants to hurl insults, intimidate, and psychologically

02:07manipulate contestants.

02:19Getting eliminated wasn't any easier.

02:21Those who lost were forced to consume a series of disgusting items before leaving.

02:25The conditions were so intense that in one infamous episode, a male contestant retaliated

02:30after being slapped by a female tormentor.

02:40Sure, 50,000 Indian rupees was a tempting prize, but was it worth reliving the trauma

02:45of high school?

02:46Probably not.

02:47The Interception

02:48In the late 1990s, carjacking was on the rise in Russia, so some TV producers had the genius

02:53idea to create a high-stakes game show to deter the crime.

02:56Thus, The Interception was born.

02:59Contestants were given the key to a car equipped with a live tracking device.

03:02If they could evade the police for 35 minutes, they would win the car.

03:05Unlike many so-called reality series, this one wasn't staged.

03:09The officers were real-life cops chasing the contestants through the streets of Moscow.

03:13The show was not only dangerous, but it also made the police look embarrassingly bad after

03:17getting outrun by ordinary civilians.

03:20Worst of all, it failed to curb carjacking.

03:22As a result, The Interception was cancelled after just 14 episodes.

03:26Ultraman Dash

03:27These days, many pastry chefs blur the lines between reality and cuisine with their hyper-realistic

03:32cakes.

03:33But long before Is It Cake hit the airwaves, Japanese TV had already been playing with

03:36this concept on Candy or Not Candy, part of Ultraman Dash.

03:41However, rather than bakers, the contestants were celebrities tasked with figuring out

03:46what was a pastry and what was real.

03:48And what better way to test that than actually taking a bite into the item?

03:55The celebrities would have to identify the edible object from a distance, which would

03:58then be brought closer for them to take a bite out of.

04:01Unsurprisingly, they weren't always right, and often ended up chomping down on actual

04:05shoes, paintings, doorknobs, and other unexpected everyday items.

04:11Three's a Crowd

04:12In the 1960s and 70s, Chuck Barris was a household name, known for creating and hosting hit shows

04:17like The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game.

04:28But his TV empire came crumbling due to one controversial misstep.

04:32Three's a Crowd.

04:33On this show, a man is quizzed on personal questions, and his answers are compared with

04:37those of his wife and secretary.

04:39Needless to say, this was a recipe for marital disaster, especially as most of the questions

04:43had a sexual undertone.

04:56In fact, according to some crew members, the show led to some marriages getting dissolved

04:59during commercial breaks.

05:01The backlash from Three's a Crowd not only led to its speedy cancellation, but also those

05:05of The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game.

05:16Susunu Denpa Shounen

05:17Back in 1998, before reality TV became what it is today, Japanese comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu,

05:24better known as Nasubi, was selected for the game show Susunu Denpa Shounen.

05:28Little did he know, his life was about to change drastically.

05:45Over the next 15 months, he was confined to a small apartment, completely naked, and tasked

05:49with winning 1 million yen through sweepstakes.

05:52Unbeknownst to Nasubi, his suffering was being filmed and broadcast to the entire nation,

05:56drawing in record numbers every week.

06:07Perhaps the most harrowing part was that food was in short supply, so Nasubi had to survive

06:11on dog kibble, which made him lose a lot of weight.

06:14By the end, Nasubi was physically and mentally broken and struggled to reintegrate into society.

06:33The Chamber

06:34The idea for this Fox Game show came about when a network executive watched Fear Factor

06:38and felt it didn't go far enough in showcasing contestants' pain and suffering.

06:42In response, he created The Chamber, a series that arguably overcompensated for that perceived

06:47shortcoming.

06:56Contestants were made to answer trivia questions while strapped inside a literal torture chamber,

07:00hence the title.

07:01To make matters worse, they were subjected to either extreme hot or cold temperatures,

07:05alongside unbearable effects like simulated earthquakes and powerful winds.

07:21If that sounds like torture to you, you're certainly not alone.

07:23The Chamber faced immediate backlash upon its premiere and was locked away in a chamber

07:27of its own after just three episodes.

07:40Man vs. Beast

07:41You might be hoping we're not about to tell you this was a game show where humans competed

07:44against animals, but unfortunately, that's exactly what it was.

07:48From the same geniuses at Fox that brought you The Chamber, Man vs. Beast was a series

07:52of TV specials featuring humans facing off against animals and bizarre physical challenges.

08:11Events included a 100-meter race between a sprinter and a giraffe, a tug-of-war between

08:15a sumo wrestler and an orangutan, and of course, a hot dog eating contest between a competitive

08:19eater and a bear.

08:20It was just as ridiculous as it sounds.

08:35Despite heavy criticism from animal rights activists after the first installment aired

08:39in 2003, Fox still went ahead with a second part the following year.

08:58Repo Games

08:59Reality TV has successfully transformed courtroom cases into hit shows, so it was only a matter

09:03of time before producers pushed the concept further.

09:06In 2011, Repo Games premiered on Spike featuring real-life repo men giving debtors a chance

09:10to win back their repossessed cars by correctly answering trivia questions.

09:24If they succeeded, their car and outstanding loans would be paid off.

09:27But if they failed, well, they'd wave goodbye to their vehicle.

09:30Equal parts exploitative and sadistic, Repo Games somehow aired 40 episodes before getting

09:35canceled.

09:45These days, it's mostly remembered for the incident where one furious neighbor who was

09:49apparently unhappy about the show filming nearby, shot at their production van and was

09:53arrested for attempted murder.

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10:20Hurl

10:21Competitive eating contests are bizarre enough, but this show cranked the insanity of several

10:25notches.

10:26On the short-lived series Hurl, contestants weren't just required to eat at record speeds,

10:30they also had to keep the food down for as long as possible.

10:34But that was easier said than done considering they were then subjected to intense activities,

10:48most of which involved relentless spinning designed to make them vomit.

11:03To win, they had to endure up to six rounds of extreme eating and even more extreme motion

11:07sickness.

11:08Perhaps the most nauseating part of it was that the grand prize for all that effort was

11:11just $1,000.

11:13Frankly, that's worrying enough to make anyone lose their hurriedly eaten lunch.

11:27Which of these outlandish TV shows did you watch when it aired?

11:30And which of them do you think you would succeed at?

11:32Let us know in the comments below!

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