It’s tagline promotes it as featuring the most insane stunts performed by the “most lovable rednecks on the planet.” FUEL TV’s unscripted action series, ‘Thrillbillies,’ returned for another season on December 1, hoping to build on the success of the recent box-office hit ‘Jackass 3D.’ However, the station, which prides itself on being “the only sports and entertainment television network inspired by…thrill-seeking sports where…risk is the only rule,” failed short of its promise of providing the show’s audience with adrenaline.
While starring such professional stunts-people as Aaron Sauvage, who goes by the nickname “Crum,” Cam McQueen and Pat Laughlin, ‘Thrillbillies’ production company Godfrey Entertainment seemed as though it just assembled a group of people who just wanted to have fun without having any consequences. The stunts featured on the premiere episode, while nonetheless dangerous, were just ordinary and not well planned.
The first stunt on the premiere wasn’t any extraordinary feat. It just features Crum being attached to a big rubber ball while Brian, a Dune Buggy Racer, drives into the ball. While Crum surely got bruised and hurt during the stunt, the audience is left wondering who came up with such an uncreative idea.
Another stunt featured on the episode that will surely leave many viewers thinking they can perform it with their friends is when Pat is joined by Hucker, a pro DMX rider, and Nick, a pro wakeboarder, on a beach. The three steer their jet skis onto the shoreline just to see who can be thrown off the furthest. While this is certainly another stunt no one should perform on their own, as they can seriously injure themselves, its certainly an idea that high school students can come up with on their own.
One stunt that stands out, however, as it will surely gross viewers out, is when Hubert, who is described as “a redneck,” fills a shallow pool with bubble bath. The stuntsmen ride bikes into the pool, and get thrown off into the water. While this doesn’t sound very exciting, it’s actually the most memorable stunt on the episode. It seemed to be the most planned out out of all the casts’ adventures, and was the best executed. The stuntmen actually achieved their goal of getting soaked in filthy water.
If the cast wants to garner more mainstream attention for ‘Thrillbillies,’ they will have to step up the excitement and thrill of their stunts. While they will always be compared to the similar MTV hit ‘Jackass,’ the ‘Thrillbillies’ cast can achieve success in their own right if they create more exciting, well-planned, original stunts. At the rate they’re going, the thrillbillies will continue to lose momentum with each new stunt. The thrillbillies’ adventures are shown every Wednesday night at 10pm E/P.
Written by: Karen Benardello
