davideo-2 STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Host Mark Dolan challenges a bunch of comedians trying to make a break-through to perform a variety of daring and sometimes dangerous stunts to amuse the public. At the end of each show, the audience votes for the act they think it took the most 'balls' to perform and the winner receives the BOS trophy.Staged comedy is all well and good. It certainly takes up most of TV's airtime and over the years has given TV most of it's comedy gold. But surely the most humorous stuff is when the reaction of the fall guy is real and everything going on is genuine? This is the idea Balls of Steel tries to peddle, although there's been a fair bit of speculation as to whether indeed it is real or simply faked. Sometimes the presence of cameras in dubious places does get you thinking, and sometimes goofs on the part of people supposedly in on it all along do so also, but a lot of the time the reactions do appear genuine, satisfying enough for this reviewer anyway.There are a few daring but ultimately harmless acts going on, such as Alex Zane's nonsensical game shows and acts where the participant's only harm themselves, such as Pritchard and Pancho, but sadly a lot of the humour is very twisted and cruel, and in some cases downright anti-social. If it is all being staged, then this might relieve some of the unpleasantness but it's sold on the basis that it's real, so...As a presenter Dolan does give you the impression of carrying a false sense of superiority, like he sneers down at those who don't talk like him or don't have the same background as him, but is never directly, Angus Deayton snobby and this is pretty much the high-point of his career anyway, so...It's all basically a UK spin on Jackass, built on the premise of real humour being more amusing than staged humour. It's onto something with this, but it doesn't spare the morally downbeat tone at it's heart. ***

themovieman3000 Balls of Steel has now had two runnings on Friday night Channel 4, its first outing being in August/ September 2005 and its latest effort in February and March 2007.I have to say, this is fun stuff. No matter what people say about how rude or childish it might be, its entertainment at its best, taking much of the idea from hidden camera shows and targeting members of the public.There are several acts, some did not return for Series 2, a shame really and were replaced by people such as The Escapologist and Mr. Inappropriate. It would have been nice if the World's Worst had returned, you may recall the barman and taxi driver jobs were damn funny from the first series.Anyway, there are six acts on each episode and the studio audience vote for a winner although I'm not sure whether their votes really count, because the actual winners are usually not what i would say were the best acts each week.My personal favourites include Neg and his Urban Sports, the Burger Bowl Off and the first series Urban Sprinting were some of the best, then there's Alex Zane and his Game Shows which are bloody hilarious, perhaps some of the first series game shows were the best and for me, 3rd place has to be handed to the Militant Black Guy.There are other decent acts including the Annoying Devil, Olivia Lee's Prank TV and another decent one, by former All Stars singer (a failed band), Thaila Zucchi or something like that - the bunny boiler where she tries to pull other people's boyfriends.Some of the acts do get a little repetitive but I would welcome back another series, perhaps with a few fresh acts, anyday, but they would have to keep Neg, Alex Zane and the Militant Black Guy.Good Fun.

info-4119 This show is a competition of comedians from England for the coveted "Balls of Steel" trophy wherein each contestant tries to outdo the others with audacious acts of insolence on an unsuspecting public. Think Candid Camera meets Jackass. This show will make you belly laugh until the tears stream down your face. Each character is distinctive in their acts and ultimately the spirit of the show is well meaning and innocent in a silly way. Hosted by Mark Dolan, each contestant comes on to a talk show sound stage to set up their act for a live audience and play their filmed clip to be voted on at the end of the show. It features practical jokes, ambush journalism and mind games that titillate the voyeur in all of us to the most hilarious degree.The sensibility is tamer than Jim Rose yet more sophisticated than Just For Laughs Gags, with each comedian adept to a media savvy, telegenic obsessed t.v world.For the risible, curmudgeon or dogmatic idealist, this show is funnier than anything I've seen.

mr_impatient_5 I think these people have balls of steel. like chatting up a girls boy friend right next to her, stapling a paper to your tongue, interviewing celebrities with a dildo or going into a t.v shop and putting a video on the main screen so that on every t.v it says "THIS SHOP IS S**T". It would be great if a movie was made of this. People should watch massive balls of steel which is the highlights of the series best event. The best stunt was putting a blindfold on a guide dog which was performed by the annoying devil. That was mean but funny. This is the one show that can match jackassWatch this, its painfully funny!