Although I never watched an episode of "Takeshi's Castle", the infamous TBS game show where folks had to go through a lot of arduous, painful and hilarious obstacle courses for fame and glory, I've seen enough variety shows in Japan where similar things would happen although the contestants consisted of the huge numbers of tarento that were part and parcel of Japanese entertainment on TV. One American tarento, Thane Camus, once noted in an interview that if one wasn't willing to make an entire fool out of oneself on camera, then Japanese television wasn't the place for that person. Yup, I can believe that.
This song, the latest rambunctious single by the City Soul band Penthouse from last month, "Doukeshi" (Play the Fool) struck me as being the perfect music description for the whole thing of risking body and soul on a Japanese game show. And what a cool song to accompany a tarento on his/her journey through a crazy career. Band bassist Takuma Ohara（大原拓真）and vocalist Shintaro Namioka（浪岡真太郎）took care of the lyrics while the latter composed "Doukeshi", a tour de force of swing jazz and funk that trumpets the entertainers that take all the pies and bottles thrown at them and yet refuse to crumple and skitter away. They keep coming back for more.
In the U.S., after two failed attempts in the early 90's, they brought the show over here under the name, "Most Extreme Elimination Challenge" and they chopped up the show and add their own voiceovers and scripts. It was pretty funny but the original show was already ridiculous. One of my favorite Beat Takeshi shows was Super Jockey, which seems like a normal afternoon show until they do the infamous "try to dress into a bikini in less than a minute and then try to survive in a hot bath in order to promote your product."
ReplyDeleteHi there! I've seen some of the dubbed versions on YouTube and I prefer the original versions. I used to watch "Super Jockey" on NTV on Sunday afternoons sometimes and I do remember the scalding hot bath treatments. It was a Beat Takeshi show, alright.
DeleteAn entertainer may appear foolish, but the dedication required to entertain others is anything but foolish. Think of Lupin the Third; he may seem like a fool, but it is clear that is only an act, as he usually psychoanalyzed his target and planned out every possible scenario off-screen before the episode began.
ReplyDeleteYup, everyone from Columbo to Lupin has used the "play dumb" gambit to win in a case. For me, I think the whole exercise has been for the protagonist to keep challenging any hecklers until he/she has tired them out and kept the others laughing.
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