The idea that this could possibly be 'a prank that went wrong' sounds very dubious.
Had the lad been awake when it happened, then the prank explanation would fit. But you have to be the left side of stupid to chuck a flammable liquid on someone then set light to it - WHEN HE'S UNCONSCIOUS!!!
It's no less malicious than the thugs who set light to homeless people 'for a larf' drink and drugs may loosen your grip on common sense, but it doesn't detach the grip altogether.
Isn't it the mob mentality thing thrown in too though? A bunch of them get drunk and what might start out as a laugh becomes some sort of macho competition to outdo one another in doing more and more outrageous things. I don't think it's inspired by any TV show - there have probably been other cases of things like this over the years, long before ***. I vaguely remember an incident where one young man had a fire extinguisher shoved up his backside and set off while he was asleep 'as a joke'. I think that poor guy died. I doubt that was in any TV show, but instead was dreamt up by a bunch of drunken idiots, trying to impress one another.
Talking of universities someone should do an academic study of this thread, it's a masterclass in whipping up utterly pointless unnecessary arguments in response to innocuous comments
well daffy I could cite your own comment above for its sarcastic tone, but I was thinking more of R1Geezer's borderline hysterical response to greedyfly, which seemed to come out of nowhere, for no reason, and typifies the kind of thing that crops up too often on this site.
The again, even mildly query anything and you get people e.g. you and R1Geezer complaining about 'superior' attitudes. The collective weight of apparent chips on shoulders on this site is enough to affect the Earth's orbit.