Wipeout, aptly hailed a ‘world’s largest obstacle course’ is an offbeat reality show, described by its creator, Matt Kunitz as the bringing together of ‘Fear Factor’ and ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’. The show debuted on June 24, 2008, and stands in the league of America’s most popular reality TV shows.

The show is hosted by John Henson and John Anderson, who also provide the popular commentary, which is famous for its generous dose of puns. The ‘Big Balls’ obstacle makes for the trademark obstacle, and contributes a healthy dose of humor. Jill Wagner is the on-the-spot presenter, who accompanies the contestants in the obstacle race, located at the Sable Ranch in California.

Each episode of the show is divided into four parts, the first one being ‘The Qualifier’, in which 24 contestants compete with each other, attempting to crack all the four obstacles in the shortest possible time. The most popular of these obstacles are the ‘Sucker Punch’ and ‘The Big Balls’. The Big Balls is proclaimed to be the hardest nut to crack, and requires a ‘motivator’ which plunges the players into it.

The top twelve contestants in this round progress to the second round, which is the ‘Elimination Round’. This round consists of either one or two challenges, which vary in different seasons. The first two seasons featured ‘The Sweeper’. In addition, the second season also introduced ‘King of the Mountain’, whereas the ‘Double Cross’ and ‘Overdrive’ were incorporated in the third season. The elimination round in season 4 comprises of ‘The Ski Lift’.

The contestants who make it through the second round, compete in ‘Road to the Final 4’, which is the third round of the game show. This round singles out the top 4, who finally face each other in ‘The Wipeout Zone’. The humor quotient in this round is mellowed down to a more serious one. This one takes place at night. The winner of the round takes home the prize money of $50,000, along with the coveted title of the ‘Wipeout Champion’.