INSCMagazine: Get Social!

If you are a fan of Impractical Jokers, you know they have done a lot over the course of five seasons. They have done regular episodes, live episodes, special travel episodes and more recently the inside joke episode. The challenges they have jumped out of planes, ruined bingo, and turned White Castle into the Castle of White.

So they have covered a ton of ground, and have produced so many laughs across the country, despite being just four friends from Staten Island. It is quite an impressive feat, and the show as a whole has grown to such amazing heights. But there is still one thing the Jokers have not yet done: a fan episode.

An episode where some of the Jokers biggest fans get the chance to stand in for Joe, Sal, Q in Murr during challenges. As a fan of the show, I know I would love to get the chance to make an appearance and get the go through some of the laugh out loud challenges. And I have even come up with a format that could get the most out of it for both the Jokers and the fans.

The show would have three challenges for four lucky fans to participate in. Each fan would be assigned to represent a joker, and whichever fan losses, that Joker undergoes the punishment for the episode. The three challenges would serve as three rounds, with each round being a different format. The rounds would be the following: a solo effort, a tag team with a Joker round, and finally a tournament style round.

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Things would start out with the typical Impractical Jokers challenge: Do and say what the other guys tell you. The fans would then head out one by one, having to listen to what the Jokers tell them. The joker who they represent is not allowed to partake in telling the fan what they have to do. This is a way to get the fans accustomed to the feel of the show, and a good opening challenge.

Round two gets to see the Jokers and fans interact. Think of the challenges where two jokers must work together for some form of presentation. Or when they need to steal sips from people’s drinks, where one has to distract people. It would be this type of challenge that would be the middle round. This allows the fans to participate still, but also gets the Jokers in on the fun as well.

Finally, we finish off with one of the best type of challenges: the tournament format. Two fans will go head to head, with the winner advancing. Then the remaining two do the same. Then there is a final round to determine one winner. These are usually at their best when they happen in the grocery store. The one I am thinking of the most is when the Jokers must put balloons on people without them noticing.

After these three conclude, we will have our losing fan. And the joker who the fan represents will have to undergo the punishment. They could even include the fan in the punishment if they wish, to make it a true fan episode. But this type of episode would help increase fan engagement even more. Fans love this show, and letting them participate in an episode would only make people love it even more.