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Fear Factor Episode 418 Original airdate: November 4, 2003

This special four-stunt Fear Factor aired as a 90-minute Tuesday episode. There before them, submerged in a chilly reservoir, was a full-size bus. Within the bus were four "victims" in the form of 25-pound crash-test dummies. Players would have to dive in and rescue the dummies, one at a time, bringing them out of the bus and hoisting them into a nearby rescue raft. The four players with the fastest times and/or most dummies in the fastest times would advance. Johnny, a California native, was up first. He was hoping to win some cash to help support his young triplets! He dove in and took over 30 seconds to get to the first dummy. He struggled at the raft, but finally got it in. He hesitantly swam back towards the bus, but tread water in the air pocket inside. Soon, he turned around and swam back to the surface - he had quit. He said it was because he tried to take a deep breath, but got water instead, and he sort of freaked out. All Ross had to do was get one dummy faster than 57.3 seconds, or get two dummies, and he would advance. Ross, a self-proclaimed "above average" swimmer, dove in. He had the first dummy out in 33 seconds, but went back for a second one anyway. On the way back from retrieving the second one, Ross smacked his head on the roof of the bus! As soon as he dumped the second dummy in the raft, Ross quit. The bump to the head, he said, threw him off. Ryan, however, was confident he could do better. In 26 seconds, Ryan had the first dummy in the raft - which meant Johnny was going home. Ryan took a deep breath in the air pocket and swam down for the second dummy. However, like Ross, Ryan banged his head while returning to the front of the bus. He went back in for dummy number three, but turned around halfway towards the back of the bus and quit.

Of the girls, petite Carrie was up first and ready to set the bar high. Despite Carrie's confession that she hated water, she got the first dummy quickly. However, the weight of the dummy was a major hindrance. Carrie wasted a lot of time and energy getting it into the raft. She tried to go back for dummy number two, but just couldn't do it. All Jessica needed to do was get one dummy in the raft faster than 54.2 seconds, or get more than one dummy. Jessica said she had lifeguard training, but dove into the water while plugging her nose with one hand. The one-handed swim technique slowed her down a bit, but she still managed to hoist two dummies into the raft before quitting. Her final time was 2:07. Energetic Erin was next and totally pumped to get all four dummies, even though she didn't need to. She quickly got the first dummy and had put the second one in the raft in under a minute and a half. She was exhausted, but with Joe's constant encouragement/harassment, she swam back for dummy number three. She was the only player to get the third dummy! Would she go back for number four? She went for it! However, the final dummy was in the very back of the bus, 12-feet under water and 40-feet back. Erin grabbed it, but had to swim up through an escape hatch in the top of the bus. Still…great effort! Carrie was sent home, while the others got psyched for day two.

After players arrived at a filthy, roach-infested kitchen, they were informed that the next stunt would not be an elimination stunt. Instead, the player with the best stunt time would win a 7-day, all-inclusive trip to Brazil! All they had to do was sift through the stack of disgusting dishes and transfer five Madagascar hissing roaches to a container using only their mouths, of course. Then they'd have to drink a glass of lard and blended cow part, washed down with a glass of rancid milk. Jessica pulled back her blonde hair and flew through the stunt. After getting an amazing final time of one minute and 38 seconds, Jessica promptly threw up. Ryan must have really needed a vacation, because he attacked the stunt! He had all five roaches transferred in less than 25 seconds. Then, he managed to gulp down two glasses of gunk for a final time of 1:09! When it was her turn to dine, Erin tried to do it. But when faced with actually putting a roach in her mouth, Erin decided to bow out. Since she knew it wasn't an elimination stunt, and she was completely freaked out by the bug factor. No Brazil for her. Ross was next, but could he possibly beat Ryan's insane time? It didn't seem possible, but it was. He was slower on the roach transfer, but faster on the drinks. His final time of 53.7 seconds meant Ross was headed to South America!

The next stunt involved hundreds of cow brains, plus a nice brain/spinal fluid drip. Once again, using only their mouths, players would have to bite into a platter of cow brains to try to find 10 hidden discs. Meanwhile, stinky brain and spinal fluid would be spraying down on them from above. Whoever found and transferred the 10 discs the slowest would be eliminated. Erin, who chickened out of the previous stunt, was up first. The search was difficult, but while she got drenched in bodily fluids, Erin kept going. Her final time: 5:17. Her final act: throwing up. Ross was next for face-full after face-full of brains. When he passed Erin's time, she knew she was for sure in the finals. Ross's final time: 5:30. If Jessica or Ryan beat his time, Ross was headed home. Jessica figured since she couldn't use her hands, she'd use her ample bosom to shove brains around in the hunt for discs. Her strategy seemed to work! Her final time: 4:20. Ross was on the bubble…would Ryan pop it? Ryan got his first disc really quickly, which seemed to set the pace for him. He even managed to beat Jessica's time with a final count of 3:43. Ross was headed home (and then to Brazil).

The final stunt took place high atop a building, with downtown Los Angeles as the perfect backdrop. A grid of interlocking beams connected two sections of a building, nine stories in the air. Placed strategically along the beams were Fear Factor flags. The final three players would each have to navigate across the beams retrieving flags. The catch was that the beams would be slowly separating and ultimately pulling completely apart. If a player didn't move quickly enough, they would inevitably plummet off the beams losing their chance at $50,000! Ryan was up first and seemed born to do this. He moved so quickly across the narrow, moving grid that even Joe was impressed. His final time: 34.5 seconds! Both Jessica and Erin were confident and had proven themselves in previous stunts. However, once your balanced on an eight-inch wide beam, nine stories in the air, things change. Jessica, who claimed to be a balance beam champion, moved too slowly, missed a flag, and ultimately gave up in the middle of the stunt. Erin got freaked out by the height after only 20 seconds and also quit. Ryan had won!