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| Vanessa: just heard Kirstine Stewart left CBC for Twitter |
Tuesday night at 10 p.m. on Space, it’s time to hit the Panic Button.
This creepy new, shot-in-Toronto series turns those messed up Saw movies into a reality show.
I had a tour of the set last year and couldn’r believe people would line up to put themselves through such torture–without some sort of prize money at the other end for their troubles.
Executive producers Jonathan Dueck and Kevin Healey are the twisted minds behind this project. Even they called it things like “a Rubix Cube of horror,” while leading reporters through their nasty science experiment.
“Nothing beats the darkness,” said Dueck, explaining how much of the fright is all about the power of suggestion.
Some of it is more obvious, especially when snakes, rats, spiders and other crap is dropping from above onto your head and shoulders. There are elements of other movies in the series, especially J-Lo’s “The Cell.”
Players signed a bible-sized disclaimer before embarking on the maze, which has five stages. Five participants will be shown each episode. Some actually make it all the way to the end.
They have to give up all mobile devises and put on a red airline jump suit. It should really be brown.
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| You never know what you’ll encounter on Panic Button |
“As soon as we take away their cell phones they lose half their personality,” says Healey.
This is plenty of swearing. “The bleep budget is off the charts,” says Dueck.
Lydia, a martial arts instructor, hummed “I will Survive,” as she coped with her ordeal.
Will people watch? Hey, people love watching other people being tortured and humiliated in television. It’s what makes politics such fascinating sport these days.
Read my full, Canadian Press report on the series here.
