Nitro Circus

My roommates and I are always in search of that "Next Great Show" (or just any show that will give us some laughs and distract us from schoolwork). Surfing the channels last Friday, we discovered a preview show for this new MTV show, Nitro Circus. The preview show opened with some guy ripping down a steep road on a big wheel and launching off a 10 foot ramp into a lake... we were intrigued. However, we were not prepared for the amazing stunts that we witnessed in the next 30 minutes on just the preview show. To say that we were really pumped for last night's season premiere would be an understatement. At 10:00, 6 people clustered on our uncomfortable futon and love seat, eagerly awaiting Nitro Circus's premiere.

PREVIEW TO WHET YOUR APPETITE



The show is Travis Pastrana's (of XGAMES fame) brainchild and is basically videos of him and his buddies doing crazy stunts on anything with wheels (or without). I came into the show thinking that Pastrana was just some action sports poser who hung out with Sal Masekala and tried to "go big" every time he was on a motorcycle. He seemed like kind of a pretty boy and I was not sold. However, after watching this show I can tell you that he might be the craziest person alive. He is an amazing entertainer, whether it is when he is double backflipping a dirtbike at the X Games or jumping out of a plane with no parachute and a Red Bull. Last night's show featured Pastrana and his gang just doing what they do best, anything that normal people would NEVER do. They build a slip and slide... down a mountain... and it eventually leads to a loop de loop section, which they all go down. They go down a steep hill in big wheels and attempt to backflip them off a 10 foot ramp at the bottom. Basically, the entire time I watched this, I kept asking myself what could make these guys do what they do- they are wired completely different than any other person.

They called it the Slip 'N Bleed


Pastrana's crew is hilarious. It is mostly extreme sports junkies, like a professional skier/base jumper, but there is also a "local", who is actually just a fat guy that the guys love to watch fall. Pastrana and his friend Andy are constantly competing with each other and when Andy successfully backflips a big wheel, Pastrana is hell-bent on one-upping him. He ends up going to the "mega-ramp" of a professional skater, Bob Burnquist, and jumping this ridiculously huge ramp in a big wheel. The show is the best parts of Jackass without all of the gross stunts that make you hate Jackass. I would highly recommend watching it on Sundays at 10 PM on MTV. Not only will you be amazed but you will probably be laughing the entire time too.

Flipping a Big-Wheel