1. Takeshi's Castle
There was only going to be one winner. Takeshi's Castle combined many of the elements from some of the other shows on this list and ramps it up to the next level: bizarre games, over the top costumes, action replays, crazy commentary and many more. While some contestants were shown getting through, the show placed focus on the feeble attempts and spectacular failures of most of the contestants, ensuring this was central to the show and its enjoyment. The games were ludicrous and we as the audience and narrator Craig Charles often didn't know what was truly going on. Hilarity was always guaranteed from the bizarre, physical nature of the games and some of the costumes the contestants were forced to wear along the way. Many of the wipeouts looked like they inflicted serious pain and you suspect the on-set doctor was kept very busy. This physical (and unintentional) comedy was a great joy at a time where we live in a health and safety-obsessed world, hence why we often laughed hard and winced at the contestants' attempts. No other show could match Takeshi's Castle for guaranteed laughs at watching the contestants continually fail.
So what shows did you tune into purely to watch others embarrass themselves? Let us know in the comments!