Wipeout

Watching Holey Moley and seeing Rob and Joe go back and forth is a pleasure. Floor is Lava is also quite entertaining. I even liked Cannonball even though it was not up to that level. I also thought John Cena did a credible job on American Grit and Nicole Byer's work on Nailed It is first rate. I say all of this to illustrate that I was so looking forward to a new Wipeout.

However, this iteration of Wipeout may be the worst new television show of ANY kind I've seen in decades. The course is fine and the structure of the rounds works well. However, something is seriously wrong here. The lines John and Nicole are given are not just unfunny, they are truly, as my subject line says, cringe-worthy. Additionally, none of their reactions to the contestants seem genuine. It's like they are watching a tape of the contestants and then trying to come up with a line that fits.

The editing of the early rounds is also choppy and disjointed. It's almost like they need to skip those rounds and move on to the two semi-final heats and then the final.

The contestants are just as wacky as they've always been. As I said, the course is fine and the format of the rounds works, too. I beg TBS to take a step back and re-cut this with new hosts or new writing before showing any more episodes. And, while you are at it, stop showing the ones you've aired so far. We KNOW this premise works. Do something or take this garbage off the air.

The older version of Wipeout focused on the obstacles whereas this version is spending too much time on the hosts. The hosts should be more background colour commentary less show feature.

Like many reboots, the Wipeout "revival" struggles to do a justice to the original

There are many reasons why this Wipeout fails to meet the mark, the overarching failure being that it is bland.

The course itself is a mirage of bright colors, but it lacks any distinctive theme. One thing that made the original Wipeout so enjoyable was the presence of unique themes from one episode to the next. The course looks slightly more difficult, but the obstacles just aren't interesting.

An attempt is made to highlight contestants' unique character traits, but editing is repetitive from one contestant (or pair of contestants) to the next. This makes it hard to appreciate contestants on the same level that was once possible.

The Hosts, John Cena and Nicole Buyer, lack cohesiveness and fail to bring the same one-two bunch brought by John Henson and John Anderson. This is largely due to poor screenwriting and partly due to the difference in the personalities of Cena and Buyer.

As mentioned before, editing does this show no good. There used to be so many unique edits in Wipeout, but now edits feel generic and repetitive.

The camera quality is a big upgrade, but it's also slightly unnerving. A show like Wipeout doesn't need picture-perfect camera quality, less traditional camera work fits the show's aura like a glove.

The biggest disappointment is to think about what this show could be compared to what it is. Watch the new Wipeout, then go back and watch an episode of the old Wipeout. It becomes clear that there was little-no effort to make this Wipeout a true revival of the old Wipeout. They marketed it as the return of Wipeout and it has not met or come close to expectations, therefore it gets a 2/10.

Hopefully the remaining episodes of Wipeout have a layout different than the first, but I wouldn't be too optimistic.

Like many here I'm a big fan of the original, Henson's contrast to Anderson's straight man was the strength of this show, mainly, it was natural and believable. The chemistry in this incarnation seems forced, just a couple of people (Cena's the only known person) reading cue cards. Same with Camille, just eye-candy, not much more, Jill had charm, wit, and good looks, and she was natural and believable in her spot. I do hope hope they find a new audience who never saw the original, they might be entertained, but sadly, I couldn't even finish the first episode. I'll pass.

Just being back John and John. Cena and Byers aren't funny.

And we all know we watch for the big ball fails. Add more of those.