The Gamekillers

Last updated
The Gamekillers
Directed by
  • Luke McCoubrey
  • Peter McCoubrey
  • Dave Hamilton
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
  • Justin Wilkes
  • Robert Friedman
  • Jon Kamen
  • David Rubin
  • Frank Scherma
  • Bruce Wellington
Production company RadicalMedia
Release
Original network MTV
Original release2007 (2007)

The Gamekillers is a one-hour television special that aired on MTV in the United States on February 6, 2006, and re-aired on The Comedy Network in Canada. It was a cross-promotional event with Axe Dry, who had previously used the "Gamekiller" premise in an ad campaign. Therefore, the television series is known as "branded content". [1]

Contents

The "Gamekillers" are a collection of stereotyped characters who represent certain personalities who, according to Axe and the show's producers, teens and 20-somethings often encounter throughout the course of their social life. In particular, each Gamekiller is said to be particularly skilled at inadvertently—or sometimes purposely—ruining a date and breaking up a couple.

Characters

NameSynopsis
British Accent GuyImpresses women with his phony accent and general foreignness
The Mother HenA domineering girl who micromanages the lives of her girlfriends
CarlAn average single friend who considers dating to be a low priority, compared to other hobbies, like sports
The MessA guy who is not only a slob, but tries to provoke immaturity from his friends
Early ManA generally macho, strong bully
The BalladeerUses musical skills to woo women
The Pace CarA girl who is distractingly attractive, though "out of your league".
SensitivoAn overly sensitive and protective, possibly gay, male friend of a girl
Man CandyA distractingly attractive man who can easily steal dates
Drama QueenA girl who makes a big production out of everything
The BallerA basketball athlete who uses his skills to impress
IQ A smart guy who "claims" you won't get the girl
The One UpperA guy who claims to be doing something better and more interesting than what others have done
Man With DogA guy who uses his dog to impress a girl
Kash MunniA wealthy, snobbish guy who flaunts his cash everywhere he goes

In the show, each Gamekiller was profiled, and actors playing certain ones were introduced to unsuspecting real-life couples to ruin their dates.

TV series

MTV ordered five half-hour episodes of The Gamekillers, evolving the original 2006 special into a full television series. The first episode premiered on September 21, 2007. In each episode, a male contestant who thinks he is on a simple reality dating show goes on a series of dates with an actress who he believes to be a fellow contestant. Every situation he finds himself in is completely staged, and in every date the contestant is confronted with a Gamekiller, whose purpose is to throw the date off course and ruin the contestant's chances of success. If the contestant overcomes the challenges, his name is etched onto the "ancient Axe Gamekillers Chalice", alongside other such historical ladies' men as Hugh Hefner, Casanova, John Hancock and Sasquatch.

This series reprises some of the Gamekiller roles featured in the original special and introduces several new characters:

New characters
NameSynopsis
The SwarmA group of the girl's best friends, who relentlessly interrogate and embarrass you
Natural DisasterThe politically correct, new age, earthy guy who uses his green ways to impress girls while criticizing your lifestyle
The FlirtA provocative girl who will flirt and tease you, distracting you from the girl you're with
The WandThe street magician who uses his magic tricks to impress the girl and annoy you
The ConquistadorThe sultry, world-traveling Casanova-type whose mastery of romance languages and knowledge of foreign lands impresses and charms girls
The JokesterThe guy who is "always on", using his quick wit to get laughs, often at your expense

Related Research Articles

Game show Type of television or radio program where contestants compete for prizes

A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sharing the rules of the program as well as commentating and narrating where necessary. The history of game shows dates back to the invention of television as a medium. On most game shows, contestants either have to answer questions or solve puzzles, typically to win either money or prizes. Game shows often reward players with prizes such as cash, trips and goods and services provided by the show's sponsor.

<i>Hollywood Squares</i> American television game show

Hollywood Squares is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debuted in 1966 on the same network. The board for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants. The stars are asked questions by the host and the contestants judge the truth of their answers to gain squares in the right pattern to win the game.

Dating game shows are game shows that incorporates a variety of matchmaking systems and services in the form of a game with clear rules. Human matchmaking is involved only in selecting the game's contestants, who are usually selected more for the amusement value than any concern for their happiness or compatibility. The audience sees only the game; an important feature of all dating game shows is that the contestants have little or no previous knowledge of each other, and are exposed to each other only through the game, which may include viewing a photograph or at least knowing the basic criteria for participation.

<i>The State</i> (1993 TV series) TV series

The State is an American sketch comedy television series, originally broadcast on MTV between December 17, 1993, and July 1, 1995. The show combined bizarre characters and scenarios to present sketches that won the favor of its target teenaged audience. The cast consisted of comedy troupe The State, who were 11 twenty-something comedians who created, acted, wrote, directed and edited the show. In various combinations, the former members of The State have continued to collaborate over the years, with alumni playing major creative, directing and acting roles in a number of notable projects including Reno 911! and Wet Hot American Summer.

Remote Control is a TV game show that ran on MTV for four seasons from 1987 until 1990. It was MTV's first original non-musical program and first game show. A concurrent syndicated version of the series ran during the 1989-90 season and was distributed by Viacom. Three contestants answered trivia questions on movies, music, and television, many of which were presented in skit format.

<i>Fear Factor</i> American stunt/dare game show

Fear Factor is an American stunt/dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled Now or Neverland.

BET Jams is an American pay television network controlled by BET Networks and owned by Paramount Media Networks. The channel features hip-hop and urban contemporary music videos. The network, formerly known as MTV Jams, was rebranded under the BET banner on October 5, 2015.

<i>Sale of the Century</i> American game show

Sale of the Century is an American television game show that originally debuted on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being the short-lived game shows Letters to Laugh-In and Name Droppers. The series aired until July 13, 1973, and a weekly syndicated series began that fall and ran for one season.

History Bites is a television series on the History Television network that ran from 1998 to 2004. Created by Rick Green, History Bites explored what would be on television if the medium had been around for the last 5,000 years of human history.

<i>The Challenge</i> (TV series) Reality competition show

The Challenge is a reality competition show on MTV that is spun off from two of the network's reality shows, The Real World and Road Rules. Originally featuring alumni from these two shows, casting for The Challenge has slowly expanded to include contestants who debuted on The Challenge itself, alumni from other MTV franchises including Are You the One?, Ex on the Beach, Geordie Shore and from other non-MTV shows. The contestants compete against one another in various extreme challenges to avoid elimination. The winners of the final challenge win the competition and typically share a large cash prize. The Challenge is currently hosted by T. J. Lavin.

<i>Singled Out</i> American dating game show on MTV from 1995–1998

Singled Out is an American dating game show created by Burt Wheeler & Sharon Sussman which originally ran on MTV from 1995 to 1998. Each episode featured a group of 50 singles competing for a date with one main contestant.

<i>Blind Date</i> (American TV series)

Blind Date is an American dating game show. The show was originally hosted by Roger Lodge, and is currently hosted by Nikki Glaser.

A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not previously met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance.

<i>Deal or No Deal</i> (American game show) American game show, launched 2005

Deal or No Deal is an American version of the international game show of Dutch origin of the same name. The show is hosted by actor-comedian Howie Mandel, and premiered on December 19, 2005, on NBC. The hour-long show typically aired at least twice a week during its run, and included special extended or theme episodes. The show started its fourth season on August 25, 2008, a day after NBC's coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics ended. A daily syndicated half-hour version of the show debuted on September 8, 2008, and continued for two seasons.

<i>Weakest Link</i> (American game show) American television game show

Weakest Link is an American television game show that made its debut in 2001. It is an adaptation of the British television series of the same name.

<i>Uh Oh!</i> (game show) Canadian TV series aired from 1998 to 2003

Uh Oh! is a Canadian television game show that was created by Rick Watts and Frank Young. Following a sneak preview at YTV Psykoblast on August 16, Uh Oh! aired from August 22, 1997 to April 19, 2003 on YTV, and was a spin-off of the popular variety show It's Alive!, which also aired on YTV. Uh Oh! was part of It's Alive's game show segment during its third season, but existed as a parody during its second season. As of 2019, Uh Oh! is the third longest-running show on YTV, behind Hit List and Video & Arcade Top 10, both of which aired for 14 and 15 years respectively. For its entire run, Uh Oh! was taped at Global Television in Toronto, Ontario. The series ended on April 19, 2003.

<i>A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila</i> American television series

A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila is an American reality television dating game show similar to the TV show The Bachelor. It premiered on October 9, 2007 on MTV starring Tila Tequila. The series consists of a bisexual-themed reality dating show where 16 heterosexual male men and 16 lesbian female women contestants live in Tequila's house and compete for her attention and affection. The contestants were not aware of Tequila's bisexuality until the end of the first episode, after ten contestants had been eliminated. The remaining contestants, both male and female, then shared the same home for the remainder of the series. A Shot at Love II premiered on April 22, 2008.

<i>Baggage</i> (American game show) American dating game show

Baggage is an American dating game show hosted by Jerry Springer and broadcast by Game Show Network. The original series premiered on April 19, 2010, airing for four seasons. A spin-off series, entitled Baggage on the Road, aired for one season, which debuted on January 7, 2015. The show has earned high ratings by GSN's standards; despite this, it has also received mixed critical reception.

<i>Ant & Decs Saturday Night Takeaway</i> British television variety show

Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway is a British television variety show, created and presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, and broadcast on ITV since its premiere on 8 June 2002, enduring a four-year hiatus between 2009 and 2013, while its presenters worked on other projects. The show's format, heavily influenced by previous Saturday night light entertainment shows such as Noel's House Party, Opportunity Knocks and Don't Forget Your Toothbrush, focuses on a mixture of live and pre-recorded entertainment and quiz segments, including an audience-based quiz involving the television adverts during a week's episode of one of ITV's programmes, and a competition in each series between the two presenters.

<i>Are You the One?</i> American reality television series

Are You the One? is an American reality television series on MTV, in which young singles try to find love. A group of men and women are secretly paired into couples by producers, via a matchmaking algorithm. Then, while living together, the contestants try to identify all of these "perfect matches." If they succeed, the entire group shares a prize of up to $1 million. All couples in the first seven seasons were male-female, while in the eighth season a contestant's match could be someone of any gender.

References

  1. Vranica, Suzanne (September 13, 2007). "At MTV, a New Show That Pushes Deodorant". Wall Street Journal.