Reality TV has jumped the shark so many times at this point that this reference has lost all meaning. However, now it seems a plucky producer is finding ways to float over the shark instead.
According to Fast Company Andrea Iervolino, founder of the company Entertainment 720 Space 11, is producing a reality series titled Galactic Combat. That series promises to showcase 40 MMA fighters from across the world as they train and prepare to fight in a zero-gravity environment. Thirty-two of the contestants will be eliminated during training with eight finalists being selected for the actual fights.
The finalists will then board a space ship and literally go into space. The final fights will take place on the ship as it orbits the planet for 90 minutes, which is enough time to circumnavigate the globe.
The show is currently in ‘pre-production’. However, that doesn’t mean it has been acquired by a broadcaster. So it’s entirely possible that this show never gets made. Iervolino said he is planning 12 episodes for the series and hopes to sell the show through the “traditional TV sales model.”
Iervolino sounds confident that he will find a buyer for the show, based on the novelty (and absurdity) of hand-to-hand fighting in zero-gravity.
“When people try to punch you in zero gravity—I don’t know if you’ve seen the video of a baby pushing a person [in zero gravity] and the person goes to the other side of the room,” said Iervolino. “It’s a totally different way to punch someone. It’s a very different type of training.”
Already attached to the project is John Lewis, who serves as VP and promoter for the show. Lewis fought twice in the UFC. In 1999 he beat Lowell Anderson by corner stoppage. A year later he lost to Jens Pulver by knockout (in just 15 seconds).
To celebrate this absurd story let’s all enjoy this wonderful moment when Tim Curry couldn’t contain himself while reading ridiculous copy for a cut scene from the video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3.
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