Man O Man

Man O Man was a game show that originated in Germany in the early-1990s. It spawned English-language versions in Australia and the United Kingdom. The show was presented loosely in the format of a beauty pageant but with male contestants. An all-female audience voted for the winner via a series of elimination rounds. Notably, losing contestants would be pushed into a swimming pool.

Format

The male contestants would compete in a number of rounds where characteristics a woman may seek in a romantic partner - such as general knowledge, romantic aptitude, conversation skills and sense of humour - would be tested. At the end of each round, members of the entirely female audience each voted for their favourite man using a remote control device and the least popular male would be eliminated from the competition by being pushed into the swimming pool that formed part of the show's set by one of the show's beautiful hostesses. The men are fully clothed but barefoot during this part. At the beginning of each episode, the ten male contestants would come out on the stage and introduce themselves to the audience, and from these first impressions the audience would eliminate the four least popular guys. The seven that were left then progressed to the next round, which saw the guys perform a talent act, which usually consisted of an act that was either comedic, musical or magical. The next round would have the final five in a bar or night club setting, with each one of them trying to impress a woman (one of the hostesses) with their conversation, wit and charm. The final three round saw the guys performing various songs for karaoke, with the three surviving guys after that entering the final round "Beefcake Challenge". In this final round, the guys would strip shirtless and then flex their bodies while being instructed by a professional male bodybuilder. After this, the audience voted for the winner, with the two runner-up contestants being pushed into the pool simultaneously.

Australian version

The Australian version of the show was aired on the Seven Network and was hosted by stage actor Rob Guest. The first episode aired on February 5, 1994. The final episode of Man O Man, which aired on November 25, 1994, was a Footballers Challenge special that featured players from Australian rules football, rugby league and Soccer. The episode was more risqué than usual, with some footballers performing a striptease for the talent act round.

Man O Man returned briefly to the Seven Network on January 26, 1997 when the first episode was repeated as part of the network's Coca-Cola Interactive Summer Night promotion...however, the show has not been repeated since. Man O Man was filmed at the Seven Network Melbourne studios located in South Melbourne. Currently, the studio which was used for the show is currently utilised as the Dancing with the Stars dance floor set. The swimming pool still lies under the floor of the studio and is still full of the water.

UK version

The British version of the show ran from May 4, 1996 to August 7, 1999, hosted by Chris Tarrant.

External links

• Man O Man at the National Film and Sound Archive
• Man O Man at UKgameshows.com