Only '90s kids can relate! Riding high on the wave of nostalgia is Netflix’s newest offering in the unscripted game show segment - save many from lockdown boredom. With sinking bar stools, submerged planets, and paintings that act as planks, the show is a winning formula for binge-watching. But there’s something that adds a special touch to this reality show that’s otherwise meant for mindless watching. The star of the show - apart from Rutledge Wood - the lava.
Netflix has been on a roll lately by creating reality content which aims straight for the high ratings. The streaming platform first tasted reality TV success in 2017 with Ultimate Beastmaster from the sports entertainment category that went on to have a total of 3 seasons. Next up was the reboot of Bravo’s shows that are buzzworthy and snackable is their latest, Floor Is Lava.
Clearly based off every child’s go-to game for whenever boredom strikes, the show has managed to unexpectedly top the Netflix charts in the US, UK, and Canada simultaneously. There might not be any points for guessing why it’s being described as “the hottest game show in history” by the platform, but winning the game does give each team $10000 per episode. Presented by who brings his auto racing analysis style commentary to the game, it has a total of 10 episodes in the first season. Each episode features a different kind of “room” ranging from the basement to the study and involves three teams with three in each. The rules of this family-friendly game are simple. Everything in the room can be used in play, each player that reaches the exit gets a point, and the team that’s the quickest or has more wins. Agility, craftiness, and the power of imagination surely work in giving the winning team an edge but, what adds that “grown-up” factor to this childhood game? It’s the fiery, angry, bubbling lava of course!
When asked about what exactly goes into creating the most important element of the show, the lava, Irad Eyal, Haymaker Media co-owner and show producer had a few secrets to share. Confirming the fact that every child had their unique name for the game while growing up, he mentioned that in his case it was “Hot Lava Monster.” Calling the game’s inherent concept “primal” he spoke about how the lava actually came to be. “We tasked Hollywood’s number-one slime manufacturing lab with coming up with the proprietary blend and then ordered more slime than any show had ever produced - close to 100,000 gallons,” said Eyal. “I can’t tell you what’s in it, but our showrunner Anthony Carbone always joked that the closest thing to it is Panda Express orange sauce. So if you can get 100,000 gallons of orange sauce, you actually can try this at home.” While Eyal could be joking about the Panda Express sauce, it does come close to the show’s lava in of colour. A mixture of sugar, water, distilled vinegar, soy sauce, and food starch, the sauce certainly would be a sticky option to consider for anyone trying to recreate the game show at home. But then there is slime, the backbone of most Nickelodeon game shows.
The classic green, vicious-looking liquid that was dumped on the heads of unsuspecting contestants first made its appearance on the Canadian TV show You Can't Do That On Television in 1979. It gained immense popularity for its sheer oddity and got featured in Double Dare’s obstacle course, Figure It Out, and even the Kids’ Choice Awards. Icky as it may sound, the first batch of slop that You Can't Do That On Television used was actually water mixed with the cafeteria’s leftovers that eventually, due to the delay of a week in filming, grew a thick layer of green mold on it, according to one of the show’s creators Geoffrey Darby. So technically, the first person ever to get slimed was Tim Douglas, who also happened to later act in Monty Python’s Meaning of Life.
The gunk did pose health issues for Douglas but he was asked to keep his mouth shut, “literally, not figuratively” and head for a shower right after. By 1981, the show started airing on Nickelodeon where it became an instant hit with the kids. the recipe for this old-school slime , which surprisingly could be made using basic pantry supplies.
Related: Floor Is Lava: How to Sign up and Be on the Netlfix Show
It turns out that all you need for one batch is: 4 cups of vanilla pudding, 3 cups of applesauce, 3-4 drops of green food coloring, and 2 cups of oatmeal (which explains that icky consistency). The recipe has changed over the years, especially since the liquid seen on Kids’ Choice Awards, for instance, seems to be more smoother, liquidy, and vibrant than the '90s melted Jolly Rancher-like goop. Nowadays, Hydroxyethylcellulose, a common ingredient in most skincare formulations is preferred along with certain shows using a mixture of cornstarch and water that’s been dyed with a toxic-non colorant – like in this case a red or deep orange. Both these mixes are edible and pose a lesser risk of poisoning in case it gets ingested by a contestant.
Even though Floor Is Lava offers a simple obstacle course premise, it’s contestants that disappear upon drowning. Yet, the showrunners have neither confirmed nor denied any of the many fan theories floating on the internet. It would be exciting to see this suspense act as a build-up for season 2 or even at Netflix creating escape-room style experience zones to elevate the show’s popularity.