Half Pint Brawlers: Season 1

This reality TV series follows a wide-roving four-man troupe of little person wrestlers who are managed, coached, and scripted by self-proclaimed “psycho dwarf” Steve “Puppet” Richardson. The first episode, in which a stunt gone bad rips open one mini-grappler's shaven scalp in bloody close-up, pretty much sets the dare-you-to-watch tone. Apparently the presumed audience consists of the same drunken frat boys who cheer on the Half Pint Brawlers at their saloon gigs, judging by the lowbrow execution (piss drinking! poo-throwing! and so on)—although in a trip through Louisiana the guys have to modulate their vulgarity for a family-friendly carnival one day, and a prison audience the next. What meager substance this sideshow possesses comes from the camaraderie of the men and their hazing/initiation of agreeable new guy “Turtle” (a former telemarketer) into the HPB brotherhood. When Puppet, in the final segment, commits to a show with an extra team of half-pints not trained to his standards, the viewer can't help but imagine that a production about his 12 years on the job and the day-to-day business operations of the enterprise might have made for a more intriguing narrative. As it stands, however, Half Pint Brawlers falls considerably short. Not a necessary purchase. (C. Cassady)