'Wipeout': Cancelled by ABC, No Season Eight?

[0512vwoods]

It’s looking like Wipeout is all washed up on ABC. The competition series hit some lows in the ratings last summer, was left off the schedule this summer, and now, it’s been removed from the network’s website.

On Wipeout, contestants try to make it through the “world’s largest obstacle course.” The person that makes it in the shortest time wins a cash prize. The program is hosted by John Anderson, John Henson, and Jill Wagner.

The show’s ratings have been coming down over the years and the seventh season was no exception. The 12 episodes, which finished airing in September 2014, registered just a 0.97 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 3.52 million viewers. That was down about 10% season-to-season.

http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/wipeout-cancelled-by-abc-no-season-eight-37402/

[Matt Ottinger]

I never cared for the fact that Wipeout was 100% totally dedicated to the goofy spills, to the point that the winner was frequently the person who could swim back to the course the fastest after the inevitable multiple fails.  American Ninja Warrior probably takes itself too seriously in the opposite direction, but at least it's a genuine competition series that rewards good game play.  Wipeout could have been a little more legitimate and still play for the laughs.

[TLEberle]

I read somewhere that Wipeout was being recast as Wipeout: Extreme precisely because their lunch was being eaten by ANW.  Wipeout has the same problem that Bullseye does and Hole in the Wall did: if you've seen one episode you really don't need to see another.

For my money you really can't beat the original article--I enjoyed the Ninja Warrior packages on G4 when I was able to see them, and Unbeatable Banzuke was a marvelous treat.

[parliboy]

For my money you really can't beat the original article--I enjoyed the Ninja Warrior packages on G4 when I was able to see them, and Unbeatable Banzuke was a marvelous treat.

I'd like to watch more of Viking, myself.

[Joe Mello]

I never cared for the fact that Wipeout was 100% totally dedicated to the goofy spills, to the point that the winner was frequently the person who could swim back to the course the fastest after the inevitable multiple fails.  American Ninja Warrior probably takes itself too seriously in the opposite direction, but at least it's a genuine competition series that rewards good game play.

I'm with you there, though I'd argue ANW is getting closer to the ideal amount of seriousness.

For my money you really can't beat the original article--I enjoyed the Ninja Warrior packages on G4 when I was able to see them, and Unbeatable Banzuke was a marvelous treat.

I'm a little sad ANW doesn't do elimination challenges like other reality shows, because then you could've shoehorned in the Banzuke games for maximum awesome.

/All done by the same production company
//Until it went bankrupt

[Tony Peters]

It was Kinniku (Unbeatable) Banzuke, AKA Muscle Ranking, that actually gave birth to Sasuke/Ninja Warrior.  The early Sasuke tournaments had one or more MR logos in place on the Mt. Midori course.

/Yeah, I miss the original NW too
//Especially since Tokyo Broadcasting won't allow uploads to YouTube anymore
///And there's no US TV outlet for it now

[Thunder]

I never cared for the fact that Wipeout was 100% totally dedicated to the goofy spills, to the point that the winner was frequently the person who could swim back to the course the fastest after the inevitable multiple fails.  American Ninja Warrior probably takes itself too seriously in the opposite direction, but at least it's a genuine competition series that rewards good game play.  Wipeout could have been a little more legitimate and still play for the laughs.

That's the only reason that we watched it.

When you got to the Big Money Final Round, it had to be edited so much that there was no way to watch it as a real competition... as in "they only took 42 seconds on that obstacle versus 56 seconds for the first person". 

[Unrealtor]

I felt like the first season or two of Wipeout actually had a decent balance. You were there to watch people fall, but most of the obstacles felt like they were doable by someone with better balance or speed than the contestants they were picking. (I suspect that a lot of the ANW regulars would have eaten the first-round courses for lunch.) But it quickly turned into obstacles that were designed to be completely impossible no matter how good you were and that was when I lost interest.

[clemon79]