The WORST episodes of Fear Factor
Every episode of Fear Factor ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst 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 - Couples Fear Factor (5)
Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/2/2004
This episode was part 5 of 7 in a series featuring nine couples competing for various cash and prizes, and a grand prize of 1 Million Dollars. Stunt #1 (Helicopter cage) The women would be inside a metal cage beneath a helicopter with a rope hanging from the bottom the cage. The men would be riding on the back of a jet-ski and would have to grab the rope and climb it. When they got to the top, they would have to hand a set of 2 keys to the women, and then drop into the water. The women would then have to use the keys to unlock two locks, open the cage, and jump into the water. The couple to complete this stunt the fastest would win $10,000 and two Sony Cyber-Shot underwater digital cameras. No one would be eliminated in this stunt. Stunt #2 (Dumpster Dive) The men would have to swim around in a dumpster full of garbage and water and look for 7 metal canisters. One of the canisters contained pig uterus and one contained cow stomach. They would have to hand the canisters to th
#2 - Team Transfer; Hagfish Transfer; Cable Stand
Season 4 - Episode 30 - Aired 4/19/2004
This episode featured five pairs competing as teams. This episode also had an unusual twist: Contestants were not allowed to sleep for the 48-hour duration of the competition. If anyone fell asleep, their team would be eliminated. Stunt #1: Team Transfer The men would be hung by their ankles from a trolley line that would take them back and forth between two platforms on the roofs of buildings over 100 feet in the air. The women would have to transfer flags from one platform to other by clipping the flags on to their belt loops and grabbing the men's arms to ride back and forth between platforms. The four teams to transfer the most flags in 5 minutes would advance to the next round. The team with the least amount of flags would be eliminated. Stunt #2: Hagfish Transfer The women would be sitting in the top of a double-decker Plexiglas box and the men would be in the bottom. The women would be covered in slimy hagfish which would also fall through to the bottom where the men w
#3 - Tunnel Flag Snag; Potato Bug Bazooka; Tractor Car Roll
Season 4 - Episode 28 - Aired 4/5/2004
Stunt #1: Tunnel Flag Snag While balancing on the back of a tanker truck as it drove through a traffic tunnel and ran over speed bumps, contestants would have to grab flags hanging from the ceiling. The two men and the two women to collect the most flags would advance to the next round. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #2: Potato Bug Bazooka Contestants would use a bazooka to fire a potato at a target with numbers ranging from 1 to 3. The number they hit would represent the number of live potato bugs they would have to eat. Everyone who ate all their potato bugs would advance to the final round. Stunt #3: Tractor Car Roll Contestants would be seated in a car on the edge of a steep hill. As four large bulldozers advanced toward the car, they would have to find which of 6 keys started the car and drive it across a finish line. The contestant to cross the finish line the fastest, or get the furthest before a bulldozer sent their car flipping down the hill would win the $5
#4 - Extreme Building Plunge; Bug Windshield; Rotating Beam to Platform
Season 4 - Episode 27 - Aired 3/22/2004
Stunt #1: Extreme Building Plunge Contestants would be harnessed and dropped down the face of a 65-story building. As they plunged toward the ground, contestants would have to grab flags sticking out from the side of the building. The two men and the two women to collect the most flags would advance to the next round. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #2: Bug Windshield Contestants would have to jump up onto a junkyard car's hood and use their mouths to remove globs of red worms, super worms, crickets, grasshoppers, and stink beetles splattered on the windshield. They would then have to run over to a scale and spit the bugs on to the scale. The three contestants to transfer the most weight in bugs in two minutes would advance to the final round. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #3: Rotating Beam to Platform Contestants would start out over a harbor on a rotating balance beam surrounded by a square frame with a platform on each side. There were two flags on the each
#5 - Twirling Misery; Eat Live Snails; Car Jump out of Back of Semi
Season 4 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/15/2004
Stunt #1: Twirling Misery Contestants would be inside a Plexiglas box over 100 feet in the air. They would have up to two minutes to wedge themselves into the box before the bottom dropped out. Once the bottom dropped out, the box would spin around and cold water would rain from the top. The two men and the two women who could stay wedged inside the box the longest would advance to the next round. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #2: Eat Live Snails Contestants would have to eat 12 live snails. The man and the woman who could eat their snails the fastest would advance to the final round. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #3: Car Jump out of Back of Semi Contestants would be seated in a car inside the back of a moving semi truck. When the truck rolled over a starting line, a green light would flash. When this happened, they would have to find which of three keys started the car, and crash it though the back door of the trailer to the pavement below. The contestan
#6 - All Female Episode #3
Season 4 - Episode 24 - Aired 3/1/2004
Stunt #1 (Water-tube escape) The ladies would be trapped inside a plastic box and lowered into the water. With an air pocket at the top, they would have to swim to the bottom of the box, turn two wheels to drop the bottom out of the box, escape, and swim to the surface. The four ladies to do this the fastest would advance to the next round. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #2 (Box of Reptiles) Going two a time, the ladies would be seated in a Plexiglas box of boas, pythons, and geckos. While in the box, they would have to use metal rods to transfer magnetic disks from slots in the bottom of the box to slots in the top of the box. They lady in each race to transfer 5 magnets first would advance to the finals. The loser of each race would be eliminated. Stunt #3 (Wind tunnel) The ladies would have to walk through a Plexiglas wind tunnel and collect flags as a fan blew wind and water through the tunnel at 100 miles per hour. As time went on, the tunnel would tilt steeper
#7 - Four Stunt Episode #4
Season 4 - Episode 23 - Aired 2/23/2004
The show brings another four stunt show, this time featuring a contestant who is trying to get the love of his life back from going on the show. Stunt #1 (Helicopter pole crawl) Contestants would have to shimmy out on a pole jutting from the front of a helicopter. They would have to release two flags, collect the third from the end, bring it back to the beginning, clip it, and drop into the water below. 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 (Fear Factor fondue party) Contestants would have to bob in a pot of stinky cheese fondue for chunks of rotten cheese. After retrieving 5 chunks of cheese, they would have to eat 5 giant horse grasshoppers. The three contestants to complete this stunt the fastest would advance to the next round. The slowest person would be eliminated. Stunt #3 (Eel Hang) Contestants would be hung upside down over a tank of moray eels. They would have to
#8 - Couples Fear Factor (7)
Season 4 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/16/2004
This was the final episode in a 7-part series featuring nine couples competing for various cash and prizes, and a grand prize of 1 Million Dollars. Stunt #1 (Blind driver) Couples would have to drive a car up a ramp and on to the bed of a moving flatbed semi. The driver of the car would be blindfolded, and their partner would be in the passenger seat giving directions. The couple that could get their car onto the truck bed the fastest would win an STA travel experience to Russia where they would fly in a Mig-21 jet. No one would be eliminated in this stunt. Stunt #2 (Save Your Partner in Tarantulas) The women would be lying in a Plexiglas coffin covered with over 500 tarantulas and crickets. The men would have to suck up blended crickets from a bowl and spit them into a tube to make a key float to the top. Once they got the key, they would have unlock a hacksaw and saw through a metal bar to open the spider coffin. Once they got the coffin open, they would have to release a mark
#9 - Couples Fear Factor (6)
Season 4 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/9/2004
This episode was part 6 of 7 in a series featuring nine couples competing for various cash and prizes, and a grand prize of 1 Million Dollars. Stunt #1 (Lean & grab) Couples would have to cross 6-inch balance beams over 200 feet in the air. The men would be on one balance beam holding a rope while their girlfriends would be across from them on another balance beam holding the other end of the rope. While their boyfriends supported them with the rope, the women would have to lean out and grab up to 6 flags hanging adjacent to the beam. The couple to get the most flags the fastest would win two new Mazda 3 five-doors. No one would be eliminated in this stunt. Stunt #2 (Bobbing in Rats) The women would be lying in a box covered with rats and chicken feet. The men would have to retrieve 10 chicken feet with their mouths and spit them into a bucket. The couple to complete this stunt the fastest would win a high rollers weekend in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay hotel along with $5,00
#10 - Leeches & Shaved Heads & Tear Gas, Oh My! -- Part 2
Season 7 - Episode 9 - Aired 7/16/2012
Part two of a special two-part Fear Factor, with a special prize of $100,000 at stake.
#11 - Couples Fear Factor (4)
Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/26/2004
This episode was part 4 of 7 in a series featuring nine couples competing for various cash and prizes, and a grand prize of 1 Million Dollars. Stunt #1 (Gross Dunk Tank) One person would be sitting above a dunk tank filled with nasty water containing cow intestines, spleens, brains, tongues, and skin. Their partner would have throw softballs at the dunk lever to drop them into the tank. Once in the tank, contestants would have to retrieve cow tails and give them to their partner. Their partner would then have to transfer the cow tails to a bucket using their mouth. The couple to transfer 5 cow tails the fastest would win an STA travel experience to Spain where they would participate in the Running of the Bulls. No one would be eliminated in this stunt. Stunt #2 (Couples helicopter slalom) The men would be hanging by their ankles from a helicopter as it flew over a lake. They would be holding two rings attached to a chain that was around the women's ankles. As they flew over
#12 - Cable Surfing; Gift Exchange; Lake O' Fire
Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/8/2003
This was a 2nd-annual Christmas-themed episode. Stunt #1: Cable Surfing Contestants would have to balance on a wet sled hanging between two cables over 100 feet in the air. As the sled raced down the zip line over a neighborhood lit with Christmas lights, contestants would have to grab candy canes hanging from the cables. The four contestants to grab the most candy canes would advance to the next round. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #2: Gift Exchange Contestants would participate in a gross gift exchange. The first contestant would pick a box from under the Christmas tree and reveal the contents. The second person would choose whether they wanted to steal that gift, or go get a new one. This would continue until everyone had a disgusting food item. These items included cod egg sack covered with ants, sausage casing stuffed with worms (night crawlers, super worms, and red worms), rotten squid covered with flies, and live dragonflies. All contestants to eat their disg
#13 - Heli Crawl and Flag Grab; Maggoty Madness; Head on Pipe Ramp
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/13/2003
Stunt #1: Heli Crawl and Flag Grab Contestants would have to crawl down the underside of helicopter skit, cross a rope between the skits, crawl down the other skit, and drop into the water below. While doing this, they would have to release 2 flags from the first skit, 1 flag from the rope, and 3 flags from the second skit. The two men and the two women to get the most flags the fastest would advance to the next round. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #2: Maggoty Madness Contestants would have to bob in a tank of cod liver oil for cow hooves, and then drop the hooves in a box of maggots. For each hoof they transferred, they would get a mouthful of maggots and spit them onto a scale. The three contestants to transfer the most weight in maggots in 2 minutes would advance to the finals. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #3: Head on Pipe Ramp Contestants would have to race a car head-on toward another car with a pipe ramp attached to it. They would have to hit the ram
#14 - Championship, Part III
Season 3 - Episode 29 - Aired 5/12/2003
Grand finale of the Fear Factor Championship Stunt #1 (Underwater hallway) Contestants would have to swim the length of a 50-foot hallway submerged in freezing cold water. As they went though the hallway, they would have to unlock three doors and collect 9 flags. There would be three air pockets in the hallway, but only the three contestants to collect the most flags the fastest would advance to the next round. The slowest person would be eliminated. Stunt #2 (All-Star Transfer) Contestants would have to compete in a gross relay race. They would first have to eat a shot of night crawlers, and then transfer night crawlers from a box to a scale. After transferring 7 pounds of worms, they would move on to a box of Madagascar hissing cockroaches. After transferring 1 pound of roaches, they would have to use their mouths to toss ten dead rats into a bucket from behind a barricade. The two contestants to complete this relay race the fastest would advance to the final stunt. The s
#15 - The 15 Most Outrageous Moments
Season 3 - Episode 30 - Aired 5/19/2003
In this season finale episode, Joe Rogan counts down the top 15 Fear Factor moments from the past three seasons in front of a live audience.
#16 - Flatbed to Flatbed; Worm Coffin; Tumbler
Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/17/2003
Stunt #1: Flatbed to Flatbed As a semi truck hauling two flatbed trailers drove down a runway at 35 miles per hour, contestants would have to jump a car off a ramp and clear the gap between the two trailers. In order to advance to the next round, their car would have to stay on the second trailer, which was oiled and slick. If their car did not clear the gap or went off the end of the trailer, they would be eliminated. Stunt #2: Worm Coffin With only a narrow tube to breath through, contestants would lie in a coffin and be buried with 500 pounds of earthworms. While buried, they would have to use their hands to untie a knotted rope. All contestants who could untie the knot in three minutes would advance to the finals. Stunt #3: Tumbler As a tumbler with large holes rotated over water, contestants would have to transfer up to 14 flags from one end of the tumbler to the other. The contestant who could transfer the most flags the fastest before falling through one of the holes
#17 - Animal Moments Show
Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/22/2003
This 30-minute clip show had highlights from animal stunts featured in the first three seasons of Fear Factor. Clips included worms, rats, snakes, bulls, bees, attack dogs, alligators, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, and scorpions.
#18 - Dual Heli Beam Walk; Fly Shake; Hop the Train
Season 4 - Episode 32 - Aired 5/3/2004
This special Second Chance episode featured six past Fear Factor contestants who had gone home losers. Stunt #1: Dual Heli Beam Walk Contestants would have to go back and forth across a beam hanging between two helicopters. They would have to transfer up to 6 flags from one side to the other before falling into the water below. The two men and the two women to transfer the most flags the fastest would advance to the next round. The others would be eliminated. Stunt #2: Fly Shake Contestants would have to suck blended maggots from a bowl and spit them down a large straw into a glass filled with flies. After filling the glass, they would have to drink the blended maggots and flies. The three contestants to do this fastest would advance to the next round. The slowest contestant would be eliminated. Stunt #3: Hop the Train Contestants would have to race a car toward a railroad crossing, hit a pipe ramp, and flip the car over a moving train. The contestant to jump the car the g
#19 - Ex Factor
Season 6 - Episode 21 - Aired 9/6/2006
In this ex-couples episode, the women must lean off a balance beam atop a moving boat and grab hanging flags while their ex-boyfriends support them with a rope. Teams are then strapped vertically spinning wheel with their heads trapped inside plexiglas boxes, and they must collect scorpions from the ground and put them into the boxes. In the final stunt, teammates must back cars down ramps on the ends of flatbed truck trailers and drive up onto the opposite trailer from which they started. A family is challenged to eat Madagascar hissing cockroaches in this week's Home Invasion.
#20 - Fire Fear Factor
Season 6 - Episode 15 - Aired 7/25/2006
Teams of best friends must climb a cargo net beneath a helicopter while their opponents spray them with fire hoses; drink blended habanero peppers; and slide down a flaming water slide before swimming under an ice platform. Firefighters are challenged to eat balut eggs in this week's Home Invasion.
#21 - 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
#22 - 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)
#23 - 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
#24 - 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
#25 - Couples Fear Factor II (6)
Season 5 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/7/2005
This episode was part 6 of 7 in a series featuring eight couples competing for various cash and prizes, and a grand prize of 1 Million Dollars. Stunt #1 (Gross gorge) Couples would have to eat from Plexiglas containers containing 6 pounds, 8 ounces of disgusting food items. Among these items were octopus, lamb brain, pig snout, pig tongue, cod egg sac, cow eyeballs, sea cucumber, pig uterus, intestines, squid, scorpions, tarantulas, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, nightcrawlers, red worms, super worms, tomato horn worms, stink beetles, and other assorted bugs and animal innards. The couple that could eat the most weight in the 20 minute time limit would win a two-week trip to Belize where they would stay six days in the rain forest at Ian Anderson's Caves Branch and six days sailing the Caribbean in a luxury yacht from Mooring Signature Vacations. No one would be eliminated in this stunt. Stunt #2 (Train lean & grab) Couples would have to cross 12-inch wide balance beams on top
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