MTV's Fear
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| MTV's Fear | |
|---|---|
 Christina freaking out in the dark |
|
| Format | Reality Show |
| Created by | Martin Kunert Eric Manes |
| Country of origin |  |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 43 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | MTV |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
MTV's Fear was an MTV reality show in 2000, that placed a group of 5 or more contestants in an allegedly haunted location and led them on a series of dares over two nights to explore whether or not the place was haunted. The show was created by Martin Kunert and Eric Manes. The series aired the first two episodes in a pilot run, which received outstanding reviews and a full season was ordered.[citation needed] After eight more episodes, another season was ordered. The second season ended after 6 episodes aired. The series was not cancelled due to a lack of interest (the show was the second most popular on MTV at the time of its cancellation), but due to the high cost of producing each episode. A DVD, MTV's Inside Fear, was released in 2001, containing contestant interviews and deleted footage from the show. However, there are currently no plans to release the episodes on DVD.[citation needed]Plans to bring the show back begin in February 2009.
MTV FEAR was named #6 on Entertainment Weekly's 15 Taboo Breaking TV Moments [1]
The show brought several innovations to the reality show genre, including:
- Having contestants film their own experience as no video crew followed them into the 'haunted' locations.
- Use of night vision cameras.
- Use of body mounted cameras to have contestants film their own close-ups.
Contents |
[edit] Rules
The contestants were picked from videotaped audition tapes. In order to provide absolute secrecy about their location, the group was blindfolded and led by guides to the haunted area. They were then instructed to remove their blindfolds after a predetermined amount of time, allowing the guides to slip out unseen. The area they were taken is known as the safe house, which is an area of the haunted location where no hauntings are reported to have taken place. As the nights progress, a computer announces when a dare is assigned and the contestant to whom the dare is assigned. This computer also provides the group with background information about the areas and instructions for the dare. Each contestant was given the option at any time to abort the dare, but if the dare was not completed, the contestant would forfeit their share of the winnings, have to choose another contestant to do the dare, and leave the location immediately. After two nights, the contestants remaining in the game would be directed to the location of their monetary prize, and each would collect $5,000 (in the pilot episode, the survivors only received $3,000 each).
The dares themselves ranged in difficulty. While most relied on simple observation (radio silence, EMF Detector), some of the dares relied on specific re-enactments of haunting events, and a few even dabbled in occult or paranormal possession (Séance, Auto-Drawing, Spirit Channeling). For a complete list of dares, see Dares of MTV's Fear.
[edit] Locations
The locations shown in the show usually had their name changed to protect their location from vandals and show fanatics. However, some of the places allowed their name to be used, and some of the fans of the show used the Internet to piece together potential matches for the locations used in the show. The locations used in the show were:
Season 1
- Episode 1 - West Virginia State Penitentiary
- Episode 2 - St. Agnes Hospital for the Chronically Ill* (Real Location: Fairfield State Hospital, CT.)
- Episode 3 - Duggan Brothers Cement Factory* (Real Location: Dixie Cement Factory Wilmington, NC)
- Episode 4 - Hopkins Military Academy* (Real Location: Augusta Military Academy, VA)
- Episode 5 - Camp Spirit Lake* (Real Location: Camp NoBeBoSco, NJ.)
- Episode 6 - Buck Hill Inn
- Episode 7 - Eastern State Penitentiary
- Episode 8 - USS Hornet
- Episode 9 - Fort Gaines
- Episode 10 - La Guerre Plantation* (Real Location: Desert Plantation, LA.)
Season 2
- Episode 1 - Mina Dos Estrellas
- Episode 2 - Mina Dos Estrellas
- Episode 3 - Hacienda Tabi
- Episode 4 - Ki Sugar Mill*
- Episode 5 - Serenity Lake Sanitorium* (Real location King Edward Sanatorium, Tranquille, B.C., Canada)
- Episode 6 - Boettger Brewery* (Real Location: Lemp Brewery, St. Louis, MO.)
(* denotes locations where names are not the actual names of the location).
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- America's Next Top Model runner-up Mercedes Scelba-Shorte appeared on Hopkins Military Academy.
- The storytelling and camera techniques which Kunert and Manes innovated for this series became the basis for their film Voices of Iraq.
- The reason for two "Mina Dos Estrellas" episodes was because the entire group of contestants thought it was too scary. This was the only time fewer than two contestants managed to finish all the dares. (In St. Agnes Hospital, three cast members finish the regular dares, but the group is offered a bonus dare for more money, which only one of them takes).
- Comedian and Actor J.Son Dinant appeared on the Duggan Bros Cement Factory Episode and can also be seen on the Inside FEAR DVD special
- Model/Singer/Dancer, Victoria Leigh was on the Mina Dos Estrallas Episode.
- "Camp Spirit Lake" is actually Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, a boyscout camp in New Jersey. It was also the filming location of the original Friday the 13th. The history of the site, as stated by the show, is completely fictional. The location remains an active campground, and there have been no reports of any occult activities occurring there. The stories themselves are more a collection of New Jersey urban legends than events that occurred at any one location.
- At West Virginia State Penitentiary, the housing of the restrooms outside in the yard near the "Safe house" were partially removed because a couple of inmates were killed by having their heads smashed into the walls. (Stated in a tour given on the grounds)
- Has been recreated in almost every aspect as VH1's Celebrity Paranormal Project.
- The Hard Rock band Godsmack's song Voodoo was used as the theme song.
- BET's 106 & Park Host Rocsi (Raquel) appeared on St. Agnes Hospital
