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Fear Factor Episode 403 Original airdate: October 20, 2003

Water, water, everywhere! Joe met the six players on the banks of a calm, picturesque lake. But this would be no picnic. A helicopter zoomed overhead and hovered about the lake, dangling a tow bar. Each player would tread water, then grab a hold of the tow bar. The helicopter would then drag them around the lake and continue to gain speed. The two men and two women who could hold on the longest as the helicopter reached its top speed of 40 miles per hour, would advance to round two.

Melissa, a personal trainer and fitness competitor, was lucky number one. Would her physical strength be enough to get her through the stunt? Melissa used an over/under grip with bent arms; however, she quickly was getting thrashed around to the point that her bikini bottoms flew off! Her final time was 31 seconds. Tracy, an aspiring butt model (seriously), was next. Could she keep her cool, keep her clothes on, and beat Melissa's time? Tracy didn't have near the physical strength that Melissa did. She got tossed around like a rag doll, earning a final time of 28 seconds. Raylene was hoping for 35 seconds. Raylene weighed like a pound soaking wet, so the others didn't think she would last very long. After 23 seconds, Raylene proved them right. Melissa and Tracy had advanced. None of the women had made it up to 25 miles per hour. Now it was time for the guys to get a grip - literally.

Jeff was up first. He flopped, but kept his head up. As the helicopter increased speed, Jeff flipped to his back and actually caught some air! Finally, he flew off after 52 seconds! John was pumped up to go next and determined to stay in the game. The water was little choppier since it was later in the day at this point. John held on strong despite some big hits. His final time was 51 seconds…that meant Jeff was guaranteed a spot on day two. If Sal couldn't beat John's time, Sal was headed home. Sal, a smaller, less muscular guy compared to John and Jeff, was confident that he could do it. All of Sal's determination couldn't help him hang on longer than 3 seconds! He was out.

It was out to the ranch for four remaining players. Anytime you're surrounded by cute animals on Fear Factor, chances are you'll be eating some not-so-cute part of them. Sure enough, Joe revealed a huge jar filled with cow eyeballs! Each player would have to puncture the eyeballs with their teeth to drain the fluid into a nearby glass. Then, of course, they'd have to drink the cow eye "juice." The three players who completed the task the fastest would move on to the finals. Once again, Melissa was up first. Unable to use her hands, Melissa stuck her face into the pile of eyeballs and retrieved the first eye. She cracked it with her teeth over the glass and drained the dark liquid. Melissa filled it and drank it with a final time of 1:41. Tracy was a little squeamish, but gave it a valiant effort. Her final time: 1:07! John was next to take a mouthful of cow eyes. He took longer to fill the glass, but ended with a final time of 1:20. Melissa was on the bubble! If Jeff beat her time, she was out. After two false starts, Jeff got going. Like Melissa, he accidentally dropped a few eyes into the glass and wasted time fishing them back out. His final time: 1:27. Melissa was out!

The final stunt led the remaining three players to a desolate quarry. Two huge dump trucks rolled past with ramps atop each one. Joe explained that each player would jump from truck to truck, transferring flags, as the trucks barreled down the dirt road. Tracy was up first. Jeff and John thought she'd get out immediately. She looked tiny standing in the shadow of the massive trucks. Once the trucks got moving, so did Tracy. As the time progressed, the trucks moved further and further apart, lengthening the jump space between them. As she got fatigued, she almost missed two of the jumps. When the road ran out, the stunt ended. Tracy had transferred 9 flags in 2:06. John climbed aboard the dump truck determined to beat Tracy's time and snag all 15 flags. After a shout-out to his two kids, John got jumping. After 11 flags, John was obviously getting tired - and he hit his bad knee against the truck during one of his final jumps. That didn't stop him though! His jump for flag number 15 slammed him into the side of the truck and ended his Fear Factor experience. John's final time, with 14 flags, was 1:49. Tracy was out. Could Jeff pull out the win? After the first few flags, the trucks began to pull apart and Jeff's task got harder and harder. The constant heckling from John couldn't have helped. Whatever the reason, Jeff stumbled and fell while retrieving his 8th flag making John the newest Fear Factor champion!