FORGOTTEN TV: MTV's BOILING POINTS (2004-2008?)

MTV sometimes doesn’t know when they have a good thing going.

Case in point, BOILING POINTS.

BOILING POINTS was a CANDID CAMERA like TV series that aired on and off in the mid 2000’s. Yet, MTV aired it at such erratic times, with little promotion that it is no wonder it never really caught on and has disappeared.

It stands as one of the funniest shows ever to air on the network, or even many other networks.

Each episode was made up of several scenarios where people were put in a trying situation, for a set amount of time, filmed with hidden cameras, and if they didn’t overreact, swear, or get violent, they would win $100.

For a while, you couldn’t even find a clip on YouTube. That is until this one.



This was posted because one of the girls in the video is none other than Lady Gaga. This was before she became a Lady.

My favorite bit, not on Youtube sadly, featured Rebekka Johnson, one of the funniest people on the series. Rebekka went up to people at a college campus, acting like the most annoying girl on earth, and trying to make friends. “Can I tell you a story? This one time, I got drunk” she would say to a freaked out person. She would try to hang out with them and a few ended up literally running from her.

The show was essentially an urban improv act, and the cast, which also featured Alison Becker, Jonathan Blitt (who played one of the greatest sleazeballs in TV history), and Billy Merritt, all of whom you may recognize from ads, was truly brilliant. I would watch each week and wonder why they all hadn’t been signed to a sitcom.



Here is a bit with Jonathan.

Another bit that I loved featured a girl, Katie Dippold who I just realized is now a writer for PARKS AND REC, as a checkout person in a store who refuses to give change. If someone buys something with cash, she only gives store credit. When they change their mind and say they don't want to buy something, guess what? They get store credit. The transactions go back and forth so long, at one point she claims to have forgotten how it all had started ("Oh right, that was so long ago")

BOILING POINTS aired on and off. New episodes aired in afternoons, or overnight on MTV2. At the end, it was essentially thrown away.

It deserved better.