Bam Margera's Lost Viva La Bam Episode That Was Scrapped By MTV
Back in the early and mid-2000s, MTV's "Viva La Bam" was a stunt series that came with a large dose of slapstick humor that was impossible not to laugh at. Featuring Bam Margera along with his family and friends, the prank show ran for five seasons and 40 total episodes, which was a lot considering how dangerous many of the challenges on the show were. The program was a spin-off of the network's "Jackass," in which Margera was featured. But unlike its parent show, "Viva La Bam" focused much more on the theme of family even if the Margera clan had some fairly outlandish ideas about humor and thrill-seeking.
In addition to lots of skateboarding and stunts, Margera and his crew would also film absurd pranks on Don Vito, Phil, or even April, his uncle, father, and mother, respectively. Thankfully, MTV picked up the repair tab for the damage to their homes. The appeal of the show could be found in its irreverent humor, but there were also some incredible skits that involved challenges not for the faint of heart. One of these death-defying feats was actually scrapped by the network and subsequently became the lost episode of the series (via IMDb). Here are the details.
Viva La Bam's lost episode involved Ryan Dunn going over an Iceland waterfall in a barrel
Ryan Dunn was a star of both "Jackass" and "Viva La Bam," which stemmed from his lifelong friendship with Bam Margera. Although he tragically died in an automobile accident in 2011, Dunn's bold brand of courage made for exciting stunt work for fans of both series that still endures with his fandom. But the daring audacity he put into his stunts proved to be a bit too much for MTV in what became the only episode of "Viva La Bam" the cable channel decided to shelve permanently. The installment has become known by many as simply "Iceland," named such because it takes place at a waterfall in the Icelandic countryside.
Margera persuaded Dunn to place himself inside a barrel while he and Brandon DiCamillo rolled him down a waterfall to a lake below. In a 2012 interview on YouTube's Ride Channel, where he named his favorite "Jackass" and CKY pranks, Bam Margera placed the lost episode stunt at number four in his countdown. He said of the challenge, "This is by far Ryan Dunn's gnarliest stunt ever. And I don't think many people have seen it because we filmed it for a 'Viva La Bam' episode, and MTV said it was too repeatable for kids to do." There are a few things in the prank that the network was likely aware of in terms of possible duplication by some curious viewers.
The lost episode of Viva La Bam was essentially buried by MTV
The Iceland waterfall challenge was never shown, but it can be assumed the stunt was one of the most dangerous of "Viva La Bam," at least according to MTV. As seen in this video, the waterfall was not a long drop, but it was far enough to possibly cause fatal injuries. But the installment can be found on YouTube and other video-sharing platforms for those interested in viewing it. It is also popular with fans of the series despite the network's insistence to keep it shelved. On the CKY subreddit page, which is Margera's band, u/stikkee said, "Watched this last night. Im pretty sure this is the best commentary raab himself has ever done. Hes laughing so hard at ryan that in turn it made me laugh 20 times harder."
Another fan pointed out how MTV may have never intended for the episode to air in the first place. Redditor u/Such_Ad_9062 stated, "One of my favorite episodes even though it didnt make the cut. You can tell MTV wasnt trying to control the show. If it were a real episode they would of had Vito and ape doing there own story line back home," which was followed by two laughing emojis. Rather or not the cable music channel ever decided to include the waterfall challenge in the official roster of episodes, it remains one of the most audacious antics in the show's four-year history.