Smart Tactics For a Scary Show

Smart Tactics For a Scary Show
Written by David M. Muench


Move over Spy TV and Candid Camera; it's time for a new evolution of hidden camera fun. The SciFi Channel introduced a new show Friday night called Scare Tactics; hosted by Shannen Doherty.

No, that's not the scary part. Think of this show as a practical joke taken to the extreme; with plenty of screaming and soiled underpants. The viewer (that's you) lives vicariously through the fear and terror of the practical joke victims, and we get to point and laugh; secretly thankful that it's not us. The "events" are taken from urban legends and popular scary movies and put into play with actors and the victim's friends; sometimes even Doherty plays a part in a twisted plot.

Here's an episode synopsis of the first show:

UFO Abduction
Partygoers in a limo are attacked by an enraged alien creature.

Firing Range
There's trouble on a firing range when an unsuspecting weapons-tester blows up Shannen Doherty's uncle.

Buried Alive
A man is shocked when his friend is trapped in a coffin and accidentally buried alive.

Camp Kill
Camp counselors in a remote mountain cabin find themselves hunted by a psychopathic killer.

See, now doesn't that sound like fun? Unless you're the victim of the heart-palpitating prank. So far, I like this series; and as long nobody files a lawsuit or has a heart attack it should have a good run. But unfortunately this isn't the first "fright-eliciting" reality type show. That honor belongs to ABC's "The View."