Ultimate Beastmaster: La loi du plus fort

I'm not joking around when I call myself a die-hard fan of the "extreme obstacle course" genre that has exploded in the past few years. But how does Ultimate Beastmaster, Netflix's newcomer compare to other long-running shows like Sasuke, S and American Ninja Warrior?

In a word: well! The show is visually stunning and awesome in design thanks to the work of ATS, the company responsible for the construction of other obstacle course shows like American Ninja Warrior. The Beast is large and impressive enough to leave a lasting impression, with obstacles that range from creative and memorable to bland and boring, although the course composition in itself is highly derivative of the tried and tested "Ninja Warrior" formula: four stages, each more difficult than the last, with a finale involving scaling a tower and an increased emphasis on upper body as the show goes on.

So what unique elements does Ultimate Beastmaster bring to the table? Simply put, its emphasis on international competition helps the show immensely. The six different languages and sets of show presenters gives the show worldwide appeal, and watching all six nationalities react to both their representatives and those of other nationalities adds a unique dimension found almost nowhere else. Even if the American announcers are relatively low in quality (at least in my opinion), they are more than compensated for by the charisma of the other countries, which caught me off-guard when watching the show.

In conclusion, Ultimate Beastmaster is a fairly by-the-books Extreme Obstacle Course programme format-wise, but juiced up immensely by a Hollywood budget and stunning visual presentation. Even if it lacks the ingenuity, competitor pool and history of shows in the "Ninja Warrior" franchise, the international focus helps it to stand out and fill a niche in the genre. If you have a Netflix membership, I wholeheartedly recommend giving Ultimate Beastmaster a try!

I really enjoyed the show but the lack of women competitors really strikes a chord. With only approximately 20% women it's rather depressing as a female to see them not have a fair chance to begin with. It is clear that the start of levels 1 and 2 are more suited to long and high jumps, more dependent on height rather than arms and a mix up of the obstacles would give a more balanced course for both men and women. Level 3/4 for example is more suited to women with the arms and climbing techniques as it involve little to no long jumps.

The fact that level one has some guys who can't climb a rope knock out women because they are a little short is very frustrating.

Also flexibility is a skill thats missed out as far as obstacles go. Would be cool if some obstacles had this involved. I get its hard to design obstacles but I think there are some obvious changes that would make the show a lot more interesting and fair.

The competitors on the show do provide a level inspiration to people and having more females i.e. role models would really help to boost the show. I highly doubt there are not enough women who would be willing and capable.

How cheap can it get to prize 10K to the winner? C'mom, you TV PRODUCERS can do better than that! Guys are busting themselves!

I couldn't wait for the new season, but was disappointed. I am not a fan of the new hosts, and found Tiki Barber and Chris DeStefano really offensive. I felt they are not only terrible hosts, but a little too liberal with the racist comments. Bring back Terry Crews and Charissa Thompson.

This is some fun TV, the production value is very high, the commentators are fun, competitors are interesting. The premise of different countries competing against each other also adds another fun element.

Obstacles do tend to get a bit repetitive and, in my opinion, focus too much on upper body strength and climbing skills. Climbers dominate this show...

And as some other reviewer said, female representation is low and none of female athletes cast, are climbers. Which unfortunately results in them being eliminated early and makes it seem like they cannot be a threat to the male athletes, which is not the case in other shows like this.

This said, I do enjoy watching it and will also watch future seasons... hopefully they can iron out some of the kinks...