Trashed (game show)
Encyclopedia
Trashed was a television
game show
that ran on MTV
from February 14 to July 23, 1994 with Chris Hardwick
as host.
) was given. Three questions, worth 50 points each, were asked; either team could buzz in and answer the question. The defending team had to answer at least two of the three questions correctly to save their object. If they did not, a plexiglass shield was raised in front of the players and the possession in play was destroyed in front of them violently. (Note that once the fate of the object had been decided, the category was over immediately.) If an object was saved, it could not be chosen again. Each team played with three out of their six possessions per round; the team that won the category (whether by successfully defending their object or by having an opponent's object trashed) selected the next possession.
Whether an object was saved or "trashed", the team who answered the most questions correctly in a set got to select the next item they wanted to see "trashed". Round two was the same as round one, with the point values being doubled and each team's other three items put into play.
s, or random trivia. On occasion, a skit
would be presented, after which the contestants would have to answer questions about the skit or from the performers themselves. Examples of categories included "The Naked Trucker" and "Where in the Hell is Mayim Bialik
?" (a satire of the computer game/game show, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
)
(for example, being smearing with junk or getting his/her head shaved), slimed
, or made to come face to face with their "worst fear" (for example, licking somebody's feet or getting spat at). The winners moved on to the final round, while the losers left with a tacky parting gift such as a Simpsons
chess set
and were also required to do 10 hours community service
(to go with the "trash" theme.)
. The players on the winning team were seated face to face, with three television monitors behind each player, each showing a music video. One at a time, one player would tell the other what was showing on one of the videos behind them, and the second player would have to identify the artist of said video. Correctly identifying all six videos/artists within the time limit won the grand prize.
The time given in the bonus round depended on how well the team did in the upfront game; 30 seconds were given with an additional five seconds tacked on for every possession that team saved; hence, saving all six possessions resulted in the team having 60 seconds (also known as "full time") to identify all the videos.
, Doug Benson
, Chris Henchy
, Dave "Gruber" Allen, Steve Higgins
, David Anthony Higgins
and Joel Hodgson
were on the writing staff.
Trashed is one of the earliest of several game shows that has employed destruction of prizes and/or property as one of its gimmicks. Other such shows have included -
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
that ran on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
from February 14 to July 23, 1994 with Chris Hardwick
Chris Hardwick
Christopher Ryan "Chris" Hardwick is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, musician, podcaster, television personality, and voice artist...
as host.
Premise
Two teams competed in a studio literally filled with junk to answer questions based on music videos and pop culture. Each team brought six "prized possessions" from home to risk having destroyed, or "Trashed", if they did not answer enough questions correctly.Main Game
To start the game, host Hardwick would ask the teams a toss-up question (no points at stake) to determine who would go first. This team then selected a "prized possession" from the other team that they wanted to see "trashed". After the selection was made, a category (similar to those on Remote ControlRemote Control (game show)
Remote Control is a TV game show that ran on MTV for three seasons from 1987 until 1990. It was MTV's first original non-musical program. New episodes were made for first-run syndication in 1989 which were distributed by Viacom...
) was given. Three questions, worth 50 points each, were asked; either team could buzz in and answer the question. The defending team had to answer at least two of the three questions correctly to save their object. If they did not, a plexiglass shield was raised in front of the players and the possession in play was destroyed in front of them violently. (Note that once the fate of the object had been decided, the category was over immediately.) If an object was saved, it could not be chosen again. Each team played with three out of their six possessions per round; the team that won the category (whether by successfully defending their object or by having an opponent's object trashed) selected the next possession.
Whether an object was saved or "trashed", the team who answered the most questions correctly in a set got to select the next item they wanted to see "trashed". Round two was the same as round one, with the point values being doubled and each team's other three items put into play.
Categories
Each category consisted of three questions dealing with pop culture, music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s, or random trivia. On occasion, a skit
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
would be presented, after which the contestants would have to answer questions about the skit or from the performers themselves. Examples of categories included "The Naked Trucker" and "Where in the Hell is Mayim Bialik
Mayim Bialik
Mayim Hoya Bialik is an American actress who also holds a PhD in neuroscience.Her most notable TV roles have been as Blossom Russo on NBC's Blossom and as Amy Farrah Fowler on CBS's The Big Bang Theory.-Early life:...
?" (a satire of the computer game/game show, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? is the title of several edutainment computer games in the Carmen Sandiego series that teach geography. The World games, often marketed as the flagship products of the Carmen series, were created by Brøderbund Software from 1985 to 1996 with another version...
)
Trashing
The demolition of prized possessions was carried out by Mark Fite, AKA "Mark the Trasher", with occasional help from Andrea Wagner, the model/announcer. Depending on the item being destroyed, this could be carried out in many ways:- Blowing the item up inside a blast chamber
- Shooting the item with a paintballPaintballPaintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...
gun - Stuffed animals, shoes, and the like were run over with a lawn mower.
- The possession was placed against a brick wall, then a wrecking ballWrecking ballA wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a crane, that is used for demolishing large buildings. It was most common during the 1950s and 1960s. Several wrecking companies claim to have invented the wrecking ball...
would be sent crashing into the object. - ElectronicsElectronicsElectronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
, such as VCR's and boomboxes, were crushed in a device that looked like a vertical vise with spikes. An autographed basketball was also destroyed with this machine. - Mark would appear to be working out on a leg pressLeg pressThe leg press is a weight training exercise in which the individual pushes a weight or resistance away from them using their legs. The term leg press also refers to the apparatus used to perform this exercise...
machine; he would extend a full rep and the item was placed underneath the suspended weight stack. He would then remove his legs, allowing the weights to freefall and crush the object. - Shoes and boots were destroyed by placing them on a mannequinMannequinA mannequin is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing...
sitting in a shoe shine booth; the boots were then "shined" using a sander, destroying them. - Clothes were destroyed by cutting them up with scissors or a knife, or swinging them around on a chainsawChainsawA chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...
; on one occasion, a shirt was placed on a giant doll of Beavis or Butt-HeadBeavis and Butt-HeadBeavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
(clearly to promote that show, which was just starting out and becoming popular.) Mark then proceeded to pour bleach on both Beavis and Butt-Head, ruining the shirt; it was then sliced apart with a knife. - Baseball cards and CD'sCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
were destroyed by placing them in a box filled with sand, then running over them with a belt sander, ruining both sides. - Televisions and cassette tape collections were often destroyed by throwing heavy objects onto them from a balcony constructed on stage.
- SurfboardSurfboardA surfboard is an elongated platform used in the sport of surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding a breaking wave...
s were sawn into pieces with a chainsaw. - If at any time the "trashing" did not work as planned, Mark the Trasher would simply finish the job himself using a sledgehammerSledgehammerA sledgehammer is a tool consisting of a large, flat head attached to a lever . The head is typically made of metal. The sledgehammer can apply more impulse than other hammers, due to its large size. Along with the mallet, it shares the ability to distribute force over a wide area...
. - On one occasion, the item at stake was an autographed baseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
; they brought out a paint can full of hot tar in which to submerge it. However, Mark decided that the baseball was too expensive and instead threw it into the audience. - On another occasion, a male contestant with long blonde hair put his hair on the line as one of his "prized possessions"; upon getting these questions wrong, staff members began cutting his hair and continued to do so for the remainder of the main game.
Lightning Round
Round three was called the "Survival Round". One contestant from each team had to answer questions (at 150 points each) while the other contestant was "imprisoned". At the end of 39 seconds (not a typo), the team in the lead won the game. The "imprisoned" contestant on the losing team was then "trashed" him/herself (either publicly humiliatedPublic humiliation
Public humiliation was often used by local communities to punish minor and petty criminals before the age of large, modern prisons .- Shameful exposure :...
(for example, being smearing with junk or getting his/her head shaved), slimed
Gunge
Gunge as it is known in the British Isles, or slime as it is known in America and other parts of the world is a thick, gooey, runny substance similar in consistency to paint. It has been a feature on many children's programmes for many years around the world and has made appearances in game shows...
, or made to come face to face with their "worst fear" (for example, licking somebody's feet or getting spat at). The winners moved on to the final round, while the losers left with a tacky parting gift such as a Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
chess set
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
and were also required to do 10 hours community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
(to go with the "trash" theme.)
Bonus Round
The bonus round was a cross between the one used on Remote Control and the Winner's Circle round on the $25,000 PyramidPyramid (game show)
Pyramid is an American television game show which has aired several versions. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted March 26, 1973 and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series...
. The players on the winning team were seated face to face, with three television monitors behind each player, each showing a music video. One at a time, one player would tell the other what was showing on one of the videos behind them, and the second player would have to identify the artist of said video. Correctly identifying all six videos/artists within the time limit won the grand prize.
The time given in the bonus round depended on how well the team did in the upfront game; 30 seconds were given with an additional five seconds tacked on for every possession that team saved; hence, saving all six possessions resulted in the team having 60 seconds (also known as "full time") to identify all the videos.
Ongoing gags/jokes
Trashed had several ongoing comedy bits that were emphasized, usually involving the trash theme and/or humiliating the contestants -- The word "Loser" was used excessively in this show. At the end of the game, before the "consolation prizes" and winners' prizes were announced, host Hardwick would usually say something to the effect of "on Trashed, there are no winners, just losers!" A sound bite saying "Loser!" was sometimes used when a contestant got a question wrong; the word was also displayed on a screen during the bonus round if one contestant gave an invalid clue. The connotation was furthered with the BeckBeckBeck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
song Loser, which was popular at the time. - The questions very often included bathroom or sexual humor; while commonplace for MTV, some of it was very clearly meant to test the boundaries of acceptable material on the network. This pushing of the envelope may go hand-in-hand with the experimenting with crudeness done on other relatively new MTV shows at the time, most notably Beavis and Butt-Head.
- Before the bonus round was played, the "rules" to the bonus round and a disclaimer were read at an incomprehensibly fast speed by the announcer as they scrolled rapidly across the screen.
- If a team won the bonus round, Mark the Trasher would shoot confettiConfettiConfetti is a multitude of pieces of paper, mylar or metallic material which is usually thrown at parades and celebrations, especially weddings . Confetti is made in a variety of colors, and commercially available confetti is available in imaginative shapes...
onto the contestants through a modified leafblower from the balcony; later in the series he would begin shooting random objects such as regular pieces of paper through the leafblower, and finally this would occur whether the team won or lost. - Songs played in the background while the end credits rolled included What Is Love by HaddawayHaddawayNestor Alexander Haddaway , better known by his stage name Haddaway, is a Trinidadian-German singer. He is most famous for his worldwide 1993 hit, "What Is Love".- Early life :...
, and Mr. Vain by Culture BeatCulture BeatCulture Beat is a German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Torsten Fenslau. The act has gone through a number of line-up changes over the years; they achieved the most success whilst fronted by singer Tania Evans and rapper Jay Supreme. Their 1993 single "Mr. Vain" was a No...
. These songs were popular in 1994 and usually had a connotation of someone hurting someone else, further emphasizing the destructive nature of the show.
Additional Notes
Comedians Brian PosehnBrian Posehn
Brian Edmund Posehn is an American actor, voice actor, musician and comedian, known for his roles as mail clerk Kevin Liotta on NBC's Just Shoot Me!, a cast member and writer on HBO's Mr. Show, and most recently as Brian Spukowski on Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program.-Early life:Posehn...
, Doug Benson
Doug Benson
Douglas Steven "Doug" Benson is an American stand-up comedian and actor who has appeared on Comedy Central Presents, Best Week Ever and was a contestant on Last Comic Standing in the show's fifth season....
, Chris Henchy
Chris Henchy
Christopher Thomas "Chris" Henchy is an American, who graduated from Friendswood High school in 1982. He attended University of New Mexico. He is the co-executive producer of Entourage and one of the creators of the website Funny or Die...
, Dave "Gruber" Allen, Steve Higgins
Steve Higgins
Steve Higgins is the announcer for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He was previously a cast member, writer, and producer for the show The Higgins Boys and Gruber, and he has a long-time association with Saturday Night Live in mostly behind-the-scenes roles as writer and producer. Higgins was...
, David Anthony Higgins
David Anthony Higgins
David Anthony Higgins is an American comedic actor, best known for playing the roles of Craig Feldspar from Malcolm in the Middle and Mr. Bitters from Big Time Rush....
and Joel Hodgson
Joel Hodgson
Joel Gordon Hodgson is an American writer, comedian and television actor. He is best known for creating Mystery Science Theater 3000 and starring in it as the character Joel Robinson. In 2007 MST3K was listed as "one of the top 100 television shows of all time" by Time.com...
were on the writing staff.
Trashed is one of the earliest of several game shows that has employed destruction of prizes and/or property as one of its gimmicks. Other such shows have included -
- Big Deal!Big Deal (game show)Big Deal is a television game show that aired in the United States for six weeks in 1996 on FOX. It was hosted by Mark DeCarlo and packaged by Stone-Stanley Productions, with swing group Big Bad Voodoo Daddy as the house band....
, a knockoff of the classic show Let's Make a DealLet's Make a DealLet's Make a Deal is a television game show which originated in the United States and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The show is based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host. The traders usually have to weigh the possibility of an offer being...
in which certain deals involved contestants damaging and/or destroying their own possessions in an effort to win better prizes. - I Bet You WillI Bet You WillI Bet You Will was an Internet webcast, and later a show on MTV that paid people to do outrageous things for money. In 2008, reruns of the program began to air on Spike. It was created by Morgan Spurlock...
, another MTV program in which random people were selected off the streets or other public venues to perform outrageous stunts and/or have their possessions destroyed for money. - DistractionDistraction (game show)Distraction was a game show that aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from 31 October 2003 to 11 June 2004. Presented by comedian Jimmy Carr, the show involves contestants answering questions, while being distracted in various bizarre, painful and humiliating ways.Carr is aided by...
, a British show later also produced for Comedy CentralComedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
in which contestants were humiliated and distracted while answering questions, with the winner having to save his or her prizes from damage and/or destruction. - Beat the CrusherBeat the CrusherBeat the Crusher was a game show airing on Sky One during 1999 in the United Kingdom. It was hosted by comedian Freddie Starr, with assistant Melinda Messenger. The show was noted for its bizarre end game, which featured two couples gambling their automobiles for the chance to win a new one...
, another British game show in which contestants had their prized possessions destroyed as a tradeoff for money and/or punishment for losing games, with the final competition involving two couples gambling their cars in an attempt to win another one (the loser's car was dropped into a junkyard crusherCompactorA compactor is a machine or mechanism used to reduce the size of waste material or soil through compaction. A trash compactor is often used by homes and businesses to reduce the volume of trash....
and smashed.)