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Based on the 1999 bestseller by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht, the weekly cable TV series Worst-Case Scenario invited people to confront their worst fears by being plunged into nightmarish situations. The book was humorous in tone, suggesting what to do when being stampeded by bulls or chased by alligators, or how to handle such emergencies as a malfunctioning parachute, an accidental tumble into a garbage dumpster, or being tied up by kidnappers. The series eschewed the lightheartedness of the book in favor of sensationalism, spending more time inventing the various dangers facing the participants rather than coming up with solutions. Mike Rowe hosted, with movie stuntwoman Danielle Burgio -- aka "The Gear Girl" -- helping to set up the situations. Though almost universally panned by critics, Worst-Case Scenario posted high ratings numbers when it debuted July 10, 2002, on the TBS Superstation.