Time & Channel
Takeshi Castle is aired in India on Pogo TV at 17:30 hrs, Mondays to Friday after which repeat shows are telecast at 19:30 hrs, 22:00 hrs & 00:30 hrs respectively.
History & how it got its name.
This is an innovative game show in which not kids but people of our age take part. This was originally a Japanesese game show that was aired from 1986 to 1989 on the Tokyo Broadcasting System. It featured an esteemed Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano (photo below) as a count who owned a castle & set up impossible challenges for players (or a volunteer army) to get to him.
Takeshi Kitano originally wanted the show to be like a human video game. In the original version aired then, the player who conquered the takeshi castle won one million yen. Thats a huge amount.
The Game Today
The show became so famous that it was dubbed & modified a bit by approximately 13 countries. Takeshi's castle that we see today is a condensed UK version or the original plot.
The game starts with apporximately 100 contestants who go through different hillarious games that test their physical & mental skills. The participants are led by our very own General Lee.
A few of the popular games are :
Bite The Bun: Usually amongst the first few games to start off with. Various buns & other foodstuffs are hanging on lines above contestants, who in the time given must grab a bun with their mouths. Their arms are usually tied at the back.
Knock Knock:Contestants are confronted with four sets of walls with four possible doors each, covered with paper. Three have wooden walls or netting on the other side, while one is just paper. Contestants must run full-tilt at the door of their choice & either break through or bounce off. Advancing through all four door sets advances the contestant.
Skipping Stones: Participants make their way from one side of the pond to another stepping on the stones provided. Most of the stones are stable, however some sink when you stand on them. Its really hilarious to watch participants trip over sinking stones & go down.
Pinball:This game requires players to hit a ball into a pinball-type machine & then race down with a small bucket & catch the ball in the bucket while diving into mud. The participant is guided by a voice to move left or right & on these orders he has to catch the ball. What makes you laugh is even if the participant manages to catch the ball & wins he has to jump in the mud & get soiled all over.
Honeycomb Maze:Contestants make their way through a blind maze made of hexagonal rooms, shaped as a honeycomb, whilst chased by henchmen. They must make it to the correct exit without being caught, also avoid other exits that are pits of water in which the henchmen push them after blackening their faces.
Skittles:This game is similar to bowling where the participants represent the pins. In this game players pick large playing cards designating their pin position (Ace is one, & so on). Participants are padded up & dressed as PINS. A giant bowling ball is then rolled. Those who do not stand after the roll are eliminated.
Sumo Rings:Participants draw a ball, face a corresponding sumo wrestler wearing clothes of the same colour & try to beat him in a sumo match.
Quake:Players enter a house wearing wigs & sit on cushions. The house then shakes & the players must try & balance on the cushions for about 30 seconds. Hilarious to see contestants trying to sit stable.
Avalanche:Players race up a narrow gully, & must avoid being crushed by boulders. Contestants try & hide in the gaps in the great wall of china, but they contain members of Takeshi's soilders who attempt to push them out into the boulder's path.
Big Bird: In this game, contestants dressed as a bird must slide by wire to a pink rabbit, catching it with their feet & then dropping into a nest with three little birds waiting to have a meal, all while having small balls shot at them.
Velcro Fly:Wearing velcro suits, contestants try to swing across on a rope & into a wall, the object is to stick to the wall using the velcro suit. If it does not stick the contestant goes into muddy water.
Karaoke:A rather easy game named after the popular Japanese pastime. Sing a song that will please the owner of the house & his bouncer & get their okay. Sing badly, you're gone. Sounds boring at times.
Rice Bowl Down Hill:Contestants sit in a bowl while being pushed down a hill into an area with water. Those who stay in the bowl move on. These people shout something like 'Ko - ko' which is really amazing while they slide down hill.
Bridge Ball :Players cross a rope bridge holding a gold-colored ball, whilst henchmen fire black balls at the contestant, who is eliminated if they fall off. Frequently, contestants are hit in the face, genitals, etc & hold on to the bridge with one hand for several seconds before having to let go.
Show of Hands:People are dressed as giant hands. A math question is asked & contestants have to find the answer (many numbers are written on cards on the floor) & fall face first on the correct one. The way these hands jump on each other is indeed hillarious.
Single Roller:One large cylinder is placed on a metal track. Contestants must stand on top of the cylinder & move it forward to the other side. If this wasn't hard enough, near the end of the track, the track slopes downward, thus accelerating the cylinder out of the player's control.
Wet Paint:Contestants spin a wheel & try to draw an image with a giant calligraphy brush. The catch is, the drawing area is on a wet slope, which makes it hard to even get high enough to draw the picture. There's also a time limit. Really funny to see participants slipping all the while.
Wipe Out: Another simple-looking challenge, contestants stand on a motorized surfboard which swings round in a circle & must jump over obstacles i.e. a pink whale then land & a whale again, in their path without falling off into the lake below.
The Run Way:The player sits in a cylinder & is pushed down a hill on some rollers. As they travel a math equation is flipped round on signs as they pass like " 3 + 4 x 2 - 10 =". The player then stops at the end & must give their answer to the teacher. If they are right they go through but if they are wrong then the floor drops away & the contestant falls into a mud or flour pit.
Show Down:The final challenge of the show, where the remaining contestants face off against Takeshi's guards, all armed with water pistols & riding motorized buggies with paper circles. Those whose circles get wet are eliminated. Takeshi usually wins as his guards would outnumber the handful of challengers who make it to this stage.
At times even laser guns are used. In the early days of the show, the contestants actually stormed the castle
