Game Show in My Head

Have you seen this? It's on Saturday nights (I DVR it) and it's executive produced by Ashton Kutcher of Punk'd fame. The premise is this: there's one contestant, and one host. The contestant, who is out someplace where there's a lot of people, has an earpiece and the host gives them wacky tasks to complete. If the contestant can pull it off, they win $5,000 per challenge (5 challenges per show). Then, the final challenge gives the contestant an opportunity to double their money. The show is most often filmed at Universal City Walk, the Santa Monica Pier, a farmer's market, or what appears to be 3rd Street Promenade. One time, though, I totally recognized the fountain in front of the movie theater and Borders at Valencia Town Center (my hometown mall)!! Some of the previous challenges:

• Give a stranger a ranch dressing facial, complete w/ cucumbers over the eyes. Then get the person to scrape off the dressing from their face with the cucumber and eat it. (Completed)
• Get a stranger to help you take a coffin--with a body in it--to a funeral home. The contestant, dressed as a chauffeur, was on the side of the road with what appeared to be a broken down hearse. (Completed)
• Get a group of people to line up for something that does not require a line, such as walking up a flight of stairs outside. (Failed)
• Sit in a port-a-potty in the middle of a pedestrian mall, and get a stranger to give you a tissue and talk to you for one minute. (Completed)
• Pose as a news reporter and get a stranger to go on camera and say they were abducted and probed by aliens. (Completed)
• Pose as an infomercial guy selling a new smoothie product, and get a stranger to taste all three flavors (they were nasty, like sardine) and say on camera that they are delicious. (Failed)
• Do a stupid magic trick involving a stranger's $5 bill wherein you make it "disappear" by putting it in your pocket, and convince the stranger to let you keep it. (Completed)
• Pose as a bride in distress just before her outdoor wedding. Get a guy to pose as your groom, whom you say jilted you right before to walking down the aisle. He has to make up his own vows, say he loves you, and kiss you. (Completed)
• Get a stranger to give you his name, address, and fingerprint. (Failed)

It is crazy to see these people pull off these stunts. I doubt I would be willing to do any of the things these strangers do. It's great fun watching the contestants come up with ways to convince the strangers to participate, and then more often than not, they actually do it! You can watch clips here.