TVSquad

I was searching around for something interesting to write about tonight and came across a piece on Human Wrecking Balls, a new series premiering on G4 this fall.

According to the G4 Web site, the show features brothers Craig and Paul Pumphrey (combined weight: 550 lbs.), who demolish everything from boats and cars to houses and bars using Only Their Bare Hands. (Picture Tim the Tool Man doing his "Arr, arr, arr" here.)

"Guys seem to have an innate fascination with watching demolition," says Neal Tiles, President of G4. "Add to this the science behind it and the idea of two brothers doing all the demolition physically, and we think Human Wrecking Balls is an excellent addition to our programming line-up."

These guys aren't your average beer-guzzling big-talkers. Craig is a decorated police officer and world champion mixed martial artist. He got an early introduction to demolition when he fell 20 feet onto a steel construction bolt that demolished his skull. Paul is a construction worker twice crowned World Creative Breaking Champion, once after busting through six feet of ice. Knowing nothing about this sport, I'm guessing you have to be really good at breaking out of something in order to win.

He'll have plenty of opportunities on Human Wrecking Balls. One episode will determine which brother can break out of a jail cell the fastest. Makes you wonder if they've had some experience at this.

But the Pumphreys aren't just manly-men demolition geeks. They like to mix it up a little by consulting with a team of science and engineering experts to figure out how best to tackle any given object. They'll even take on some of those enquiring-minds questions, like: Did the "Three Little Pigs" know what they were talking about? And, is a foreign or domestic car easier to dismantle? It sounds a little like MythBusters meets the Terminator.

You know, I can't say I've ever watched anything on G4. The closest I get is Cheap Seats in reruns. But Human Wrecking Balls actually looks kind of interesting and fun, so I'll probably check it out.

I just have to wonder how much further they'll take this reality-show business. We've got people struggling to survive in some godforsaken place (hey, just embed yourself in a Third World country for a year), people eating worms and being dipped into vats of spiders, and G4's own Hurl!, where contestants do things like spin around in a steel cage ball after scarfing down a bowl of mac 'n cheese.

Really, where does it end? I half expect to see a reality show called Live! At the Coliseum! any day now. I can just picture the synopsis: "Watch in amazement as contestants vie to see who can escape the lion's deadly clutches!"