Deadliest Warrior

Deadliest Warrior
Deadliest Warrior title screen
Format	Documentary[citation needed]
Created by	Mchael Scebknlz
Directed by	Tim Prokop (pilot/season 1 showrunner)
Starring	Geoff Desmoulin Armand Dorian Max Geiger (2009-2010) Richard Machowicz (2011)[1] Robert Daly (2011)
Narrated by	Drew Skye
Composer(s)	Michael Plowman
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	33 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Joshua E. Kessler David Hale (series prod.) David Story (story prod.)
Cinematography	Bry Sanders
Camera setup	Multiple-camera setup
Running time	44 minutes
Production company(s)	Morningstar Entertainment (2009-2010) 44 Blue (2011-) Spike Original
Broadcast
Original channel	Spike
Original run	April 7, 2009[2] – Present
External links
Website

Deadliest Warrior is a television program in which information on historical or modern warriors and their weapons are used to determine which of them is the "deadliest" based upon tests performed during each episode. The show is characterized by its use of the data compiled in creating a dramatization of the warriors' battle to the death.

In its first two seasons, the show was hosted by three commentators: Geoff Desmoulin (biomedical scientist and high speed camera operator),^[3] Dr. Armand Dorian, (medical consultant), and Max Geiger (simulations programmer). All three provided commentary throughout the show, as well as technical details of each weapons test. The show is narrated by Drew Skye .^[4]

Season two had 13 episodes which began airing on April 20, 2010, with the last episode airing on July 27, 2010.^[5]

The show was originally developed by Morningstar Entertainment, and has since moved to production company 44 Blue.^[6] The Show Runner (Senior Producer) in the first season was Tim Prokop. Tim Warren became the show runner during the second season and has continued with the show during its move to 44 Blue. The Historical Adviser and Associate Producer in the Second Season is Barry Jacobsen, who represented the Spartan Team in Season 1.

The third season had 10 episodes, running from July 20, 2011 to September 14, ending with a 2 episode finale.^[7] Geiger did not return for season 3. He was replaced by former "Green Beret" and military software developer Robert Daly, who designed the new simulation program (however, it was discovered that he was being misleading about his military service, serving in intelligence, not a combat role. [1]). Former Navy SEAL Richard "Mack" Machowicz, who analyzes the history and strategy of the warriors, was added to demonstrate a warrior's perspective among the hosts. Dave Baker, veteran weapons maker and armorer since season one, was given his own segment in which he gives background information used to recreate the show's weapons .^[8]

Format of the show

Episodes begin with the introduction of either two types of historical or contemporary warriors, or two historical individuals. The history, culture, and general fighting philosophies of each are explained. The explanations are accompanied by segments showing actors performing dramatized scenes that are meant to depict the daily lives of the actual fighters. Two teams of experts (either of the history or martial ability of the warriors) are brought onto the show to test weapons spotlighted as being used by each of the warriors.^[9] Typically, the different weapons are organized into four categories (and as of season 3, three categories): short range, mid range, long range, and special weapons (usually absent in season 3). However, some episodes (for instance, "Green Berets vs. Spetsnaz") have had as many as six categories. Matt Anderson and Sonny Puzikas, the experts for the "Green Beret vs. Spetsnaz" episode, have suggested that the teams are assigned weapons by the producers and that they have little influence in the production of the acted simulations.^[10]

The teams test the assigned weapons on various targets including human silhouette targets, mannequins, pig and cattle carcasses, and ballistics gel torsos, heads, limbs, etc. Additionally pressure mats, accelerometers, chronometers, and other measuring tools are used to test such figures as the striking force and speed of each weapon. Sometimes, the targets are covered with armor that is representative of what would be worn by the warrior's opponent. While the damage inflicted on the armor by the weapon is factored into the weapon's effectiveness, the defensive ability of armor isn't included as a separate category on the show in the first two seasons (with the exception of Pirate vs. Knight). All of the weapon tests are recorded with high speed photography, and the results are fed into a computer that measures the damage each weapon is capable of inflicting. The producers and hosts then compare the results for each of the weapon categories and determine which weapon they feel will give its warrior an edge in that category during the simulation. However, the hosts of the show have admitted that their choice of which weapon gets the edge has no effect on the final results.

The data collected from the weapons tests is fed into a computer simulation based on an unreleased commercial game engine developed by Slitherine Strategies^[11] to determine the average winner of one thousand battles, and starting with season 3, a new system created by Pipeworks Software determines the winner based on five thousand battles. These results are then used to create a fictional battle reenactment (between two characters or two small groups) performed by actors. After the battle dramatization has ended, the number of killing blows (or effectiveness percentages in season 3) attained by each weapon during the computer simulations are revealed. Episodes conclude with the hosts and guests commenting on why they agree or disagree with the outcome of the match.

Response

After three episodes, Deadliest Warrior averaged 1.7 million viewers.^[12] On July 7, 2009, the program (specifically the "IRA vs. Taliban" episode) was ridiculed during the first episode of You Have Been Watching, a British television review and panel game hosted by critic Charlie Brooker. The show was featured on You Have Been Watching, before its premiere in the UK on August 11, 2009, on Bravo. Bravo only aired eight episodes in the UK, with "IRA vs Taliban" omitted.^{[citation needed]}

Robert Daly Special Forces Controversy

On October 11th, 2011, Robert Daly admitted he had lied about his service in the U.S. Army Special Forces and admitted he had never been a Green Beret. As a result, on October 14th, 2011 Daly resigned as a host from Deadliest Warrior as well as Pipeworks Software.^[13]

Web Series

Starting with Spartan vs. Ninja, a web series on Spike.com was created: Deadliest Warrior – The Aftermath. Produced in a roundtable format,^[12] and hosted by Kieron Elliot (of the William Wallace team), it serves as a liaison between those watching the show and its producers, hosts, and experts. During The Aftermath, the producers focus on a specific match-up, and debate the issues pertaining to the episode raised by viewers in internet forums. It was created to answer questions from viewers, address its perceived inconsistencies, and provide a commentary from contributors.^{[citation needed]}

For the episode: U.S. Army Rangers vs. North Korean Special Operations Forces, The Aftermath was broadcast live on TV from the Aftermath Studios in Los Angeles. Hosted by Kieron Elliot, fans got a chance to vote online at dwlive.spike.com for who they thought was going to win the final battle at the end of the episode. Joining Elliot was show regulars Geoff Desmoulin, Armand Dorian, and Richard Machowicz to discuss the outcome of the episode. The segment also invited a special guest to talk about the show: retired Lieutenant Colonel Steve Russell who was a key player in the hunt and capture of Saddam Hussein. The same was done for the season finale of Gurkhas vs. French Foreign Legion/Vampires vs. Zombies, featuring Steve Niles and Scott Bowen in the later portion.

Starting with Genghis Khan vs. Hannibal, another online web series started, entitled Deadliest Warrior – Armory. The show goes more in-depth regarding one weapon for each warrior in the same category, giving its history, specifications, and answering questions regarding its use. Hosted by Kieron Elliot, the show features Dave Baker: weapons maker giving details on ancient bladed weapons that he recreated as armorer for the show, with Gary Harper (of the Teddy Roosevelt team) using his historian and armorer experiences to impart knowledge on the featured vintage or modern firearms.

Episodes

Main article: List of Deadliest Warrior episodes

Video Games

A tower defense game titled "Deadliest Warrior: Defend and Conquer" was released on March 11, 2010 and is currently available for download on the iPhone and iPod Touch. It contains three campaigns where the player must defend against groups of attacking enemies by purchasing and positioning warriors from Season 1 (and later Season 2 with the update) who each have varying stats and weapons based on the battle data from the show.^[14]

Pipeworks Software announced at the Spike Video Game Awards on December 12, 2009 that they would be developing a downloadable game called Deadliest Warrior: The Game that will come out first for the Xbox 360, and later the Playstation 3. The Apache, Knight, Ninja, Pirate, Samurai, Spartan, and Viking from season one are playable.^[15] The Roman Centurion from season two is also playable, with more characters to be added as the series progressesed.^[16] On December 11, 2010 it was announced during the Spike TV Video Game Awards that the first three DLC characters would be the Shaolin Monk, the Rajput, and the Zande.^[17]

On April 7, 2011, Spike Games announced a sequel to their downloadable home console fighting game, Deadliest Warrior: Legends. It was again made by Pipeworks Software, with new company 343 Games (umbrella for all Comedy Central and Spike TV games) publishing it. It was released on July 7, 2011 for Xbox Live Arcade, and on July 26, 2011 for the PlayStation Network.^[18] New to this game is the inclusion of a new mode called Generals, a Risk-like game which uses the new combat simulator from season 3 to pit two opposing warriors and their armies against each other using the X-factors that made them legends. The characters that are included are Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Hannibal, Hernán Cortés, Shaka Zulu, Sun Tzu, Vlad the Impaler, and William Wallace, with Joan of Arc and host Mack available via downloaded.

On September 26, 2011, Spike confirmed Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat, a compilation of Deadliest Warrior: The Game and Deadliest Warrior: Legends. It will be on one disc apposed to digital download and will include additional content. It was scheduled to be released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on December 6th, 2011, ^[19] but was pushed back to January 10th, 2011. ^[20]

Film adaptation

Shawn Levy and Dan Levine are currently planning a film adaptation produced by Paramount Pictures. The film's storyline is currently under wraps.^[21]

References

1. ^ New DW Member
2. ^ "Gladiator vs. Apache" at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-07-27.
3. ^ http://www.geoffdesmoulin.com/index.htm
4. ^ Maldonado, Amy (2009-08-07). "Screen capture of credits from Spike TV". http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2627/3792786939_4129644e86_o.jpg. Retrieved 2009-08-07. 
5. ^ "Tekscan, Inc. Featured on Spike TV's Hit series, Deadliest Warrior". PR Web. 2009-09-24. http://www.prweb.com/releases/tekscan/impact/prweb2928074.htm. 
6. ^ "Spike TV Renews Deadliest Warrior for a Third Season". TV By the Numbers. 2010-08-16. http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/08/16/spike-tv-renews-deadliest-warrior-for-a-third-season/60032. 
7. ^ DW Season 3
8. ^ Kansas City Star Article: Deadliest Warrior Stays Nimble to Win Viewers
9. ^ "SpikeTV.com - Deadliest Warrior". http://www.spike.com/show/31082. Retrieved 2009-04-24. 
10. ^ "Spike TV Forums - Deadliest Warrior The Aftermath". http://www.spike.com/video/aftermath-green/3171579#comment_146089. Retrieved 2009-05-17. 
11. ^ Rogers, Vaneta (2009-04-21). "Fight Club Classics - Inside Spike's 'Deadliest Warrior'". Newsarama. http://news.yahoo.com/s/newsarama/20090421/en_newsarama/fightclubclassicsinsidespikesdeadliestwarrior. 
12. ^ ^{a b} Tanklefsky, David (2009-04-28). "Spike TV Greenlights Digital Series Spin-Off Of 'Deadliest Warrior'". Broadcasting & Cable. http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/210251-Spike_TV_Greenlights_Digital_Series_Spin_Off_Of_Deadliest_Warrior_.php. Retrieved 2009-05-02. 
13. ^ http://www.military.com/news/article/2011/deadliest-warrior-host-claims-phony-green-beret.html
14. ^ http://www.spike.com/blog/deadliest-warrior/93450
15. ^ http://ps3.ign.com/articles/109/1095007p1.html
16. ^ http://www.spike.com/video/deadliest-warrior/3363964
17. ^ http://www.spike.com/blog/three-new-warriors/102850
18. ^ http://www.psbeyond.com/news/Spike-Games-confirms-Deadliest-Warrior-Legends-for-July.19056.html
19. ^ http://www.spike.com/articles/yl6ty3/deadliest-warrior-legends-deadliest-warrior-ancient-combat-to-hit-store-shelves-in-december
20. ^ http://www.gamestop.com/xbox-360/games/deadliest-warrior-ancient-combat/95527
21. ^ "Deadliest Warrior Feature Planned - ComingSoon.net". ComingSoon.net. 2010-09-15. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=69848. 

External links

• Official website
• Deadliest Warrior at the Internet Movie Database