Go Fighting!
Go Fighting! (Chinese: 极限挑战; pinyin: Jíxiàn Tiǎozhàn) is a Chinese variety show broadcast on SMG: Dragon Television. It was first aired June 14, 2015.[1] Go Fighting! is classified as a game-variety-reality show, and the MCs and guests complete missions at a landmark to win the objective. Usually each episode will also have an over-arching theme or story. Each episode varies in the challenges and the instructions given to the MCs, and rules are not strictly enforced, resulting in a largely unscripted show.
| Go Fighting! 极限挑战 Jíxiàn Tiǎozhàn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Chinese: 极限挑战; pinyin: Jíxiàn Tiǎozhàn |
| Genre | Game-reality-variety show |
| Developed by | Yuan Lei(Season 1) Bao Xiaoqun(Seasons 1–3) Wang Jianjun, Gao Yunfei(Seasons 4–6) |
| Directed by | Yan Min(Seasons 1–4) Ren Jing(Season 2), Shi Jianing(Seasons 5-current) |
| Starring | Sun Honglei Huang Lei Huang Bo Wang Xun Show Lo Lay Zhang |
| Opening theme | "A Man's Job 男人的事" by all original cast members |
| Composer | Peng Fei |
| Country of origin | China |
| Original language | Chinese |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 50 (including special episode and movie) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Li Yong Zhu Tao Bao Xiaoqun(Season 1 only) |
| Production location | China |
| Running time | About 90 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | SMG: Dragon Television |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | June 14, 2015 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Sisters Over Flowers |
| External links | |
| Website | |
History
The show has been a commercial and critical success since its inception, and the MCs have received praise for 'breaking the rules' of usual variety game shows and mingling with normal people going about their daily lives.[2] The first and second seasons averaged ratings of 8.9/10 and 9.1/10 on China's main review-based social network site Douban.[3][4]
The show's catch phrases are "This is fate / 这就是命" and "This is love / 这就是爱" with a corresponding action that resembles the Chinese character for 'fate / 命'. Go Fighting! has been called the Chinese version of the popular Korean variety show Infinite Challenge; this comparison has led to minor controversies.
Personnel
In March 2019, it was reported that original director Yan Min and cast members Huang Bo and Sun Honglei have decided to temporarily back out of the show after Season 4 due to scheduling conflicts. Huang Lei stated he would only be present for 3 episodes due to acting commitments.[5] They were replaced by Lei Jiayin, Yue Yunpeng and Dilraba Dilmurat.
In March 2020, Season 6 began filming with a brand new cast consisting of Lei Jiayin, Guo Jingfei, Jia Nailiang, Yue Yunpeng, and Deng Lun. Wang Xun and Zhang Yixing ("Lay") were the only original cast members left.[6]
Current Cast
| Name | Age | Occupation | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wang Xun | 46 | Actor | 1–present | |
| Lay Zhang | 29 | Actor, singer, and dancer | 501–503, 506, 509, 510 Absent: 304, 403–405, 408, 412 | |
| Yue Yunpeng | 35 | Comedian | 5–present | 202, 501–present |
| Dilraba Dilmurat | 28 | Actress | ||
| Lei Jiayin | 37 | Actor | ||
| Jia Nailiang | 36 | Actor | 504, 505, 507, 508, 5011 | |
| Guo Jingfei | 41 | Actor | 6–present | |
| Deng Lun | 28 | Actor | 6–present |
Original Cast
| Name | Age | Occupation | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Honglei | 50 | Actor | 1–4 | 501 (video appearance), 506 (video appearance) |
| Huang Lei | 49 | Actor, Singer, Teacher, Director |
1–5 | Absent: 502, 503, 505, 507, 509, 510 |
| Huang Bo | 46 | Actor | 1–4 | Absent: 302, 303 |
| Wang Xun | 46 | Actor, Screenwriter, Director |
1–Present | |
| Show Lo | 41 | Singer, Actor, Host | 1–5 | Absent: 105 |
| Lay Zhang | 29 | Actor, singer, and dancer | 1–Present | 501–503, 506, 509, 510 Absent: 304, 403–405, 408, 412 |
Relationships
| Relation | Members | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Go Fighting Three Idiots 极限三傻 |
Sun Honglei Wang Xun Lay Zhang |
In episode 1/01, the three were put in a team. Sun Honglei's foolish big brother act, along with Lay Zhang’s absent-mindedness and Wang Xun's slowness to realize, created this lasting combination. |
| Go Fighting Three Geniuses 极限三精 |
Huang Lei Huang Bo Show Lo |
In episode 1/01, the three were put in a team. In comparison to the Three Idiots, these three are considered geniuses (Huang Lei in particular), although recently Show Lo has exhibited sillier behaviour, making him more alike to the Three Idiots and being referred to as the Fourth Idiot. |
| Minesweeper Alliance 扫雷联盟 |
Huang Lei Huang Bo Show Lo Wang Xun Lay Zhang |
The character 'lei' in Sun Honglei's name is the same as the character for a mine. In episode 2/03, the five banded together to steal Sun Honglei's jogger step counter. In episode 2/09 however, Wang Xun joined Sun Honglei's team and the minesweeper alliance consisted of 4 people instead. |
| Hong-Xing Combination 红兴组合 | Sun Honglei Lay Zhang |
In episode 1/02, Sun Honglei stole Lay Zhang’s suitcase containing several gold bars, though the latter forgave him afterwards. Sun Honglei also broadcast a missing person notice over Shanghai's local radio station to search for Lay Zhang in episode 2/01. |
| Lei-Lei Combination 雷磊组合 |
Sun Honglei Huang Lei |
The two actors originally became friends on the set of 2011 drama Men (男人帮), and their affection for each other led to the creation of this pairing. |
| Teacher-Student Combination 师徒组合 |
Huang Lei
Lay Zhang |
In Season 1, Lay Zhang is stunned by Huang Lei's reasoning skills, and decides to become his student. In Season 2, the two form a team in the 24-hour bike race. They are also known as the Two-Foxes combination, as Lay later learns to be more shrewd. |
| Pineapple Combination 菠萝组合 |
Huang Bo Show Lo |
In Season 2, Huang Bo played Show Lo's mother in the comedy sketch remake of Meteor Garden. Combining the two characters from their names makes the word pineapple. |
| Double Huang Combination 双黄组合 |
Huang Lei Huang Bo |
The two have been labelled as the smartest MCs in the show after Show Lo started resembling an 'idiot'. |
| Pig-Sheep Combination 猪羊组合 |
Show Lo Lay Zhang |
They often paired up for missions, and in the last episode of Season 1, they were known as Mirror Brothers after Show successfully imitated Lay Zhang during a taxi ride. |
| Lei-Luo Combination 雷罗组合 |
Sun Honglei Show Lo |
In episode 1/06, the two were forced to cross dress as women and fight for a seat on the train. In episode 1/09, Show Lo helped Sun Honglei complete his mission of picking lotus seed heads. |
List of episodes
If more than one set of teams are used other than the Race Mission teams, they are divided and distinguished to the corresponding mission under Teams. Team members are listed in alphabetical order from Team Leader, to Members, to Guests. As some episodes consisted of road missions and were not confined to a single landmark nor was a landmark officially recognized on-air, the landmark shown for those episodes is the final mission venue.
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premiere | Finale | ||
| Season 1 | 12 | June 14, 2015 | September 20, 2015 |
| Special | 1 special for China's National Day week |
October 5, 2015 | |
| Movie | 1 | January 15, 2016 | |
| Season 2 | 12 | April 17, 2016 | July 3, 2016 |
| Charity Concert (full) | 1 | July 10, 2016 | |
| Season 3 | 12 | July 9, 2017 | November 17, 2017 |
| Season 4 | 12 | April 29, 2018 | July 15, 2018 |
| Season 5 | 12 | May 12, 2019 | July 28, 2019 |
| Season 6 | 12 | May 10, 2020 | Present |
List of episodes
List of guests
The following is a compilation of guests and the number of time they have been on the show. They are listed in order of appearance.
| Guest | Episode(s) | # of Episodes Appeared | # of Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Chen Chiau-en | 1/03 | 1 | 1 |
| Guo Tao | 1/05, 3/09 | 2 | 2 |
| Zhou Dongyu | 1/07 | 1 | 1 |
| Chen Bolin | 1/08 | 1 | 1 |
| Xu Zheng | 1/10 | 1 | 1 |
| Song Xiaobao (宋小宝) | 2/01,3/09 | 2 | 2 |
| Yue Yunpeng (岳云鹏) | 2/01 | 1 | 1 |
| Joker Xue | 2/01 | 1 | 1 |
| Lin Chi-ling | 2/04, 3/05, 3/06 | 3 | 3 |
| Xie Na | 2/10 | 1 | 1 |
| Jiang Jinfu | 2/10 | 1 | 1 |
| Darren Wang | 2/10, 3/02 | 2 | 2 |
| Phoenix Legend | 2/12, Concert | 2 | 2 |
| JJ Lin | 2/12, Concert | 2 | 2 |
| Jolin Tsai | 2/12, Concert | 2 | 2 |
| Harlem Yu | 2/12, Concert | 2 | 2 |
| Sha Yi (沙溢) | 3/02, 3/09 | 2 | 2 |
| Eric Tsang | 3/03 | 1 | 1 |
| Bosco Wong | 3/03 | 1 | 1 |
| Elvis Tsui | 3/03 | 1 | 1 |
| Kingdom Yuen | 3/03 | 1 | 1 |
| Ronald Cheng | 3/03 | 1 | 1 |
| Lin Gengxin | 3/04 | 1 | 1 |
| Wang Luodan | 3/05, 3/06 | 2 | 2 |
| Yao Chen | 3/05, 3/06 | 2 | 2 |
| Jiang Yiyan | 3/05, 3/06 | 2 | 2 |
| Zhang Xinyi (张歆艺) | 3/05, 3/06 | 2 | 2 |
| Xia Yu | 3/07 | 1 | 1 |
| Jackson Wang | 3/09 | 1 | 1 |
| Li Liqun (李立群) | 3/11 | 1 | 1 |
| Liu Hua | 3/11 | 1 | 1 |
| Han Xue | 3/12 | 1 | 1 |
Ratings
First Season
 China Dragon Television premiere ratings (CSM50) | ||||
| Episode | Date | Rating | Share | Ranking |
| 1/01 | June 14, 2015 | 1.191 | 4.55 | 2 |
| 1/02 | June 21, 2015 | 1.650 | 5.26 | 2 |
| 1/03 | June 28, 2015 | 1.854 | 6.21 | 1 |
| 1/04 | July 5, 2015 | 2.127 | 6.83 | 1 |
| 1/05 | July 12, 2015 | 2.379 | 7.90 | 1 |
| 1/06 | July 19, 2015 | 2.742 | 9.24 | 1 |
| 1/07 | July 26, 2015 | 2.570 | 8.75 | 1 |
| 1/08 | August 2, 2015 | 2.718 | 8.54 | 1 |
| 1/09 | August 9, 2015 | 2.900 | 8.73 | 1 |
| 1/10 | September 6, 2015 | 1.540 | 4.73 | 3 |
| 1/11 | September 13, 2015 | 2.026 | 6.71 | 1 |
| 1/12 | September 20, 2015 | 2.110 | 6.82 | 1 |
Second Season
| China Dragon Television premiere ratings (CSM52) | ||||
| Episode | Date | Rating | Share | Ranking |
| 2/01 | April 17, 2016 | 2.076 | 6.73 | 1 |
| 2/02 | April 24, 2016 | 2.025 | 6.42 | 1 |
| 2/03 | May 1, 2016 | 2.472 | 7.74 | 1 |
| 2/04 | May 8, 2016 | 2.419 | 7.69 | 1 |
| 2/05 | May 15, 2016 | 2.099 | 6.60 | 1 |
| 2/06 | May 22, 2016 | 1.991 | 6.34 | 1 |
| 2/07 | May 29, 2016 | 2.052 | 6.60 | 1 |
| 2/08 | June 5, 2016 | 2.079 | 6.34 | 1 |
| 2/09 | June 12, 2016 | 1.875 | 6.08 | 1 |
| 2/10 | June 19, 2016 | 1.862 | 6.45 | 2 |
| 2/11 | June 26, 2016 | 2.394 | 7.81 | 1 |
| 2/12 | July 3, 2016 | 2.969 | 9.60 | 1 |
Third season
| China Dragon Television premiere ratings (CSM50) | ||||
| Episode | Date | Rating | Share | Ranking |
| 3/01 | July 9, 2017 | 1.606 | 7.73 | 1 |
| 3/02 | July 16, 2017 | 1.587 | 7.69 | 2 |
| 3/03 | July 23, 2017 | 1.436 | 7.12 | 1 |
| 3/04 | July 30, 2017 | 1.506 | 7.46 | 1 |
| 3/05 | August 6, 2017 | 1.615 | 8.56 | 1 |
| 3/06 | August 13, 2017 | 1.314 | 6.85 | 1 |
| 3/07 | August 20, 2017 | 1.190 | 6.24 | 1 |
| 3/08 | August 27, 2017 | 1.095 | 6.80 | 1 |
| 3/09 | September 3, 2017 | 1.124 | 7.10 | 3 |
| 3/10 | November 3, 2017 | 0.580 | 3.91 | 7 |
| 3/11 | November 10, 2017 | 0.447 | 2.69 | 9 |
| 3/12 | November 17, 2017 | 0.474 | 2.54 | 9 |
Fourth Season
| China Dragon Television premiere ratings (CSM52) | ||||
| Episode | Date | Rating | Share | Ranking |
| 4/01 | April 29, 2018 | 1.120 | 4.22 | 2 |
| 4/02 | May 6, 2018 | 1.000 | 3.84 | 2 |
| 4/03 | May 13, 2018 | 1.269 | 5.41 | 1 |
| 4/04 | May 20, 2018 | 1.245 | 6.62 | 1 |
| 4/05 | May 27, 2018 | 1.146 | 4.71 | 2 |
| 4/06 | June 3, 2018 | 1.175 | 4.82 | 2 |
| 4/07 | June 10, 2018 | 1.197 | 5.19 | 2 |
| 4/08 | June 17, 2018 | 1.134 | 4.28 | 1 |
| 4/09 | June 24, 2018 | 1.482 | 5.60 | 1 |
| 4/10 | July 1, 2018 | 1.800 | 6.68 | 1 |
| 4/11 | July 8, 2018 | 1.805 | 6.98 | 1 |
| 4/12 | July 15, 2018 | 1.484 | 5.56 | 1 |
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Results | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Asian Influence Awards Oriental Ceremony
(2015亚洲最具影响力综艺节目) |
Best Variety Show in Asia | Won | [7] |
| 2016 | 2016ENAwards (2016中国泛娱乐指数盛典) | Weibo Special Marketing Award | Won | [8] |
Controversy
Season 1 of Go Fighting was accused of plagiarizing popular Korean variety show Infinite Challenge, causing a halt in production for almost a month, with episode 10 airing on September 6, 28 days after episode 9.
Season 3 of Go Fighting was pulled from air by SARFT a few days before Episode 10 was due to broadcast, and it was reportedly due to the promotion of undesirable social attitudes and a heavy focus on entertainment that didn't reflect the lives of ordinary people.[9]
References
- Zeng, Le. "《极限挑战》6月14日开播 罗志祥"狂吻"黄渤". China Daily. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
- "《极限挑战》黄渤最接地气 机智穷游获赞". Sina Entertainment. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
- "极限挑战第二季". Douban. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
- "极限挑战 第二季评分". Douban. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
- Zheng, Xiaoling. "第五季阵容大换血，《极限挑战》能否成功转型？". Sohu. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- Sohu.com. "《极限挑战》第六季路透来了！常驻成员大换血！！新的一期你还会关注吗？". Sohu. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- 2015亚洲影响力东方盛典获奖名单 张艺兴获最具影响力全能艺人. www.chnhai.com (in Chinese). November 5, 2015.
- "2016中国泛娱乐指数盛典"在京颁奖 《火星情报局》等榜上有名[组图]. China Net (in Chinese). November 30, 2016.
- Zhang, Tian. "Why is Go Fighting! repeatedly pulled from air?". People.cn. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
External links
- Official Weibo (in Chinese)