Takeshi's Castle
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese game show
that aired between 1986 and 1989 on the Tokyo Broadcasting System
. It featured the Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano
(also known as Beat Takeshi) as a count who owns a castle and sets up impossible challenges for players (or a volunteer army) to get to him. The show has become a cult television hit around the world. A special live "revival" was broadcast on April 2, 2005, for TBS's 50th anniversary celebrations.
) "forced" into a series of silly physical challenges, eliminating many of the contestants. Each show finished with a "Final Showdown" in which Count Takeshi (Kitano) was faced by the remaining contestants. In early episodes they would storm the castle set itself in a short-range water gun
assault. Later episodes introduced carts with paper rings, and eventually laser
s and light-sensitive targets. If the contestants gun penetrated the paper ring or hit the sensor on Takeshi's cart, against such weapons as a large water gun and a laser-armed plane, Takeshi's cart was deactivated, the castle was "taken" and the game "won". The player who stopped Takeshi won one million yen
(which, at the time, was roughly equivalent to $
8,000 US or £5,000 sterling). However, there were only nine winners during the show's run.
The series featured extensive landscaping of a fixed campus at TBS-owned Midoriyama (Green Mountain) Studios that included large man-made lakes and extensive permanent obstacles in Yokohama, Japan. The final regular episode aired on April 14, 1989 followed by several one off specials.
or mud on failure.
Arab League — In Arab countries the show was called The Fort . It aired in the mid to late 1980s (United Arab Emirates) where it became a cult hit. Commentary was provided by Lebanese television personality Riad Sharara , then later by Jemaal Reyaan , who is currently a well known news broadcaster in Al Jazeera
's Arabic TV news channel.
, it had hosts in The Comedy Channel
studio, it was redubbed, but unlike the American version it still kept to the real plot of the episode and showed the final challenge, rather than taking random footage and making up "teams". This has since been cancelled and/or finished. The show was hosted by two housemates from series two of Australian Big Brother Shannon Cleary and Nathan Morris. It also featured a crossdressing Geisha girl named Beryl. Some episodes featured a special guest third host, including Greg Fleet. Highlights appeared in Australia on the television program World's Weirdest TV. Currently, the American version "MXC" airs on Fox8
(an Australian cable network). The Australian writer and critic Clive James
was once a celebrity contestant on the original show.
, called Olimpíadas do Faustão (Portuguese for "Faustão's Olympics"). In 1994, rival SBT copied that version, and a legal action by Globo and SBT stopped the broadcasting. http://www.idcid.org.br/GrupoEst_docs/BrazilianIPcases%20-%20final.pdf
On June 1, 2008, SBT Keshi remake reappeared on TV, now licensed, remaking Faustão's known games (as Bridge Ball and The Run Way), not-seen in Globo games (as Skittles and Ride the Wave), and original games (cross a balance beam after spin, or cross a small bridge using a crank-kart). The games are a segment named "Playtime" in the "Programa Silvio Santos".
), with comedic voice-over by two Czech comedians. The commentary was mostly fictional. The show was popular among young viewers. The Czech TV channel also broadcast the show to Slovak Republic where it gained some popularity as well. In 2011 was Takešiho hrad broadcast on channel Prima Cool with a new single-voice comment.
TV station TV 2 Zulu
bought the rights to air the Challenge version in Denmark, thus making the Danish broadcast identical to that in Britain.
started airing the UK version of the program. The comments are subtitled in Finnish. The show is titled Hullut japanilaiset, which translates to "The Crazy Japanese".
on its first season, now replaced by Sasuke
). It has been also broadcast on the channel M6
which shown 2 episodes per day at 6.50 p.m from Tuesday to Friday. The voices were those of the sport presenter Thierry Roland and Moon Dailly.
in 1999. This version was released on a DVD box set with 12 selected episodes. Two more volumes were planned but were presumably canceled. A German dubbed version of the 2002 UK edit airs from July 3, 2007 on RTL II
. There also exists an adaptation called Entern oder Kentern (engl.: Board or Capsize) with almost the same games but pirates as antagonists and celebrities as Team Captains. This version was aired on RTL
in summer 2007. Shorter versions of episodes with comical commentary air on Comedy Central.
by the name "το κάστρο του Τακέσι". It has been dubbed by Kostas Papageorgiou and Akindynos Gikas.
channel, with Hindi
dubbing by Javed Jaffrey. Jaffrey adds humor in the show. It has become very popular in India, being shown at least twice a day and having marathon runs of 2 hours on Sundays. The program is still running as of April 2011 on POGO TV.
The show was earlier voiced by Indian comedians Raju Srivastava
, Sunil Pal
, Navin Prabakar and Ahsaan Qureshi
.
channel, with the name Benteng Takeshi, (translated as Takeshi's Fortress) keeping much of the show's original elements (names were not changed and such).
Few years later, a short-lived local adaptation was created adopting several core concepts from the original.
since 2009.
. A reedited version interspersed with clips of another Japanese gameshow called Za Gaman
, it was given a comedic voiceover by Gialappa's Band
, who changed Kitano's and Saburo Ishikura's names to Gennaro Olivieri and Guido Pancaldi, historically Swiss Italian judges in Games Without Frontiers. Gialappa's Band described the games and tasks as traditional Japanese past times and thus rather mundane by Japanese standards, introducing a veil of non sequitur to the show which is lacking in English language versions. As of 2008, the UK shortened version is broadcast on GXT
and the voiceover is done by Italian comedians Trio Medusa (previously the show was commentated on by Marco Marzocca with Stefano Sarcinelli and still before by duo Lillo & Greg). From 10 January 2011, the series is re-transmitted in Italy on Cartoon Network
and the voiceover is done by Roberto Stocchi e Francesca Draghetti.
in early 2000s, although edited to be shortened to half an hour. The broadcast was added with Malay overdub commentary (the original Japanese audio track is still audible in background). Sometimes in earlier versions, the unoverdubbed parts will be subtitled in Malay. The show was known as Istana Takeshi in Malaysia.
As of June 2010, the show is airing again using the American
version with Malay subtitles on TV9
but still called Istana Takeshi instead of MXC.
. Each episode lasts half an hour and Dutch voice-over is provided by sports commentator Ronald van Dam and actor/comedian Ruben van der Meer. The episodes are a copy of the British version, since it also shows replays at the end of each challenge.
TV network in October 1990 as a Tagalog
-dubbed show. Later episodes contained interludes shot on a studio with actors Anjo Yllana
as Takeshi and Smokey Manoloto as "Iwakura" providing the commentary with a gravelly Japanese accent, which was later dropped in favor of their natural voices. The Filipino production crew also developed on their relationship, with Iwakura often trying to trick Takeshi on several occasions. One episode which resulted in the contestants' victory was even written as Takeshi's worst nightmare
; when Iwakura finally wakes him up, Takeshi is so traumatized
that he asks to call off a scheduled taping. Makers of the local chocolate
drink brand Ovaltine created an in-show mini contest as part of a product endorsement deal in 1991. In this version, the names given to most of the challenges are translated from their original Japanese such as "Devil's Maze" for the Honeycomb and Square Mazes, "Flying Mushroom" for Mushroom Trip, and "Sumo Wrestling" for Sumo Rings.
The IBC episodes of Takeshi's Castle were later rerun on SBN
during 1993 and 1994. The show was not edited as before at IBC.
Takeshi's Castle enjoyed a revival in the Philippines in 2006. This time around, comedians Joey de Leon
and Ryan Yllana (Anjo's younger brother) provide the commentary as fictional characters shogun Shintaro "Taru" Gokoyami who is Takeshi's right hand man and sumo wrestler Kakawate Takehome, the leader of the Takeshi Gundan, fictional in the sense that there are no such characters in the original cast. Initially, the two provide play-by-play commentary, but they as well as some added characters reduced themselves to skits and commentary in between clips of the show. Later, as part of Q's first anniversary, Anjo finally appeared alongside the new cast, reprising his role as "prince" Takeshi.
Due to Takeshi's Castle's competitive ratings, the management of GMA Network (which produces shows for its sister network Q) decided to move the show from its original station in an evening slot, now to the early afternoon weekend slot of GMA. Takeshi's Castle is aired on a weekly basis as opposed to the weekdays airing on Q, and is aired before Eat Bulaga on Saturdays and before SOP on Sundays. This is done to increase and improve the ratings of the succeeding shows. Takeshi's Castle started to air on GMA on December 23, 2006 with same hosts. The show aired on its last episode on May 9, 2007, and after a long break of TV experience, Joey and Ryan assumed new personalities as Master GT (later Tirso Potter) and Captain B respectively. It was temporarily replaced by "Just Joking" which starred also Joey De Leon and Ryan Yllana and other casts. On August 15, 2007, "Takeshi's Castle" returned on air once again with all new episodes and Mike "Pekto" Nacua (Cookie), John Feir (Belli) and Love Añover (replacement when either Cookie or Belli was not in) become commentators. The show aired at Saturdays 11:30 a.m. before "Eat Bulaga!
", and Sundays 11:15 a.m. before SOP Rules.
On GMA's regional networks, a Visayan-dubbed show now on GMA Cebu & Davao from Saturdays and Sundays in the Morning by Cebuano version from title called Takeshi's Castle Wala Gyud sa Isaysay Banzai! (Never Say Banzai!).
, where it reached some popularity. Voiceovers were provided by two hosts, José Carlos Malato
and João Carlos Vaz. Takeshi and Ishikura were renamed "Fujimoto" and "Fujicarro" (a play on the Portuguese words for "[motor]bike" and "car" respectively using the Japanese word Fuji
), and the Portuguese hosts made no attempt to interpret the reality of the show, instead using the contestants as surrogates for the satirical comments about Portuguese public figures, in a similar style to MXC.
. It is the condensed version of the original series with commentary provided by Craig Charles. It began broadcasting in 2009 and is a huge hit with viewers.
. Comedians Juan Herrera
and Miguel Ángel Coll (son of José Luis Coll) commented on the images; this version of the show has achieved cult status and there are some fansites and web petitions for retuns. In fact, the Spanish version created some terms now familiar to either Takeshi's Castle or Humor Amarillo, like "El Laberinto del Chinotauro" (literally The Chinesetaur Labyrinth, name for any of the maze challenges), "Las Zamburguesas" (for Skipping Stones),"Gacela Thompson" ("Thompson Gazella"), a pathetic businessman character, and "Chino Cudeiro", the name assigned to a random player that always "dies", one of the most popular characters in Spain. Since January 28, 2006, the show has been dubbed again by Fernando Costilla
and Paco Bravo and can be seen on Spanish TV channel Cuatro TV
. They shown every one of the original Japanese episodes, with the last one being shown on June 9, 2007, ending with a special message by the Spanish commentators.
The 2006 version is currently being re-broadcasted on the Telecinco
-owned channel LaSiete every weekend.
was formed from the original show, similar to how MXC Almost Live was formed.
In 2007, the unedited original series with bilingual soundtrack (Thai & Japanese) was aired on X-ZYTE channel on TrueVisions
cable TV every Sunday and rerun several times throughout a week.
showcased a variety of unusual television programmes from around the world. It later became more well-known when a condensed version of the original series proved an unexpected hit when it premiered on Challenge on 9 November 2002, regularly dominating the top ten programmes on the channel each week.
The UK format does not follow the original Japanese format, instead presenting each sequence of games as comic martial challenges leading to the final game wherein contestants not so far eliminated try to storm Takeshi's Castle. Each episode is narrated by Craig Charles
.
A typical episode of the UK format of Takeshi's Castle has about eight games, followed by the Final Showdown. After each event, a 'Ridiculous Replay' is shown, highlighting the most entertaining attempt. Challenge decided to edit out the comedy sketches between Takeshi and Higashi to allow more games to be shown during the half-hour block.
More series were commissioned and shown over the next few months, culminating in a series of hour long specials in the Autumn of 2003, and a special highlights show, The A-Z of Takeshi's Castle, broadcast on January 1, 2004 which showed some of the best clips of the best games. Repeats still air regularly to this day on Challenge, with an average of 130,000 viewers an episode.
On 3 September 2005, MXC aired for the first time in the UK on Challenge.
The UK TV series returned to Challenge after a hiatus on September 7, 2009, with a modified opening sequence (to fit with the channel's acquisition by Virgin Media
).
A petition has been created in an attempt to bring about a brand new series of Takeshi's Castle on Challenge, in time for its 10th anniversary on the channel in 2012. It is suggested that these new episodes will feature never-before-seen games (previously completely cut from other episodes), and feature three Japanese episodes new to the UK. More info, and the petition, can be found here
On 9 May 2007, The Paul O'Grady Show
had their own mini Takeshi's Castle challenge, including 'Knock Knock', 'Bite the Bun', a "Bridge Ball" adaptation called 'Balancing Act' and the 'Slippery Wall'.
(subtitled Most Extreme Elimination Challenge) on Spike TV
, providing both dubbing and commentary in English that effectively spoofs the original show.
Two attempts have been made to Americanize the format:
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
that aired between 1986 and 1989 on the Tokyo Broadcasting System
Tokyo Broadcasting System
, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
. It featured the Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano
is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
(also known as Beat Takeshi) as a count who owns a castle and sets up impossible challenges for players (or a volunteer army) to get to him. The show has become a cult television hit around the world. A special live "revival" was broadcast on April 2, 2005, for TBS's 50th anniversary celebrations.
Original Takeshi's Castle
The original show involved between 100 and 142 contestants whom General Lee (Hayato TaniHayato Tani
Hayato Tani is a Japanese television actor.-Biography:He was born in Kirishima, Kagoshima, Japan and raised in Sasebo, Nagasaki...
) "forced" into a series of silly physical challenges, eliminating many of the contestants. Each show finished with a "Final Showdown" in which Count Takeshi (Kitano) was faced by the remaining contestants. In early episodes they would storm the castle set itself in a short-range water gun
Water gun
A water gun is a type of toy designed to shoot water. Similar to water balloons, the primary purpose of the toy is to soak another person in a game such as water warfare....
assault. Later episodes introduced carts with paper rings, and eventually laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
s and light-sensitive targets. If the contestants gun penetrated the paper ring or hit the sensor on Takeshi's cart, against such weapons as a large water gun and a laser-armed plane, Takeshi's cart was deactivated, the castle was "taken" and the game "won". The player who stopped Takeshi won one million yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
(which, at the time, was roughly equivalent to $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
8,000 US or £5,000 sterling). However, there were only nine winners during the show's run.
The series featured extensive landscaping of a fixed campus at TBS-owned Midoriyama (Green Mountain) Studios that included large man-made lakes and extensive permanent obstacles in Yokohama, Japan. The final regular episode aired on April 14, 1989 followed by several one off specials.
Challenges
A wide range of challenges were used throughout the history of Takeshi's Castle, some occurring only once or twice, or others in virtually every show, depending upon their popularity and ease of preparation. Many challenges involve falling into waterWater
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
or mud on failure.
Music
Takeshi's Castle challenges used a wide variety of well-known songs from movies, television shows, video games, anime, and other sources.Characters
- Count "Beat" Takeshi (ビートたけし; KitanoTakeshi Kitanois a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
, born 18 January 1947) — The lord of the castle and eventual target of the competition. He also made commentary on the contestants. - Takeshi Doll — During a prolonged period when Takeshi was forbidden to appear on television (his "punishment" for an act of violence against reporters and photos from a scandal magazine), one of the Emerald Guards filled in by wearing his robe and a giant papier-mâché Takeshi head similar to the ones sports team mascots use over their heads.
- Saburo IshikuraSaburo IshikuraSaburo Ishikura is a Japanese actor that has acted in several movies directed by Beat Takeshi. He appeared as Takeshi's first advisor in Takeshi's Castle but was later fired with Sonomanma Higashi taking over his place...
(石倉三郎, born 16 December 1946) — First advisor (or councillor) of Takeshi. Discussed the competition with Takeshi and provided comedy skits as well. - Sonomanma HigashiSonomanma Higashi, born September 16, 1957 as in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, is a former Japanese comedian who is most known for his role in the popular game show, Takeshi's Castle, and as the governor of Miyazaki Prefecture from 2007 to 2011...
(real name Hideo Higashikokubaru, born 16 September 1957) — Originally leader of the Emerald Guards, he replaced Ishikura as Takeshi's advisor in the middle of the series run. - Takeshi's Gundan (Defense Troops) (たけし軍団) — The Count's guards who wore white or emerald green, seen in "Final Showdown" and other challenges, and are more popularly known as "The Emerald Guards". When Higashi became Takeshi's new advisor, Omori Utaemon took over as the leader. Other members included Matsuo Bannai, Tsumami Edamame, Yurei Yanagi, Rakkyo Ide, Great Gidayu, Dankan, Third Nagasima, "Rusher" Itamae, Taka Gadarukanaru, Hakase Suidobashi, Sintaru Mizushima and "Loyal" Tadajij Kikuchi. Rakkyo Ide was the bald guy in the "Monsters Special" who wore a shark outfit and suffered some serious bleeding when he fell in during Skipping Stones. These troops were also usually seen in the background behind Takeshi and his advisor during the show.
- General Tani (Hayato Tani) (谷隼人, born 9 September 1946) — Led the contestants through the challenges set by Count Takeshi. His real-life wife, Kikko MatsuokaKikko MatsuokaKikko Matsuoka is a Japanese actress. She married Hayato Tani in 1981, and the couple have appeared in many Japanese television programs and films together. Among these join performances are the hit gameshow Takeshi's Castle, where Matsuoka guest starred in a single episode to encourage her...
(born 11 February 1947), appeared in an episode resulting in a comedic conflict between the couple. - Tani's Assistant - On international specials (involving non-Japanese players), General Tani was assisted by a lady who served as his translator whose name is unknown.
- Junji Inagawa (also known as Jyunji Inagawa) (稲川淳二, born 9 September 1946), Akira Sakamoto (born 31 July 1949) and Shingo Yanagisawa (柳沢慎吾, born 6 March 1962) — Three of the Battlefield Reporters, however there were many more. They usually wore safari outfits.
- Kibaji Tankobo (丹古母鬼馬二, born 4 January 1950) and Shozo "Strong" Kobayashi (ストロング金剛, born 25 December 1940) — A pair of guards who would probably scare you off just by looking at them, which they normally did to contestants in the Honey Comb Maze and other games. Kibaji usually wore a long red wig, while Strong was bald, and they painted their faces to further intimidate contestants. Tankobo and Kobayashi were considered to be two of the finest henchmen Takeshi had.
- Brad LesleyBrad LesleyBradley Jay Lesley is a former Major League Baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers from 1982 to 1985. Lesley, who was nicknamed "The Animal", was known for his aggressive style to motivate himself. He later became a television personality in Japan after playing 2 seasons for...
, aka "Animal" (亜仁丸レスリー, born 11 September 1958) — Japanese/American baseball player. His main job was to humiliate and frighten the contestants in any possible way, usually dressed as a samurai complete with a sword. Animal has also been seen in a green sumo suit, spider costume, Fred FlintstoneFred FlintstoneFrederick Joseph “Fred” Flintstone, also known as Fred W. Flintstone or Frederick J. Flintstone, is the protagonist of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960-66. He is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles...
–style outfit, a baseball uniform and a Las Vegas–era Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
jumpsuit costume. - Michiru JoMichiru Jois an actor and J-Pop artist in Japan.He first became famous when he applied to a "star birth" audition, at the age of 15. He released his first single "irukani-notta-shounen" in 1973, which was his most well-known song. At the age of 20, he stopped singing, to study at the Komazawa university in...
(城みちる, born 18 November 1957) — One of the few guards to have been involved from the very first episode and be involved until the show finished, he normally wore a distinctive pink outfit. Jo was a Japanese popJ-pop, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
singer in the 1970s. - Yoroi/Ritter Chuu — He stood almost sixteen feet tall and tried to keep players from reaching the goals in several games.
- Makoto Dainenji (大念寺誠) and Katsuo TokashikiKatsuo TokashikiKatsuo Tokashiki is an Okinawan former WBA Light flyweight champion. He currently works as an actor and television persona, and runs own boxing gym in Tokyo, Japan.- Childhood & Early Career :...
(渡嘉敷勝男, born 27 July 1960) — Makoto, a karate master, and Katsuo, a boxing champion in Japan, were the Final Fall guards, usually wearing outrageous costumes. Katsuo also served as the referee in the Sumo Rings game. - Masanori Okada (岡田正典, born 19 October 1953) — Usually seen in the game "Slip Way", he would jump out of the water to push the contestants into the drink if they failed to reach the target. Okada has also played in the Honey Comb Maze and other games as well. Also known as the "Sea Goblin" in Japan and was a boxer in the 1970s.
- Umanosuke UedaUmanosuke UedaHiroshi Ueda is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, known by his ring name Umanosuke Ueda, who mainly distinguished himself as the rare Japanese who wrestled with bleached blonde hair...
, (上田馬之助, born 20 June 1940) — This aggressive guard, a former wrestler in real life, has been seen in Honey Comb Maze, Square Maze, Sumo Rings, Grid Iron and Bridge Ball. - Yousichi Shimada (島田洋七, born 10 February 1950) — A guard that was usually seen in the games Blueberry Hill in overalls akin to those worn by Dennis the MenaceDennis the Menace (U.S.)Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. It debuted on March 12, 1951 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate...
, and in Wipe Out dressed up as a female Native AmericanNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
nicknamed "PocahontasPocahontasPocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
" who would push people into the water if they missed the surfboard. - Shoji Kinoshita and Shoichi Kinoshita — Better known as "Popcorn" (ポップコーン, born 1 January 1959), these well-known identical twin actors in Japan were commonly seen wearing rainbow ponchos and bowler hats. They have also worn baseball uniforms and other humorous costumes, appearing in the game Rice Bowl Down Hill where they would try and put the contestants off by singing a very annoying chant, 'unda unda unda' as well as Bridge Ball and other games.
- "Ordinary" Oki Bondo (大木凡人, born 1 July 1949), Takayuki Yokomizo, Nobuo Yana and Koji Sekiyama — They participated in the Karaoke game. Oki acted as the emceeMaster of CeremoniesA Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
, Takayuki was the bouncerBouncer (doorman)A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...
who ejected contestants who did not sing well, and Koji was the owner of the karaoke bar, later replaced by Nobuo who appeared in the later episodes of the show. - Shinoburyo (忍竜) — Sumo wrestler in Japan who appeared in the game Sumo Rings during the series.
- Large Fuji (born 26 August 1958) — Replaced Shinoburyo in the later episodes as the purple sumo fighter in Sumo Rings.
- Konishiki Doll — Only seen in Sumo Rings and on an odd occasion of Tug of War. The Konishiki Doll was one of the Defence Troops dressed in a large costume which is meant to resemble Konishiki YasokichiKonishiki Yasokichi----, is a Hawaiian-born Japanese–Samoan former sumo wrestler. He was the first foreign-born wrestler to reach ozeki, the second highest rank in the sport...
, one of the largest sumo wrestlers to ever live. Known as "Spud" in the British version. - Noboru "Shin" Suganuma (すがぬま伸, born 5 July 1952) — Loyal member of Takeshi's Gundan, whom wore red and who was a pathetic sumo wrestler in Sumo Rings.
- Ritsuko NakayamaRitsuko Nakayamais a former professional bowler. She was born in Kusatsu, Gunma, Japan. She later moved to Kagoshima which is her parents' hometown. Nakayama became a member of the Japan Professional Bowling Association in 1969, representing Tokyo Tower Bowling Center....
— Also known as Refreshing Ritsuko-Ritsuko, she is a professional bowler in Japan who has appeared in the Star Bowling game. - Yutaka Enatsu — This Japanese baseball player who was the pie thrower in Die or Pie in a single episode.
- Koji Sekiyama (関山耕司 born 22 May 1929) — Karaoke bar owner who decided whether contestants singing was good enough to progress through to the next round. Later replaced by Nobuo Yana.
- Nobuo Yana (born 13 August 1935) — Replaced Koji Sekiyama as the karaoke bar owner later in the series and decided whether a contestant had sung well enough to progress through to the next round.
- Yakayuki Yokomizo (born 2 August 1963) — Bouncer in the karaoke bar who violently withdrew contestants from the building if Sekiyama (later Yana) decided that their singing wasn't good enough.
- Geisha GirlsGeisha, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...
or Bunny GirlsPlayboy BunnyA Playboy Bunny is a waitress at the Playboy Club. The Playboy Clubs were originally open from 1960 to 1988. The Club re-opened in one location in The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas in 2006...
— Led by Miyuki Ono, they helped contestants in several games and also helped Takeshi and his advisor in comedy skits. The others were Harumi Tomikawa, Mika, Mina Morishima, Sawada, and Mitsumi Yokota. Sometimes, when Junji and Shingo were off the show for other commitments, one of them served in the Battlefield Reporter's role. - Shizuo Miyauchi (宮内鎮雄, born 24 January 1945) — Commentator for the original series in Japan. Retired from TBS in 2005 after working as a commentator for several decades.
- UltramanUltramanis Japanese television series that first aired in 1966. Ultraman, the first and best-known of the "Ultra-Crusaders," made his debut in the tokusatsu SF/kaiju/superhero TV series, , a follow-up to the television series Ultra Q...
- Has appeared in the show on three occasions, the first was to help the kids through a number of the challenges in the "Kids Only" special, the second was as a replacement for General Tani. The third occasion was in the monster's special, along with other members of the "Ultra Brothers". (Due to an ongoing licensing dispute, "The Monster Special" was heavily edited upon its release on DVD, with all Ultraman characters removed.)
Character counterparts
| Japanese Version (Takeshi's Castle) | |American Version (MXC MXC MXC was an American comedy television program that aired on Spike TV from 2003 to 2007. It is a re-edit of footage from the Japanese game show Takeshi's Castle which originally aired in Japan from 1986 to 1989... ) | |Philippine Version (Takeshi's Castle) | |UK version (Takeshi's Castle) | |Spanish version (Humor Amarillo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count 'Beat' Takeshi\ Takeshi Doll | Vic Romano | Master Takeshi | Count Takeshi | Takeshi\Mini Takeshi |
| Sonomanma Higashi | Kenny Blankenship | Bisita I | Junior | |
| General Tani | Captain Tenneal | Master Kapitan | General Lee | General Tani |
| Junji Inagawa | Guy LeDouche | The Man with the Toffee Apple | Pepe Livingstone | |
| Micharo Jo | Danny Glans | Captain Japan\Cowardly Custard | Pinky Winky | |
| Popcorn | Em on Em | The Rainbow Warriors | Duo Pirata | |
| Tani's Assistant | Pey'once | Bisita II | Corporal Kirsty | General Tano |
| Yoroi | Skanky/Fisty | Boy Kamao | Boxing Monster | Pequeño Samurai |
| Youshi Shimada | Chief Otto Parts | Boy Tulak | Dennis The Menace | Chupy |
| Oki Bondo | Ryan Seachest | Craig Charles | Juan Herrera & Miguel Ángel Coll (1990–95)/Fernando Costilla & Paco Bravo (2006–07) |
Arab countries
Arab League — In Arab countries the show was called The Fort . It aired in the mid to late 1980s (United Arab Emirates) where it became a cult hit. Commentary was provided by Lebanese television personality Riad Sharara , then later by Jemaal Reyaan , who is currently a well known news broadcaster in Al JazeeraAl Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
's Arabic TV news channel.
Australia
— A version of the show was produced by The Comedy ChannelThe Comedy Channel
The Comedy Channel is an Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television.-History:...
, it had hosts in The Comedy Channel
The Comedy Channel
The Comedy Channel is an Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television.-History:...
studio, it was redubbed, but unlike the American version it still kept to the real plot of the episode and showed the final challenge, rather than taking random footage and making up "teams". This has since been cancelled and/or finished. The show was hosted by two housemates from series two of Australian Big Brother Shannon Cleary and Nathan Morris. It also featured a crossdressing Geisha girl named Beryl. Some episodes featured a special guest third host, including Greg Fleet. Highlights appeared in Australia on the television program World's Weirdest TV. Currently, the American version "MXC" airs on Fox8
FOX8
Fox8 is an Australian cable and satellite channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television's subscription platforms...
(an Australian cable network). The Australian writer and critic Clive James
Clive James
Clive James, AM is an Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet and memoirist, best known for his autobiographical series Unreliable Memoirs, for his chat shows and documentaries on British television and for his prolific journalism...
was once a celebrity contestant on the original show.
Brazil
— During the 1990s, a version was aired by Rede GloboRede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...
, called Olimpíadas do Faustão (Portuguese for "Faustão's Olympics"). In 1994, rival SBT copied that version, and a legal action by Globo and SBT stopped the broadcasting. http://www.idcid.org.br/GrupoEst_docs/BrazilianIPcases%20-%20final.pdf
On June 1, 2008, SBT Keshi remake reappeared on TV, now licensed, remaking Faustão's known games (as Bridge Ball and The Run Way), not-seen in Globo games (as Skittles and Ride the Wave), and original games (cross a balance beam after spin, or cross a small bridge using a crank-kart). The games are a segment named "Playtime" in the "Programa Silvio Santos".
Czech Republic
— It was shown by the name Takešiho hrad (CzechCzech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
), with comedic voice-over by two Czech comedians. The commentary was mostly fictional. The show was popular among young viewers. The Czech TV channel also broadcast the show to Slovak Republic where it gained some popularity as well. In 2011 was Takešiho hrad broadcast on channel Prima Cool with a new single-voice comment.
Denmark
— The DanishDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
TV station TV 2 Zulu
TV 2 Zulu
TV 2 Zulu is a Danish television station which started broadcasting on 15 October 2000. It is primarily aimed at viewers between 15 and 30 years of age....
bought the rights to air the Challenge version in Denmark, thus making the Danish broadcast identical to that in Britain.
Finland
— On January 7, 2008, the television channel JIMJIM
JIM is a Finnish national television channel that replaced Nelonen Plus on February 26, 2007....
started airing the UK version of the program. The comments are subtitled in Finnish. The show is titled Hullut japanilaiset, which translates to "The Crazy Japanese".
France
— A shortened version given a comedic voiceover by comedians Vincent Desagnat and Benjamin Morgaine has been shown on the W9 TV channel since October 2006, in a program called "Menu W9" (which also presented a shortened version of Sushi TVSushi TV
Sushi TV is a comedy clip show showing the best and funniest moments from Japanese gameshows over the years. Clips mostly include bizarre eating contests, physical challenges or people's scary and sometimes amazing talents. Some of the highlights on this show have appeared on a Japanese gameshow...
on its first season, now replaced by Sasuke
Sasuke (TV series)
Sasuke is a Japanese sports entertainment television special in which 100 competitors attempt to complete a four stage obstacle course. An edited version, renamed Ninja Warrior, is screened in at least 18 other countries....
). It has been also broadcast on the channel M6
Métropole 6
M6, also known as Metropole television, is the most profitable private national French TV channel and the third most watched television network in the French-speaking world...
which shown 2 episodes per day at 6.50 p.m from Tuesday to Friday. The voices were those of the sport presenter Thierry Roland and Moon Dailly.
Germany
— A dubbed version of the show aired on DSFDeutsches Sportfernsehen
SPORT1 is a privately owned commercial German television channel. Until April 11, 2010, it was called DSF . It was founded on January 1, 1993 out of the television channel Tele 5 which had become the successor of the music video channel musicbox on January 11, 1988...
in 1999. This version was released on a DVD box set with 12 selected episodes. Two more volumes were planned but were presumably canceled. A German dubbed version of the 2002 UK edit airs from July 3, 2007 on RTL II
RTL II
RTL II is a privately owned, commercial, general-interest German television channel.It was founded as a second-generation commercial broadcaster in 1993. It quickly became infamous for its perceived "trash programming", comprising lots of soft porn as well as shows such as Peep and many...
. There also exists an adaptation called Entern oder Kentern (engl.: Board or Capsize) with almost the same games but pirates as antagonists and celebrities as Team Captains. This version was aired on RTL
RTL Television
Rtl.de' redirects here. For other uses, see RTL.RTL Television , or simply RTL, is a German commercial television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T , in larger population centres...
in summer 2007. Shorter versions of episodes with comical commentary air on Comedy Central.
Greece
— A version airs on Skai TVSkai TV
Skai TV is a Greek TV station, based in Pireus, Athens. It is part of the Skai Group one of the largest media groups in Greece. It was relaunched in its present form on April 1, 2006 in Athens and gradually managed to spread its coverage nationwide. Besides analog over-the-air transmission, it is...
by the name "το κάστρο του Τακέσι". It has been dubbed by Kostas Papageorgiou and Akindynos Gikas.
India
— A shortened version of the show is aired on the Pogo TVPogo TV
Pogo, which launched on 1 January 2004, is a cable and satellite television channel created by Turner Broadcasting, a unit of Time Warner for India which primarily shows animated programming and some live-action shows based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a family entertainment channel in India...
channel, with Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
dubbing by Javed Jaffrey. Jaffrey adds humor in the show. It has become very popular in India, being shown at least twice a day and having marathon runs of 2 hours on Sundays. The program is still running as of April 2011 on POGO TV.
The show was earlier voiced by Indian comedians Raju Srivastava
Raju Srivastava
Raju Srivastav often credited as Raju Shrivastav or Raju Srivastava, is an Indian comedian, and more popularly, an observational comedian. He is known most for his acute scrutiny and comical timing about various aspects of Indian life....
, Sunil Pal
Sunil Pal
Sunil Pal was born in Chandrapur. He is a popular Indian comedian and actor, and the 2005 winner of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge on STAR One...
, Navin Prabakar and Ahsaan Qureshi
Ahsaan Qureshi
Ahsaan Qureshi is an Indian stand-up comedian. He is the 2005 runner-up of the The Great Indian Laughter Challenge on Star One. Qureshi has been a stage performer for the last 20 years. Most of his jokes focus on political satire and social issues...
.
Indonesia
— A version of the show had been aired on the TPIMNCTV
MNCTV is an Indonesian private television channel which headquarter's based in East Jakarta. TPI was established by Tutut Soeharto . It began broadcasting on the 23rd of January 1991...
channel, with the name Benteng Takeshi, (translated as Takeshi's Fortress) keeping much of the show's original elements (names were not changed and such).
Few years later, a short-lived local adaptation was created adopting several core concepts from the original.
Iran
— It was shown by the name Masir-e Talaa'ee (when translated it means "Golden Path"), on the Iran's Channel 3Channel 3 (Iran)
Channel 3 is one of five nationally broadcast television channels in Iran.It is the third television channel created by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, and started broadcasting on December 5, 1993. The channel is often referred to as the youth channel, due to its large amounts of...
since 2009.
Italy
— Renamed Mai dire Banzai (Never Say: Banzai!) it first aired in 1989 on Italia 1Italia 1
Italia 1 is an Italian commercial television channel on the Mediaset network. It is oriented especially at young people.Italia 1 was launched in January 1982 and, originally, was owned by Rusconi; after a few months, however, due to the aggressive dumping practices of Silvio Berlusconi's rival...
. A reedited version interspersed with clips of another Japanese gameshow called Za Gaman
Za Gaman
was a Japanese television show from the 1980s. It is not particularly well known or remembered in Japan, but it became famous in other countries, particularly Britain, due to its appearance on the British television programmes Clive James on Television, and subsequently Tarrant on TV under the name...
, it was given a comedic voiceover by Gialappa's Band
Gialappa's Band
Gialappa's Band is the name used by Marco Santin , Carlo Taranto and Giorgio Gherarducci , the Italian trio of TV and radio commentators.-Overview:...
, who changed Kitano's and Saburo Ishikura's names to Gennaro Olivieri and Guido Pancaldi, historically Swiss Italian judges in Games Without Frontiers. Gialappa's Band described the games and tasks as traditional Japanese past times and thus rather mundane by Japanese standards, introducing a veil of non sequitur to the show which is lacking in English language versions. As of 2008, the UK shortened version is broadcast on GXT
GXT
-Contenutes:GXT is thought mainly for the age 15-25 with wide spaces dedicated to wrestling with programmes like AfterBurn and BottomLine for what concern the WWE, while iMPACT!, TNA Xplosion and the old pay-per-view for what concern the TNA, but also much more like the programs Takeshi's Castle,...
and the voiceover is done by Italian comedians Trio Medusa (previously the show was commentated on by Marco Marzocca with Stefano Sarcinelli and still before by duo Lillo & Greg). From 10 January 2011, the series is re-transmitted in Italy on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (Italy)
Cartoon Network is an entertainment television channel created by Turner Broadcasting System Europe, a unit of Time Warner which primarily shows animated programming...
and the voiceover is done by Roberto Stocchi e Francesca Draghetti.
Lithuania
— The show was aired by the name "Takeši pilis", featuring Fumito Tomoi (a Japanese person living in Lithuania at the time), who dubbed the show in a comic way with his broken Lithuanian. The show was very popular.Malaysia
— The Japanese version was aired over NTV7Ntv7
Natseven TV Sdn Bhd or better known as ntv7 is a terrestrial television channel in Malaysia. It was launched nationwide on 7 April 1998 and was the country's third private free-to-air TV station after TV3 and Astro. Its mission is to promote a happier and more enlightened Malaysia...
in early 2000s, although edited to be shortened to half an hour. The broadcast was added with Malay overdub commentary (the original Japanese audio track is still audible in background). Sometimes in earlier versions, the unoverdubbed parts will be subtitled in Malay. The show was known as Istana Takeshi in Malaysia.
As of June 2010, the show is airing again using the American
MXC
MXC was an American comedy television program that aired on Spike TV from 2003 to 2007. It is a re-edit of footage from the Japanese game show Takeshi's Castle which originally aired in Japan from 1986 to 1989...
version with Malay subtitles on TV9
TV9 (Malaysia)
TV9 is a free-to-air private television station in Malaysia. TV9 began broadcasting on 22 April 2006, as a subsidiary of Media Prima Berhad. It formerly existed as Channel 9, which began airing on 9 September 2003 and ceased transmission on 1 February 2005 due to financial difficulties faced by the...
but still called Istana Takeshi instead of MXC.
Netherlands
— The show was aired on August 15, 2009 on the Dutch Comedy CentralComedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
. Each episode lasts half an hour and Dutch voice-over is provided by sports commentator Ronald van Dam and actor/comedian Ruben van der Meer. The episodes are a copy of the British version, since it also shows replays at the end of each challenge.
Philippines
- It was first shown on the Intercontinental Broadcasting CorporationIntercontinental Broadcasting Corporation
Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation is a Philippine VHF television network of the Government Communications Group headed by the Press Secretary. Its studios are located at Broadcast City, Old Balara, Capitol Hills, Diliman, Quezon City and its transmitter is located at the Coca Cola plant,...
TV network in October 1990 as a Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
-dubbed show. Later episodes contained interludes shot on a studio with actors Anjo Yllana
Anjo Yllana
-Early life:Born Andres Jose Garchitorena Yllana, Jr. on April 24, 1968, the eldest of four brothers. His younger brothers include Jomari Yllana and Ryan Yllana.-Personal life:...
as Takeshi and Smokey Manoloto as "Iwakura" providing the commentary with a gravelly Japanese accent, which was later dropped in favor of their natural voices. The Filipino production crew also developed on their relationship, with Iwakura often trying to trick Takeshi on several occasions. One episode which resulted in the contestants' victory was even written as Takeshi's worst nightmare
Nightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...
; when Iwakura finally wakes him up, Takeshi is so traumatized
Psychological trauma
Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event...
that he asks to call off a scheduled taping. Makers of the local chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
drink brand Ovaltine created an in-show mini contest as part of a product endorsement deal in 1991. In this version, the names given to most of the challenges are translated from their original Japanese such as "Devil's Maze" for the Honeycomb and Square Mazes, "Flying Mushroom" for Mushroom Trip, and "Sumo Wrestling" for Sumo Rings.
The IBC episodes of Takeshi's Castle were later rerun on SBN
Southern Broadcasting Network
SBN is a Philippine television network owned by Filipino-Chinese tycoon Lucio Co, the owner of Puregold Price Club Inc., a supermarket chain. Its main broadcast facilities at 5/F Summit One Bldg, Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City...
during 1993 and 1994. The show was not edited as before at IBC.
Takeshi's Castle enjoyed a revival in the Philippines in 2006. This time around, comedians Joey de Leon
Joey de Leon
José María Ramos de León, better known as Joey de Leon is a Filipino comedian, actor, and television presenter. He hosts the noontime variety show Eat Bulaga!. He is a member of the comedy trio Tito, Vic and Joey that has made several comedy movies and TV shows...
and Ryan Yllana (Anjo's younger brother) provide the commentary as fictional characters shogun Shintaro "Taru" Gokoyami who is Takeshi's right hand man and sumo wrestler Kakawate Takehome, the leader of the Takeshi Gundan, fictional in the sense that there are no such characters in the original cast. Initially, the two provide play-by-play commentary, but they as well as some added characters reduced themselves to skits and commentary in between clips of the show. Later, as part of Q's first anniversary, Anjo finally appeared alongside the new cast, reprising his role as "prince" Takeshi.
Due to Takeshi's Castle's competitive ratings, the management of GMA Network (which produces shows for its sister network Q) decided to move the show from its original station in an evening slot, now to the early afternoon weekend slot of GMA. Takeshi's Castle is aired on a weekly basis as opposed to the weekdays airing on Q, and is aired before Eat Bulaga on Saturdays and before SOP on Sundays. This is done to increase and improve the ratings of the succeeding shows. Takeshi's Castle started to air on GMA on December 23, 2006 with same hosts. The show aired on its last episode on May 9, 2007, and after a long break of TV experience, Joey and Ryan assumed new personalities as Master GT (later Tirso Potter) and Captain B respectively. It was temporarily replaced by "Just Joking" which starred also Joey De Leon and Ryan Yllana and other casts. On August 15, 2007, "Takeshi's Castle" returned on air once again with all new episodes and Mike "Pekto" Nacua (Cookie), John Feir (Belli) and Love Añover (replacement when either Cookie or Belli was not in) become commentators. The show aired at Saturdays 11:30 a.m. before "Eat Bulaga!
Eat Bulaga!
Eat Bulaga! is a noon-time variety show in the Philippines produced by Television And Production Exponents Inc. and aired by GMA Network. The show is broadcast from The New TAPE Studios at the GMA Broadway Centrum in New Manila, Quezon City. Eat Bulaga! is aired Weekdays at 12:00 pm to 2:30 pm ...
", and Sundays 11:15 a.m. before SOP Rules.
On GMA's regional networks, a Visayan-dubbed show now on GMA Cebu & Davao from Saturdays and Sundays in the Morning by Cebuano version from title called Takeshi's Castle Wala Gyud sa Isaysay Banzai! (Never Say Banzai!).
Portugal
— A version called Nunca Digas Banzai (Portuguese for "Never Say Banzai") aired in station SICSIC (Portugal)
SIC - Sociedade Independente de Comunicação is a Portuguese television network and media company, which runs several television channels. Their flagship channel is the eponymous SIC, the third terrestrial television station in Portugal, launched on October 6, 1992...
, where it reached some popularity. Voiceovers were provided by two hosts, José Carlos Malato
José Carlos Malato
José Carlos Malato is a Portuguese TV presenter, radio broadcaster, copywriter and college teacher. His Facebook Page is http://www.facebook.com/josecarlosmalato-TV programs hosted:* Top+, on RTP1 with Ana Lamy....
and João Carlos Vaz. Takeshi and Ishikura were renamed "Fujimoto" and "Fujicarro" (a play on the Portuguese words for "[motor]bike" and "car" respectively using the Japanese word Fuji
Fuji
-People:* Mr. Fuji, ring name of wrestling and manager Harry Fujiwara* Keiko Fuji, a Japanese singer of the 1960s and 1970s, and mother of Hikaru Utada* Sumiko Fuji, a Japanese actressFictional characters* Fuji , a character in the Stormwatch series...
), and the Portuguese hosts made no attempt to interpret the reality of the show, instead using the contestants as surrogates for the satirical comments about Portuguese public figures, in a similar style to MXC.
South Africa
The show is broadcast daily on the Sony MAX channel, Channel 126 on DSTVDStv
DStv is MultiChoice's multi-channel digital satellite TV service in Africa, launched in 1995. It operates from two satellites over Africa, broadcasting on Ku band via Eutelsat W7 and Intelsat 7 , which only requires a small satellite dish...
. It is the condensed version of the original series with commentary provided by Craig Charles. It began broadcasting in 2009 and is a huge hit with viewers.
Spain
— The program aired in the 1990s as Humor Amarillo (when translated it means "Yellow Humour") on TV channel TelecincoTelecinco
Telecinco is a Spanish commercial television channel operated by Mediaset España. Launched in 1990 as Tele 5, it was the fifth of the national terrestrial television channels. In 1997, Tele 5 was rebranded as Telecinco, dropping the flower logo seen in other Mediaset channel...
. Comedians Juan Herrera
Juan Herrera
Juan Herrera is a retired Mexican boxer in the Lightweight division. He is the former WBA World Flyweight Champion.-Professional career:...
and Miguel Ángel Coll (son of José Luis Coll) commented on the images; this version of the show has achieved cult status and there are some fansites and web petitions for retuns. In fact, the Spanish version created some terms now familiar to either Takeshi's Castle or Humor Amarillo, like "El Laberinto del Chinotauro" (literally The Chinesetaur Labyrinth, name for any of the maze challenges), "Las Zamburguesas" (for Skipping Stones),"Gacela Thompson" ("Thompson Gazella"), a pathetic businessman character, and "Chino Cudeiro", the name assigned to a random player that always "dies", one of the most popular characters in Spain. Since January 28, 2006, the show has been dubbed again by Fernando Costilla
Fernando Costilla
Fernando Costilla is a Spanish television personality that putted the voice in Cuatro's program's Takeshi's Castle, Raw and SmackDown, and actually he puts the voice in Marca TV's program's Raw and SmackDown with Hector del Mar.-External links:...
and Paco Bravo and can be seen on Spanish TV channel Cuatro TV
Cuatro TV
Cuatro is a Spanish commercial television channel, on air since November 2005. Owned by Mediaset España Comunicación, it is broadcast on the TV frequencies licensed to the previous owner Sogecable in 1990 and previously used by them for the analogue transmission of its pay-per-view channel...
. They shown every one of the original Japanese episodes, with the last one being shown on June 9, 2007, ending with a special message by the Spanish commentators.
The 2006 version is currently being re-broadcasted on the Telecinco
Telecinco
Telecinco is a Spanish commercial television channel operated by Mediaset España. Launched in 1990 as Tele 5, it was the fifth of the national terrestrial television channels. In 1997, Tele 5 was rebranded as Telecinco, dropping the flower logo seen in other Mediaset channel...
-owned channel LaSiete every weekend.
Taiwan
— A gameshow called 100 Wars, 100 Victories on CTSChinese Television System
Chinese Television System is a broadcast television station in Republic of China .-History:Founded on October 31, 1971, CTS started off as a joint venture between the ROC's Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education. At the time of its establishment, CTS was the only VHF-supported...
was formed from the original show, similar to how MXC Almost Live was formed.
Thailand
— Takeshi's Castle was dubbed and shown on Channel 5 in the late 1990s. The title was changed to "Hod, Mun, Ha" (โหด มัน ฮา), or "Cruel, Thrilling, Fun."In 2007, the unedited original series with bilingual soundtrack (Thai & Japanese) was aired on X-ZYTE channel on TrueVisions
TrueVisions
TrueVisions is Thailand's leading cable satellite television operator, broadcasting largely in English. Now owned by the True Corporation, the company was formerly known as the United Broadcasting Corporation , but it was rebranded in February 2007....
cable TV every Sunday and rerun several times throughout a week.
United Kingdom
— The show was first introduced to British audiences in the late 1990s, when it was featured semi-regularly as part of Tarrant on TV, in which broadcaster Chris TarrantChris Tarrant
Christopher John "Chris" Tarrant, OBE is an English radio and television broadcaster, now best known for hosting the first version of the television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in the United Kingdom and later Ireland, as the two national versions of the show merged in 2002.Chris...
showcased a variety of unusual television programmes from around the world. It later became more well-known when a condensed version of the original series proved an unexpected hit when it premiered on Challenge on 9 November 2002, regularly dominating the top ten programmes on the channel each week.
The UK format does not follow the original Japanese format, instead presenting each sequence of games as comic martial challenges leading to the final game wherein contestants not so far eliminated try to storm Takeshi's Castle. Each episode is narrated by Craig Charles
Craig Charles
Craig Joseph Charles is an English actor, stand-up comedian, author, poet, radio and television presenter, best known for playing Dave Lister in the British cult-favourite science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf...
.
A typical episode of the UK format of Takeshi's Castle has about eight games, followed by the Final Showdown. After each event, a 'Ridiculous Replay' is shown, highlighting the most entertaining attempt. Challenge decided to edit out the comedy sketches between Takeshi and Higashi to allow more games to be shown during the half-hour block.
More series were commissioned and shown over the next few months, culminating in a series of hour long specials in the Autumn of 2003, and a special highlights show, The A-Z of Takeshi's Castle, broadcast on January 1, 2004 which showed some of the best clips of the best games. Repeats still air regularly to this day on Challenge, with an average of 130,000 viewers an episode.
On 3 September 2005, MXC aired for the first time in the UK on Challenge.
The UK TV series returned to Challenge after a hiatus on September 7, 2009, with a modified opening sequence (to fit with the channel's acquisition by Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
).
A petition has been created in an attempt to bring about a brand new series of Takeshi's Castle on Challenge, in time for its 10th anniversary on the channel in 2012. It is suggested that these new episodes will feature never-before-seen games (previously completely cut from other episodes), and feature three Japanese episodes new to the UK. More info, and the petition, can be found here
On 9 May 2007, The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show was a BAFTA award-winning British comedy chat show hosted by Birkenhead-born comedian Paul O'Grady. The format was originally devised by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV before moving to Channel 4...
had their own mini Takeshi's Castle challenge, including 'Knock Knock', 'Bite the Bun', a "Bridge Ball" adaptation called 'Balancing Act' and the 'Slippery Wall'.
United States
In America, Takeshi's Castle aired as MXCMXC
MXC was an American comedy television program that aired on Spike TV from 2003 to 2007. It is a re-edit of footage from the Japanese game show Takeshi's Castle which originally aired in Japan from 1986 to 1989...
(subtitled Most Extreme Elimination Challenge) on Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
, providing both dubbing and commentary in English that effectively spoofs the original show.
Two attempts have been made to Americanize the format:
- On July 28, 1990 FOXFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
aired a special half-hour version of the original show premise entitled King Of The Mountain. This version used the same games, but had only 10 competitors and no costumed characters to impede the players' progress. This American attempt only taped two episodes on July 24, 1988, and only one aired.
- On June 16, 1993 CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
aired the second attempt, entitled Storm the Castle. This hour-long version, which was packaged by Vin Di BonaVin Di BonaVincent John "Vin" Di Bona is a television producer for many American television shows such as America's Funniest People, MacGyver and Entertainment Tonight as well as America's Funniest Home Videos...
Productions and hosted by Michael BurgerMichael BurgerMichael Burger is an American actor and game show host. He is best known for hosting the game show, Match Game, and co-hosting the 1994 ABC talk show Mike and Maty...
, pitted 30 families against each other and against well-known monsters (such as BeetlejuiceBeetlejuiceBeetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros...
) in a quest to win $15,000. Unlike Mountain, Storm had a few exclusive games not seen anywhere else. Storm, like Mountain, only lasted a single episode. The show was notable as future NFL player Christian FauriaChristian FauriaChristian Ashley Fauria is a retired American football tight end.-Early life:Fauria attended Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, California and lettered in football, track, and once in basketball...
appeared with his family.
In popular culture
- The game can be found on HabboHabboHabbo is a social networking site aimed at teenagers. The website is owned and operated by Sulake Corporation. The service began in 2000 and has expanded to include 11 online communities , with users in over 150 countries. As of August 2011, over 230 million avatars have been registered...
, however, it is different to the real-life Takeshi's Castle.