The BEST episodes of Fear Factor
Every episode of Fear Factor ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Fear Factor!
"Imagine a world where your greatest fears become reality." In each pulse-racing "Fear Factor" episode, contestants recruited across the country battle in extreme stunts. These stunts are designed to challenge the contestants both physically and mentally. If a player is too afraid to complete or fail a stunt, the player is eliminated. If they succeed, they are one step closer to the grand prize: $50,000.
#1 - Snake Bite
Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/2/2012
The four new teams of couples assemble: Joel and Andrea, "party people" who met in Vegas; DJ and Brooklyn, a careful 19-year-old number cruncher and an 18-year-old risk taker; Todd and Carole, a married couple out to prove that 50 is a badge of honor; and Roberto and Tanya, a determined power couple. Their first challenge involves getting catapulted off a building onto a rope net, where they must gather 10 flags a piece as quickly as possible while being rained on the entire time. The team with the worst time is eliminated.
#2 - Broken Hearts & Blood Baths
Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 12/12/2011
Four teams of exes face stunts that include escaping from a submerged car and climbing on top of a moving bus.
#3 - Tall Crappaccino
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/19/2011
Couples face stunts that include being catapulted off a building towards a cargo net and transferring snakes off their partners with their mouths.
#4 - Scorpion Tales
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 12/12/2011
Family duos take part in stunts that include hanging from a speeding helicopter and eating scorpions that they must retrieve from the grill of a semi truck.
#5 - Jet Ski Leap; Beetle Bowl; Rope Crawl
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/25/2001
Stunt #1: Jet Ski Leap Contestants would be riding on the back of a jet ski as a helicopter flew overhead. They would have to grab on to the helicopter skit and use the cargo netting to climb into the helicopter. Contestants who completed this stunt would advance to the next round. Stunt #2: Beetle Bowl Contestants would bowl one frame and knock down as many pins as possible. The number of pins left standing would represent the number of live beetles they would have to eat. Everyone who ate their beetles in the time limit (30 seconds per beetle) would advance to the next round. Stunt #3: Rope Crawl Contestants would have to crawl on their bellies across a 60-foot tightrope stretching between two rooftops over 100 feet high. If they flipped to the underside of the rope, two minutes would be added on to their time. The contestant to get from one end of the rope to the other in the fastest time would win the $50,000.
#6 - Net Jump; Wormtinis; Tunnel Crawl
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/2/2001
Stunt #1: Net Jump Contestants would have to climb to the top of a 110 foot tower and then jump twice their body length to a cargo net hanging across from the tower. Contestants who were able to hang on to the net for 5 seconds would advance to the next round. Stunt #2: Wormtinis Contestants would have to eat five earthworms and one super worm in a martini glass. Contestants who were able to do this in 4 minutes would advance to the finals. Stunt #3: Tunnel Crawl Contestants would have to crawl through a pitch-black drainage system. The first pipe led to a wet and slimy culvert connected to several other pipes, but only one pipe besides the entry pipe did not have a dead end. The tunnel was rigged with infrared cameras so viewers could see the contestants in the dark tunnels. The contestant to reach the end of the exit tunnel fastest would win the $50,000.
#7 - Dog Attack; Snake Pit; Beam Walk
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 7/9/2001
Stunt #1: Dog Attack Contestants would have to fire a starter's pistol and run to a finish line in a padded suit. After they fired the pistol, a trained attack dog would attempt to take them down. They would have a minute to cross the finish line. In the event that not everyone completed the stunt, the four contestants to get closest to the finish line would advance to the next round. Stunt #2: Snake Pit Contestants would have to lie in a pit and be covered with 24 snakes, including a 16-foot boa constrictor. Everyone who stayed in the pit for three minutes would advance to the finals. If anyone was bit, they would automatically advance. Stunt #3: Beam Walk Contestants would have to walk across a 6½-inch wide balance beam over 100 feet high, retrieve a flag, walk back across, and plant the flag. The contestant to do this the fastest would win the $50,000.
#8 - Ice Is Thicker Than Water
Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/30/2017
The upcoming incarnation has been updated for today's generation with stunts inspired by viral videos, popular scary movies, and urban legends. Teams of contestants will be taken outside their comfort zones as they confront their fears and battle it out for the $50,000 grand prize
#9 - Airplane Walk; Snake Face-off; Car Launch
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/8/2002
Stunt #1: Airplane Walk Contestants would have to climb out on the wing of a bi-plane as it flew at 100 miles per hour and over 4,000 feet above the ground. They would have to release a flag at the end of the wing and return to the cockpit. The two men and the two women to complete this stunt the fastest would advance to the next round. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #2: Snake Face-off Contestants would have to bob for plums in a tank containing 50 water snakes and a constrictor snake. The three contestants to retrieve the most plums in two minutes would advance the finals. The slowest person would be eliminated. Stunt #3: Car Launch Contestants would have to crash a car through a guard rail and launch it off the third level of a parking garage. The car would land in a large pile of boxes. The contestant who could launch their car the furthest distance would win the $50,000.
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#10 - Roach Coach
Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/9/2012
Struggling to keep their wits about them, contestants in this episode have to endure being bound and locked in a cage that is slowly submerged underwater while their teammate has to dive in and struggle to free them before they run out of air. At the aptly named “Fear Factor Food Truck,†teammates are forced to eat a box lunch of live cockroaches and giant grasshoppers, accompanied by a side dish of rat hair chips and a special salsa topped with maggots. In the final stunt, one team member must leap back and forth from a swerving bus to a trailing car driven by his/her partner, in a timed race to retrieve flags the fastest. One team will remain standing and claim the $50,000 cash prize.
#11 - Blind Date Fear Factor
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 12/13/2005
This was a special blind date episode. Four single men would be introduced to four single women, and the women would get to pick which man they wanted to be paired up with. The four couples would then compete as teams for the $50,000. Stunt #1 (Hanging boat) One partner would be driving a boat across a lake while the other partner would grab a hook hanging from a helicopter and attach it to the boat. The helicopter would then lift the boat out of the water and one person would have to climb onto a cargo net on the underside of the boat, release four flags, and drop into the water. The second partner would then have to do the same. The couple to get the most flags in the fastest time would get to choose which couple would be eliminated. Stunt #2 (Crab Dump Escape) Couples would be locked in a large tank filled with 45 degree water and large Dungeness crabs. As more cold water and crabs were pumped into the tank through two pipes, both team members would have to find which of four keys unlocked caps from the floor of the tank and use the caps to plug the pipes. Because of the dangers of hypothermia, there would be a ten-minute time limit for this stunt. The couple to complete this stunt the fastest would win a twelve-day trip for four to Belize. No one would be eliminated in this stunt. Stunt #3 (Ice box) Couples would be in opposite sides of a Plexiglas box, separated by a wall. As the box filled with 2,000 pounds of ice, one partner would have to collect pegs from their side of the box and transfer them to their partner through a hole in the wall. Their partner would then have to put the pegs in a box. After they had transferred all 52 pegs, they would have to pull a lever that would open the bottom of box and drop them into the water below. The bottom would automatically drop out after two minutes if contestants had not completed the stunt. The couple to transfer the most pegs the fastest would be Blind Date Fear Factor Champions and win $50,
#12 - Las Vegas Teams
Season 5 - Episode 23 - Aired 2/21/2005
This episode featured four duos (two pairs of best friends, a set of twins, and a dating couple) competing as teams in Las Vegas. The winning team would have to bet half their winnings on a hand of blackjack. Stunt #1 (Inverted fall and car flip) One team member would be handcuffed and hung by their ankles 120 feet in the air while their partner waited in a car on the ground. The person hanging by their ankles would have to unlock the handcuffs and pull a rip cord. When the rip cord was pulled, the person would drop to the ground head-first and a pipe ramp would be lit on fire. When the ramp was lit, the person in the car would have to have to hit the ramp and flip the car into a wall of road-block barrels. The three teams to complete this stunt the fastest would advance to the next round. The slowest team would be eliminated. Stunt #2 (Fear Factor cocktails) Contestants would be playing poker Fear Factor style at the Excalibur. In order get cards, each player would have to
#13 - Heist Fear Factor
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 12/6/2005
This episode featured four co-ed pairs competing for keys to an armored car containing $1 Million in gold. In addition to the money, the winning team would also win a trip to Universal Studios Orlando. Stunt #1 (Helicopter cargo net) As a helicopter flew 400 feet above a lake at 90 miles per hour, the men would have to climb out onto a cargo net hanging off the back, collect four flags from the net, climb back up into the helicopter, and collect a final flag. The women would then have to do the same. The three teams to get the highest total of flags in the fastest time would receive a key for the armored car. The team to get the least flags would be eliminated. Stunt #2 (Tunnel Escape) While chained together, partners would have to make their way through a ventilation system. While crawling through the shafts, they would have to make their way through rats, spider webs with tarantulas, raw sewage, and complete darkness. At two points in the tunnel they would have to pull levers to extinguish fires blocking their paths. The two teams to complete this stunt fastest would earn their second keys and advance to the finals. The slowest team would be eliminated. Stunt #3 (Underwater heist) After receiving their third keys, teams would compete head-to-head removing $12,500 gold bricks and $100 gold coins from the submerged armored car. The men would have to open the door to the car so the women could use the keys to unlock lockers containing gold coins. The men would collect gold bars from the truck while the women collected gold coins. Only one member of each team could be in the car at a time. The team to collect the most money in ten minutes would get to keep that money, win the trip to Universal Studios Orlando, and be Heist Fear Factor Champions. Home Invasion Stunt (Boa cage) Competing in this episode’s Home Invasion segment would be the Mosley family of Tempe, Arizona. Two family members would have to reach into a box of biting Amazon
#14 - Newlyweds at Universal Studios Orlando
Season 5 - Episode 31 - Aired 5/23/2005
This season finale episode featured four newlywed couples competing at Universal Studios Orlando. Stunt #1 (Rope snap and helicopter rope climb) Partners would be standing on opposite sides of a Plexiglas wall over a lagoon and be holding onto a rope. They would have move up and down to move the rope over a file on top of the wall in order to break the rope in half. They would then have drop into the water and swim to a pair of jet skis which would drag them to a helicopter. At the helicopter, they would both have to climb up ropes with 5 flags attached and release as many flags as possible before falling into the water. The three couples to get the most flags the fastest would advance to the next round. The other couple would be eliminated. Stunt #2 (Fear Factor Wedding Toast) Couples would have to dig their faces into a wedding cake filled with red worms, super worms, silk worms, beetles, and alligator eyeballs. They would both have to get mouthfuls of bugs and eyeballs and
#15 - N.Y. vs. L.A.
Season 5 - Episode 30 - Aired 5/9/2005
This episode featured four contestants from New York City competing against four contestants from Los Angeles. Stunt #1 (Helicopter rappel) Going head-to-head, contestants would use a hand-break to rappel down ropes hanging from a helicopter. While rappelling, they would have to release 5 flags from a rope hanging adjacent to them and then drop into the water below. The man and the woman from each city to get the best time would advance to the next round. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #2 (Meat Locker) Paired with the other person from their city, contestants would be bound by their wrists and ankles with duct tape and locked in a frozen meat locker. Once they had worked together to free themselves, both contestants would have to dig through a barrel of lard and cow innards to find a wrench. Once they had their wrenches, they would use them to dig through an ice tunnel and retrieve keys bolted inside the tunnel. They would have to use the two keys to unlock the two loc
#16 - Best Friends #3
Season 5 - Episode 29 - Aired 5/2/2005
This episode featured four pairs of best friends competing as teams. Stunt #1 (Double water beam) One team member would be standing on a 12-inch wide beam high above the ground, and their partner would be standing on an 8-inch wide beam underneath. As four water jets forced water down on the lower beam, the person on that beam would have to cross it, get a crank, walk back to the farthest water jet, and clip the crank on a rope that their partner was holding. Their partner would then have to hoist the crank up and use it to turn off the water jet. They would have to repeat this process until all four jets were turned off. The three teams to complete this stunt the fastest would advance to the next round. The slowest team would be eliminated. Stunt #2 (Sausage Feast) Both teammates would have to choose one of six covered platters, each one containing a sausage casing stuffed with disgusting food items. Both team members would have to consume their gross sausage. The gross sau
#17 - Submerged Car Rotisserie; FF Sushi Bar; Wall Sweeper
Season 5 - Episode 28 - Aired 4/25/2005
Stunt #1 (Water car rotisserie) Contestants would be chained into the front seat of a car as it spun in and out of the water. When the spinning started, they would have to grab a key, unlock two locks to free themselves, release a flag from the back seat, exit the car, and swim to a buoy. The two men and the two women to complete this stunt fastest would advance to the next round. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #2 (Fear Factor Sushi Bar) Contestants would have to choose two numbered plaques with disgusting sushi dishes written in Japanese on them. Sushi dishes on the menu were the maggot and Madagascar hissing cockroach roll; the maggot and rotten squid gut roll; the red worm, super worm, maggot, and earthworm roll; tarantula sushi; the stink bug, beetle, maggot, and fish sauce roll; and blended fish sauce, squid gut, and squid ink sake. Everyone who ate both their sushi dishes within 10 minutes would advance to the finals. Stunt #3 (Rooftop plank)
#18 - Miss USA Edition #3
Season 5 - Episode 27 - Aired 4/11/2005
This episode featured six Miss USA 2005 contestants competing for $50,000. The winner would keep half her money and donate the other half to the charity of her choice. Stunt #1 (Water beams) The ladies would have to work their way around a square-shaped beam structure and collect up to 10 flags before jumping into the water below. To make things harder, the beams were rigged with high-pressure water jets that would be spraying during the stunt. The four ladies to complete this stunt the fastest or get the most flags the fastest before falling would advance to the next round. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #2 (Triple Dump Tunnel) The ladies would have to fight a high pressure water hose to make their way though a Plexiglas tunnel. As they went, they would have to reach up and pull down three chains and collect a key from each chain. The hose would stop when they retrieved the second key. Each time they retrieved a key, a bucket containing 55 gallons of disgusting conte
#19 - Tarzan Semi to Semi; Fear Factor Donut Shop; Falling Beam Maze
Season 5 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/28/2005
Stunt #1 (Water car rotisserie) Contestants would be chained into the front seat of a car as it spun in and out of the water. When the spinning started, they would have to grab a key, unlock two locks to free themselves, release a flag from the back seat, exit the car, and swim to a buoy. The two men and the two women to complete this stunt fastest would advance to the next round. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #2 (Fear Factor Sushi Bar) Contestants would have to choose two numbered plaques with disgusting sushi dishes written in Japanese on them. Sushi dishes on the menu were the maggot and Madagascar hissing cockroach roll; the maggot and rotten squid gut roll; the red worm, super worm, maggot, and earthworm roll; tarantula sushi; the stink bug, beetle, maggot, and fish sauce roll; and blended fish sauce, squid gut, and squid ink sake. Everyone who ate both their sushi dishes within 10 minutes would advance to the finals. Stunt #3 (Rooftop plank) Contestants would
#20 - Fear Factor Twins #3
Season 5 - Episode 25 - Aired 3/7/2005
This four-stunt episode featured four sets of twins competing as teams. Stunt #1 (Helicopter to speedboat) One twin would be hanging by a harness from a helicopter while their partner would be inside the helicopter. As the helicopter flew over a buoy, the person in the helicopter would have to pull a rip cord and drop their twin into the water. When the helicopter flew over a second buoy, the second twin would also have to jump out. Both twins would have to retrieve a flag from their respective buoys and swim to an ultra boat. Once they were both on board, the boat would speed past a floating platform. Both twins would have to jump off, swim to the platform, and attach their flags. The time would stop when the second flag was attached. The pair of twins to complete this stunt the fastest would win a $20,000 Capital One credit card. No one would be eliminated in this stunt. Stunt #2 (Cattle trench) Twins would be racing back and forth while attached to a pulley system, so on
#21 - Reality Stars
Season 5 - Episode 24 - Aired 2/28/2005
This four-stunt episode featured six former contestants from reality shows. The contestants were Omarosa (The Apprentice), Ryan Sutter (The Bachelorette), Ethan Zohn (Survivor Africa), Jenna Morasca (Survivor Amazon), Reichen Lehmkuhl (The Amazing Race), and Nikki McKibbin (American Idol). Stunt #1 (Dual heli rope crawl) Contestants would have to crawl across a rope hanging between two helicopters. As they made their way across, they would have to release up to 9 flags attached to the rope before dropping into the water below. The one man and the one woman to release the most flags the fastest would win a Capital One credit card worth $20,000. No one would be eliminated in this stunt. Stunt #2 (Gross obstacle course) Contestants would be handcuffed to a rail with one arm. Using their free hand, they would have to reach into a box of biting Amazon Tree Boas and unscrew four nuts and two washers from screws in the bottom of the cage, freeing a key. They would use the key to unl
#22 - Military Fear Factor
Season 6 - Episode 14 - Aired 7/18/2006
Teams representing the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines compete in stunts on board the USS Hornet aircraft carrier. Stunts include being launched off the deck into a cargo net hanging from a helicopter; eating leeches, pig uterus, chicken feet, and rotten fish; and pulling grenades off the top of a van before it drives off the end of the aircraft carrier. A family is challenged to eat beetle and maggot sausages in this week's Home Invasion.
#23 - Teams
Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/27/2005
This episode featured four pairs competing as teams. Stunt #1 (Human cannonball) As a truck drove along a pier with a crane hanging off the side, one team member would hang from the crane and drop into the water when they passed a buoy. They would have to retrieve two flares from the buoy, swim to a platform, and use the flares to light the fuse to giant cannon. Their partner would then be shot out of the cannon and into the water. Once in the water, their partner would swim to a boat, climb aboard, and clip a flag to a flagpole. The team to complete this stunt the fastest would get to choose which team would be eliminated. Stunt #2 (Trash Can Scavenger Hunt) Teams would have to dig through two dumpsters to find items including a toaster, a shoe, a gas can, a baseball glove, a hard hat, a tin can, a thermos, and a radio. Another of each item would be hidden among barrels filled with oil, mud, rotten fish parts, and lard. To retrieve the items from the barrels, they would have to unscrew them from the bottom and match them with the corresponding items from the dumpsters. The team to match four items fastest would win a four-day trip to Las Vegas and $20,000. No one would be eliminated in this stunt. Stunt #3 (Pavement drag) Both team members would be hanging on to handlebars attached to a helicopter and be dragged across pavement on their stomachs. Along the way, they would crash through three exploding walls and a wall of barrels before coming up to a finish line. They would have to let go as close to the finish line as possible. The team to get the least combined distance from the finish line would be Fear Factor Champions. Home Invasion Stunt (Worm wine) Competing in this week’s Home Invasion segment would be the Whitman family of Dubuque, Iowa. One family member would have to grab worms from a bowl and put them in a meat grinder, another family member would have to grind the worms to make the slop spill into a glass, and a third fami
#24 - Psycho Fear Factor (1)
Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/3/2006
This episode was part 1 of 3 in a series featuring six couples staying at the Bates Motel from the movie Psycho and competing on the set where the movie was filmed for a grand prize of $250,000. Stunt #1 (Buried alive) This first stunt would take place in front of the infamous Psycho house. Going two couples at a time, the women would be locked in coffins with rats and super worms and be buried under two tons of dirt. The men would have to dig them out using shovels and open the coffins. Once free, the women would have to dig through a pile of dirt and worms to find a key. The three winning couples would automatically advance to the next round and get to vote on which one of the three losing couples would be eliminated. Between stunts, the couples would be staying in the Bates Motel. When they checked in, it was not what they were expecting. Stunt #2 (Snake Water Escape) In the basement of the Psycho house, both members of each couple would be locked in one side of a divided water tank with 100 snakes. Taking turns, they would have to go under the water and use a knife to cut ropes blocking a hole in the wall between the two sides of the tank. Once enough ropes were cut, both people would have to swim through the hole and surface on the other side of the tank to stop the time. The two slowest couples would be up for elimination. The other three couples would get to vote on who was eliminated. Home Invasion Stunt (Bobbing for squid) Competing in week’s Home Invasion would be the Scott family of Orlando, Florida. One family member would have to use their mouth to retrieve five squid from a tank of squid ink and place them in the hands of family members. If they could complete this stunt in one minute, they would win a Capital One credit card worth $5,000.
#25 - Psycho Fear Factor (2)
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/10/2006
This episode was part 2 of 3 in a series featuring six couples staying at the Bates Motel from the movie Psycho and competing on the set where the movie was filmed for a grand prize of $250,000. Stunt #3 (Psycho Shower Rescue) The women would be handcuffed to the showerhead in one of the Bates Motel rooms as blood rained down on them. Outside, the men would have to unscrew an axe from the bottom of an ice chest filled with disgusting slop and use the axe to chop down the door to the room. They would then have to find a key which would be hidden in a vase, a potted plant, a lamp, or a nightstand. Once they had had the key, they would have to chop down the bathroom door and use the key to free their partner from the handcuffs. The couple to complete this stunt fastest would have two options: They could accept a pair of customized bikes from Metropolitan Choppers or be exempt from the next stunt. They would have to give the prize they didn’t choose to another couple. No one would be eliminated in this stunt. Stunt #4 (Street luge flag snag) The men would be lying on a sled being pulled behind a hearse as a semi truck followed behind. The women would be on the back of the hearse and would have to turn a crank to unwind the cable attached to the sled, getting the men closer to the truck. The men would then have to reach up and grab a flag on a pole jutting from the front of the truck. Once they had the flag, the women would have to tow them back in, take the flag, climb over the hearse, and clip the flag to a flagpole on the hood. The couple with the slowest time would be eliminated. Back at the Bates Motel, the remaining couples would be receiving an unpleasant surprise… Home Invasion Stunt (Eat banana slugs) Competing in this Home Invasion would be the Easton family of Queens, New York. Three family members would have one minute to eat four banana slugs between them. If they could do this in the time limit, they would win a $5,000 Ca