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In the True Spirit of Jack Bauer
If you’re bored and looking for people with even less to do than you, Yorkdale Mall is currently host to the most soul-sucking ongoing contest ever. As a gimmick to promote the new season of 24, Virgin Radio and Global have chosen a group of nine people for the 24/7 Ultimate Fan Marathon. Their goal is to consecutively watch every single episode of all six previous seasons of the show in an attempt to break the World Record for Continuous TV Watching. And possibly win $24,000 (see what they did there?).
The thrills began in the “Fan Bunker” on Tuesday at 3 p.m. with Rick the Temp Campanelli (he’s still the Temp, come on) giving a “mission briefing” to the “adventurous crew. ” So says the press release, which also gives us these delightful factoids:
1) The previous record holder for Continuous TV Watching was clocked in at 69 hours and 48 minutes.
2) Adhering to Guinness guidelines, contestants will be allowed only a 15 minute break every 3 hours.
3) During the marathon, contestants are not allowed to avert their eyes from the television screen.
4) Total running time of all six seasons – 106 hours and 41 minutes.
5) No energy pills, drinks or aids of any kind, aside for coffee, are permitted.
Ranging ages twenty to forty-seven, the participants include a few needy students, a mom (token oldie), and one embedded reporter, Murtz Jaffer of the National Post and host of the show Reality Obsessed. According to his blog about the competition, Jaffer had to drop out of the competition after forty-eight hours due to the disturbing development that “Jack Bauer now looks like a triangle.”
Others have since given in to sleep and been eliminated (twenty-four seconds of consecutive nods and the judges blow the whistle), and the contest favourite ran off the stage suddenly yesterday, telling Jaffer that “he had to go, he just had to go.” Really just a fun little romp through the stages of sleep-deprived dementia. Seriously, check out the blog.
Anyhow, there’s only one guy left as of this keystroke, Ryan Grech, and today is the big day when the record can potentially be broken. At 6:33 p.m., to be exact. According to Jaffer, he’s being followed around during breaks by weary paramedics and has mentioned that “he has now found his second wind and has elevated himself up on some sort of strange adrenalin-induced delirum.” Says Jamie Schouela, VP of marketing strategy at Global: “From the scope and excitement of the environment to the unbelieveable determination of the contestants, this event truly defines what 24 is all about.”
So wait, all this time we’ve been made to believe that 24 was defined by government officials, terrorist threats, and general badassery when it was really just about staying awake for six days in a chair in front of a screen?
Rad. We’re in. Season 7 premiers Sunday! January 11! 8 p.m.! Global!
Photo courtesy of Virgin Radio.