''Shock Treatment'' is a reality entertainment documentary shown in 2005 on Sky One in the United Kingdom and

Fox Reality Fox Reality Channel was an American pay television channel. It was launched on May 24, 2005, and was owned by the Fox Entertainment Group. It featured many shows that were originally on the Fox network (or produced by Fox). The channel also feat ...

in the United States. It stars

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...

as presenter and John Woolvett as the fictional Dr. John Templeton. Other members of the cast include actress Sharon Lloyd as a fake volunteer and magician Paul Andrews as Head of Experiments. In this show, four volunteers are challenged to stay for 48 hours in a disused

mental asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry ...

and endure a series of mental challenges designed to test their courage. Such challenges include facing violence, snakes, electricity, the dark, drowning, disgust, heights, spiders, pain, and inflicting pain on others. A cast of

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

s and stuntmen are used to increase the realism of the challenges, while psychological tricks and illusions aim to convince the volunteers that they are really facing their worst fears. They can forfeit a challenge at any time by pressing a buzzer which they hold with them. When not performing a challenge, the volunteers are escorted to their cells by unknown masked men who never talk, to create an environment of stress and panic. The volunteers also have to stay the night in their cells in complete darkness, while screams and shouts further unsettle the volunteers. The volunteers are also allowed to leave the asylum at any time should they be unable to continue, but those that stay to the end are rewarded with the knowledge that they have faced their greatest fears.

External links

Sky One ''Shock Treatment'' SiteFox Reality ''Shock Treatment'' Site
* Sky UK original programming British game shows 2005 British television series debuts {{UK-tv-prog-stub