Oh Sit! was an hour-long game show competition series that premiered on September 27, 2012, on The CW. The series, according to the network, was a "high-octane musical chairs competition". Despite low ratings during its run, on September 26, 2012, Oh Sit! was renewed for a ten episode second season, which premiered on Monday, April 15, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern/7:00 p.m. Central and concluded on December 19, 2013.
Development
It was announced in September 2011 that The CW in conjunction with Gurin Company and 405 Productions was developing a musical chairs–like game show, Extreme Musical Chairs, that would change the format of the popular game into an extreme multiple round competition. The show was to increase to programming appeal beyond young females. Phil Gurin, who also produced ABC's Shark Tank and The Singing Bee.
Production
The CW ordered 10 episodes of Oh Sit!, with the premiere on August 15, 2012 with another episode the next night. On September 26, 2012, Oh Sit! was renewed for a 10-episode second season premiering on Monday, April 15, 2013 and ended on June 24, 2013.
Format
The format is a competitive music chair game where contestants would race through 5 rounds of obstacle courses to reach a chair with eliminations complete with music. The winning contestant would get a cash prize. Each episode begins with 6 males and 6 females. There are 3 obstacles and 3 bridges in each round. Contestants lap around the track and accumulate a bank for each obstacle completed before the music stops. The dollar values for each obstacle increases with each round. After the music stops they must cross a bridge without falling in the water to claim a chair. Each chair is worth a random amount of money which is added to their bank. The highest chair value is worth $5,000 in rounds 1 and 2, and $10,000 in rounds 3 and 4. In the first round, 2 competitors are eliminated for not finding a chair and 1 is eliminated for having the lowest banked score of the round. In the next 3 rounds, 1 is eliminated for not getting a chair and 1 for having the lowest bank of the round. Contact is allowed, but contestants cannot: grab above the neck, push with the intention to harm another contestant, or push from behind unless the contestant is on a bridge. If any contestant that advanced was found to have broken a rule, that contestant will be disqualified. If any contestants are too injured to continue, disqualified, or decide to withdraw from the game, the last eliminated contestant will be brought back into the game. 3 competitors advance to the final round called "Chair Mountain". Before they tackle Chair Mountain, the contestants get 1 final run around the track, with obstacles being worth $1,500 each in both seasons. Typically the winner accumulates a bank between $15,000 and $40,000 during the course of the show, with the chairs alone being worth up to $30,000. In Season 1 there were 2 female champions, 1 coming in an episode where 2 females were in the final round and 1 in an episode where all 3 finalists were female. Obstacle values were $100 each in round 1, and increased by $50 over the next 3 rounds. 1 chair in each of the 1st 4 rounds awarded no cash. In Season 2, obstacles and bridges were substantially more difficult than in Season 1, and there were no female champions. Obstacle values still increased by $50 over the 1st 4 rounds, but the values started at $150 in round 1. The $0 chair was also dropped and the lowest value chair increased with each round.
Reception
Critical reception
The series received a 49 out of 100 aggregate score, based on four early reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reception at Metacritic. The New York Times Nick Genzlinger called the series "raucous", adding that it is "a hilarious return to the childhood you never had – the fun, danger-filled, almost-anything-goes one." Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette stated it was "a silly time-waster with terrible commentary by hosts Jamie Kennedy and Jessi Cruickshank." Varietys Brain Lowry stated: "Sitting through an entire episode finally felt like more of an ordeal than fun, especially weathering Cruickshank's litany of jokes about what a slut she is."
