If you enjoyed Wipeout this summer, then Hole in the Wall is made for you.
It's another adaptation of a Japanese game show built around watching people fail at elaborate physical stunts and fall into pools of water. Two teams of three compete in each match (an hour long episode features two matches). They stand in front of a pool and a styrofoam wall approaches. There's a hole cut into the wall through which it is (at least theoretically) possible for the contestants to pass their body; twisting oneself into pretzel shapes is required, as is the occasional bit of leaping. If a contestant successfully passes through the hole, his team scores points; if the non-hole part of the wall knocks him into the pool, no points. Couldn't be much simpler, and you needn't fear being even remotely challenged on an intellectual level.
Host Mark Thompson oversees the events from a balcony, bellowing instructions like a bad wrestling announcer; his unfortunate catch phrase, as each round begins, is "It's time to face the hole!," which sounds vaguely pornographic (an aura that's only furthered by the skin-tight silver bodysuits the contestants wear). Chatting with the contestants on the sidelines is Brooke Burns, who has experience with this sort of thing from her years as host of Dog Eat Dog. The crowd noise is so loud that she's forced to scream in order to be heard, and it makes her voice sound very harsh and painful to listen to.
It's hard to imagine that this is going to do particularly well against Ugly Betty and Survivor; neither of those shows is as strong as it once was, but they still have sizable loyal audiences. Then again, it's probably dirt-cheap to produce, so Fox doesn't need it to draw an enormous audience. It's harmless stupid entertainment, and if I was bored some night with nothing to do, it would be a tolerable way to pass the time, but it's not much more than that.
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