NBC's "Fear Factor" (Mondays, 8-9 p.m. ET) found nine couples willing to test their devotion in a way only "Fear Factor" could provide.

Reality Reel Media
12.18.03

(From NBC) In a special seven-episode couples contest, the couples – 3 married, 3 engaged and 3 dating – compete in a series of challenges with the hopes of taking home a cash prize of $1 million beginning January 12, 2003 (8-9:00 p.m. ET).

Joe Rogan hosts the multiple episode contest with challenges that cause some couples to part while others become a force to reckon with – stunts include: holding onto each other as long as they can while being dragged thru the sand by speeding Dune Buggies; one partner drives a car blindfolded as the other gives directions to drive the car onto the ramp of a speeding truck and a woman is strapped into a coffin and covered with over 500 tarantulas while the men have to free them by performing a gross task.

The nine couples participating in the special episodes are from Riverton, UT; Bedford, TX; Los Angeles, CA; San Diego, CA; Apopka, FL; Miami Springs, FL; Delray Beach, FL; Erie, PA and West Hollywood, CA.

Under the supervision of professional Hollywood stunt coordinators, the much-discussed "Fear Factor" pits the teams of couples against each other, extreme challenges -- and themselves -- in the hope of taking home a cash prize of $1 million at the end of the seven-part series.

This season, "Fear Factor" is impressively winning the Monday 8 p.m. ET hour with an average 5.6 rating, 15 share among adults 18-49 and 13.2 million viewers overall. Its highly successful Nov. 24 "family edition" was the #5 show of that week among adults 18-49. "Fear Factor" is the season's fastest growing-network reality series versus year-ago results with a 12 percent increase in both 18-49 and total viewers.