Bullseye: Episode 1- "Bullseye Buggy Jump"

Bullseye: Episode 1- "Bullseye Buggy Jump"

This game show on FOX features 8 new contestants every week doing three extreme stunts that somehow involve a bullseye where the winner can walk away with $50,000. 

Hhhmmm. A show that involves new contestants every week, facing their fears in extreme stunts for $50,000. Does Fear Factor ring a bell to anyone? Clearly not to anybody working at FOX. Joe Rogan hosted Fear Factor on NBC which ran from 2001-2006 and was revived in 2011 but only for a short period.

Here are some things that I noticed in the first episode of Bullseye:
1) All of the initial interviews, the walk of shames, the cutting to commercials right at the end of a stunt and the slow motion recaps are all scene for scene how it was shot on Fear Factor. They only switched around enough of the scenes and changed enough of the words to avoid copyright infringement. 
2) Bullseye has two hosts: Kellan Lutz (from Twilight) and comedian Godfrey (who?) which I think is hysterical. They had to hire TWO people to do the job that Joe Rogan did all by himself on Fear Factor. Not sure why two people are needed to talk to the contestants and explain the stunts as Joe never seemed to be overwhelmed by this task.
3) When Fear Factor aired back in 2001 their prize money was $50,000 which is the exact same amount they are giving away now, 14 years later. Not to get all mathematical but by using the Consumer Price Index we can see that what would cost an an average of $1.77 in 2001 would now cost an average of $2.35 in today's market and by sticking that data into an inflation calculation, it shows that the inflation between January of 2001 to January of 2015 is 33.47%. This boggles my mind that inflation went up by that much and yet the prize money remains the same. Since FOX didn't actually have to pay anyone to come up with the concept for this show, you think they could afford to put some of their savings into increasing the prize money.

Although this show wasn't terrible, it wasn't original either. Makes me feel old that I've already been around for the original Fear Factor, the revival of Fear Factor and now the copycat of Fear Factor. It pretty much just feels like a "been there and done that" situation. Even having two hosts can't compare to the awesomeness that was Joe Rogan. No one could get more excited to blend up bugs into nasty smoothies or more pumped up to watch the contestants compete than Joe did. In the end I'm left wondering if FOX was living under a rock during NBC's run of Fear Factor or if they are just living by the motto "Those who can't think of new ideas, steal them from others". 

Well FOX, evidently originality is not a factor for you.

C

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