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For those who weren't around when The Gong Show rose to prominence, but who want the feel of having stumbled upon a countercultural revolution, check out "Pants-Off Dance-Off" on FUSE, which airs late at night on at least one weeknight (when I saw it). It has the same look and feel of The Gong Show, and of all the "talent" shows that have come since, it is truest to the original.Like The Gong Show, contestants are assembled to humiliate themselves on national television for a modest prize and their 15 minutes of fame. The show even managed to dig up Jodi Sweetin, Stephanie Tanner from "Full House," as its host for the second year.The show is simple: contestants engage in a "dance off" on screen, and a winner is decided by two judges. Most of the dancers are amateur strippers (edited for television but not the internet), and while many are female and hot, this show welcomes all shapes and sizes, with some of the physically outcast becoming "hall of fame pancers." The train-wreck appeal of the Gong Show is present, as is the show's presence away from the major networks (The Gong Show was in syndication on local stations). Chuck Barris should be pleased to know that his vision is alive and well in 2007, and a lot sexier than he could ever have gotten away with in his era on the regular channels.If they still have her video on the site, make sure to check out ex-figure skater Sunny.I'd love to say that I'll never watch this show again, but somehow I know I'd be lying if I did. Look for a movie a few years down the road.
