Spell-Mageddon

Move over, Scripps; there's a new contest in town, and its commingling of spelling bee drama and Double Dare-style mess and mayhem makes for plenty of laughs. The mild forms of torture to which these contestants are subjected are enough to give anyone brain freeze, so it's pretty impressive that they pull off the spelling feats that they do. What's more, there are times when the sights and sounds of the chaotic distractions actually hinder the integrity of the spelling portion of the contest, since it's hard to hear a word or speak the names of letters when water is being sprayed in your face. Of course, the show isn't out to amaze you with the players' word prowess alone; instead, Spell-Mageddon spells success "f-u-n," and ultimately that's what you'll have watching it.

The downside is that every laugh comes at the expense of the poor souls being slimed, dunked, or pummeled as they attempt to keep their wits about them and spell words, and the show makes a sport of replaying their discomfort for the audience. This is fine for tweens who understand that the players signed on for this kind of comical abuse, but younger kids may need to be reminded about the difference between sharing a laugh and putting someone on the hot seat without their say-so.