More TV Memories – Danger! 50,000 Volts/Danger! Incoming Attack.

Danger! 50,000 Volts (Channel 5, 2002)/Danger! Incoming Attack (Five, 2003)

This is yet another show that had a rather quirky idea. Danger! 50,000 Volts was a half-comedy half-documentary, and it was up to viewers to determine how seriously they should take everything that was featured. This was something of a parody of those outdoor survival series, where slicing your own arm off, or eating some maggots, may be the only thing that you can do if you end up in some trouble.

The host was Nick Frost, who was best-known at the time for being among the cast of sitcom Spaced. Nick seemed to be rather fearless, throwing himself into several sticky situations, and revealing how to get out of them. If you were ever going to fall into some icy water, be struck by lightning, or pierce your foot on a spike, then advice was available, including “if you suffer a direct lightning hit, expect to suffer external burns, hair loss, memory loss, loss of libido, and death”.

There were also several survival experts who appeared to help Nick, who were introduced with some odd facts. Along with their occupation, we would also discover other things about them, like their favourite singer. Words also randomly appeared on the screen to emphasise ideas, and features were usually concluded with an amusing animated sequence (similar to those in scary Public Information Films) that went over the basic points again.

It seems that Danger! 50,000 Volts actually was released on DVD, accompanied by a bonus edition that wasn’t shown on TV called Danger! 50,000 Zombies, where Nick, along with his old mate Simon “bid again, Simon” Pegg revealed what you should do in the event of a zombie apocalypse (this seems to be somewhat similar to their Shaun Of The Dead film). Put it this way, it probably wasn’t to duck and cover.

There was much praise for this show from critics, which was one of the more ambitious comedy shows that was around at the time, and it was felt that some awards were deserved. A hit show for Channel 5! A year later, Nick returned for a second series, which was retitled Danger! Incoming Attack, and carried on in a similar style. After watching this, you really will be ready for anything that comes your way.