Like many reboots, the Wipeout "revival" struggles to do a justice to the original
There are many reasons why this Wipeout fails to meet the mark, the overarching failure being that it is bland.
The course itself is a mirage of bright colors, but it lacks any distinctive theme. One thing that made the original Wipeout so enjoyable was the presence of unique themes from one episode to the next. The course looks slightly more difficult, but the obstacles just aren't interesting.
An attempt is made to highlight contestants' unique character traits, but editing is repetitive from one contestant (or pair of contestants) to the next. This makes it hard to appreciate contestants on the same level that was once possible.
The Hosts, John Cena and Nicole Buyer, lack cohesiveness and fail to bring the same one-two bunch brought by John Henson and John Anderson. This is largely due to poor screenwriting and partly due to the difference in the personalities of Cena and Buyer.
As mentioned before, editing does this show no good. There used to be so many unique edits in Wipeout, but now edits feel generic and repetitive.
The camera quality is a big upgrade, but it's also slightly unnerving. A show like Wipeout doesn't need picture-perfect camera quality, less traditional camera work fits the show's aura like a glove.
The biggest disappointment is to think about what this show could be compared to what it is. Watch the new Wipeout, then go back and watch an episode of the old Wipeout. It becomes clear that there was little-no effort to make this Wipeout a true revival of the old Wipeout. They marketed it as the return of Wipeout and it has not met or come close to expectations, therefore it gets a 2/10.
Hopefully the remaining episodes of Wipeout have a layout different than the first, but I wouldn't be too optimistic.
