If the phrases “”Rotating Surfboard of Death,”” “”Sinkers and Floaters”” or “”Irritable Bowl”” mean anything to you, then you’re in luck. These double-entendres are actually games from Spike TV’s action game show, “”Most Extreme Elimination Challenge,”” a.k.a. “”MXC,”” which is back for its fifth season, premiering tomorrow night.
The show uses footage from the popular Japanese show “”Takeshi’s Castle,”” which ran from 1986 to 1990, and dubs it over with completely original, comical and sometimes racy dialogue in English.
Executive producer and writer Paul Abeyta got the idea for a show like “”MXC”” from a friend who worked for Sony and had a library of different international television shows. Abeyta looked through various action shows from around the world, but the footage he saw on “”Takeshi’s Castle”” caught his eye.
“”This one stood out, and it had so many stunts and games and it had a lot of material-130 hours. I showed it to Chris (Darga) and all the characters and had an eight-minute presentation of the show to the agent,”” Abeyta said.
Other networks offered a contract, but the producers eventually settled on Spike TV.
“”We went with Spike because they were at that time the hungriest, the most progressive and would lend the most support,”” Abeyta said.
“”There’s so much creative freedom, and we know how far we can go. We may go a little too far, but that’s the fun of it. We take a lot of chances.””
The “”MXC”” actors who lend their voices to the show include Victor Wilson as co-host Vic Ramano, Christopher Darga as co-host Kenny Blankenship, Mary Scheer as all the female voices and John Cervenka as various contestants, Captain Tenneal and Guy Le Douche.
In creating the show, the nine writers from “”MXC,”” four of whom are also actors, find two teams who could play against each other, such as “”Gay Rights versus the Religious Right.”” They find the footage for the show and then create jokes for the show.
“”(The show) made us laugh and makes us laugh so hard, so how could people possibly not like this? It’s admired by people in the industry, celebrities, general public. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t love the show,”” said Darga.
Abeyta said the show differs from anything else on television today, and part of its success is from the show’s broad appeal.
“”Others have tried to do what we were doing,”” he said.
“”We take it seriously, we know who our audience is, and it’s just fun. The reason it has worked so well is because it has incredible repeatability. The reruns have almost as high numbers as when it’s first aired.””
Darga doesn’t seem to mind that his face is not seen on the popular show.
“”It’s great when you’re not working inside a box all day,”” he said. “”All you are is just the voice, but still, one thing great here is that we are still able to audition for other things. It’s very rewarding, it’s so much fun to work on the show.””
