King of the Jungle

"King of the Jungle" is an American reality television program, that appears on the Animal Planet cable television network. The original series debuted in Fall 2003 and starred a group of 12 "animal experts" (although only two were Doctors of Veterinary Medicine) and was hosted by Jeff Corwin. "Nasty" Nigel Marven (from the UK) was the judge who "booted" off a contestant each week. The show was plagued with inconsistencies in judging and content, but was a ratings hit for Animal Planet. A sequel was hosted by Madison Michele, it debuted in July 2004. This show failed to earn the ratings of the first season. A hastily produced third season consisting of teams of two was all but buried by Animal Planet before and during its airing. It was called "King of the Jungle: Pairs" and had 14 contestants instead of 12. The teams were: Lori and Lisa, twin science teachers from Boston; Hindley and Thomas, best friends from Alabama; Lolita and Matt, lifelong friends from Columbus; Kevin and Sherry, a married couple, also from the Columbus area; David and Petite, hair stylists from Kennesaw, Georgia; Wendy and Troy, brother and sister from Indiana; and Steve and Danielle, another married couple from Greensboro, North Carolina. As of November 2005 there are no plans to renew this show, and Animal Planet has removed all traces of it off of their websites.

In season 2, Shannon was initially eliminated second and Roberto was initially eliminated third, but, in a midseason twist, all previously eliminated contestants returned for a chance to return to the game. Shannon and Roberto won this opportunity.

Also in season 2, Jacob was pulled out of the competition due to family problems.

"King of the Jungle" is also the title acquired by the male winners of the popular British reality show "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!". To date there have been three Kings of the Jungle, including Tony Blackburn, radio DJ, Phil Tufnell, the well known face of P.G. tips and cricketer, Joe Pasquale, comedian and former Busted star Matt Willis.

External links

*imdb title|id=0374409|title=King of the Jungle
*imdb title|id=0417336|title=King of the Jungle II
*imdb title|id=0442638|title=King of the Jungle III
*tv.com show|id=23074|title=King of the Jungle