Television Thursday #3

Lowell the Hammer Stanley ads. If you grew up in the Hampton Roads area these are the basis of your childhood. I'm mad I couldn't find the newer ones, the guy has gone insane and the intensity has been ratcheted up like 10 notches. He actually growls like a lion in the newest one.

Television Thursday #2

Ninja Warrior! This Japanese import is basically an obstacle course on steroids. Stage 1 is like the first couple American Idol episodes. You have the serious and the goofy mf'ers all mixed together. Round 1 usually weeds out all the goofy people there for a laugh and leaves all the serious contenders. Round 2 is harder than Round 1 and tests your agility and speed. Round 3 is almost impossible focusing on your upper body strength in an onslaught of obstacles including the dreaded cliff hanger. The cliff hanger has you hanging in the air with your fingertips as you try to make it across a moat. If you complete Round 3, Round 4 is even harder and is a straight race against the clock in a vertical rope climb. Only 2 people have completed all 4 rounds. What makes it even worse is if too many people complete any of the rounds, the next season they make it even more difficult. Those Japanese!

Television Thursday #1

I watch a lot of TV, like a ridiculous amount. I think I am an addict. Here is where I give you a preview of what shows I am watching. This week:

Mantracker.

-From the wiki page: Mantracker is a Canadian reality television series that premiered in April 2006 on the Outdoor Life Network. In the United States, the program currently airs on the Science Channel.

The show's premise involves an expert tracker, known as "Mantracker," who pursues two individuals in the remote Canadian wilderness. The pursued must elude capture while attempting to reach a finish line within 36 hours. Mantracker never meets the team prior to the chase, nor does he know their destination. Traveling on horseback and aided by a local guide, Mantracker mostly relies on his well-honed tracking skills to trail them, although some equipment (such as regular and infrared binoculars) is also used. As stated by Grant in the show's introductory tagline, "Know your land. Know your prey."

So think of the Fugitive except Tommy Lee Jones is on horseback with a rugged ass beard, Harrison Ford is two people from Canada running for their lives and the setting is somewhere in Canada. From this show I realized that Canada has some rugged land, horses hate brush, and trying to escape without leaving tracks is damn near impossible. The best ones are where the prey do something to piss off the mantracker and he steps his game up. Thank you Science Channel for bringing me the second best show from Canada (Degrassi being first and probably being discussed in a later Television Thursday)