Boot Camp (TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = Boot Camp


caption =
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genre = Reality
creator =
director = Scott Messick
Chris Pechin
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presenter =
starring =
narrated =
theme_music_composer =
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country = USA
language = English
num_seasons = 1
num_episodes = 9
list_episodes =
executive_producer =
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location = Starke, Florida, USA
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runtime = 60 min. (per episode)
network = FOX
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first_aired = March 28, 2001
last_aired = May 23, 2001
related = "Celebrity Boot Camp"
website = http://www.foxreality.com/show.php?id=1138
imdb_id = 0281422
tv_com_id = 3017

"Boot Camp" was a weekly reality television show that aired for one season on Fox starting March 28, 2001. The show drew a lawsuit from Mark Burnett due to similarity to his reality show Survivor.

The show involved sixteen civilian contestants participating in a real life military style boot camp 24 hours a day. Four drill instructors put the contestants through special training activities and obstacle courses to prepare them for the "missions" which they took part in on each of the first seven episodes.

The four drill instructors:
*Leo McSweeney - Former Marine Corps Sergeant
*Tony Rosenbum - Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer
*Dave Francisco - Marine Corps Sergeant Major
*Annette Taylor - Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant

Recruits
* Mark Mayer
* Alfonso Moretti Jr
* Ryan Wolf
* Kasi Brown
* Katie Coddington
* Rebecca Ann Harr
* Jack Lauder
* Jodi Hutak
* Jennifer Moretty
* Jane Katherine
* John Park
* Sue Yen Pupo
* Jen Whitlow
* David Thompson
* Shawn Yaney
* Leigh Dana Jackson

Leading up to each mission, a unique team leader was chosen from the remaining players. Besides extra responsibility in camp, the team leader led the effort to complete the mission. If successful in the mission, the entire group was rewarded, and the team leader earned "immunity" from the eliminations for that round. If unsuccessful, the entire group was punished, and the team leader remained vulnerable for elimination. Contestants went to "Dismissal Hill" (similar to Survivor's Tribal Council) every four days to eliminate players from the game.

The contestants voted to "dismiss" a recruit by secret ballot. The recruit with the most votes against them was "dismissed" from Boot Camp, eliminated from the game. Unless a medical discharge or other elimination occurred prior to Dismissal Hill, the dismissed recruit then "discharged" another recruit, eliminating that player from contention as well. After each trip to Dismissal Hill, an even number of players remained in the game, as two players were eliminated on each episode.

On the final two-part episode, which aired on May 16, 2001 and May 23, 2001, the two finalists competed in a "Gauntlet" of seven events over the course of 48 hours without any rest. Each of the seven events was named for one of the dismissed recruits from earlier episodes. The winner of each event was awarded the dog tags of that recruit. Once the Gauntlet was completed, the winners of each event were revealed, and six of the seven discharged recruits voted for which of the two finalists they wanted to win. (Recruit Katherine, having withdrawn from the show on the second day, was denied the opportunity to vote by the show's producers.) The recruit who collected the most dog tags would win $500,000.

Despite winning just one gauntlet event, Recruit Whitlow went on to receive the support of all six discharged recruits to sensationally win 7-6, netting herself $500,000. The runner-up, Recruit Wolf, received $100,000. Earlier in the season, the entire group was severely punished by the drill instructors for leaving a crucial piece of equipment behind during a mission. Nobody came forward for it, but recruit Wolf was generally the one blamed, and it's believed that blame was responsible for the unanimous vote against him; videotape later revealed that it was Recruit Yaney who failed to retrieve the equipment in question.

The show also spawned a celebrity version, which ran over just two episodes and featured ten celebrities, with dismissals occurring at the drill instructors' discretion. Drill Instructors Francisco and Rosenbum reprised their roles along with a new female DI. This version was won by Coolio.

External links

*imdb title|id=0281422|title=Boot Camp
*imdb title|id=0360252|title=Celebrity Boot Camp