It's almost hard to believe that "Fear Factor" is still on the air after 6 seasons. Not that the show is bad, actually it’s quite entertaining. But you would think that viewers would get enough of watching contestants walking on beams suspended high in the air, eating all manner of disgusting items or immersing themselves into vats of live bugs. (Sounds like just another ordinary day at work for me!!) But that's not the case. Host Joe Rogan (the guy from NewsRadio), has spent the last several years standing by while people put themselves into the worst of positions in order to win a sizable chunk of the almighty dollar.

Admittedly, I never watched the show during it's early years and really don’t watch it that much now. Occasionally I'll catch an episode while channel surfing and I'll get caught up in the festivities, 'eeewwing' right along with my wife. It wasn't until the recent release of the 1st season of "Fear Factor" on DVD that I spent any real time with the show. The first thing that struck me about the series was just how far most of these people were willing to go for (what I consider to be) a measly sum of $50,000. I say measly only in terms of 'it would take a whole lot more than that to get me to try any of these stunts'. I'm a coward about certain things, I admit it. I'll get up in front of 5,000 people and perform in a stage production, but get me any higher than 12 feet and the knees start buckling. Get me closer than 12 inches from a single tarantula and it likely that my bladder will let loose. So in retrospect, I don’t know whether or not to congratulate these people for their guts (or eating thereof) or shake my head and spout how stupid they are.

In watching the 1st season I also noticed something else. The few episodes I saw in the later seasons are far less entertaining than these earlier ones. The reason is simple, the contestants are far less annoying. It's the same as "Survivor." The 1st season of that show had people who didn’t realize the power of being on television. They were in it foe the contest of it. Later casts were mostly made up of idiots and hams who just wanted a shot at gaining feaux notoriety. They mugged for the camera and 'acted' their way thru episodes hoping to be later in an episode of "General Hospital" or "Moesha." (No self-respecting show would have them.) I saw the same thing on "Fear Factor." From what I saw, later contestants were generally the smarmy, full of themselves types whom nobody with a brain would invite to their party.

It's for this reason that I can actually recommend this 1st season set of "Fear Factor." The stunts were simpler, the contestants were a little smarter, with the entertainment value riding on these facts.

Episodes:
Horse Drag, Rat Pit, Slippery-Car Crawl
Truck Jump, Worm Coffin, Catapult
Jet Ski Leap, Beetle Bowl, Rope Crawl
Net Jump, Wormtinis, Tunnel Crawl
Dog Attack, Snake Pit, Beam Walk
Sub Dive, Cricket Crunch, Speed Drop
Hotel Jump, Sheep's Eyes, Water Tank
Wrecking Ball, Testicles, Baby Rescue
Trapeze, Pig Feast, Traverse

Extras: Preview of Season 2
Specifications: Full Screen. Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
Studio: Universal
Release Date: 6/27/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Fear Factor: Season 1 a C+.