Fear the factor

Lots of news today on the coming revival of Fear Factor. As the faux tweets disclose, I'm not a fan. The show was just too teenaged gross for my middle-aged tastes (no pun intended about the "food" stunts).

Stunt game shows always have a tendency to blur over into reality TV. For instance, this story from Reality TV World claims Fear Factor as its own. Of course, a cynic could say that any game show is reality television of a sort. And why bother with such picayune distinctions, anyway?

The story offers some interesting quotes from NBC's reality boss, Paul Telegdy. He says Fear Factor pulled good numbers in cable repeats, which got NBC looking at a revival. I dunno, Deal or No Deal did good numbers in CNBC and GSN reruns. But the peacock net (warning, Variety-speak) appears completely uninterested in recalling Howie and the models.

Joe Rogan may not return as host even if the new Fear Factor gets to air. I didn't recall this, but Rogan trashed the show after it closed. Maybe not such a good career move, Joe.