Wipeout by Adam Larkey/ABC
Cheers to the summer's biggest surprise: Wipeout . I didn't think I'd make it through a single episode of ABC's obstacle-course reality show, muchless become one of the sleeper hit's 10 million weekly viewers. It turns out watching people fall on their faces — among other body parts — never gets old. (I guess that's why so many slapstick silent films are still funny.) Hosts John Anderson and John Henson and field reporter Jill Wagner make a winning team, but the real stars are the "Big Balls," enormous red spheres responsible for the show's most spectacular wipeouts. The "big balls" jokes never grow old, either. Good thing, since ABC just picked up the show for a second season.• Share your own raves and rants about other shows on the Reader Cheers & Jeers discussion board.• We may feature your Cheer or Jeer on TVGuide.com or in TV Guide magazine!
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John Henson and John Anderson by Craig Sjodin/ABC
• SportsCenter anchor John Anderson expands his resume as the host of the latest entry into the summer reality sweepstakes, Wipeout (Tuesdays, 8 pm/ET, ABC). The obstacle-course competition puts everyday folks up against bruise-inducing events like Big Balls, Dizzy Dummy and Sucker Punch. Ex-Talk Soup and TV Guide Network host Chris Henson is Anderson's on-air partner.• HBO's Real Sports returns with a (mostly) Olympic-themed episode (June 24, 10 pm/ET). Host Bryant Gumbel takes a typically smug (and borderline xenophobic) look at the demanding Chinese sports schools that are producing scores of potential medalists for the Beijing Games — and some tears among the students (because we Americans never push our kids too hard at sports). Additionally Andrea Kremer cheerleads for the return of softball into the Olympics. The American-dominated sport has its swan song in Beijing, booted by the IOC due to “lack of global appeal” — and three straight gold medal...
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