Review: ABC’s “101 Ways to Leave a Game Show” is Good Brainless Summer Fun

Next Tuesday is the debut of ABC’s new summer game show 101 Ways to Leave a Game Show.  The British version aired last year on BBC to little fanfare.  Practically nothing of the BBC version survives here, and for the most part that’s a very, very good thing.  For the past few years ABC has been pairing shows with their hit stunt show Wipeout trying to find a good companion.  I think they’ve got as good a candidate as any here.  ABC’s version makes the British version look like Candyland.  It’s by far the most extreme game show on television.

101 Ways to Leave a Game Show pits eight people against each other in a quiz show to win the weekly $50,000 top prize.  The eight are split into two groups of four that compete individually.  To start the host, Jeff Sutphen, asks a numerical question.  Each player writes his or her answer down on a pad.  The people closest get to answer the actual trivia question first.  Jeff then asks the round’s question with as many choices as there are players.  Each player, in order of how they did in the numbers round, gives an answer.  The last player is stuck with whatever is left.  All but one answer is right.  All you need to do is not be wrong.  If you are, you’re physically ejected from the game.

When two are left from each group, everyone joins together and climbs to the top of The Tower for the finale.  The Tower is a ten story structure decked out in lighting and features four diving boards suspended water.  A numerical trivia question is asked again, and the people closest go first.  Jeff asks another question with four choices.  The order of answering depends on how close you got on the last one.  This time there are three wrong and one right.  If you answer wrong the diving board you are standing on drops and you free fall into the water ten stories below.  If you get the right answer you win $50,000.

101 Ways to Leave a Game Show, Courtesy ABC

Let’s be honest: no one will be watching this for intense trivia battles.  You’re watching to see people get tossed, thrown, and battered for cash.  It’s the same people watch Wipeout.  A major complaint of the British version was that all exits really degenerated to dropping people into water.  While that’s funny for a bit it gets old very quickly.  The ABC version is miles more inventive and, frankly, terrifying than that.  The very first exit anyone will see is a contestant being flown away, standing up, on the wings of a bi-plane.  Other exits in the first episode include the reverse bungee and dropping backwards off a moving truck.  The finale, though, shocked me.  It’s really a ten story free fall into water.  There’s a support cable and safety obviously, but there’s no giant bungee apparatus like the British version that slows your fall significantly.  If you are wrong, you’re going straight down.  It’s extreme, terrifying, and incredibly fun to watch.  However, the finale on top of the Tower is apparently the same each week so we’ll see if it stays enjoyable week after week.

The terrifying new challenges have created a new tone for the show.  The British version was a bit more goofy and comical.  The ABC version takes a more Fear Factor-like approach.  It’s also a very different tone from sister show Wipeout. There’s no fake studio.  Contestants don’t stand behind a podium.  No traditional game show trappings.  It’s all done on location and shot on a large scale.  It’s not the quickest show on earth.  We only get five questions/exits a game.  However, there’s no long countdowns or anything like that.  Any extra time is spent getting to know contestants, and showing off the exits.  Speaking of Jeff, he does great.  He’s the host of Nick’s BrainSurge which I’ve not seen so I went in blind.  He does a great job.

101 Ways to Leave a Game Show, Courtesy ABC

The only issue I can find that could hinder the show, structure wise, is that it takes a while to get to the first exit, which, again, is the focal point of the show.  It takes some time to cut to the chase.  Wipeout cuts to bashing people over the face with foam platforms quickly.  This show takes about six or seven minutes to get there.  I really don’t know what could have been done but hopefully that audience will carry over to see this.  The success of the show is just going to depend if the same crowd that likes Wipeout will carry over here and enjoy the physicality of this.  I did.  We’ll see if anyone else does.

101 Ways to Leave a Game Show is turn-your-brain-off television at its core.  I went in there expecting what I got and left satisfied.  It’s got a little trivia to keep those fans engaged but it’s got some very creative and jaw-droppings exits to make the Wipeout fans come over.  If you come here often then you’ve probably seen the British version.  If you were turned off by that I encourage you to check out the ABC version.  It’s a big improvement and a good action summer game show.