Balls Of Steel is a comedy show that features a range of fresh comedic talent, including New Zealand's top stuntman Randy Campbell, who are put to the test to determine who has the biggest "balls of steel".
Hosted by Mark Dolan, Balls Of Steel introduces a host of brand new comedic talent and challenges them to attempt daring and dangerous tasks in order to find out who has the biggest "Balls of Steel". These audacious jokers are set to amaze and amuse with their death-defying stunts, nerve-crunching hidden camera set-ups and prank-style interview techniques with celebrities and members of the public.
"I really wanted to be part of Balls Of Steel," says host Mark Dolan. "It does exactly what it says on the tin," he enthuses. "It's a comedy/entertainment show that has a whole range of different styles of humour in it - some very slapstick and base, and some of it a touch more intellectual, and cerebral and subtle and layered. It involves 12 new comedy acts all doing different styles of comedy, some of it in the studio, some out and about on the street. But there's one thing that all the performers have in common: In order to do what they've done, they have to have balls of steel. They have to be ludicrously brave, foolhardy, and have to show some contempt for their physical safety."
The range of acts is extensive and varied: Annoying Devil, Naked Guy, Mantester, Bunny Boiler, Prank TV, Black Militant Guy, Urban Sports, The World's Worst, Big Gay Following, The Pain Men, Alex Zane's Fake Gameshows and Randy Campbell's Amazing Stunts. Randy performs daring stunts that inevitably go dangerously wrong. Randy's segment is essentially a comedy sketch but presented as real, and previously seen on TV2's Back of the Y.
Everyone involved with Balls Of Steel brings their own unique brand of humour. "The great thing is, if you've not enjoyed one bit, you needn't worry, because there'll be another completely contrasting thing along in just a moment," Dolan says.
The physical danger tends to come from the people (celebrities and members of the public) who are variously mocked, infuriated, lampooned or tricked in a series of recordings that takes the hidden camera genre and revolutionise it. According to Dolan, "Almost everybody has suffered physical retribution for what they've been doing. In that way, the sketches themselves always seem to have these little moments of justice in them."
