THE RECAPS
STORMSEEKER.COM RECAPS! Reality editor Gordon Pepper provides recaps of this show.

February 20, 2004
Around a year ago, we had men vs. beasts, and the producers thought it was good - well good enough to get a second helping. Here is he second helping, and we'll see if the beasts continue to reign (as they won 4-2 the last time out) - or if the humans can even the score.

Michael Buffer once again is the announcer - and Steve Santagati is your host. We start this off with Olympic Hopeful Brian Clay - and a labrador retriever. Which one will jump the furthest? Morgan the retriever, has won tons of awards, but Brian has had the previous higher jump. This is going to be water jumping - which gives the advantage to the dog, since Brian has never had this experience.

Jump #1 - Brian goes 25 feet, and the dog goes 26 feet. Ouch - that's not good for Brian, but he does tie the dog at 26 feet for the second jump. Morgan's second jump? 27 feet, and the dog retakes the edge. Brian can't do better than 27 feet, so if the dog can improve himself, it will win the competition. Morgan's third jump - 27.5 feet - which is good enough for the win (Beasts 1, Humans 0).

We are up to event #2, which is a dead drop between an orangutan names Bam Bam and Marshall Irwin, who made the Olympic team in 1996. The rues are simple - whoever drops off from their bar first loses. There will be an electrified fence between the contestants. just in case Bam Bam wants to go bam bam Marshall.

At the 6 minute mark, Marshall is losing his grip and is hoping that the orangutan loss his balance. He doesn't - but Bam Bam urinates in the ground - which sends everyone to a fit of laughter. Bam Bam does get bored, and goes over to the side pole and rests. That is a cause for a disqualification, and Marshall, who drops out right before the 9 minute mark. Man's will to win is better than the animal's curiosity (Man = 1, Beasts = 1).

The third event is a tree climbing challenge. Your combatants are a chimpanzee and Kap-Teo-Taiti, who is the champion tree-climber in Samoa. The objective is to climb up the tree for 40 feet, grab a flag, then get down. Whoever (or whatever) comes down first on both feet wins.

The chimpanzee would have the edge - if he was interested. The chimp isn't, and he is just taking his sweet time, which gives Kap the win by 20 seconds (Man = 2, Beasts = 1). Because it was so easy, Kap says that he can do it twice before the chimp can do it once. This time around, the chimp is ready and goes a little bit quicker - quick enough so that Kap can't catch him this time Beast - 44 seconds, Man - 1:09). Pride goes before a fall (Man = 2, Beasts = 2).

Finally, we get a Showdown of the Little People! Last time, the little people lost by inches to an elephant. How well will 4 of them do in a relay race against a camel? After watching them practice, we see the line-up - Daniel Artrand, Steve Baviar, 'Mighty; Mike, and Frank Gelb - the son of coach joe Gelb.

The men get a strong start, as the camel is just walking - but as the midgets get to the third person, the camel moves into a trot and passes the midgets by 5 yards. There is a bad relay from the third to the fourth guy, and that seems to ice the loss, but Gelb is making up a lot of ground. It comes down to the anchor spot, and the winner will b a ...photo finish. According to the replay, the first thing to cross the line is...the camel, by two tenths of a second. The beasts get the revenge - and the win (Beasts 3, Man 2).

My take? Well it was better from a production standpoint, but the fun from the first edition wasn't here, and it took some of the luster from it. I also wanted to see more matches, but this was cute for what it was. We'll see if we get a third edition of it next year.