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Fear Factor Episode 313
Original airdate: January 6, 2003

On an overcast day, players arrived at what looked like a quarry. They walked past large, heavy machinery to meet Joe at the edge of a large body of water. A helicopter hovered over the lake. Joe explained that players would hang upside-down by their ankles from the bottom of the helicopter while it hovered above the cold, choppy water. Attached to a chain near their ankles would be three keys, one of which would unlock their chained leg. A release cord was attached near their other leg. Each player would have to find the correct key to free their chained ankle, then pull the release cord and free their second ankle, thereby dropping them into the water below. The two men and two women who hit the water in the fastest times would advance. Nicole, a skinny little thing who looked like she might snap in half in a strong wind, was up first. While she buckled up, Reginald stood out as the loudmouth of the group. He kept talking about how he was going to win and how the girls are too weak to do this strength-intensive stunt. He had strong abs blah blah blah. Meanwhile, Nicole was up in the air, unhooked and in the water in fifteen seconds! Reginald got quiet for a moment. Jessica was upside-down next. She struggled a bit and accidentally pulled the release cord before unlocking her other ankle. This meant she had to support her weight, while fumbling for the correct key and spinning over the water! Then, when she went to grab for the keys, they broke free of their tether, which caused Jessica to drop the keys into the water! Jessica was eliminated. Reginald got chatty again. With time no longer a factor, Holli knew she could just concentrate on the task at hand. She struggled to hold herself up while trying the various keys. At one point, she busted out some fancy Cirque du Soleil-type moves - looping one leg around the chain. She sort of looked like a deer in mid-leapômust've been all that coast guard training. Anyway, after two-minutes and twelve seconds, Holli plunged into the water and advanced to day two with Nicole.

Tim was up first for the guys - and wore some very fancy swim trunks. He got off to a quick start while being lifted by the helicopter; however the spinning and struggling seemed to drain him of his strength. After four minutes, Tim quit. Reginald had a field day with that one. Reginald said because he was a break-dancer, he'd have more upper-body strength than these guys, making his victory even that much sweeter. Toby was next, and like Holli, time was not a factor anymore. But, like Tim, Toby continued to struggle with the keys without making progress. Eventually, he quit too. Would Reginald perform like the winner he claimed to be - or would only Nicole and Holli advance towards the $50,000 prize? Reginald also had the added incentive of an extra thousand dollars if he was the only male to complete the stunt. He got off to a strong start, but made Jessica's mistake of pulling the release cord too soon. Thinking it would speed things up, he also yanked the keys from their tether. What quickly happened was that Reginald's strength ran out and he dropped the keys into the water, eliminating himself.

Day two arrived - and chicks ruled! Holli and Nicole arrived on horseback to an abandoned old-time western town. Joe immediately offered them a little Fear Factor snack -- but not until after a quick game of horseshoes. In the dirt a few feet away was a horseshoe pin with four circles drawn around it. The inner circle had the number 8, then going outward the numbers went 6, 7 and 8 again. Joe explained that each player would get three tosses - with the option of throwing out one score. A ringer equaled zero. The total score determined the number of inches of horse rectum the player would have to eat! HORSE RECTUM. Even the horses seemed to sense the vileness of this stunt. Nicole's first toss landed on 7, which she chose to keep. Her second toss landed on 8, which she threw out. Her final toss was a 6, which gave her a total score of 13. She had 10 minutes to finish her snack. Slowly and methodically, with no gagging, Nicole completed the stunt. She even licked her fingers at the end! Holli, who had been pretty vocal during Nicole's turn, almost got a ringer but wound up with a total score of 14. She was gagging from her first bite. She said the smell and the texture were the worst. Holli struggled with every bite and time ticked byô With only three bites left, Holli's time ran out! Nicole had just netted $25,000 for being the only player to complete the stunt. But since Nicole couldn't compete against herself on day three, Holli was able to stay in the game but the final prize money was reduced to $25,000.

The location for day three looked suspiciously like day one, but had nothing to do with water. In fact, the stunt was a terrifying high-beam "race" that offered two choices: a wide-beam outside route and a narrow-beam shortcut. Nicole went first (as she had in all the stunts) and opted for the shortcut. Holli kept shouting discouragements to try and psych Nicole out, but Nicole's ballet training seemed to help her balance. High above the ground, with windy conditions, Nicole shook like a leaf while she moved one foot in front of the other along the narrow beams. As the beams slowly swayed, Nicole tried to transition from one narrow beam, to a lower, wider beam at a "T" intersection. She somehow lost her footing and plunged toward the ground, with only her safety harness to stop her. All Holli had to do was complete the stunt to win! Holli was sure her height and big feet would be a disadvantage, but was determined to win the reduced cash prize. Meanwhile, Nicole decided "no more Mrs. Nice Guy." She started taunting Holli and wishing for her to fall. The transitions from beam to beam were definitely tricky, but Holli took her time. The final beam was shaking quite a bit, but Holli managed to achieve victory and win $25,000.