Pinoy Fear Factor

Pinoy Fear Factor is a Philippine television reality competition show broadcast by ABS-CBN The show is based from the Netherlands game show Now or Neverland. Hosted by Ryan Agoncillo, it aired on the network's Primetime Bida line up from November 10, 2008 to February 20, 2009, replacing Iisa Pa Lamang and was replaced by SNN: Showbiz News Ngayon. The Philippines is the 30th country to use Buenos Aires, Argentina as the location of the series. Other Fear Factor hubs are located in South Africa and Serbia.
Though the Philippine producers have plans to make the Philippines the next Fear Factor hub in the world, they still decided to shoot the first series in Buenos Aires, Argentina where stunts experts and resources are readily available.
The first series was won by Jommy Teotico who took home P2 Million (around US$50,000), a house and lot, and was given the title of "El Ultimo Participante" (The Ultimate Participant). It uses the tagline Ang buhay sa likod ng katapangan or "Life behind bravery." The theme song of the show, which is entitled Tagumpay (Triumph), is performed by Chivas Malunda (a contestant of Pinoy Dream Academy season 2).
Sister channel Studio 23 airs a condensed one-hour Saturday edition, covering the episodes shown within the week.
From December 22 to 26 and December 29 to 31, 2008, a special set of year-end episodes, known as Pinoy Fear Factor: With A Twist, was aired. The episodes, narrated by ABS-CBN's comedic news reporter Marc Logan, showed a recap of scenes from the six previous rounds, as well as new interviews from the Participantes and never-before-seen clips within and outside of the competition.
The Philippine version of the show uses a format similar to Fear Factor Extreme (FFX) instead of the original "three-stunt, one winner per episode" format used in the American version. The Philippines is the 3rd country to adapt the same format after South Africa and India.
Pinoy Fear Factor consists of multiple sets of stunts and a set number of contestants over a period of weeks. The contestants, known as Participantes, will live together in El Campo Miedo during the duration of the competition. Every Participante will face the Ronda de Eliminación to determine who will stay and who will be sent back to the Philippines. Each Ronda de Eliminación has three stunts. In the first stunt, designed to physically test the contestants, one or more Participantes who have the best performance will be exempted on the next stunt, thus, avoiding the elimination. In the second stunt, the remaining Participantes will compete and those who will give the worst performances will be chosen for the third and final stunt. In the third stunt, involving stunts similar to those in action films, the worst performer from the remaining Participantes in competition will be eliminated and will be sent back to the Philippines.
The Rondas de Eliminación will be repeated until only one Participante remains. He or she will then emerge as the winner of the series and will take home the grand prize.
There is also a series of stunts known as Rondas Sin de Eliminación where the best performers of the first stunt in the Rondas de Eliminación will compete for special prizes.
It is noticeable that each round is held in two days. The first stunt occurs in the first day in location while the second and third stunts are performed in the second day at a different location. This is why the punishment is only given out after the first stunt.
Since the show takes place in a Spanish-speaking country, many terms and stunt names are in Spanish, an official language of the Philippines from the 19th to the late 20th centuries. It is noted, however, that some Spanish titles that appear on the show are either grammatically incorrect (Rondas Sin de Eliminación instead of Rondas sin Eliminaciones), wrongly used (the article una used to mean "first" rather than primera), or even misspelled (tersera [sic] instead of tercera).
The contestants, known in the show as Participantes consisted of celebrities, as well as people with unique occupations. Note that the ages displayed were taken during the show's taping in 2008.
Unless indicated otherwise, all times are in ss and mm:ss format. Also, since the stunts are also being performed in many Fear Factor franchises, the rules are explained below in the present tense.
While none of the Participantes completed the entire stunt, Phem's performance was rated the best, picking up two flaglets before falling into the water. Jose also picked up two flaglets, but his second one was not counted as he retrieved it out of order. Gail and RJ were not able to get any flaglets, with RJ's performance deemed the worst by clocking in only 22 seconds, forcing him to go back to camp on foot. With Phem the only one exempted, the eleven delved into the second stunt with Janna besting the other Participantes by transferring ten crablets in 23 seconds. Gail, Marion, and Elmer meanwhile each transferred the five cows' eyes and registered the worst times, putting them in the third stunt. Marion and Elmer finished their third stunt, but Gail wasn't able to release the doll before surfacing, which made her eliminated.
Marion and Manuel both completed the stunt with very impressive times of 50 and 47 seconds respectively, exempting them from the next two stunts. Among the women, only LJ was able to complete the stunt. Phem was also exempted from the rest of the round, having traversed four ropes in a minute and a half, the most among the remaining women. Janna had roughly the same time as Phem, but just for hanging on one rope. Jommy was deemed the worst ever performer among the men, clocking in at 1:22 after straddling four ropes. Because of this, Jommy danced in front of his fellow Participantes almost in the nude, while Janna "hosted" Jommy's show. In the second stunt, Janna and Savannah each finished half a brain at 4:14 and 1:09 respectively. Among the men, RJ ate half a brain and three eyeballs in two minutes, putting him between the girls and making them the top three performers. The rest of the men thus competed in the third stunt. Ram clocked in the worst time at only 30 seconds, making him the second person bound for home.
Manuel performed the first stunt in just 44 seconds, not only setting the best time for the stunt, but also broke the world Slippery Car record; the previous record was three minutes and seven seconds, held by a contestant of A Rettegés Foka, the Hungarian version of the franchise. Elmer had the best time among the men behind Manuel at one minute and twelve seconds, while LJ and Janna clocked the best times among the women at 3:40 and 3:55 respectively. Savannah did not finish the stunt, and therefore had Jose douse her with cold water back at camp. In the second stunt, Jose was bitten by snakes twice, causing him to freeze in shock. While he had the will to continue the stunt, the pain proved unbearable and he had to retire so he could be treated by doctors. Phem also had to pass on the stunt after being freaked out by the snakes. Their premature ends to the second stunt guaranteed them participation in the third stunt. They were joined by Jommy, who gathered only seven yellow rings, while both RJ and Marion retrieved eight. Although Savannah got only two rings, five less than Jommy, Phem quitting the stunt automatically exempted Savannah from the third stunt. In the third stunt, Jommy was able through break through one pane of glass, while Jose, despite the pain from the snake bites from earlier, pedalled through all five panes. Due to Phem's lack of experience on a bicycle, she was not able to break any panes, thus her elimination.
In the first stunt, Manuel was the only one exempted from the rest of the round, performing the stunt at a fast time of 1:50. During the second stunt, Elmer swallowed a cockroach, while the others were bitten by cockroaches on the face. In the end, Jose and Jommy were slated to compete in the final stunt for the third straight round, gathering 295 and 305 roaches respectively, while RJ, Elmer, and Marion had 543, 428, and 345 roaches to their credit respectively. Joining them in the final stunt was LJ, the worst among the women with 318 (Janna got 327 and Savannah at 325). In the third stunt, LJ and Jommy went closest to the center of the logo at 105 cm and 150 cm from the logo respectively. Jose, on the other hand, stopped over four meters from the logo, thus becoming the fourth person to head for the Philippines.
In the first stunt, RJ and Jommy clung to the net the highest, thus exempting them from the next two stunts. Among the women, LJ had the worst performance, holding on a square from the 4th line from the top of the net, thus exempting Savannah and Janna from further competition. In the second stunt, while both Manuel and Marion gathered all 20 apples, one of the apples picked up by Manuel was discounted because it fell to the ground rather than the container. Marion thus became the one exempted from competing in the third stunt. In the third stunt, Manuel was the only one to complete the stunt, and while both Elmer and LJ quit, she stayed longer underwater. Elmer became the fifth person to go home because of this.
Only RJ was the only one not to complete the first stunt among the men; Jommy, Manuel, and Marion completed it in at 26, 27, and 42 seconds respectively. While none of the women were actually able to complete the stunt, Savannah was ranked the worst because she didn't reach 90 cm of the beam, the point where both Janna and LJ reached in 48 and 40 seconds respectively before dropping into the water. Ryan then belatedly informed the Participantes that the round was a non-elimination round and RJ and Savannah were therefore exempted from the next two stunts. Before the beginning of the second stunt, Manuel answered allegations of unfair trash-talking off-camera and other accusations made by Jose and Elmer against him, which he mostly denied. In the second stunt, Janna completed it three seconds faster than LJ (Janna's time was 1:25 while LJ's was 1:28). Among the men, Manuel again proved his speed by clocking in at 1:10. Marion then registered a time six seconds less than that of Jommy (Jommy's time was 1:51 while Marion's was 1:45). Jommy and LJ thus became mere spectators of the third stunt, where it was a dead heat between Marion and Manuel. Marion swam faster than Manuel, even though he was not used to deep water; Marion was slowed down, however, by exhaustion while trying to climb up the barge. Thus, Manuel won the P50,000 with a time of 1:17 against Marion's time of 1:23; Janna was a virtual also-ran at a time of 2:29.
In the first stunt which was plagued by a local weather disturbance known as "La Tormenta de Sta. Rosa," while both Manuel and Marion retrieved all six flaglets before falling from the fifth pole, Marion's performance was deemed the best, with a faster time of 43 seconds against Manuel's 1:23. Savannah, who was not able to completely climb the first pole, was given the automatic spot in the third stunt. In the second stunt, RJ clocked the fastest time, eating two skinned rats in 1:28. Joining him was Jommy, who ate 10 scorpions in 2:21. Manuel, LJ, and Janna joined Savannah for the third stunt; Janna consumed 20 maggots in 4:14, LJ ate 20 cockroaches in 3:22, and Manuel feasted on a "Fear Factor Special" of a skinned rat, two scorpions, five cockroaches, five maggots, and several earthworms for 3:18. In the third stunt, Manuel and Janna posted times of 1:18 and 39 seconds, respectively, preventing outright elimination. But the topic of LJ performing the stunt without a noseclip was brought up. Argentine staff claimed that they offered her a noseclip, but she refused; however, tapes from earlier showed the offer was not done. LJ wanted to redo the stunt, and Savannah agreed. LJ was then told to redo the stunt, this time with the noseclip; if she would beat Savannah's original time, Savannah would redo her stunt. But LJ's performance did not improve even with the noseclip; her times were 12 seconds without the noseclip and 11 seconds with it. Savannah's time of 19 seconds sent LJ back to the Philippines.
While belatedly announced, this was indicated as the last non-elimination round.
During the first stunt, only Manuel and Jommy accomplished the stunt; Manuel did his in 26 seconds, while Jommy finished it in 34 seconds, both even faster than the previous world Fear Factor record of 36 seconds by a contestant of Frente al Miedo, the Colombian version of the franchise. Among the men, the two were joined by RJ in advancing to the second stunt. RJ reached the third yellow line on the net in 17 seconds; Marion fell straight into the water upon beginning the stunt. Among the women, Janna advanced to the second stunt despite experiencing injury after her right foot got caught in the net traversing the fourth yellow line and had to be rescued and rushed to the hospital; Savannah was able to reach the third yellow line slower than RJ did before falling and was therefore out in the running for the rest of the round. In the second stunt, Manuel and Jommy become automatic qualifiers for the third stunt; Manuel's time was 4:30 while Jommy's was 4:05. In the third stunt, Jommy drove so fast that by the time the car re-entered the truck, it jumped and piled itself over one of the reserve cars inside, injuring eight of the Argentine crew who were in the truck. Despite this, he not only won over Manuel by 24 seconds (29 seconds for Jommy, 53 seconds for Manuel), he also broke another world Fear Factor record; the previous one was 30 seconds by another contestant of Frente al Miedo. Jommy therefore won the second and the last P50,000.
In the first stunt, only Marion and Jommy were exempted from further competing in the round, finishing the stunt at 19 and 20 seconds respectively. Manuel and Savannah clocked in identical times of 26 seconds each, but Savannah was penalized with five additional seconds for holding the lock and keys before the pilot light's signal was given. Janna had a time of 42 seconds, while RJ was the only one not to finish the stunt, quitting after 24 seconds in the coffin. In the second stunt, Manuel was the only one who had snakes around his head and rats at this feet while the others had rats around their heads and snakes at their feet; all were tasked to transfer 15 frogs. Due to her fear of rats, Savannah was able to transfer 12 frogs in three minutes (she actually collected 13, but one landed outside the fish tank). RJ was able to transfer 15 frogs in 39 seconds, but one landed out of the fish tank and another ended up in another compartment of the box, thus putting the official count at 13. Both Manuel and Janna were able to completely transfer 15 frogs, but Janna did it two seconds faster than Manuel (Janna's time was 1:45 while Manuel's was 1:47), thus saving her from further competition. Leading to the third stunt, a test explosion related to it attracted the attention of local police, and per their instructions, all production was suspended to the next day in another location. In the third stunt itself, Manuel was the only one who completed the stunt, finishing it in 1:28. Because RJ and Savannah set off explosions, distance became the assessing factor. Savannah looped 2.97m of the wire, while RJ crossed only 2.6m, making him the seventh person to fly home.
In the first stunt, Manuel held on the tow rope the longest at 1:01, to the point that the horse tired out first before the line slipped off his hands, thus saving him from certain elimination. Jommy and Marion stayed on the tow line for 54 and 39 seconds respectively. The women did not fare well in the stunt; Janna's time was just five seconds while Savannah's was only three seconds. In the second stunt, Savannah retrieved one strawberry, Marion got six, and Jommy and Janna had eight. With only three spots for the third stunt, Manuel, who was present to observe his potential final adversaries, was made to choose which from Jommy and Janna he should take to the final round and which one should compete in the third stunt. Manuel chose Jommy to compete in the third stunt, based on his assessment that Janna caught more strawberries that didn't reach the box, thus discounting them. In the final stunt, Jommy was the only one able to last the entire ten minutes, pulling off 12 revolutions and thus securing a place in the final round. On the other hand, while both Marion and Savannah fell off the wall without lasting ten minutes, Marion was able to do three revolutions before falling off while Savannah slid off the wall at the onset, ending her stint in the show.
The process of elimination in this round is slightly different, and determines the winner of the entire show.
In the first stunt, Marion registered another world Fear Factor record for the Philippine franchise by performing the stunt in 3:53, beating the previous record of 4:09, set by a contestant of the Turkish version of Fear Factor. Jommy clocked in a time of 4:40. Meanwhile, both Janna and Manuel had trouble while performing the stunt. Janna, who had her head buried in sand and had to be rescued needlessly by the Argentine safety crew, was able to finish the stunt in 7:43. On the other hand, Manuel had his knees trapped from the trapdoor, which added more or less four minutes to his time. Thus, he finished the stunt in 8:23, which placed him into fourth place, eliminating him ultimately in the process. In the second stunt, Janna clocked the fastest time at 2:56. Facing against Janna in the final stunt was Jommy, whose time of three minutes was better than Marion's 3:32. In the final stunt, dubbed as "El Último Duelo" (The Final Duel), Jommy landed the car farther at 22.5m compared to Janna's 17.1m. He was therefore deemed "El Último Participante."