Taboo (2002–2014) User Reviews

Genuinely Informed

[pannalogic · 8/10 · 2 March 2008]

The series is meant to show what extremes exist in different cultures of people. Which some viewers may find, detracts from the program a little.

It was very informative for me to witness all of the different practices that occur on a regular basis, and gave new insight on what it means to be "Culturally relative".

That being said, if you watch this, watch it with adults or alone...children shouldn't see things they haven't been mentally prepared for. A few of the episodes center around body art / modification and can make you squeamish if you're not used to that sort of thing, but since we've all been desensitized by the internet it shouldn't come as any surprise some of the things people do on this show.

A Game Show worth watching

[gibsonj338-3 · 8/10 · 17 January 2003]

***MIGHT HAVE A SPOILER IN IT***

If you have ever played the board game Taboo and enjoyed it, then the game show "Taboo" will be fun and not time wasting to watch. Chris Wylde is the host and he is very funny. The show is taped in a studio in Beaverly Hills, California, United States. There are two teams of three contents on each team. Chris Wylde tries to get the team to say the word or phrase without saying the five taboo words and the first person to say the word or phrase on the team is the team captain and get to appoint who goes up for their team. One person from the team (appointed by the team captain) has to get the other two on their team to say the word or phrase without saying the five taboo words. Each word or phrase is worth one point and is only given 45 seconds. After the other team is done with the first round, the same is done with the second round but a different person (appointed by the team captain) has to come and do it again. The third round is does exactly the same except this time it is call the "Danger" round where if the person giving the clues say one of the five taboo words, Chris throws junk into your face and makes noise. The words or phrases this time are names of real life and/or fictional characters. The forth round is called the "Catch up" round where the same for the first two rounds except each word or phrase is worth two points and a sixth taboo word is added. After this round if the score is tied, the team with the least taboos is the winner, otherwise the team with the most points wins and get to go to the bonus round. The losing team gets to take home each a taboo board game. In the bonus round three prizes/trips are offered and the team gets to decide what prize/trip they want. In additional, other prizes are given and $1000 spending money each. One person on the team has to get the other two members in the team to guess the phrase or word based on a category given 60 seconds. If the person get the word or phrase right, taboos or passes, the players have to switch. If 6 are guess correctly within 60 seconds, they win the prize/trip.

Very Interesting and Informative

[prodigy556 · 31 July 2007]

Simply put this program is about how certain rituals, food, religion, etc. can be completely normal for one culture, but "taboo" for another.

This program is a very informative watch, and gives insight into other cultural norms from all over the globe. It makes you look at the world in a different way, and ponder how your own culture may seem entirely baffling to someone who lives elsewhere in the world.

This show is not for the squeamish, it does not hold back, and in my opinion shouldn't. It may be disgusting, gory, and odd to some viewers, but it a way of life for a group of people somewhere. These rituals are apart of the culture of the group, tribe, etc, and should remain as close to what occurs as possible.

Perfect program for someone looking to gain insight into the lives of other people, and better understand the world as a whole.

Very good documentary series

[339544 · 10/10 · 31 March 2005]

I probably misunderstood the previous reviewer but this isn't a game show.

It's a documentary series about different practices that some in certain cultures would consider wrong, not normal, or in the extreme disgusting.

Whether it's body modifying, different religious or sexual practices, or eating odd kinds of foods.

The series is basically trying to get the viewer to understand why segments of all societies take up practices that might be seen as strange by the larger culture.

Honestly... Shocking & Stomach Turning.

[tommylangzik · 7/10 · 29 April 2021]

I tried to walk into this with an open mind and initially naïvely assumed this would explore Taboos in a more placid "Hey look at these strange weird cultural quirks / oddities" way, but what I saw instead was stomach turning, especially in regard to the treatment of animals. The senseless barbarity and butchery fully on display was overwhelming and shocking at times. Savage and inhumane from a civilized western perspective; a brutal reminder that some humans still live guided by a stone age mentality in a myriad of ways.

The narrating presenters / experts try to cast the scenes in a "Well, we can't judge what we can't understand" sort of light, along with the classic "We need to ensure we preserve these cultures, otherwise they'll be lost". To be honest though... ... sometimes I couldn't escape the feeling that there was no ACTUAL value being created here; it was nothing more than desperation meeting destructive belief / tradition, thus, I often felt myself strongly disagreeing with the premise that these snake-oil approaches NEEDED to be kept active vs simply preserving them in history books.

As an example, a tribe in Africa had a woman claiming to be some sort of spirit vessel, and all she really did was take on a masculine voice/tone, have people slit live animal throats (including a calf), leave the animals wriggling or flailing on the ground as people danced in the blood gushing from the animal's neck... Then, all she said to each person who came seeking help & advice was "everything is going to be okay"... All I could do was sit there stunned in traumatic shock and horror, wondering how anyone could possibly take her seriously, let alone believe that this cruelty would solve their issues. One woman even came seeking help for her sick daughter; internally I was screaming "Take her to a doctor!". In my view, the sad reality was that some of these communities would have been better served with a proper education focused on science, and better access to healthcare; worrying about 'preserving' their culture, as far as I could tell, was RELATIVELY a non-issue.

ANYWAY, the production quality WAS decent, and it WAS interesting, BUT given that it was shot "in your face" David Attenborough style (think "nature shows that explicitly / vividly showcase death in the animal world"), this show is not for the squeamish, and if you're an animal lover, I'd STRONGLY recommend you take a hard pass on some episodes (though, unfortunately, no warnings are given in advance).

Oh, and if you're on the sensitive side, DO NOT WATCH RIGHT BEFORE BED; give yourself plenty of time to recover and unwind. I regard myself as an animal lover and empathetic towards the plight of others, so my review should likely be regarded with that lens in mind.

Alright if you can handle the biased nature.

[ProtoClone · 9 October 2010]

This is just another show that looks to shock you rather then properly inform you. The biased nature of the coverage is slanted in the direction of trying to provide "Fear Factor" style entertainment rather then actual anthropological observations.

At times it seems like the people involved in the show purposely sought out the people who fit the general stereotype of the perceived topic. This only leads the viewers to believe the worse and misinforms them on the topics.

The only taboo here is the truth they are afraid to expose you to.

Watch this if you know better then to believe what you see on TV. Don't watch this if you don't.