I’m not going to get to watch this today unfortunately. Dick and Dom commentate as twelve would be castle stormers fight it out to win the crown over three rounds of larger-than-life medieval themed obstacle course challenges, whilst a group of Defenders attempt to make life difficult. Expect lots of crazy falling over and gunge aplenty, if the Canadian show is anything to go by. 7:45am, 4:30pm CBBC Channel on weekdaily this week.
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Going by the video you posted earlier it seems like a rip-off of a show many see as a rip-off of Takeshi’s Castle with added Takeshi’s Castle elements.
I guess the reason our Wipeout doesn’t have the two commentator set-up is because our sport presenters and commentators don’t bounce off each other in quite the same way as they do in the US, but having Hammond sat there on his own in front of that green screen has never looked quite right. I’ve always thought Dick and Dom might have done well on Total Wipeout and I guess today we will find out if it would have worked to some extent.
It appears it is the same show as the Canadian version but with dick and dom – Todays early episode was exactly the same
Do you mean it was same contestants and script?
Same Contestants – visuals and most of gags are same
Oh that’s very interesting.
There is a UK casting director listed in the credits, so presumably the opposite applies – i.e. sometimes, Canadian viewers see UK contestants go through the course.
If Japan is suing Endemol for copying, it’ll be interesting to see if Endemol sue the Canadians over this. It is just Ye Wipeout for Kids in all but name.
I’m wondering if there’s just a mixture of Canadian, Australian and UK kids on each episode.
There didn’t seem to be any British accents on this one, only the defenders seem to be from all nations. I think there should be UK contestants if it is being co-produced for the BBC and a point should be made of the fact they come from from Australia, Canada and the UK, with details of their nationality given on contestant profiles, at the beginning, as it make no sense otherwise.
I almost completely disagree with Jon. The one point of agreement: if the BBC is co-producing, they should send some contestants.
So far as the viewer is concerned, it doesn’t matter one jot whether the contenders come from the UK, Australia, Canada, Outer Mongolia, or a small planet somewhere in the Orion nebula. They are all contenders, they are all reaching for the same goal, and they will be judged as individuals. This isn’t a contest between broadcasters, and making it into one would be wanton jingoism.
Civii mundi sunt, non civii urbis.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0121mmt/Splatalot_Episode_1/
Will take a look now as it’s on iPlayer.
it seemed a little short for my liking but there is potential. frankly, i was surprised when i didnt see endemols name at the end, as its so close it has to be seen as copyright issue, surely?
I actually felt it dragged somewhat, and the obviously missing commercial break jarred significantly.
Watching that iPlayer episode linked above, the first contestant at least is the same contestant as the one linked by Brig previously, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFyUAfENdKU&feature=youtu.be
Complete with banana skin graphic when he falls at the end.
Can’t copyright an idea – only the execution of an idea – its why there are numerous elimination talent shows for example
Idea is the same but the way its executed is different so it would narrowly escape probably
Watching it again, I’ve synched them up and am watching the Canadian version with the UK sound playing behind it. It totally all matches.
The visuals are identical. The graphics are all the same, both the profiles of the contestants and things like the ‘cool points’, setting a round to music and even the intro and description of the game. It’s basically just an overdub with British commentary, with inserts of Dick and Dom put in the places where it cuts to the Canadian studio.
It was always a co-production between Canada, Aus and the UK – I assume it takes contestants from all three, but don’t know really. 26 episodes to fill though looking at the iPlayer.
Anyway, thank god it is just a redub by the BBC as unlike Total Wipeout this loses nothing in translation. Is blatantly the bastard son of Wipeout and Takeshi’s Castle though, inherriting much more from the former. Endemol could use it as their defense against MXC to show what an actual rip-off show looks like.
Just to say the commentary is different.
the only time it matches up is when it relates to on-screen graphics.
I would imagine it’s easiest for the production to just edit one version of the programme and just have the three sets of presenters record the same voice over and the studio segments and just slot them in.
After watching the Canadian edition of “Splatalot”, I have to say that this shows just what “sincerest flattery” really means!
I didn’t see any reference to Endemol in the credits, but then, since the credits are scrunched up at the bottom of the screen, and are pretty small, I might have missed something.
If Endemol is involved in this, then it’s their prerogative to imitate themselves. If not, they they are being flattered most sincerely!
The major differences between this show and the “Wipeout!” we know here in the States is that the humor is rather cleaner than that on the adult show, which is redolent of frat-house sniggering. Also the “defenders” seem to have more to do than just throw stuff–but this can be seen as a throwback to “(American) Gladiators”.
Otherwise, it’s “deja vu all over again”, or “Wipeout!” redux. Perhaps this is how Endemol (if indeed they are involved here) hopes to train future “Wipeout!” hosts, in case the fall-into-the-water show continues for so long that John and John need replacing.
Given the success of “Wipeout” I’m a bit surprised that the first copycat show didn’t come from FOX or NBC, like with WWTBAM, but from CBBC/YTV/Whatever-the-Aussie-broadcaster-is.
The show seems perfectly fine, but the second round is a confusing blur and the final round is over in no time at all. At least Dick and Dom were a tad funnier than the Canadian announcers.
Also, I hate the defenders. None of them are particularly entertaining, apart from Kookaburra.
I sorta want to say that The Whole 19 Yards was originally CBS’s response to Wipeout (even though it never aired in the US), but something in the back of my mind says this comparison isn’t quite right.
Speaking of which, how’s the German 17 Meter (their version of 19 Yards) doing? The trailer during the last SdR looked quite juicy.
Having done a bit of googling, you can watch an entire show starting here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQVrh7PA8Ic
The format of the questions and rounds is the nearly same as the UK version, but there are 10 (count ’em!) players in two groups of five trying to get through to the final. One person from each group is eliminated each round.
The first round is bizarre 😀
Nice one, I’ll have a look when I finish work.
The hosts appear to be more handsome versions of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant?
Wow, this thing is long. Ten contestants is sorta ridiculous to begin with, although this seems to be the sort of show that’d take up a whole night and only air once in a while, like SdR, so I guess it’s gotta be big. After a certain point, I stopped watching every challenge and instead just fast-forwarded to see enough of one playing. Seeing two or more of each challenge is particularly annoying here. I also didn’t like how so many games seemed to be “fall off and go back to the start” games. I rather liked the UK’s take, where all the games had forward motion, just incredibly hindered forward motion. On the whole, the games seemed to be straightforward and serious, rather than bizarre and unpredicable. I’d even take the childish gunging if it means getting the hilarity of someone buzzing in on someone’s butt back.
I’m planning on watching this after Four Rooms this evening, but that was the very thing that irritated me about the Spanish version.
The challenge in particular involved two people wearing flippers crossing a rope bridge, the first one to the end got to try and get across a treadmill to hit the buzzer, if they failed the other person could have a go and vice versa. Not only did they fail the treadmill several times, but they both got the question wrong when they did, so they had to do it all over again. They also played the game three times, with the losers from two face-offs playing each other for survival. It was DULL.
Just to point out, it’s the same system as the Spanish – they are clues to a thing. The contestants don’t hear the voice, just the hints as they come up on screen.
If I’ve heard this right, the winner gets €24,000. Why couldn’t they round?
I’m pretty sure it’s funfundzwanzig – 25.
I’m told over on Keshiheads that they are all Canadian kids.
That would not surprise me at all… they taped it about an hour away from my house and I believe the casting was done in the area awhile ago.
Still puzzled why a UK casting director is listed in the credits. Was their job purely to go “Hmm, Dick and Dom – they’ll do”?
The defenders come from all three nations. I imagine any second season would invovled UK contestants.
I would also imagine that seasons 1, 2 (and possibly 3) were recorded in virtually one block.
The thought just struck me over dinner tonight–if the Japanese lawyers who are taking Endemol et al to court over claims that “Wipeout!” stole from “Takeshi’s Castle” (et al), they’d be all over themselves getting a writ telling them to quit, and right now!
This show is even closer to “Takeshi” than “WIpeout!”. Although falling in the water doesn’t eliminate you (as on “Takeshi”), the Defenders could be at home in Takeshi’s digs.
Why not have the hosts doll up like they just stepped off a playing card, and make the imitation complete?!
The same thing struck me at June 13, 2011, 10:10 am, above.
I firmly believe Wipeout has no case to answer against Takeshi’s/Ninja Warrior exactly – same genre of course, but completely different format with very different rules.
However Splatalot certainly has a case to answer against both. The whole castle theme and idea of “defenders” clearly comes from Takeshi’s, whilst the gameplay and presentation is identical to Wipeout, bar the head to head finale.
how do i get on
The Defenders are from a lot of nations. I don’t know everyone, but I do know that Shaiden and Thorne are bother English, Kookaburra and Crocness are Australian and Ballista is Canadian. Not sure about the others.
I love this show!