Yep, we hate it, we always have. I suppose it is a compliment, but in reality, it is a massive burden and frustration because it means we are set up to fail.

The expectation becomes too high and it suggests a lack of innovation and imagination on our part. In all honesty, I have never watched those type of programmes. It's not my style of entertainment. I genuinely had never watched a single episode of the infamous NHP (which I still think is a type of sauce) or any of the other shows that people often mention until people started emailing in tube videos in the mid-2010's. That's literally the first I saw or even heard of most of them (and that's not a misuse of the word literally). But then, it was all a bit before my time, I guess. Ironic I suppose, isn't it.

We know many of our fans are big nostalgia TV fans but trying to reproduce something is always going to fail. Re-boots rarely work. That's why we want to shake off this 90's tribute act image that we never sought or wanted. Yes, I know we have done the odd recreation such as the foam-filling tank but that's about it really.

The Human Carwash was never meant to be a tribute either, in reality, it's nothing like the one used on a certain TV show of the '80s. It is modelled on a real carwash and that was, in fact, our inspiration. We took the car through a carwash on the way home from filming one day and my girlfriend said; "you know what, with all this pink and green foam being sprayed over the car, it's a bit like the car's auditioning for Messyworld".

And that was it, naturally, we then came up with the idea of doing the carwash, but for humans. No perspex box, no tank like set, hopefully quite different when you compare the two. Then after we starting purchasing a few things, it was like, you know what people are going to compare this to don't ya?

I hope our future devices aren't compared too much to TV shows and become low-rent tributes. Some of them undoubtedly will as it was mainstream TV that has built a lot of people's interest and nostalgia is a big part of everybody's lives. We're often asked to recreate things from TV, which is almost impossible. They would always become cheap tributes that could never be as good as the real thing, as we obviously don't have that kind of budget. That's something we want to avoid. But it's difficult as we create new devices. Still, what can you do.

Hopefully, we can slowly shake off the tribute act and make better and more unique videos and devices that can't be compared to anything else, but you can guarantee they will.

What do you think? Do you agree, disagree? Why not send us your own thoughts on this?

Posted by Dan. (Messyworld)

Personally I love the human car wash, and the normal gunge tank. NHP connotations aside it's the best tank on any site.... and I could take or leave the new devices

Long may the car wash continue

The Human Carwash will most certainly continue. In fact, we have a new rail system and chair for it, and it's looking pretty welcoming.

Actually, I thought the Human Carwash was quite original. You're always going to have this sort of tribute shadow I think if you do things that are similar to things you've seen on TV. If you do a game and the loser gets messy in a gunge tank or some sort of contraption, can you really expect to avoid that? Also, is it a bad thing?

Being American, NHP wasn't something I heard of until like 15 years or so ago online. However, we have had a ton of our own programs or game shows in a similar vein.

I was quite surprised to read this, as I personally love both Messyworld and NHP. For me, Messyworld offers enhanced versions of the concepts of the gunge tank and carwash, with brilliant models and fun twists, whilst NHP is almost like looking back at vintage attempts at WAM. NHP gungings can't compete with the imaginative approach of Messyworld, and NHP was what it was, some comeuppance for celebrities and the deserving public at time when UK television was a for me a bit static and took itself too seriously. Whether the producers hate NHP or not, I love Messyworld for pushing those same buttons which NHP used to. Keep it up guys!