Genre Game show Country of origin United Kingdom No. of series 2 | Narrated by The Rubberbandits Original language(s) English No. of episodes 2 x 6 episodes | |
The Almost Impossible Gameshow is an adventure game show narrated by The Rubberbandits. It has aired since 1 October 2015 on ITV2 and was created and produced by the EndemolShineUK label Initial.
Contents
Background
The Almost Impossible Game Show first aired on 1 October, 2015 on ITV2, and was commissioned for two series of six episodes. The show was first piloted to Comedy Central in August 2013 but never aired. After that two series were sold to ITV2 and the format has since been offered through the EndemolShine Group.
Gameplay
Each contestant starts the contest with 50 lives, and takes on a series of games. These games are designed to be extremely difficult, hence the show's name. For each attempt that ends in failure, the contestant loses one life and must reattempt the game. The contestant can only move on to another game after one successful attempt, or after failing the game outright by making 15 failed attempts. If the contestant can successfully complete five games before running out of lives, he or she wins a trophy; any contestant who runs out of lives is out of the game.
Games
Games are sorted into seven zones: Tunnel, Paddock, Hill, Runway, Mud Pit, Hangar, Moat and Pool.
Critical reception
Weaver's Week likened what they saw of it to a "cruder" Total Wipeout, mourning the lack of a character in the judges as "anonymous monitors blowing a whistle. We may have to withdraw our critique of Uriah Rennie on Freeze Out: the "Ice Judge"'s studied lack-of-character was, itself, a character". They also noted that the show had "spent no money on its set dressing, just enough crash pads and mud and water to make it safe for the players. Nor has the programme spent much money on its challenges. They feel like the sort of thing an ambitious village carnival might do". They didn't finish the review; it initially halted after Weaver mistakenly perceived the commentators to be using "blatant sexism", although after being contacted by The Rubberbandits, they amended the story to say that they had misheard and misinterpreted what had been said.