I already made at
least four lists on my all-time favorite TV shows (see Top 10 Anime Series, Top 20 TV Series [That Had Already Concluded], Top 20 Animated TV Series, and Top 10 TV Shows That Ran Before I Was Born). But they only covered the “fiction” side of
things. Now, in this list, the “nonfiction”
side – game shows, documentaries, reality shows, educational programs, etc. – is
going to be tackled.
10.) MAN VS.
WILD
The setup of
each episode involves the host Bear Grylls being left stranded in a particular remote
region. He will then display his
survivalist and innovation skills – most notably, eating and drinking whatever
is necessary to survive, regardless of how nasty they are. The show demonstrates the possible options
one has when he finds himself lost or stuck in the wild in order to survive and
find a way back to civilization. The
narrative is presented as if Bear is performing tasks on the fly and without
any support team on hand, but that’s not necessarily the case. Still, the show effectively sells the
illusion, making it very thrilling as well as educational.
9.) KITCHEN
NIGHTMARES, HELL’S KITCHEN, MASTERCHEF… WHATEVER SHOW GORDON RAMSAY IS IN
Gordon Ramsay is
easily one of the most magnetic TV personalities ever. Any of his shows – most especially Kitchen Nightmares, Hell’s Kitchen, and MasterChef
– make good TV entertainment. It’s not
only because of his incredible talents as a chef, and the mesmerizing way he
articulates the process of his cooking, but also because the words that come
out of his mouth whenever he gets infuriated is the most savage, most hilarious
insults and expletives I’ve ever heard (my favorite is “There’s more olive oil
on this than Popeye’s d*ck.” I remember
spitting what I was drinking when I heard that.). He can be awkwardly mean, but whatever mood
he’s in, he delivers a fun time.
8.) SURVIVOR
Survivor was my first
encounter with the “reality competition” TV genre. The show puts contestants of varying backgrounds on
an isolated place, where they need to figure out how to provide food, water,
shelter, fire, and other needs for themselves, while competing in regular challenges
for rewards and immunity from being eliminated.
Contestants are progressively eliminated in a stretch of many days until
one remains for the grand prize of a million bucks.
I no longer
watch this show; only watched its first few seasons (it’s currently at 35 seasons
as of writing!). But I remember keenly
following each episode when I still did.
Back then, I really found the premise, mechanics, and “realistic drama” deeply
unique and engrossing.
7.) LONELY
PLANET
There were no Youtube
travel vloggers (or Youtube, for that matter.
Or even ready access to the Internet) when I was a kid, so I turned to Lonely Planet (also known as Globe Trekker) for information and
immersion regarding the different spots, foods, cultures, and activities around
the world.
6.) PLANET EARTH
Ever since I was
a kid, I’ve been fond of animal documentaries on TV. But the most gorgeous and stirring among them
is easily Planet Earth and its sequel
Planet Earth II, making them my
favorites and the sole animal/nature show in this list. (Also, honestly, I already forgot the titles of the
old animal documentaries I used to watch at Discovery Channel and National Geographic
as a kid.)
5.) THE AMAZING
RACE
The Amazing Race is my
favorite “reality game show” of all time.
It’s basically a race around the world, so it’s like a game show and a
travel show rolled into one. The contest
is divided into legs, wherein teams of twos race each other to get to “Pit
Stops.” Along the way, teams have to go
to different locations and perform the tasks respective to those locations in
order to obtain the clues for their next destinations – the last one being the Pit
Stop for that leg. The order of which teams
arrive at the Pit Stop determines the order they will have to depart from it
for the next leg. Usually, the last team
that arrives in the leg’s Pit Stop is eliminated, but sometimes, no elimination
is done – they only need to set off last.
Winners of a leg are sometimes given prizes, like cruises. Teams are progressively eliminated until only
three are left for the final leg. The
winner of the final leg is the overall winner of the game.
I’m no longer a
regular viewer, since the setup and competition dynamics are basically the same
in each season – if you’ve seen a few seasons, it’s like you’ve seen all the
show has to offer. Still, I do watch an
episode once in a while.
4.) QI
QI (which means Quite Interesting) is a British comedy panel
quiz show hosted by Stephen Fry until 2016 (Sandi Toksvig replaced him). It involves a panel composed of Alan Davies (who
is a permanent panelist of the show) and three guest comedians answering
various difficult, cryptic trivia questions.
The aim isn’t necessarily to offer the correct answers, but interesting
ones. Points are of course given to
correct answers, but points are also given to interesting answers. The host and panelists then discuss the topic
raised by that question further, offering bits of knowledge in relation to it that
they personally know, before proceeding to the next one.
However, points
are deducted when one gives a boring, obvious answer – usually a misconception
that is generally believed as true. Alan
Davies is usually the one that gives these boring, obvious answers, and he
often ends up last. It’s not necessarily because Davies is dumb;
he’s actually quite quick and witty. But
by employing his sharpness as a comedian to play the dimwit – from which Fry and
the rest feed off good-humored annoyance – an uproarious, lively discussion is
incited.
Though it’s not
free of factual errors, I find it as informative as it’s hilarious.
3.) MYTHBUSTERS
In MythBusters, special effects experts
Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, along with their “second unit” team, conduct
experiments in order to verify the validity or feasibility of rumors, urban
legends, conspiracy theories, adages, TV and movie scenes, popular beliefs, etc. The concept is simply brilliant, and I really
learned tons of stuff from it.
2.) LEGENDS OF
THE HIDDEN TEMPLE
This kids’
action-adventure game show was the bomb in the 90’s. Hosted by Kirk Fogg and Olmec (voiced by Dee
Bradley Baker), each episode revolves around a particular legend, from which
the games are themed from. The contest
proper involves six two-person teams – the Red Jaguars, the Blue Barracudas,
the Green Monkeys, the Orange Iguanas, the Purple Parrots, and the Silver
Snakes – competing in three rounds of eliminations in order to determine which
team will go to the final round. In the
final round, which is called “The Temple Run”, a relic from the episode’s
featured legend has to be retrieved from the eponymous temple within three
minutes. There are twelve themed rooms
in the temple, with each room containing a particular puzzle that needs to be solved before a door to the next room is opened. The temple also hides “Temple Guards”, which
remove a player from the temple when caught.
The Temple Guards can be pacified by “Pendants of Life”, the pieces of
which are earned during the “Temple Games” (the third round) or found within
the temple.
It was pretty
awesome. My playmates and I were even inspired
to create and perform our own versions of the “Temple Run” back then.
1.) WHOSE LINE
IS IT ANYWAY?
WLIIA? is one of the most
hilarious things I’ve ever encountered.
It’s originally a British show, but the American version is what I became
familiar with. Hosted by Drew Carey (and by Aisha Tyler in the revival), it’s
an improv comedy show where four participating comedians have to perform
specific on-the-spot comedy (whether it’s a song, skit, spoof, characterization,
etc.) depending on the requirements of what is the “game” (e.g. Let’s Make a Date, Hats, Greatest Hits, Hoedown, Scenes from a
Hat, Props, Newsflash, Weird Newscasters, Party Quirks, and many, many more) on
hand. Three of the four spots are regularly
filled by Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, and Wayne Brady, while the fourth is
filled by a recurring guest – usually Brad Sherwood, Greg Poops, Chip Esten,
Jeff Davis, or Kathy Greenwood. Huge comedy
stars like Whoopi Goldberg (who was pretty weak), Stephen Colbert, and Robin
Williams (in one of my most favorite episodes) have also filled the “fourth
spot” in some episodes.
Sometimes, I’ve
wondered if none is really scripted. It’s
because their performances are just perfect.
Wayne always creates the perfect lyrics, ad-libbing a song as
if he has sung it many times before. And Ryan and Colin’s chemistry and timing are
always in sync. They’re simply too good – too quick-witted.
WLIIA? is comedy at its
rawest and cleverest. And that’s why it’s
one of the greatest things that ever happened on TV.
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