''Going Straight'' is a New Zealand television
reality programme
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
by
Touchdown Television
Eyeworks Touchdown (formerly Touchdown Television) is a New Zealand-based television production company specialising in reality and unscripted formats, which has become a leader in the field in New Zealand, and the world. Its formats include ''T ...
that aired on
TV3 in 2003. The show also aired on the United Kingdom cable channel
Challenge.
[OnFilm Magazine February 2005] The programme was hosted by New Zealand actor
Manu Bennett
Jonathan Manu Bennett (born 10 October 1969) is a New Zealand actor. He is primarily known for portraying characters in epic fantasy works, such as Crixus in the TV series ''Spartacus'', Allanon in ''The Shannara Chronicles'', Slade Wilson / ...
, where contestants had to continue moving in a straight line, no matter what the obstacles in the way, to compete for prize money of $NZ10,000.
Format
The format of the programme challenged five contestants, wearing location monitoring equipment, to get to the end of a specified "virtual lane" across a landscape by completing three separate straight-line challenges. Contestants were eliminated each round. There was a $10,000 prize for the winner.
By 2005, the show's format had been licensed to international television channels and production companies.
Fire stunt accident
In 2004, an investigation was launched into the programme after a contestant suffered severe burns following a retake of a stunt. The programme was later penalized
NZ$
The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Ze ...
65,000 in district court for the incident.
Charges were to be put to either
Touchdown Television
Eyeworks Touchdown (formerly Touchdown Television) is a New Zealand-based television production company specialising in reality and unscripted formats, which has become a leader in the field in New Zealand, and the world. Its formats include ''T ...
or its
Warkworth District Court representative.
Reception
Local media called Going Straight a show similar to ''
Fear Factor
''Fear Factor'' is an American stunt/ dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled ''Now ...
''
on a
sickness benefit
Disability benefits are funds provided from public or private sources to a person who is ill or who has a disability.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom disability benefits are covered by Department for Work and Pensions. There are numerous ...
.
References
{{reflist
2003 New Zealand television series debuts
2003 New Zealand television series endings
English-language television shows
New Zealand reality television series
Three (TV channel) original programming