Hot Wheels Ultimate Challenge on NBC

Ok, so technically this isn't Science Fiction or Fantasy. But, I mean, it IS kind of Speculative Fiction, except it's not because it's real life, and well, honestly, SHUT UP YOU'RE CONFUSING ME!!

Listen guy. It's like the song (kinda/sorta if you can't hear right because your ears are plugged due to a cold) says: "It's my bloggie and I'll post if I want to. Post if I want to. Post if I want to. You would post too if it happened to you!" And, let's face it, I started this blog because I'm an annoying geek who likes to run his mouth about the stuff that he likes and I really like this show/

Ok, I hear you asking out there in internet-land: What show? It's a show called Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge and it's freaking amazeballs. Or maybe it's amazewheels? Amazetires? Listen, stop throwing this crap at me. It's three in the afternoon on my day off and I'm not scheduled to wake up until dinner time. I don't have the mental capacity to run my mouth if you're going to keep cutting me o...

Huh?

Just my imagination, huh? Yeah, I knew that. Seriously. Just joshin' ya. 

Or sumfin'

Okay, so I'm totally going to talk about the show now that I'm over two hundred words into this thing. I swear it.

So, here's how this goes. The show starts. We meet our hosts Rutledge Wood, Dalal Elsheikh, and Hertrech “Hert” Eugene Jr. and whoever else that week, and we meet out contestants. This is where things start to get really cool. I mean, Wood is a good guy and I loved his work on Top Gear but this show is, and really should be, about the contestants. And so we meet them and learn a little about who they are, why they love Hot Wheels (and who didn't when they were a kid) and what specific year, make and model of car they'll be working on, as well as why. The why can be very important, too. Whether it's because it was a car that they drove when they were having a hard time and driving someone to cancer treatment, or because it's the car they rode in while dating their late husband, or someone who grew up racing cars, it's all about them and their story and I like that about this show. 

There are a lot of game shows out there. But, when you're watching classic shows like Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy, there usually isn't a whole lot of story to it. Here's the question/puzzle/whatever. Either you solve it or you don't. The story is basically about striving to win. But not so much in Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge. The story here is partially about the competition, but with the way they include the backgrounds to the cars, it's about the contestants in a way that a lot of other shows try to be but just aren't.

And then there are the cars themselves. The idea here is to take an actual vehicle and turn it into a new Hot Wheels car. The contestants and their teams (and trust me, the teams do most of the actual work and provide nearly all of the skill) get a week to turn real cars into real works of art using the Hot Wheels motif; over the top, overbuilt and just plain cool looking. Trust me, no one is going to win their week with a car from stock. They cut, chop, add, rebuild and just plain go crazy. HUGE engines, massive exhausts, wild paint schemes, etc are the rule of the day. 

And yes, there is a bit of a cheese factor. They've got a gas gauge displaying how much time is left in the build. They've got little vignettes of the teams/contestants freaking out when this or that aspect of the build isn't working right. They keep right on with the stories of the contestants talking about their ties to their car. And the judges are critiquing everything that happens. It may sound a bit overwrought, but it builds drama. Without tension there is no story and this is a series that is all about story. And what could be a better story than having your car turned into a real Hot Wheel that you can buy at the store? That is, after all, the grand prize. Well, that and some cash.  Money is good, too.

Of course, all of the newer shows feature a twist somewhere (I blame Jeff Probst and Mark Burnett) and Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge is no exception. About halfway through the week/show the contestants are stopped in their work and a car emerges from the Inspirationator 5000 (picture above behind Rutledge Wood) and the contestants are forced to rethink their designs to incorporate parts of that vehicle. It's always a good time watching them freak out. 

With Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challege being pre-taped (and heavily edited. They fit a week's work into sixty minutes) you'd think they'd accidentally telegraph who is going to win, but they don't. I've been surprised by a couple of the winners so far, and the finale doesn't conclude until next week. It's a two parter and, being a geek, I reserve the right to go into a total nerd rage and tell everyone how everything they ever did sucks if they pick the wrong winner. That's what geeks do. It's what we're good at.

But there's this, too: I'm a huge Survivor fan. I have been since Season One. One thing I don't necessarily like about Survivor though, especially it's earlier seasons, is the rancor between the contestants. I mean, they're playing for big stakes, but it's a game and people get butthurt. I'm not as big of a  Big Brother fan, but I remember that the same way. HWUC doesn't seem to have that, at least from what I can see on camera. The contestants come out, pour their hearts out and pretty much always shake hands afterward. HWUC is the type of show you can watch with your kids while you're teaching them about sportsmanship. Seriously, it's good wholesome fun.

And that's why only real beef with HWUC is its time slot and that's no reflection on the show itself, it's just frustrating. It comes on at ten o'clock, right after America's Got Talent and I feel like that's a little too late. HWUC is the type of thing I'd encourage parents of young kids to watch with their families. It's toys. It's fun. It's creative, It oozes with wholesomeness in a world where that type of thing is getting harder and harder to find. 

Needless to say, I'll be watching the second half of the finale on Tuesday night at ten. I still think it's crap that Lauren Partin didn't get into the finale, but it is what it is. I haven't torn anything down yet, but I'm not happy. Then again, it's not up to me, even if it should be. And the special guest judge is Jay Leno, so at least they've got a real car guy (and if you don't believe me on that, do some research) along for the ride. I can't wait. Oh, and here's hoping for a Season Two.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Wildly Extended Tail Pipes

Hot Wheels Ultimate Challenge
Mattel Television, et al., 2023

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