Takeshi's Castle

Takeshi's Castle
I came across this weird Japanese game show the other day. It was quite popular in its time and, judging from the number of reruns being broadcast in foreign countries, I would say it is in-demand even now. The show in question is called Takeshi's Castle and its heyday was in the mid 1980s.

The basic concept is simple. You get a bunch of contestants and get them to participate in all sorts of competitions. What's so strange about that, you ask. Oh, just you wait. The main presenter is dressed as a General who urges everyone on. He has minions, folks dressed up in outlandish outfits and costumes, who will hinder the progress of the contestants. As for the aim of the game, every participant must finish all the races and events laid out in the area and be granted a final confrontation with the General guy.

Here are just some of the contests presented on this show:

Folks must run into and survive in a house with many doors. Well, I call it that. It's one of those maze sort of buildings where each wall is really a door that opens into another square room which is all doors. The catch here is that the contestant must not open the wrong door and step outside. And of course, with their luck, this turns out to the side which opens onto a pool of water. Oh and did I mention that the freaky minion folk will converge on you, grab your limbs and throw you into the water if they find you in the maze? That's right!

Then there is the frog leap /surfing moment. Here the contestant must step onto and keep their footing on a surfboard. Unfortunately, the surfboard is hooked to a wooden beam that is moving the board in a circular motion. So the eager participant must stay put on that board until the board comes to the finish line, in one slow circular sweep. By the way, the obstacle course has its share of weird objects – pink stuffed dolphin, a woman dressed as Pocahontas who will push you off edge and ledges that need jumping over.

Oh and of course, the 'dress as a horse' bit. Here, folks donned a horse outfit and had to drag that awful costume over elevated steps. In roller skates! This sounds easy enough but it was one of the hardest bits to finish. It was also one of the funniest bits of the show. To spot a sad looking 'horse' standing forlornly as his scrawny legs scrambled desperately over the steps was hilarious.

Also, keep an eye out for the Rotating Mushroom event. Here, folks must hug a giant mushroom prop suspended over a watery pond and hang for dear life as its rotating form makes it way to the platform on the other end.

By the way, the end fight is as out there as all the rest of the events. For this, the participants must jump into bumper cars and attack Takeshi's guards. It looks so strange for the TV viewers since some SFX guys later add lasers to the attack motions. Thus, when a car shoots at another, it looks like laser fights. Absolutely mad!