I might have issues, because I can’t stop watching this show.
SUMMARY
There are a number of obstacle courses set up to look like rooms in various houses or buildings, but the floors have been flooded with bubbling red liquid. Teams have to solve the best route to get from the entrance to the exit while also figuring out the tricks to make the room easier. There’s only one rule: Don’t fall in, because the floor… is LAVA. The team with the most members to make it across wins and speed breaks ties. The prize: GLORY!!!! …in the form of $10,000.
END SUMMARY
This show is basically an obstacle course combined with an escape room, but in the form of a childhood game that everyone knows by heart. I think the reason why it works so well is because it resembles something that everyone has done in the past. It doesn’t hurt that Rutledge Wood, the former host of the US version of Top Gear and NASCAR Trackside, is actually pretty good at making all of the action more exciting and making the fails more humorous. While most of his jokes are based on bad puns, that’s the exact kind of humor that matches the tone of a show designed after a children’s game.
Another big part of why this is so enjoyable is that the contestants are all themed and that they generally have a good sense of humor about the whole thing. I mean, they’re playing the Floor is Lava, one of the most ridiculous but also fun imaginary games you can play as a kid (or adult), so it’s natural to find it a little funnier than most competitive shows. The rooms themselves are pretty ridiculous, ranging from an astronomy room with planets and rockets to a study filled with strange relics to a basement resembling the facility from Raiders of the Lost Ark. It also helps that the show tries to vary the competition throughout the ten episode run, making courses harder, reducing the number of teams or reducing the number of players, or even just removing safe spots. I like that they were willing to experiment while they were filming.
Overall, this game show is dumb, but it’s just the right kind of dumb. It’ll make you laugh a bit and you’ll actually get a little caught up in the fun of the competition. If you want something on in the background, this is a great candidate.
If you want to check out some more by the Joker on the Sofa, check out the 100 Greatest TV Episodes of All Time, Collection of TV Episodes, Collection of Movie Reviews, or the Joker on the Sofa Reviews.
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