Episode 1 Officially Amazing

# Officially, officially Officially...amazing! #

Hello, I'm Ben Shires

and it is my absolute pleasure to welcome you

to the sensational, splendiferous

and altogether downright snazzy new series of Officially Amazing.

And I believe we can go live now for an update on the new

series from our US correspondent, Mr Al Jackson.

Well, Ben, we've got record-breaking

feats from all over the globe, like these...

MUSIC: King by Years and Years

Unbelievable scenes!

Time now to go to our Japanese correspondent, Haruka Kuroda.

Are you there, Haruka?

I'm here, Ben,

and I have monumental news.

US Ray, Sizzling Steve and Mr Cherry are all back

and ready to compete in another Officially Competitive showdown.

Get in! And let's start this series as we mean to go on with our first

officially fantastic record attempt.

-Oh, I thought that went well.

-That was great, man.

-Yeah!

ENGINE REVS

-Uh-oh.

-Argh!

Meet 17-year-old professional flyboarder Damone Rippy

from Texas, USA.

Damone is the protege of Franky Zapata, the inventor of the flyboard

who we met in series three.

Today, Damone will attempt a brand-new world record

on Franky's all-new invention.

For the...

Let's find it more.

-We've seen flyboards on Officially Amazing before.

-Right.

How does the water jet board differ?

Well, it's more like a snowboard on water.

Instead of soaring above the water, you more glide along the water.

So, as you had sort of a history of skateboarding

or snowboarding or anything like that?

Yes, I was a snowboarder before flyboarding

so that's where I got my balance from.

Well, Damone, good luck with the corkscrew record.

-I can't wait to see it.

-Thank you.

Here are the rules.

One corkscrew is one full 360-degree rotation while in the air.

Only corkscrews performed

while moving upwards will count

and to set this new world record

Damone needs 30 corkscrews

in one minute.

The time starts when he begins his first corkscrew.

-Here we go.

-He's good.

Yes!

And he's up! Brilliant.

Steady twisting from Damone.

Look how he swirls confidently through the air.

But if he's going to trouble the record,

he'll need more than one corkscrew at a time.

Loads of corkscrews there.

The jet board is powered by a jet ski.

Damone has a hand-held controller which allows him to adjust the

water pressure coming through this pipe, powering him into the air.

30 seconds gone now.

Half his time left.

He's going for a big one.

That's two...three...

Oh!

And that's a wipeout.

Oh, disaster for Damone,

as he crashes out and comes detached from the board.

He has to abandon the attempt after only 41 seconds.

With 18 complete corkscrews, he was just under world record pace.

And news just in - it transpires that Yorkshire is colder than Texas.

Damone is freezing.

So, he'll wear a wetsuit for one final attempt.

He needs to last the minute and increase his tempo.

Can Damone reach that huge 30 corkscrew target?

Nice thumbs-up from Damone, here we go!

Loads there.

A double corkscrew!

Exactly what he needs.

But... Oh, no - he's down.

Down but not out!

30 seconds.

This is looking better. Come on, Damone!

Immaculate corkscrewing!

That is not easy.

-Time!

-That's it.

Damone stayed on his board for the full minute

but did he come close to that 30 corkscrew target?

Damone, you managed 22 corkscrews -

not enough for the record.

Heartbreak for Damone.

But 22 corkscrews is still a phenomenal feat.

If anyone is going to get this record in the future,

it will almost certainly be this teenage superstar.

Oh, I know what will cheer him up -

a dexterous doggy.

Oh!

Hi-ya!

A-A-Agh.

HARUKA: Over the years, we've brought you a cavalcade

of clever canines.

-AL:

-Wondrous woofers!

But just when you thought we'd seen every possible poochie talent,

along comes Holly, the heroic hound from Italy.

Ciao!

Holly is an expert at balancing

and hopes to set the record for the...

Silence, please, as Holly's human assistant, Tony,

places a glass on her head.

Look at that, Haruka, it's an actual glass -

made of glass!

Yes, Al, this is difficult and dangerous.

Don't ever try this with your own untrained dog.

What incredible focus.

So, what does Holly have to do?

Well, this 20-metre course has 20 poles placed one metre apart.

Holly must weave through at least 15 metres for the record.

This is tense, Haruka.

We are watching a dog walk an obstacle course

with a glass on her head.

Remarkable!

And Holly passes the 19-metre mark before stopping.

She smashed the record!

Well done, Holly. Who's a good doggy? You're good doggy.

Who wants to watch Officially Competitive?

Yes, you do! Yes, you do!

CHEERING

Ah. Ah. A-A-Agh!

GAME OF THRONES THEME PLAYS DEEP VOICE: For three series past,

a triumvirate of warriors have wrangled with one aim -

to become the ultimate Officially Competitive champion.

And, erm...

also, another aim -

to compete for world record titles

that you could try at home.

US Ray of the Americas,

Sizzling Steve of Britannia

and three-time champion, Japan's Mr Cherry.

So, how shall our venturers begin their fourth mighty quest?

HE CLEARS HIS THROAT NORMAL VOICE: Let's find out.

This is...

Today, we have something featuring skill, speed and scrumptiousness.

Haruka, if you'll do the honours.

It's the...

Of course, our heroes have history with this record.

Back in series two, Sizzler beat Cherry by just...

..to claim a world record that still stands to this day.

HE ROARS Are you a bit worried that you stand

to lose your record?

There's always that chance with record-breaking

but you just have to take it and hope for the best.

In terms of preparation for this,

what have you been doing?

I've... I'm using a different pair of chopsticks this time.

Hold the phone! What?!

What are these chopsticks and why the change?

The grip on the chopsticks

is just much better this time.

OK. So, Mr Cherry should be scared.

I think he might learn how to be scared this time.

Sizzler's going to teach Cherry fear?

I can't wait to see that.

-Good luck, Steve.

-Cheers.

-AL:

-Last time he did this, Ray came last,

but he's been training hard.

In order to get this record,

you have to improve by 15 seconds.

How are we going to do that?

Well, I WOULD say take our time but this one,

you're just going to see the process

and do it 15 seconds faster.

Nothing to it but to do it, man, you ready?

-Let's go!

-THEY CHANT:

-US Ray!

-US Ray! US Ray!

-All right.

-HARUKA:

-Cherry was so keen for another chance at this record,

he put in a formal request to the

Officially Amazing record selectors.

Steve got a record off you by 4/100ths of a second.

-DUBBED:

-'It was so close last time, I got a bit upset -

'I don't mind telling you.

'But I've been practising hard.

'I've won the baked beans, I've won the jelly

'and now I want to complete the trilogy

'with these jelly babies.'

Well, as the Japanese proverb goes,

may your jelly baby sorting the speedy and fruitful.

Before anyone sorts anything,

we need some rules.

The 30 jelly babies must be of five different colours

and must be randomised immediately before being sorted.

They must be placed in receptacles

15cm away from the main plate.

The chopsticks may only be held with one hand.

And Sizzling Steve's current

world record time is 27.93 seconds.

Let's get competitive.

US Ray's up first.

Three...two...one...

-Go!

-KLAXON BLARES

-AL:

-Take your time, Ray, you've got this.

This is surprisingly good from US Ray.

He's finally looking

like a confident chopsticker.

No!

Ray's put a yellow baby in a new bowl

instead of the yellow baby bowl.

This is terrible!

He's going to be disqualified.

It's an unmitigated disas... Oh, no.

It's fine. He moved it.

Another disaster!

Wee-e-e...

Ouch.

A purple jelly baby has made a dramatic bid for freedom.

Has Ray even noticed he's a man down?

Come on, Ray, get it.

Go, go, go, go, go!

Yeah!

KLAXON BLARES

Oh, the cheeky smile for Shantha.

A futile bid to charm the adjudicator won't help.

Here comes the master.

You, sir, are the reigning champion in this,

so let's rain on their parade and sizzle for Britain!

Shantha, over to you.

Three... Two... One...

-Go!

-KLAXON BLARES

As expected, a blistering start from the world champion.

To truly witness the non-slip chopsticks in action

we have to consult the slow-mo footage.

Magnificent.

But Steve's mixed up his red and green babies.

This could cost him.

As IF the ice-cool world record-holder

would be fazed by a minor mix-up.

A last-minute reshuffle...

KLAXON BLARES ..and he's done.

But will that red and green hiccup

give Cherry a chance to snatch the record?

Chopstick.

Peerless preparation. HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

Bon appetit.

Go!

Mr Cherry's hands are shaking with nerves.

He really wants this record.

Nerves could cost him valuable milliseconds at this level.

But he's in a rhythm now.

Cherry has chosen to use larger

jelly babies than Ray and Steve.

His mighty arms cope with that extra weight magnificently.

KLAXON BLARES

THEY GASP AND LAUGH Oh, no!

But what happened there?

One of Cherry's orange babies

leapt into the yellow baby bowl.

But did the escape happen before or after Shantha stopped her watch?

She decrees it's a valid attempt.

But was it fast enough

to break Steve's 27.93 second record?

Has his record been broken, Shantha?

-Yes, it has.

-ALL:

-Ooh.

BEN: Ooh. Slightly unexpected.

But exciting.

Well, there's just one question remaining.

Shantha, who has grabbed that record

and the all-important Officially Competitive point?

Well, in third place, with a time of 46.997 seconds...

-is Ray.

-Supposedly improved Ray,

4.5 seconds slower than three series ago.

And in first place, beating the current record by half a second,

and still the world record-holder

-is Steve.

-STEVE AND BEN CHEER

-Own it! Own it! STEVE:

-Yes!

Chopstick master at last.

But not at last, you're STILL.

-Oh, again, then.

-THEY LAUGH

And so, a breathtaking display

from the Sizzler puts him proudly

atop the league table

with a 100% world record hit rate.

-HARUKA:

-But anything could happen next time

when jelly foot spoons

enter the arena.

And we return with more

fantastic feats

like these.

# Well, Damone might regret getting quite so wet

# England's colder than Texas Who knew?

# His jet board was flying but despite lots of trying

# He couldn't do enough corkscrews

# Our competitors felt the need

# The need for chopstick speed

# In the jelly-baby-moving test

# Sizzling Steve proved he's still the best

# And Holly was a jolly genius doggy

# But here come the rubbish bits...

# The outtakes! #

The chopstick sensei!

Did I say the right thing?