''Viva La Bam'' is an American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series that stars

Bam Margera Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera ( ; born September 28, 1979) is an American former professional skateboarder, stunt performer, television personality, and filmmaker. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s as one of the stars of the MTV reality ...

and his friends and family. The show is a spin-off from

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's '' Jackass'', in which Margera and most of the main cast appeared. Each episode had a specific theme, mission, or challenge which was accomplished by performing pranks, skateboarding, and enlisting the help of friends, relatives, and/or experts. Although partly improvised, the show was supported by a greater degree of planning and organization.

History

Production

The cast included

Ryan Dunn Ryan Matthew Dunn (June 11, 1977 – June 20, 2011) was an American stunt performer, television personality, actor and comedian. He was best known as one of the stars of the MTV reality stunt show ''Jackass (TV series), Jackass'' and its fi ...

Brandon DiCamillo Brandon DiCamillo (born 1976) is an American former television personality, actor, stunt performer, filmmaker, and musician. He was a founding member of the CKY crew and rose to fame through appearances in the ''CKY'' video series and MTV's ' ...

Raab Himself Christian Joseph Raab (born ), better known by his stage name Raab Himself, is an American television personality known as a former member of the CKY crew featured in the MTV series ''Viva La Bam'' and '' Jackass''. Biography Raab was born in ...

, and

Rake Yohn Edward Webb (born 1975), known by his stage name Rake Yohn (), is an American television personality and former member of the CKY crew. He was a regular in the ''CKY'' videos and MTV's reality comedy series '' Viva La Bam'' and also had occasi ...

. The show also starred Bam's parents

Phil Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root te ...

and

April April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. It is the first of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the second of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. April is commonly associated with ...

and his uncle

Don Vito Vincent Roy Margera (July 3, 1956 – November 15, 2015), commonly known as Don Vito, was an American reality television personality. He was known for his appearances in ''Viva La Bam'', '' Jackass'', ''Haggard'', and the ''CKY'' series alongs ...

Tim Glomb The Camp Kill Yourself crew (referred to as the CKY crew) was a group of friends and relatives centered around television personality and skateboarder Bam Margera, many of whom are from or located in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The cr ...

and

Brandon Novak Brandon Thomas Novak (born December 10, 1978) is an American motivational speaker, author, and former professional skateboarder and "CKY crew" member. He also had appearances in the ''Viva La Bam'' reality comedy series and the ''Jackass (franc ...

later joined the main cast. The show was mostly filmed in and around

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighb ...

and also visited

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Bam and his friends also went to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

in 2006 for "Viva La Spring Break", a two-part episode rarely seen since its original broadcast. The episode "

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

", originally shot for the second season, became known as the "Lost Episode" of the series, and can be found on '' Viva La Bands'': a two-disc compilation album featuring several bands from the series. The show debuted on October 26, 2003, and concluded on August 14, 2005, on the

network in the United States. It later became licensed around the world.

Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documen ...

starred in the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

and '

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...

' episodes. Each of the five seasons consisted of eight half-hour episodes, comprising 40 episodes in total. In December 2005, Bam Margera addressed rumors of a sixth season on ''

Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with ''T ...

''. His comment was that there would be no sixth season, but there would be occasional MTV specials and he and

Johnny Knoxville Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), best known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, writer, producer, and professional wrestler. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ...

were planning things for possible '' Jackass'' stunts. On March 22, 2006, a 2 episode special of ''Viva La Bam'', titled "Viva La Spring Break" aired. It featured Bam and his friends, his parents April and Phil, and his uncle Don Vito travelling from West Chester, Pennsylvania to

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

together to cause mayhem at a beach party, with them doing stunts and pulling pranks underway. Notably, Raab Himself did not appear in this special.

Featured music and guests

The show also featured music from some of Margera's favorite bands, such as HIM,

CKY CKY may refer to: * CKY (band), American rock band, formerly "Camp Kill Yourself" ** ''CKY'' (video series), named after the band **CKY crew, people involved in the video series and related projects *CKY-DT, a television station in Winnipeg, Manito ...

The Bloodhound Gang The Bloodhound Gang was an American rap rock band from Collegeville, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1988 by rappers Jimmy Pop and Daddy Long Legs (now in Wolfpac) as a hip-hop group, before branching out into other genres as their career pr ...

, Cradle of Filth,

Clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

Turbonegro Turbonegro (Turboneger in Norway) is a Norwegian rock band, active from 1989 to 1998 and from 2002 to the present. The band combines glam rock, punk rock, and hard rock into a self-described "deathpunk" musical style. History Early years (1 ...

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...

Carnal Forge Carnal Forge are a Swedish band, best classified as thrash metal with some melodic death metal influences. Their name originates from a song on Carcass's album '' Heartwork''. Biography Carnel Forge was founded in Sala, Sweden in 1997 by Jari ...

, Slayer,

Gwar Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. After th ...

Children of Bodom Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of Alexi Laiho (lead guitar, lead vocals), Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henkka Sepp ...

The Bled The Bled was an American post-hardcore band from Tucson, Arizona, formed in 2001. They released four albums ('' Pass the Flask'', '' Found in the Flood'', ''Silent Treatment'' and '' Heat Fetish'') before disbanding in 2012. History Format ...

The 69 Eyes The 69 Eyes are a Finnish rock band. It was founded in 1989 in Helsinki by vocalist Jyrki 69 (who also writes the band's lyrics), guitarists Bazie, Timo-Timo and bassist Archzie, joined in 1992 by drummer Jussi 69; the lineup never changed sin ...

, and

Free Beer Opay Beer, originally known as Vores øl - An open source beer (English: ''Our Beer''), is a brand of beer and the first with an "open"/"free" brand and recipe. The recipe and trademark elements are published under the Creative Commons CC ...

. Many of Margera's friends also appear on the show, including

The Dudesons The Dudesons ( fi, Duudsonit) are a Finnish entertainment group. They are best known for their TV shows and live performances, which are a combination of stunts and comedy. Their early TV shows were similar to '' Jackass''. Starting their televi ...

, and fellow skateboarders

, Terry Kennedy Jason Ellis and

Bob Burnquist Robert Dean Silva Burnquist (; born 10 October 1976) is a Brazilian-American professional skateboarder who competed for Brazil throughout his career. In 2010, he became the first skateboarder to land a "fakie 900" (900-degree reverse-natural r ...

. Actor

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

and his son Hopper made an appearance in the episode "Fort Knoxville", and rock musician

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

appeared on the "special" birthday episode "Ape's Surprise". In the episode "Snake Run Driveway" there are a number of celebrities such as

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

, Holly Madison,

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

Don "Magic" Juan Don "Magic" Juan, (born Donald Campbell November 30, 1950, also known as The Chairman of the Board, Archbishop Don 'Da Magic' Juan, Bishop Don Magic Juan, or just Bishop) is an American former pimp, preacher, hip hop personality, actor, and fash ...

and

Charlie O'Connell Charles O'Connell (born April 21, 1975) is an American actor and reality television personality. He is known for his appearance on '' The Bachelor'', as well as appearing in several projects involving his older brother Jerry O'Connell, including ...

Episodes

References

* ''"Viva la Bam"'' Seasons 1-5 MTV / 18 Husky Productions, 2003–2005

External links

* {{MTVNetwork Shows CKY MTV original programming 2000s American reality television series 2003 American television series debuts 2005 American television series endings Television shows set in Pennsylvania English-language television shows American television spin-offs Reality television spin-offs Practical jokes Jackass (TV series)

History

Production

Featured music and guests

Episodes

See also

References

External links