The next time I switched the channel to MXC, slambie said, "I'm really worried about you" a few minutes later she was laughing as hard as I was.
oh yeah - My first post
'MXC,' wacky reality on Spike
Japan import pits goofy teams in goofier contests
By A.J. Livsey
Combine the voice-over commentary of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” with the dubbing technology of classic kung-fu movies, add the action of “American Gladiators” and 75 enthusiast Japanese contestants, and you get the idea behind Spike TV’s “Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (MXC).” For years, Japan has been the exclusive home to popular series “Takeshi’s Castle,” but now “the world’s toughest competition in town” has arrived stateside. Unlike Food Network’s dubbed Japanese import “Iron Chef,” “MXC” doesn’t offer valuable cultural lessons or demonstrate any marketable skills. Instead, this wacky game show from the Far East provides a half-hour of entertainment and laughs, thanks to the ridiculous competitions and eyebrow-raising commentary dubbed over the original Japanese. The show is hosted by two outrageously dressed men, Vic Romano and Kenny Blankenship, who provide commentary and colorful chit-chat between segments. Other key players in the show include field reporter Guy Le Douche, who questions contestants with a panda bear-shaped microphone, and Captain Tenneal, the show’s field marshal. “MXC” seems to loosely follow the format of elimination to find a winner, but no final victors are ever announced. Unlike American reality shows, “MXC” doesn’t require contestants to live together, date one another, or undergo plastic surgery. Instead, viewers can delight in the perils of hopeful contestants who eagerly slide down muddy hillsides and crash into walls with no particular incentive. Each episode pits two teams against one another. In any given half-hour, viewers can watch fabricated match-ups between civil servants and computer geeks, inventors and former child stars, or meat handlers and cartoon character actors. These contestants have such elaborate job titles as bubble wrap inflator, plasma donor for flat-screen TVs, instruction complicator for the IRS, inventor of the trucker’s friend “wine in a sponge,” star of “My Teacher’s a Good Kisser,” and the public service employee who patented the overused government phrase, “Not my department, can’t help you.” Some of the contestants dress in elaborate costumes and masks, while others choose to let their stellar rock- jumping and rope- swinging skills speak for them. One contestant, dressed as a giant peanut, seemed surprised when the huge foam cutout interfered with his game performance. Despite the show’s humorous voiceover and colorful cast of characters, the real focal point of “MXC” is the outrageous competitions. “Big brass balls” features contestants who must run across a narrow bridge, catch a brass ball, and make it to the other side while being pelted with other balls by “the Gonads,” an evil pair attempting to sabotage the game. “Wall buggers” requires teams to dress in Velcro suits and butterfly wings, swing across a pond, and stick to a spider web wall. “Boulder dash” involves a steep chute that players must climb while dodging large Styrofoam boulders. A regular game and audience favorite is “Log drop.” The premise is simple – “Stay dry, good. Get wet, bad.” Contestants must run across a series of spinning logs without plunging (or ricocheting) into the shallow pool of sludge below. Many of the games involve either the threat of falling into murky water or mud or getting knocked over. To keep it straight, “MXC” features “The Ken-o-tron,” a pixilated animation of the game rules and set-up that runs before the competition. Each episode also contains the “MXC Impact replay” of a particularly good collision as well as the top 10 “Most Painful Eliminations of the Day.” While the humor skews toward the sophomoric, the combination of the comical voiceover and the ridiculousness of the games makes “MXC” the funniest reality program on television. This show is good fit on the new Spike TV. The Thursday night time slot means fewer viewers are watching cable, but the program may well be the night’s hidden gem. In addition to offering male viewers some respite from female-dominated “Will & Grace” on NBC, “MXC” proves that outlandish is funny in any language.
