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Ed_lover
Reviews
Wildboyz (2003)
Funny and charming
It took me some time to warm up on Wildboyz. In the beginning the show was pretty mediocre, but it got better and better as it went along. An important reason for this is that Steve-O and Pontius seemed to become more comfortable in front of the camera, and their chemistry improved. In fact their chemistry is now one of the greatest strengths of the show.
This is a quirky and funny TV-series, and all the cute animals are a good, added bonus. It's also nice to seem some primitive cultures in the program from time to time, in fact I would like too see more of them. The interaction with the natives is often just as funny and bizarre as it is with the animals. Maybe even more so.
The show is pretty graphic at times and it's mostly low-brow humor, but if you dig that kind of thing (Like I do), then Wildboyz delivers in a big way.
Viva la Bam (2003)
Good, but repetitive
When Viva La Bam premiered on MTV, I was quite excited about it. It was a funny and inventive show with unique concept. And I liked Bam, his parents and his friends as characters. The first season was strong overall, but it already hinted at the problem the show has: It's just very repetitive. There are only so many things you can do with this kind of reality concept, and it doesn't hold your attention anymore, once you've seen several episodes.
When the show started, I was puzzled about whether the show was "acted" or if it was all for real. I think it's obvious by now that Viva La Bam is indeed a scripted and acted show. Reactions often seem forced, and the more you watch the show, the easier it is to see all the seams.
All in all it's a pretty good show, but I can't get excited about it anymore. It's too repetitive, and has very little replay value. Hopefully Bam will move on the other things soon, because Viva La Bam is getting a bit stale.
Dirty Sanchez (2003)
Very funny!
This is my second favorite extreme show right after Jackass (If we don't count local shows in different countries).
It's less varied than Jackass, and it mostly shows the four guys just inventing different way to torture each other in the most rude ways possible. So there aren't any big stunts here.
But it's very, very funny. And the interaction between the guys is great: It's easy to see that they really good friends, despite the fact that they seem to treat each other like trash all the time.
This is not for people, who are easily provoked. There is plenty of full frontal nudity, rude language and just plain sick stuff going on. But it also has a positive overall vibe, and it's all very humorous.
Definitely worth checking out.
Extreme duudsonit (2001)
Duudsonit are brilliant!
Extreme Duudsonit are often described as the "Finnish Jackass". This is pretty accurate, but they are not just copycats. The show started in January 2001 and most of it was already shot in the summer of 2000, several months before Jackass aired on MTV for the first time.
There have been three seasons so far in Jackass-style, but the 4th and latest season is a bit different. It's more like a combination of Jackass, Dirty Sanchez and Viva La Bam, with a lot of everyday "reality" stuff along with all the stunts. But it's just as good as the earlier seasons, and shows that they guys are able to re-invent themselves without losing the touch that made them popular in the first place (They are big celebrities here in Finland).
I've been a big fan since the beginning. Despite the fact that these guys are Finnish, they are not in any way worse than their American counterparts. Stunts are big and sometimes very dangerous, and they are not just copying others: Many of the stunts I've seen on "Extreme Duudsonit" are unlike anything else I've seen on TV or in different extreme DVDs. So I gotta give them big props for originality.
I also appreciate the fact that they are doing everything by themselves. This is not a "product", but something that started out as a hobby and then turned into a profession for the guys. It's cool that they are running their own TV company and are successful at it.
The guys are childhood friends and come off as really likable. Especially Jarppi, who is a fat, but very funny guy with endless one-liners. There is a good friendship going on between the guys, and the chit-chat is often really funny.
I also dig the fact that they are shooting mostly on the Finnish countryside. So there are a lot of forests, fields and lakes on the background. Many extreme videos look dark and depressing, but Duudsonit comes off as bright and colorful, with a good emphasis on Finnish nature.
If you're into extreme stunts, I highly recommend the Duudsonit TV shows and DVDs. Unfortunately I don't know if their DVDs are available outside Finland, and there is a language barrier anyway: They speak Finnish in their TV shows.
Jackass (2000)
Great show!
Jackass is still the best extreme show ever. Better than Dirty Sanchez, Wildboyz or Viva La Bam, although those are good as well. It's not good only because there are cool stunts in it, but it's also very funny, and there is good friendship between the guys. I guess it's clumsily shot at times, but that comes with the whole "reality" thing, I guess.
There have been extreme videos before Jackass, most notably in the skateboarding world. But this is still the show that brought extreme to mainstream.
I mentioned other shows that are part of the whole "extreme" phenomenom, and good series in their own right. The reason why Jackass is better than any of them is the fact that it's incredibly varied. Instead of doing more or less the same thing again and again, the guys were really inventive and tried as many different stunts as possible.
Highly recommended.