''Proving Ground'' is an American

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

television series that aired in the United States on G4 in 2011, hosted by stuntman

Ryan Dunn Ryan Matthew Dunn (June 11, 1977 – June 20, 2011) was an American stunt performer, television personality, and actor. He was one of the stars of the MTV reality stunt show '' Jackass'' and its film franchise. Born in Medina, Ohio, Dunn rose ...

and

video game journalist Video game journalism (also called games journalism or video game criticism) is a specialized branch of journalism that covers various aspects of video games, including game reviews, industry news, and player culture, typically following a core ...

Jessica Chobot Jessica Chobot (born Jessica Lynn Horn; July 7, 1977) is an American on-camera host and writer. She has hosted the IGN shows ''IGN Strategize'' and ''Weekly Wood'', which also runs on Xbox Live; she previously worked as presenter of the ''IGN D ...

. In each episode, Dunn and Chobot test concepts from pop culture such as

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s, comics, television and movies to see if any are easily replicated in the real world. In the first episode, they test the concept of a real life ''

Super Mario Kart is a 1992 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The first game in the ''Mario Kart'' series, it was released in Japan and North America in 1992, and in Europe the following yea ...

go-kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of small sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performanc ...

race with

banana peel A banana peel, called banana skin in British English, is the outer covering of a banana. Banana peels are used as food for animals, an ingredient in cooking, in water purification, for manufacturing of several biochemical products as well as f ...

s and "

Koopa Troopa are a fictional turtle-like race of characters from the ''Mario'' media franchise. They are commonly referred to as Koopas, a more broad classification of creatures that includes Bowser, his Koopalings, and Lakitu. Predecessors to Koopa T ...

shells". The series premiered on June 14 to 31,000 viewers. Most of the testing segments were filmed at the

Saugus Speedway Saugus Speedway was a 1/3 mile racetrack in Saugus, Santa Clarita, California, Saugus, Santa Clarita, California on a site. The track hosted one NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event in 1995, which was wo ...

. On June 20, Dunn died in a car crash in Pennsylvania. The network immediately pulled the series from its schedule until management determined whether the remaining episodes should air. On June 27, it announced that the show would return on July 19 and the remaining episodes would air in the same time slot.

References

External links

* * 2011 American television series debuts 2010s American reality television series American English-language television shows G4 (American TV network) original programming Television shows about video games 2011 American television series endings {{US-reality-tv-stub