Viva La Bam

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He's Bam Margera. He loves to skate. He also likes to shake things up a bit.

Viva La Bam is one of the SpinOffs to the MTV show Jackass, focusing on cast member Bam Margera. Instead of focusing on stunts like Jackass did, Viva La Bam focused more on Bam's general antics and shenanigans in his hometown of West Chester, Pennsylvania with his crew Ryan Dunn, Chris "Raab Himself" Raab, Brandon "Dico" DiCamillo and Rake Yohn. Others include Bam's dad Phil, his mom April A.K.A. "Ape" and his uncle Don Vito. Although it didn't focus much on stunts, it still had the standard Don't Try This At Home disclaimer before each show asking viewers not to try the stunts showed in the program.

The show lasted for 5 seasons from 2003-2005, technically lasting longer than Jackass itself. Most of the episodes had some kind of theme or challenge that the cast members (usually Bam and his crew) had to accomplish these through stunts, pranks, or assistance from Bam's associates who make appearances throughout the show's run. The Other Wiki says that although a good deal of the show was improvised, it was supported by a greater degree of planning and organization. Either way, when Bam and his crew get going, Hilarity is soon to follow.

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This show provides examples of:

• Angrish: Don Vito.
• Actually Pretty Funny: For the most part, April's usually against the shenanigans of Bam and his crew, but occasionally she'll lighten up and enjoy herself, especially when Vito's getting humiliated. It's made clear she doesn't like him.
• Buffy-Speak: In one episode, Vito makes a bet with Bam that he can learn ten sentences in Spanish; Bam says that if he can, he'll give Don Vito his Hummer. This next tidbit follows:

Don Vito: What do I do if I don't learn the Mexican people language? Bam: You have to be my Mexican pet.

• Butt Monkey / Chew Toy: Don Vito.
• Dirty Old Man: Bam's uncle Don Vito.
• Even the Subtitler Is Stumped: Don Vito's Angrish mode often has subtitles accompanying it... but a lot of it is just question marks.
  • Also a lot of the time, they would just subtitle his speech exactly how it sounds.
• Freud Was Right: In an episode where CKY and Vito go sailing down the Brandywine River in boats that look like a Viking ship, shoe, Tom Sawyer raft, and hot dog, Vito comments on the design of the last one, saying "it looks like a giant penis."
• Fun with Subtitles: Vito's unintelligible rants make the subtitles go unintelligible as well.
• Good Parents: As much as he antagonizes them Bam admits that Phil and Ape were excellent parents.
• Happily Married: Phil and Ape, very much.
• Ho Yay: Oh, so, so, much.
• Insane Troll Logic: Raab and Brandon resort to this in the episode where Bam's Lamborghini was stolen. They find Don Vito at an Italian restaurant, who denies stealing it, but they think he did because he's eating veal scallopini, which rhymes with Lamborghini .
• It's Always Mardi Gras in New Orleans: Justified, they actually go to New Orleans specifically for Mardi Gras in a two-part episode.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Surprisingly, Bam. For example, Bam managed to get Don Vito inducted as a member of the Metal Mulisha. He constantly makes April's life a living hell, but got Billy Idol (April's idol) to visit her as a birthday gift. And once he painted the entire kitchen blue, but that's just because it was meant for Phil.
  • There was also the lengths he went through for his parents' anniversary, giving them a seat for dinner in Monaco, giving them a bottle of wine that he had to drive from Munich to Dracula's Castle in Romania through a snowstorm in the Swiss Alps to get, and tying Don Vito to a pier to prevent him from ruining it in any way.
• Large Ham / Keet: Dico pretty much out hams Brian Blessed in this show!
• More Teeth Than the Osmond Family: Raab.
• Oktoberfest: The crew actually goes to Munich during Oktoberfest, actually making this a Justified Trope.
• Only Sane Man: Ape, although she could sometimes be Not So Above It All.
• Piano Drop: The prize for an out-of-control scavenger hunt that provided the name for Bloodhound Gang's Hefty Fines.
• Straight Man: Ape again.
  • Phil arguably fits in here as well. Yeah, he enjoys the shenanigans sometimes, but he's mostly a passive observer, only rarely does he join in when he's not the victim.
• The Unintelligible: Vito, even the subtitles get in the act.
• X Meets Y: Even Bam Margera confirms it: Viva La Bam is pretty much Jackass in the form of a reality show.