Wipeout (season 5)

Winter Episode 1: Deck The Balls

First Wipeout Christmas special.

Aired on December 8, 2011.

Amanda and Sam Ciurdar were the third married couple to compete on a non-couples episode.

Sam Ciurdar was the first contestant to place one consecutive position higher in every event, ordered from fourth in the qualifier to winning Wipeout.

Title reference: A spoof on the traditional Christmas/Yuletide song "Deck the Halls".

Nobody got the $500 bonus.

This was the first all-male Wipeout Zone in Season 5.

This was the first episode with Vanessa Lachey in it.

Winter Episode 2: A Sight for Sore Ice

Rob Petch and Talia Tolomeo both crossed the snowflake.

Travis Case crossed the Candy Pain Lane.

Amanda Gutierrez and 'Minnesotan Moose' Kristen Carter knocked "Smallsy" off the 4th Big Ball, thus earning them $500. However, Kristen didn't pass the qualifier.

Although it wasn't seen, Talia Nicole Tolomeo was the only contestant to cross Snow Shovel Trouble.

Title Reference: A Sight for Sore Eyes

Winter Episode 3: Ice, Ice Baby

Aired January 12, 2012.

Abner Ramirez was the second contestant to cross Psychedelic Snowglobe. (Dylan Hamilton was the first. )

Austin James was the first to cross Iced Over.

Michelle Assadi crossed the snowflake.

Andrew Manila was the only contestant to cross Avalanche Alley. However, he did not advance to the next round.

Nobody got the $500 bonus.

This was the second all-male Wipeout Zone in season 5.

Title quotation from: John Henson after 'MC Cashmere Luxury' Austin James fell in the cold water. The episode is named after a rap song of the same name by Vanilla Ice.

Winter Episode 4: Family Tree

*Gabrielle Johnson crossed Weasel Wheel, the Big Balls, and Ballsy's Ski Shop. **Blondie Shana and Diva Amanda both quit during the Cold-Hearted Snake, but Shana and her sister quit first, so the Divas advanced. Since the Winter brothers were the only team to complete the Cold-Hearted Snake, they won $25,000. This was the first episode to have a shocker.

Blondes got the $500 bonus.

Title reference: Family episode; the first obstacle in the qualifier was the Family Tree.

Winter Episode 5: Shoulda SAW That Coming

*Jordan Lott and Dorean Amaya each crossed the Big Balls, earning them 500 dollars.
**Even though it wasn't shown Joseph Velazquez, Monica Smith, Jordan Lott, and Steph Sklar each crossed the Buzz Saw.
***Stacey Pearce had a different profile picture shown before the break than the one after the break.

Joseph Velazquez was the fourth to cross the Snowflake (Rob Petch, Talia Tolomeo, and Michelle Assadi were the others), the first to cross Penguin Party, and the first to cross Frozen Fury.

This was the third all-male Wipeout Zone in Season 5.

Title reference: The Buzz Saw part of the course.

Winter Episode 6: Valentines Day Couples

*Eric & Katie Poole earned 1,000 dollars for both completing the Cold-Hearted Snake.
**Jacqueline was the second person to not compete in the Wipeout Zone in a team episode. (Tony Juarez was the first.)

Nobody got the $1,000 bonus from the qualifier.

Eric and Katie Poole were the second couple to win all four rounds. (The Improvers Brian and Katie were the others.)

The Cold-Hearted Snake was different than the other episodes. One member from one team had to complete the Snake in order for the team to advance to the Wipeout Zone. Eric finished first, which put him and Katie in the Zone. Katie finished second, giving the Baby Makers the $1,000 bonus. James was the third and final person in this episode to complete the Snake. That put him and Jacqueline in the Zone. Therefore, there was no need for Jacqueline to finish.

The Wipeout Zone in this episode was different than the others. One team had to complete the zone (one teammate at a time) and the other team had to beat that time. The Baby Makers (Eric & Katie) set the time to beat without the Lovers Without Borders (James & Jacqueline) participating. After the time to beat was set, it was up to the Lovers Without Borders to beat it, starting with James. James did not beat the combined time, and therefore his partner, Jacqueline, couldn't compete.

James Parent and Jacqueline Ferreira were the first couple to get second in every round.

Winter Episode 7: That Snow Way To Fall Down

* Katie and Jason both grabbed the penguin on the fourth ball, earning them each 500 dollars.

Tim Oswald crossed the Eskimo Village.

Joe Vaux crossed the Ski Boot.

Joe Vaux is the assistant director of Family Guy.

Title reference: The Snowfall.

Aired February 16, 2012.

Winter Episode 8: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yeti

Sean Smith got the $500 bonus.

Aired on February 23, 2012.

This was the fourth all-male Wipeout Zone in Season 5.

Title reference: The Yeti Country obstacle; also a play-on with the Bachman–Turner Overdrive song "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet".

Summer Episode 1: Hotties Vs. Nerds 2.0

*Alec Morse was the only contestant to cross Ghoul Trouble. He also posted the fastest qualifying time in Season 5.

Amanda Gulyas was the only contestant to cross the Pandemonium.

Whitney Cordray was the first contestant to clear the Tectonic Planks on her first attempt.

Aired on June 28, 2012.

Summer Episode 2: Wipeout Salutes the Armed Forces

*Jonathan Wong and Johnny Huston, as well as three unmentioned soldiers, tagged Smallsy on the fourth ball, collecting 500 dollars. **Mark was the first Wipeout Zone quitter this season.

In addition to the $50,000, Wipeout (as well as ABC network) also donated $20,000 to the U.S.O. in Jonathan's name.

Ryan Barley completed the Hangover without any Wipeouts.

This was the fifth all-male Wipeout Zone in Season 5. It was also the sixth episode that was all-male from the third round onwards since S2E3, S3E14, S4E20, S4E23, and S4E26.

For the first time in Wipeout history, only two female contestants passed the qualifier.

Aired July 5, 2012.

Summer Episode 3: Boss and Employee

*David Rios was the first contestant to clear the Pound About. **Dan and Christy were the only team to have both members clear Scaregrounds. Since only one member of each team was necessary to advance, they each collected 1,000 dollars. ***This was the first team Wipeout episode to have only one individual contestant collect the 50 grand, which was a twist. **** The cool coaches came first in every round (which only goes for David Rios). This technically made David Rios the 6th contestant to win every round. (Chuck Trout, Dana Logsdon, Skip Dickinson, Travis Dixon, and Mark Holwick were the others.)

David Rios was the second contestant to cross both the Swing Blades and the Torrential Twisters. If he didn't wipe out at the end of The Tectonic Planks, he would have finished the Wipeout Zone in under two minutes. Christy Tillman was the first to cross both, and Dan Flynn also crossed the Torrential Twister before David. Dan Flynn was the second contestant to come in second in all four rounds. (Edward Monroy was the first.)

Aired on July 10, 2012.

Summer Episode 4: It's The John Henson Show

*A.J. Smith tagged Smallsy on the fourth ball, and collected 500 dollars. Travis also tagged smallsy, but did not collect the 500 dollars. This was the first time this happened. *Travis Woiemberghe was the first to clear Spinergy.

This was the sixth all-male Wipeout Zone in Season 5.

Title reference: Host John Henson took over as puppet master in charge of several unsuspecting competitors. The title quotation was sung by Vanessa Lachey.

Aired on July 12, 2012.

Summer Episode 5: Udderly Ridiculous

Aired on July 17, 2012

Matt McSweeney grabbed Smallsy on the fourth ball and collected 500 dollars. John Henson says, when Matt's at Swinging in the Rain, "If I knew the king was coming today I would have fixed the faulty-" interrupted by a splash by Matt himself.

Rico Andino was the first to clear the Comma-Kazi.

Although it wasn't shown, Matt McSweeney was the first to clear the Panic Hammocks.

This was the seventh all-male Wipeout Zone in Season 5.

Title reference: The name of one of the courses in the qualifying round.

Summer Episode 6: Gorillas in our Midst

*Julian McFadden collected 500 dollars for tagging Smallsy. He was also the first to clear Monkey Business.
** Michael Ayoob was the second to tag Smallsy, although this wasn't seen.
Title quotation from: John Henson, rapping about the "Monkey Business" course in the qualifying round.

Julian McFadden, Michael Ayoob, And Kevin Osborne were the fourth, fifth, and sixth contestants to cross the Torrential Twisters.

Although it wasn't seen, Robin Stevens and Tanya Casey were the second and third to cross Monkey Business.

Aired on July 19, 2012.

This was the eight all-ale Wipeout Zone in Season 5.

Summer Episode 7: Blind Date 2012

*Jeremy, Sara and Marcus each tagged Smallsy on the fourth ball and collected $500. **Jeremy crossed Head Over Heels and the Wipeout Nursery. Chad also crossed the Wipeout Nursery and Ashley also crossed Head Over Heels. Head Over Heels is an obstacle very similar to the Panic Hammocks. ***The Samurai Ninjas were the only team to have both members complete the Scaregound. Since only one member was necessary to advance, they collected 1,000 dollars. ****The Big Ball Bonanza was a bonus round, where the team that travelled the farthest on the Big Balls would collect 5,000 dollars. Zach and Elaina traveled the farthest, and thus they won the bonus cash. In the Big Ball Bonanza nobody gets eliminated.

Scheduled to air on July 26, 2012.

Summer Episode 8: Batter Up

*Max Carr earned $500 for tagging Smallsy.

Max Carr was the second to cross the Comma-Kazi. (Rico Andino was the first.)

Luis Ramos and Max Carr didn't make a single wipeout on the Hangover.

Title reference: The name of the first part of the qualifier course.

Aired on August 2, 2012.

Summer Episode 9: Hillbilly Wipeout

*Garrett Brewer was rewarded with 500 dollars for tagging Smallsy. **After Brittany's run, Breanne's time was mistaken to be 11:33.16 in the Leaderboard. *** Sheryl was the second Wipeout Zone quitter this season (Mark Serrano being the first this season). **** Joseph was the first contestant to have a hacked time, of 41:24.8.

This was the first all-female Wipeout Zone in Season 5, and the third all-female Wipeout Zone since S2E02 and the first "Ladies' Night" episode, S3E15.

Breanne Van Beek was the first female champion of Season 5 and the 13th female champion in Wipeout history. The Others were Monica Kauffmann, Michelle Hart, Melia Quiray, Debbie Markham, Jill Facer, Caroline Lee, Carrie Kiker, Andrea Corkhill, Kelsey Schulte, Camille Bulot, Sarah Cooper, and April Groefsma.

The finalists all finished differently. Breanne finished, Brittany ran out of time, and Sheryl quit. This was the third time this has happened. The first two were S2E2, and S4E16.

Breanne Van Beek became the second contestant to swear on the show without being bleeped. (David Goryl was the first.)

Title reference: Contestant Sheryl Crawford called herself a hillbilly, and John apparently saw her coming because of Breanne and Brittany's habits of eating wild animals. Additionally, the "Hillbilly Mowdown" course in the third round was introduced. Henson made a new "title sequence", "Hillbilly Wipeout", which turned out to be a fake.

Scheduled to air on August 9, 2012.

Summer Episode 10: Winners and Losers

*Tony Lee, Caroline Lee, Rod Plaza, and Alison Gregorka each tagged Smallsy for 500 bucks. Tony was the only one of the four to cross the Big Balls, but Caroline failed to advance. **Chaz Hume was the only contestant to cross Grin and Bear It and the first to cross the Panic Hammocks. ***Tony Lee was the only contestant on American Wipeout to win Wipeout twice, and the third in Wipeout history to win it twice. (James Scott and Dan Allam of Total Wipeout were the first and second). Plus, he beat Chaz AGAIN. ****Chaz Hume was the third person and first male on American Wipeout to lose Wipeout twice (Ariel Tweto and Deborah Blackwell were the first and second), and one of many contestants in Wipeout history to lose it twice. Plus, he lost to Tony AGAIN.

Brent and Rod both crossed the Mashmallows.

Title reference: Twelve Wipeout losers (as well as twelve of the 90+ champions) returned to Wipeout.

Allison Bishop was the third person to tun out of time on the first obstacle of the Wipeout Zone. (Sean Foster and Chace Todenhoft were the first and second.)

Debbie Markham was the first winner to run out of time on the Wipeout Zone, even though she previously won in S3E3.

Tony Lee and Chaz Hume were on the same episode and Wipeout Zone their first time. Rod Plaza and Brent Elder were also in the same episode.

During the first three rounds, the winners and losers worked together, but in the Wipeout Zone, they competed on their own. This was the second time this has happened (S5E11 was the first).

Tony became the third contestant to cross the Comma-Kazi on his first try. (Rico Andino and Max Carr were the first and second.)

This episode aired on August 16, 2012.

Summer Episode 11: Uncle Stevie's Squid Pit and BBQ

*This was a record for Smallsy in history, 6. Premyer, Dave, Mark, Starfire, Matthew, and Dana earned 500 bucks for tagging Smallsy. Mark and Starfire were the only ones to cross the Big Balls. **Mark was the only contestant this episode to cross the Panic Hammocks. ***Starfire crossed the Bad Buoys, Swept Away and the aforementioned Big Red Balls; however, none of these crossings were shown. ****"Freitag" is German for "Friday". *****Dave was the first winner to be the last to qualify in each of the first three rounds. ******Richard was the second to cross Spinergy on his first try. (Travis Woiemberghe was the first.) *******Mark was the fourth to cross the Comma-Kazi on his first try. (Rico Andino, Max Carr, and Tony Lee were the first, second, and third.)

Title reference: John Henson's latest sponsor for the show, a fictional restaurant shown in commercial form after many contestants earned $500 by touching Smallsy while running the Big Balls course.

Summer Episode 12: Family Matters

*Nick tagged Smallsy and earned 500 dollars for his team. **The Country Girls and the other Blonde Sisters look alike, but they're from different families. However, Henson couldn't tell which team was which for these two duos. "Hammer Sister" Annalyn Hammer crossed the Wipeout Surf Shack, but she and her sister Annaliza failed to advance.

The Scaregrounds were different this episode. Only one family member had to make it to advance. But unlike the others, any team who got both members across didn't get a $1,000 bonus like the previous team episodes.

Summer Episode 13: Snakes on the Plains

*Scott's age was incorrectly stated as 32. His age at the time of taping was actually 40. **Scott was the fifth to cross the Comma-Kazi on his first try. (Rico Andino, Max Carr, Tony Lee, and Mark Lytle were the other four.)

Title reference: The first part of the qualifier course. Spoofs the popular 2006 film Snakes on a Plane.

Summer Episode 14: Rats!

*500 dollars was rewarded to Alec for tagging Smallsy.

Title reference: Rats were flying into the Wipeout Subway Car in the qualifying round. The title quotation was said by Sabrina Murillo, who was running the course at the time.

Summer Episode 15: Showdown At The Wipeout Saloon

*Kim Pham and 'Puppet Master' Melissa Dudek earned 500 dollars for tagging Smallsy. Melissa failed to advance. **Cameron was the only contestant this episode to cross the Panic Hammocks. ***Andy was the sixth contestant to cross the Comma-Kazi on his first try. (Rico Andino, Max Carr, Tony Lee, Mark Lytle, and Scott Gunn were the other five.) Later, Cameron became the seventh to cross on his first try.

Title reference: The first part of the qualifying round.

Summer Episode 16: Back To School: Students' Revenge

Stephanie Pokswinski was the final contestant this season to earn 500 dollars for tagging Smallsy. However, she failed to advance.

For the first time in Wipeout history, only three female contestants passed the qualifier.

The teacher's students were watching the qualifier.

This was the final episode to feature Vanessa Lachey, as on the premiere of the sixth season, Jill Wagner returned.