Scumbase

Hey all !


Kamisama here for your weekly window on Japanese culture. This week, following last week's post about bean commercials, I decided to stay on the subject of TV and the stuff happening in it. But this time, I'll be talking about a show that some, if not most, of you know.

A few years back, a show called MXC was on air in the USA (and possibly Canada too, I don't know, I don't watch TV). The original show is a Japanese game show called Takeshi no Oshiro (Takeshi's Castle).

In the original, it was a contest between two teams. One of those two teams would win a decent amount of money for winning. I'm not sure how different it really is, as I never saw an original Takeshi's Castle.

Anyway, Americans bought the rights to the show and dubbed ridiculous scripts over the original. They also cut and recut the stuff to fit their needs and it's now basically people doing crazy challenges and usually failing. Those challenges include, but are not limited to :

- Crossing a river using rocks, some real, some fake.
- Jumping from giant rolling log to giant rolling log.
- Evading giant boulders while trying to climb up a very soft surface.
- With the help of your velcro suit, swing accross a "pool" and try to stick yourself on the target on the wall further ahead.
- Racing through walls containing paper or real doors.
- Going through an obstacle course that looks very similar to a Mario Bros level.
- Trying to stay in something that looks like a huge plate while sliding down a waterslide, and still stay in it when you hit the water at the bottom.
- Walking on a very narrow path 15m up in the air while being shot at by cannons armed with what looks like volleyballs.
- ... and many, many more.

Here are some parts here and there that can be found on Youtube :

There you have the two first episodes of the first season. I hope you enjoy as much as I enjoyed it. Sometimes I was laughing so hard, I had to pause the show on several occasions to catch my breath. I really hope some of you are still unaware of its existence and discover this jewel.

I am rediscovering it myself as we speak.

Have a good one, scum !
See ya next week !