Discovery’s skyscraper stunt crosses the line if Wallenda doesn’t buckle up

SHARE Discovery’s skyscraper stunt crosses the line if Wallenda doesn’t buckle up

In today’s Lori’s List, TV critic Lori Rackl previews the Discovery Channel special “Skyscraper Live With Nik Wallenda,” airing at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Nik Wallenda plans to cross the Chicago River on a tightrope suspended 50 stories high for a Discovery Channel special airing live around the world. (You can watch a live stream here.)

The 35-year-old aerialist also intends to walk a high wire between Marina City’s west and east towers. Because that’s not dangerous enough, he’s going to wear a blindfold.

There’s no denying this descendant of the famed Flying Wallendas circus family has mad skills in the balance department. He traversed Niagara Falls on a tightrope and, last year, he crossed a gorge near the Grand Canyon some 1,500 feet above ground.

You know who else was really good at this? His great-grandfather, Karl Wallenda. But that didn’t stop him, at age 73, from suffering a fatal fall during a similar performance in Puerto Rico in 1978.

Unless Nik is forced to wear a harness — something he’s said he doesn’t want to do — we could be tuning in to watch another Wallenda plummet to his death.

I get it: That grave risk is part of the stunt’s morbid appeal. But life is too precious to risk for TV ratings.

I hope he plays it safe, or the only line finer than the one he’ll be walking is the line that separates this from ending in triumph or tragedy.

Follow @lorirackl

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