What are some hidden camera shows that mess with people's heads?

April 8, 2009 11:06 PM

What are some hidden camera shows that mess with people's heads?

The majority of hidden camera prank TV shows seem to focus on either angering the mark (e.g. Punk'd, Boiling Points), or surprising them (e.g. Jackass, Candid Camera).

Instead, I'm looking for more shows that create hilarity by putting the mark in absurd situations where they really don't know how to react. Usually these involve a funny character actor and an unusual storyline. This is best explained with examples of the genre:

- The Jamie Kennedy experiment (here, here)

- Ali G/Borat/Bruno (do I need links?)

- Trigger Happy TV (here, here)

- I Get That a Lot (here)

I've gone through most of the shows I could find in the Wikipedia article on hidden camera shows (though for some I couldn't find footage online). Are there any shows that are similar to the above examples that I might have missed?

posted by lunchbox to media & arts (11 comments total)

Just for Laughs Gags is kind of like Trigger Happy TV, but much simpler and with no dialogue.
posted by Clandestine Outlawry at 11:08 PM on April 8

Howie Do It
posted by P.o.B. at 11:11 PM on April 8

Scare Tactics.
posted by cmgonzalez at 11:19 PM on April 8 [1 favorite]

World Shut Your Mouth followed on from Trigger Happy TV (essentially a change of network and not a lot else).

Also Swag.
posted by edd at 4:01 AM on April 9

"Hi, I'm Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC..."
posted by nineRED at 4:02 AM on April 9

I'm sure that Playboy did a soft-porn version of this concept. Usually people just got naked around the mark in some contrived situation.
posted by humblepigeon at 4:11 AM on April 9

I was a big fan of Spy T.V. but, it's hard to find archives of it.
posted by sharkhunt at 7:05 AM on April 9

Room 401?
posted by iviken at 7:13 AM on April 9

This one is a bit politically and socially contraversial but... What Would You Do?
posted by alcoth at 7:46 AM on April 9

The Joe Schmo Show was absolutely amazing. It was a reality show like The Real World combined with Survivor. The "contestants" were all actors with the exception of one guy who thought it was earnest, and the reactions were hilarious. Later on, Joe Schmo (Matthew Kennedy Gould) tried to play it off like he knew what was up (they did commentary-laden episodes after the show ended), but it's clear from his reactions that he's utterly in the dark.
posted by explosion at 8:08 AM on April 9

This isn't a show but it's a growing trend where people come together to perform a bizarre, scripted act in public just so that the reactions of the unsuspecting public can be enjoyed. The website is: Improv Everywhere


Other examples:

A surprise musical performance to advertise a show:



Thrill the World (A yearly public reenactment of Michael Jackson's Thriller dance, best when foisted upon an unsuspecting crowd)
posted by Piscean at 4:41 PM on April 9