Any other fans of this show?
I love watching the athleticism. It is a very different type of athletics than you normally get to see. A very cool mix of parkour, rock climbing and gymnastics.
The big thing I like about this show is that you can cheer for everybody!
I end up yelling at my screen urging the competitors on.
Gooooooooo everybody!
I love how faux-serious the commentary is. Makes me crack up every time.
Cool show, but would be much better if we saw far, far more of people doing the course, and far less of the “profiles” and human interest crap. I wanna see people do the obstacle course, I don’t care what they do in their spare time.
I agree. I don’t mind the occasional story; however,
(1) They repeat the stories across qualifying, finals and Mt Midoriyama.
(2) Many of the stories aren’t that interesting. How many times do I need to know that so-and-so has become a father and hopes their child will be inspired by their father’s performance on ANW?
If they saved the stories for the truly incredible it would make it more meaningful.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Mt. Fujiama is actually the eliminator course from Wipeout.
ANW is just about the only reality show I watch. I like it because (I hope) they are really doing the course and no voting BS. I just surf during the profiles.
Obviously they edit it (successful runs are more likely towards the end of the show - I pay less attention during the first half hour)
Brian
Yeah, it’s weird. I’ve always hated sports but I love this show!
Gotta admit that gal from Dallas that made it all the way several nights ago had me glued to the set. She kicked ass.
I admit to wanting to sneak onto the set during off-hours and attempt the course myself.
I would undoubtedly fail horribly but want to try anyway.
I might gain more respect for some obstacles that have a high failure rate but don’t look that difficult from my couch, like the doorknob bridge.
I think the doorknob one was hugely difficult because of its placement late in the course. I would bet that if the doorknob bridge was first in the course, many more would have passed it.
The course seems to favor those with upper body strength who are light weight. If you can lift your own body weight with one or both arms for extended periods you can do pretty good. Guys over 200# no matter how cut seem to have problems.
The polar opposite of this would be those strong man competitions where brute strength lifting, pulling, pushing power is needed. The ninja warrior guys would never make it.
It would be nice if the had a competition of a hybrid of these two.
I watch it now and again. It really is a test of a certain kind of athleticism. I would never watch something like this live, though. FF is your friend.
agreed - I’d love to see that show
I don’t watch the show but I did watch some of the runs of the woman who made it through. Not to take anything away from her, because she is indeed strong and athletic, but I don’t know why everyone was making a big deal out of her ability to do the course. They kept saying “She is only 100 lbs!” Well GOOD! If you’re only 100# and a GYMNAST then no one should be surprised when you’ve got the strength and the balance to whip yourself across that course.
Yes women have less upper body strength than men but she is not pulling around a man. She’s pulling around a 100# sack of pure bone and muscle.
Once again, kudos for her for being in such amazing shape and having the stamina for the course. But I felt so awkward with all the “she’s just a small woman!” gushing going on.
She’s the first woman - among many attempts - to complete the course and get to that stage.
So, the ‘smallness’ is only one aspect of her hype.
Good points, however, while the obstacles punish those who are heavy, many of them also work against those who have short stature. Those are some where you have to swing or jump across a gap, or prop yourself between two walls. Having a longer reach is an advantage on those.
I used to watch Ninja Warrior on G4 (back when there used to be G4), dubbed versions of the original Japanese show. I always liked it much better than shows like Wipeout. I’d rather see a show that celebrates people who are good at something than one that seems designed just to find different ways for people to fall in mud.
Exactly! That’s what I love about the show. It is about pushing past your limits and achieving victory. I got very excited last night when
Jon Stewart made it up the warped wall. And then beat the course!
What a great moment.
It’s not just that she’s only 100 lbs, she’s small as well. I think they said she was 5’ or 5’ 2". In several of the obstacles she had to propel herself across a distance to reach the next bar, where taller people would just be able to reach and grab it. That adds another layer of difficulty.
ETA: I’m excited to see how that rock climber from last night does in the finale. He went through the whole course like it was nothing!
The original Japanese show was usually harder. In the American version the clock goes and if there are many that complete the stage only a certain number of the fastest will move on. If enough people don’t finish the the fastest longest non-finishers move on. In the Japanese version 3 of the 4 stages had time limits. If you didn’t finish on time you were done. IIRC there were a few seasons when no one went past stage 2. Sorry season over. No way an American network will do that.
Interesting tidbit:
Commentator Matt Iseman is an licensed physician who quit medicine after his residency to become a stand up comic.