Distraction (game show)

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Distraction is a British game show shown on Channel 4. Presented by comedian Jimmy Carr, the show involves contestants answering questions, while being distracted in various bizarre, painful and humiliating ways.

The format was devised by Fremantle television and was sold to the U.S. network Comedy Central in 2004. The first season of the U.S. version was shown starting on January 18, 2005, and the second season began airing on January 10, 2006. Jimmy Carr has hosted all episodes of both English-speaking versions.

Contents

1 Gameplay

1.1 U.K. and U.S. Versions
1.2 Italian Version

2 Notes
3 See also
4 External links

Gameplay

At the start of the show there are four contestants, two women and two men. Before the first round, they "get to know each other", finding out about each other's embarrassing moments, unique hobbies, strange talents, or previous unflattering occupations.

The first three rounds are usually quizzes involving rather easy questions. However, these rounds feature various distractions (hence the name) to cause pain and/or discomfort while contestants try to answer them. The distractions may be endured throughout the round, activated in order to answer questions, as punishment for incorrect answers, or as a result of getting a question right. At the end of each round, the player who has performed worst is eliminated and receives nothing.

Distractions have included being shocked with electricity such as with electric dog collars, pushing buzzers surrounded by cacti (while blindfolded), sticking one's hand in live mousetraps to answer a question, being shot with paintballs, urinating in a specially designed toilet to activate one's buzzer, and contestants drinking shots of hot sauce or their own urine.

In the fourth and final round, instead of answering questions to win prizes, the prizes are given to the winner upfront; however, the contestant must then answer several further questions to prevent these prizes from being damaged and/or destroyed. Typically there are four or five questions, with each incorrect answer resulting in a prize (or part of a prize) being damaged or destroyed. For example, if the prize is a car, getting a particular question wrong could result in the losing contestants getting to spray paint graffiti on the side of it, smash the windshield, or key-scratch the door(s) of the car.

Several of the most frequently seen distractions and various prize rounds are explained in further detail here.

U.K. and U.S. Versions

Round 1 is always an on-the buzzers quiz (the "buzzers" being some of the items described above.) Round 2 may be another on-the-buzzers quiz, or an individual time trial in which each player is given 45 seconds (or so Carr claims) to answer questions while continually being distracted by someone or something else. Round 3 is a head-to-head round similar to round one, and is usually a race to 4 or 5 points.

Sometimes in round 1 or 2 of the US version, players must attach clothespins or rubber bands to their faces while answering questions; the player with the most clothespins/rubber bands on their face at the end of the round gets five extra points, and usually moves on because of this bonus.

After three rounds (and thus three eliminations), the final winner faces the prize round as explained above.

Italian Version

In 2006, a version of Distraction began airing in Italy, with Teo Mammucari hosting. Six contestants play in this version, with the same rules applying as the original two versions. The most popular end game on this version is Burning Money, although the website for this version mentions the Car Smash game as well. Famous comedians and celebrities act as "judges" throughout the game, and instead of the contestants being interviewed at the beginning of the show, their casting tapes are shown instead.

Notes

Distraction is the latest of a number of game shows that has employed destruction of prizes and/or property as one of its gimmicks. Other such shows have included Trashed, a 1994 MTV game show where contestants gambled their prized possessions as bets on how well they could answer pop culture questions; Big Deal, a knockoff of the classic show Let's Make a Deal in which certain deals involved contestants damaging and/or destroying their own possessions in an effort to win better prizes; I Bet You Will, 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; and Beat the Crusher, 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 (with the loser's car being dropped into a junkyard crusher and smashed.)

The set for the British version is a library/study area, the American version is set in a brightly colored loft apartment, and the Italian version takes place on a set resembling a hotel. In the British version, Jimmy Carr simply told the players their scores at the end of the round. In the US, a plasma TV beside Carr showed the scores. In The Italian Version, it looks like a hotel room, with a plasma tv behind the host, and a gaping hole with a window that has a rave party on the bottom.

Distractor (noun): Someone who aids Jimmy Carr by distracting contestants painfully or emotionally. Examples include losing contestants, nudists, creepy carny guys, tattoo / piercing experts, professional wrestlers, midgets, Roller Derby girls, professional hockey players, professional volleyball players, paintball players, and a large bouncer-type male nicknamed "Tiny". Occasionally, a number of female assistants helped with some of the distractions; depending on the stunt being played, they could be referred to as "Jimmy's interns", "farmer girls", "schoolgirls" or "ammo ladies."

Carr claims that in an individual time-trial-based quiz, the players have 45 seconds. However, the time is not displayed on-screen. Viewers who time the round with a stopwatch will find that most times, the horn goes off after 35-40 seconds. This leads the viewer to believe one of three things: either the players are given a limited number of questions (perhaps 7, although this is unlikely; in the episode airing February 28, 2006, each player got through significantly more than 7, and, indeed, one scored 8), several seconds of footage are cut out of each quiz, or the timekeepers approximate the 45 seconds by counting it in their heads. If the first case is true, Jimmy doesn't tell the viewers, and if the third case is true, then human error becomes a major factor; a player could be given a significant amount of extra time over the others and thus have a better chance of advancement to the head-to-head round. Among the professional wrestlers used in the US version are Samoa Joe, Frankie Kazarian and Curry Man.

There is a quiz book for Distraction in the United Kingdom, featuring most of the distractions featured on the show. Requires Buzzers, Distractions, and a brand new car.

On one US episode during a Ping-Pong round, the questions dealt with the subject "strange foreigners." One of the questions was "Name the extremely sexy host of the hilarious TV game show Distraction", with the answer being Jimmy Carr.

External links