wacky Japanese game shows

I was reading something this week about new shows that are scheduled to be on this summer, and I came across this particular show. There's nothing on ABC's website, and this was the only summary I could find of the show. Ever since the Tetris Japanese game show that a friend pointed me to, I've been hearing about all kinds of weird Japanese game shows, so especially since this will be a summer show, I'll have to check it out. It's scheduled to be shown on ABC on Tuesdays at 9pm, premiering June 24, 2008.

From the description, I can't entirely tell if the contestants will be given random cultural-based tests or if they're actually going to be contestants on Japanese game shows. I hope it's the latter, though the geek in me wonders what kinds of waivers they're going to have to sign, and whether or not they'll be completely enforceable. Japanese game shows put people through things that would never fly here, presumably because Japan isn't nearly the litigious society the States are. Even if you sign a waiver that says you understand such-and-such might/will be done to you, there's still a chance the waiver could be overturned.


Speaking of wacky Japanese game shows, here are some of my favorite examples.


Of course, everyone already knows about the human Tetris one.




And if you can do human Tetris, you can certainly do human bowling. However, I would think a gutter ball would really hurt.




Cleaning the floor is not a fun job, but it's harder when you're wearing a wacky suit and the floor is tilted.




Are you scared of mushrooms? Young Japanese girls are apparently terrified of them. The shape of these particular mushrooms is rather interesting.




Can you play soccer wearing binoculars? Apparently, not very well, but it's fun to be a spectator.




I heard about this one from Kevin and Bean. Men have to give the correct response/answer to a question. If they do, great. If they don't, there's a punishment. A severe punishment. A really painful punishment. Pretty much the most painful punishment that a man could endure. Am I getting my point across yet? I can't imagine why these men would agree to go on this show. You're warned if you decide to watch the video.




And lastly, I don't know if this is/was an actual game show or just a skit, but it's funny nonetheless - human Pac-Man!