TR Interview: Jaleel White Sheds Some Light on Total Blackout

It wasn’t that long ago that we were discussing in comments the career of Jaleel White, still best-known as Steve Urkel from Family Matters. It turns out I can deliver the best possible answer to the question, “Where is he now?” – he’s hosting Total Blackout on Syfy (the new season premieres tonight at 10:30 p.m.). In this new competition show, contestants enter a completely pitch-black room, where they must touch unfamiliar objects (some of which are live animals and/or paid actors) and face their fears of the dark.

I was offered the chance to talk to Jaleel…but first, I had to brave the darkness myself at a live audition for the show at upscale L.A. mall The Grove.

That photo above is taken in night vision. Unable to see anything but a red dot that was presumably the camera, I was told to walk across the room with my shoes off. The catch? The floor would be covered in mousetraps, and if I walked in a straight line I was guaranteed to step on one. You can see for yourself what was actually going on – two people were crouched down making snapping sounds.

I’m used to being in the dark, though (I grew up with power outages a common occurrence in winter-time), so I’m afraid I wasn’t as dramatic a screamer as they were looking for. I rather quickly felt with my feet that there were barriers on each side of me, so I followed them to the end and that was it. On the actual show, though, they eliminate contestants round by round by having them jump, blindfolded, onto a trap door that may or may not open. I don’t mind admitting that that would bother me a lot.

Talking to Jaleel, however, didn’t bother me at all, as we discussed Total Blackout, fan fiction, Sonic the Hedgehog, Urkel merchandise and more. Read on…

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