Last Man Standing (BBC Three)
Six New Sportsmen Line up for TV’s most Violent Reality Show
Oct 22, 2008
When it first aired on BBC Three last year, Last Man Standing looked nothing more than another lame reality game show for mindless idiots to find fame. But what it turned out to be was a surprisingly entertaining mix of sport and travelogue documentary, and one of 2007’s best outings.
Ten Tribes, Six Athletes, One Victor
The show works by sending six young sportsmen, all experts in their chosen field, travel around the globe to take part in 10 different traditional and frequently brutal tribal sports. Whoever outperforms the rest in the most challenges is declared the winner and becomes the Last Man Standing.
This year’s “contestants” are cocky boxing Londoner Wolé, modern pentathlete Ed, Joey, a fiery Chicago football (soccer) player, JJ, a tough Florida submission wrestler, laidback San Diego rugby player Jarvis and Murray, a cool Devon kitesurfer. Although the field is more tightly contended than last year’s, big man Wolé looks to be the early favourite as his aggression and brute strength have already served him well in the first two weeks.
Blood, Sweat, Tears and Tantrums to become Last Man Standing
Each week contestants are usually split into two camps within the village and are then expected to master a new sport within one week before a big annual event against a neighbouring village. So there’s blood, sweat, tears and tantrums, up until the moment when the winner from each week either progresses further than he others or is selected by their trainer for being the most impressive.
While the competition in itself is fun, it’s the idea of learning about different tribes and people’s way of life that makes it stand out from a saturated market. The guys stay with a local family and help out with chores while training and by the end are usually accepted into the village despite being outsiders.
The competitors get into the spirit of each culture regardless of language barriers and often undertake local rituals, such as ceremonial dancing and wearing tribal clothing, and make bonds with each other. In the end that’s what Last Man Standing is about, just six guys having an adventure and making new friends along the way.
Ralf “Two Pint of Lager” Little replaces Richard “Hamster” Hammond
Unlike the first series the events are more varied and not just different types of fighting, which opens it up for some of the smaller, faster guys to stand a chance of winning. We’ve had suri stick-fighting in Ethiopia and suma wrestling in Burkina Faso, and future events include endurance racing in Nepal, archery in Bhutan, sikaran kick-fighting in the Philippines and Water Buffalo racing in the Indonesian island of Sumbawa. The latter in particular sounds interesting in its own right.
Another change is that this series is narrated by Ralf Little, best known for the atrocious Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, replacing Richard “Hamster” Hammond from the brilliant Top Gear. While this was a disappointing decision at the start of episode one, two weeks in he’s actually doing a good job by playing the role straight and adding slight hints of humour when needed.
But overall the shows producers have kept the same tried and tested formula that made it an addictive weekly hour of television. If all goes well and turns out to be the evenly balanced competition it promises, year two of Last Man Standing could just be an Apprentice beater.
Last Man Standing is shown on BBC Three every Tuesday at 9pm or on BBC iPlayer.
 |
