"I Survived a Japanese Game Show" - July 29, 2008 episode

From the end of last week's show, Donnell's victory in the elimination game hadn't lessened his anger towards Justin and Andrew, and he refused to speak to them when he got backstage. After a few more heated words, the three men eventually called a truce and made up.

The next team challenge was another dizzying one. Each of the two team members sat in chairs at opposite ends, and the chairs were spun *very* quickly and for quite some time. When the chairs stopped, each team member had to make their way over a walkway (if they fell, they fell into powder and then had to get back up) and then to a set of spinning disks on the floor and then past each other to where the other person's chair was. Nearby, one person would retrieve a set of three keys while the other person would retrieve a heart lock on a belt, which they would then put on. The two team members then had to make their way back over the walkway and while on the spinning disks, they had to find the right key to unlock the belt. Once that was done, they would each retrieve their respective keys or lock and go back to their original chairs. The team who did all that in the shortest amount of time was the winner. Because the Yellow Penguins had three team members, one needed to sit out, and Bilenda volunteered.

Then there was the funny twist. For this challenge, each team would be dressed as a bride and groom. For the Yellow Penguins, Justin got to wear a tux, but that meant Andrew wore the white wedding gown. And for the Green Monkeys, Meaghan got to wear the tux, which left the white wedding gown for Donnell.

The Yellow Penguins went first. Justin and Andrew had some difficulty from being so dizzy, but they managed to retrieve what they needed and then worked to unlock the belt (with Bilenda screaming at them from the sidelines). Unfortunately, Andrew ended up going through all three keys before he found the right one, and their total time was 1 minute and 9 seconds.

Next up were the Green Monkeys. Donnell was a little concerned because he performed poorly during the last challenge that involved being dizzy. However, Meaghan was pretty disoriented this time. She retrieved her belt, but when she put it on, she didn't notice that the heart lock was at her back, so when she met up with Donnell, he couldn't reach the lock, and she had to move it to the front. Donnell's first choice key unlocked the belt, but then they had a mishap where Donnell didn't get his keys back, and Meaghan ended up dropping them in the powder, so Donnell had to retrieve them. The Green Monkeys' time was revealed to be 1 minute and 4 seconds, beating the Yellow Penguins by a mere 5 seconds, securing a win for the first time since the first episode of the show.

The reward for Donnell and Meaghan was to be picked up in a limo that night and taken to a luxury hotel, the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Tokyo. They were shown into a private dining room where they had their own personal chef and personal waiters, and they could ask for anything they wanted to eat. Meaghan's request for a pizza came as a surprise to both the chef and to Donnell, but Meaghan eventually got her pizza. They were also given a host of other yummy-looking food, including foie gras. They were then taken up to the Presidential Suite, which cost $12,000 per night and was, as Donnell, described it, the size of three apartments, and there was also a swimming pool in the suite.

From the hotel website, here's a description of the suite.

Entertain lavishly in a 260-sq.-metre top-floor suite offering private pool, sundeck and sweeping views. Stylish decor includes living room, dining for eight, kitchen, guest bath, and work area with high-speed Internet. Bedroom includes two plush king beds and master bath with jetted spa tub and rain shower. Includes access to Grand Club lounge, serving breakfast, evening cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.

Amenities
Kitchenette
Additional window in bedroom (suites)
Separate work area
Robes
Two 13-inch flat-screen TVs in bathroom
2 Bang & Olufsen stereo systems
43 inch flat-screen TV in master bedroom
Cable/satellite TV channels
Concierge
Dual line phones
Full blackout blinds
High-speed Internet access
Individual air conditioning control
iPod docking station
Minibar
Safe large enough to store and charge laptop computer
Voicemail
Windows that open partially
Separate sitting area
Outdoor heated swimming pool and terrace
Oversized work desk
Hairdryer
24-hour room service
43 inch flat-screen TV in living room
Beds in bedroom using Cashmere sheets
Coffee maker
Crib upon request
DVD/CD player
Full kitchen with separate entrance
Humidifier/air purifier upon request
In-room fax machine
Mineral water
Morning newspaper
Speakerphone
Whirlpool bath with neck massager

Some pictures of the suite.









The evening's accommodations for Justin, Andrew and Bilenda weren't quite as nice. They were taken by mini-van to a capsule hotel. Their dining room was a little waiting area with metal chairs and a little coffee table, and they were given little bento boxes for dinner, which I would normally love, but they didn't appear to be the nice bento boxes. They were also given a small amount of warm beer to go with their dinner. With dinner over, they were taken to their capsules, which one of the people likened to an MRI machine. Justin said that being 6'2", these capsules weren't built for people his size, and with none of the three being small or slender, they were probably larger than what they expect the normal person to be who would rent out a capsule. They all complained about how small it was, but it didn't look all that bad to me. Sure, it wasn't a king-sized bed, but it looked at least wide enough where they could move around in there while laying down. The height might have been an issue - I couldn't tell how long the capsules were. But one capsule definitely looked to be roomier than say a sleeping bag.

When the Yellow Penguins returned to the house the next morning, they were cranky from being uncomfortable all night, but Donnell and Meaghan returned happy and cheery after their luxury night out.

When they all got to the studio, the Yellow Penguins were each given gi to wear. They had not yet discussed or decided on who would be participating in the elimination round. Bilenda talked to Donnell and Meaghan about who they would put up if they had to choose, and Donnell immediately said Justin and Andrew. So I guess it was ok for Donnell to put the other two guys up, but it wasn't ok for them to put him up. Yeah, they did it first, but after their talk, they supposedly re-formed the alliance. Whatever, Donnell. When it came time to choose, Bilenda said she wanted the Green Monkeys to decide, but Andrew was adamant that wouldn't happen because he knew they'd pick him and Justin. Andrew said that Justin had not failed in any of the challenges so it wasn't fair for him to be put up, so Andrew volunteered himself to compete with Bilenda, and with Justin agreeing, the decision was made.

The elimination game involved the contestants changing into various sets of clothing in three rounds, and the person with the shortest time overall was the winner. They also brought in the previous year's clothes changing winner, who was the all-time champion at that, and the contestants were told that if they could beat him, they would get a special prize. The changing stalls were partitioned off so they couldn't see each other, and as the first clothes combination came up, Bilenda and Andrew raced to change as quickly as possible. What they didn't know but what everyone else could see is that the back of the champion's stall had a secret door, and the champion's twin, already dressed in the appropriate clothes, just traded places, ringing in just before the first person was done. Before the second clothes combination, the twins had enough time to sip some wine and even play a card game before it was time for the correct twin to "be finished changing" and ring in. Before the third clothes combination, they were supposedly going to go one at a time, so they could see the champion's technique, and that's when it was revealed to Andrew and Bilenda that they just used a twin switch. In the regular competition, though, Bilenda had beaten Andrew by a few seconds in each of the first two rounds. For the third round, Andrew jumped to an early lead and Bilenda had some trouble, but eventually Bilenda won the third round as well, which meant it was time for the Sayonara Mob to carry out Andrew. Andrew took his defeat graciously and said he had fun and tried his best and that was what counted. I also thought it was pretty classy for him to put himself up because he didn't think Justin deserved to be put up.

One thing I haven't really mentioned is that there are animated mascots for both the Green Monkeys and Yellow Penguins, and they're sort of anime/cutie versions, which they also usually dress up or adorn with whatever the challenge is. For instance, during the challenge where the contestants were dressed up in baby clothes, so were the mascots. During the challenge of throwing balls to stick to their velcro suits, balls were whizzing at the mascots too. In this episode, the mascots had on wedding attire. I love seeing the mascots and what they do to them - they're so cute.

One thing I've been wondering is how Majide's ratings for these shows are doing in Japan. This is a regular game show, so the gimic for them is that instead of local Japanese contestants, they instead imported Americans, but it's still a regular game show there. I wonder if the "stunt casting" boosted their ratings.


Next week is the 2-hour season finale, which will have 3 elimination games, so presumably, they're just going to go head-to-head and get picked off one at a time until all that's left is the sole survivor. I'm not sure who I'm rooting for other than being against Donnell. His growing attitude has really been bothering me. I'd be ok with any of the other three winning.


All together now - HAI, Majide!