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Fear Factor Episode 203
Original airdate: March 25, 2002
It looked like a cold night when Joe met the six players near a dark, eerie body of water. As the underwater lights came on, Joe explained that the players must each jump in the icy cold water and swim the length of the 80-foot tunnel. With only four air pockets along the way, the tunnel was narrow and dark. Up first was Carol, a model from Dallas, Texas who wanted to win the money for her Mom. Once inside the tunnel, Carol skipped the first two air pockets and quickly made a hasty retreat back for air. She made it through though, with a final time of one minute, eleven seconds. Harmonie, a petite redhead, was up next. She told Joe she was apprehensive about the cold, dark stunt. She jumped in the water, but wasted valuable time trying to catch her breath. After dog paddling on the surface for over a minute, Harmonie's fears of water and enclosed spaces made her decide to quit. All Charlotte had to do was complete the stunt to advance; however, that wasn't good enough for Charlotte. She beat Carol's time by two seconds! The guys were next and David - a writer from northern California - was a big talker. He was sure he'd put the others to shame. Used to surfing in cold water, David zipped through the tunnel in forty seconds! Joel and Jeff, the last two players, were admittedly worried. However, Jeff, a former lifeguard, surprised everyone by beating David's time by four seconds. Could Joel do the same or would he be heading home? A smoker, Joel was worried about holding his breath. His desire to shut David up must have motivated Joel, because he came in at thirty-nine seconds - sending David home by one second!

Joe met the remaining players in Echo Park, California for the next day's stunt. The picturesque location is known for it's adorable ducks, but the Fear Factor picnic wouldn't be so adorable. Joe explained to the final four they would have to eat a Philippine delicacy known as balut. Balut is an egg containing a duck embryo - "the treat with feet" as Joe called it. Joe seemed to have more trouble with it than the contestants. They all chomped down two of the crunchy snacks, while Joe looked like he was going to toss his cookies any second. Everyone advanced to the final round.

Day three was atop a downtown building, where players noticed a plank connected to an adjacent rooftop. Joe explained that the 12-inch wide beam stretched 120 feet in the air; however, players weren't going to walk across. They weren't going to run or crawl or hop across either. They were going to ride a bike across! The players were instantly on edge. Charlotte was up first. She seemed pumped - but stalled atop the first platform for over two minutes. Finally, with the encouragement of the others, she set out on the beam. After 38 feet, she plunged off the side and dangled from her safety harness inches from the ground as the bike crashed below her. Carol was next. Her strategy was to stay focused on the goal and not look down. The plan paid off as she zipped across the plank in seven-point-eight seconds. Everyone was impressed! Joel, a bartender from Florida, was up first for the guys. He made the mistake of looking down and instantly fell out of competition. Carol was growing more confident that the cash was hers. In addition to being a good swimmer, Jeff, who hailed from Wisconsin, was also an avid mountain biker. He stunned Carol by racing across the roofs in five seconds flat - a time that landed him 50,000 dollars!