Here’s an Internet milestone; FOX Broadcasting is creating a new TV series called Hole in the Wall based off the Japanese game called Brain Wall, a show that took off globally after being uploaded to YouTube as “Human Tetris.” The network will decide whether to pick up the show later this year. In case you haven’t seen the original…
I can think of plenty of TV shows and movies influenced by Internet trends, but this is the first time I can remember a show has been created because of a YouTube videos popularity. This is a nice reminder of how prevalent YouTube has become in our world, bridging geographical gaps and now actually should be considered a player in the entertainment industry.
But does this show actually have any chance of thriving on network television? YouTube videos are short blasts of entertainment (every human tetris clip I’ve seen is just that, a clip. Not the entire show.) that can be viewed when the viewer wants to see it. I imagine most people outside Japan saw human tetris by either clicking a link on another website or having a friend tell them “get over here, you got to check this out.” The most important obstacle the show will have to overcome is getting old fast. I loved human tetris…for ten minutes. Then I fell in love with this. Human tetris is a great YouTube watch, but as a half-hour gameshow it could get really old, really fast, unless the show offers some sort of other game. Other countries, like Mexico and Denmark, have adapted the show, so it could work. But remember, “human tetris” is only one segment of a larger show in Japan – even the people who created this game can only take so much of a guy getting hit by a styrofoam wall.
But, hey, you should still try to get on the show.