Suggestions For TV Gameshow Fear Factor

by Justin Anderson

As many of you know, NBC's Fear Factor is one of the most popular "reality" game shows on TV. And even though it's hosted by the hilarious Joe Rogan, the show can be a bit stale. See, the "fears" the producers tap in to tend to fall into one of only a few categories: sending people way up high into the air; getting them to eat disgusting things; covering them in disgusting creatures (bugs, snakes, etc.); and performing difficult and potentially dangerous stunts. And while it can make for interesting TV, I think Fear Factor is missing some interesting opportunities to exploit deep-seeded fears that many of us share. So here are my suggested "stunts" for future episodes of Fear Factor. But if you want, feel free to do 'em at parties and stuff, if you want. I don't mind.

THE JOB INTERVIEW

You are interviewed for a really great job that pays incredibly well, comes with great benefits and is personally fulfilling. If you get the job, you're set. The problem is you're totally underqualified.

THE BIG DINNER

You're out to dinner at a really expensive restaurant with your fiancée’s family just a few days after losing your job. If you can endure your future in-laws' cutting remarks questioning your ability to provide for their daughter and implications that your wife-to-be would be better off with someone else, you make it to the next round.

THE PICK-UP

You must approach an intimidatingly beautiful woman at a trendy nightclub and strike up a conversation.

THE TEENAGER TEST

You’re in a mall and have to walk by a large group of rowdy teenagers while wearing the crisp green fedora hat you just bought.

GET INTO BED

Your task is to sneak into bed with your wife at 3:00am while stinking of alcohol, marijuana and cheap perfume. If you wake her or lose your nerve and end up sleeping on the couch, you’re eliminated.

THE HOMOEROTIC MASSAGE

You must endure a full-length massage from a handsome, muscular man with no shirt. If you don’t get an erection or get an erection and don't freak out, you pass.