# Bonzai should go away **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 14, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonzai-should-go-away/234315 "2004-03-14T23:20:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonzai-should-go-away/234315/1 "2004-03-14T23:20:14Z")
Comedy Central can suck it for bringing back this travesty of a show. It is borderline racist and full of stereotypes of Asians as screaming bad english speakers. If they want Japanese style gameshows, why not just bring over a real Japanese game show? Those are actually entertaining and not insulting to anyone watching them. If this show involved blacks speaking all African and having betting games on “What color is the Zulu guy’s soup?” or something there would be riots on the street. But Asians are a safe group to trash right now so they are getting away with it with little uproar. I don’t care that it is originally a show from England, the culture there and here is different, especially with race relations, and we don’t need this show causing problems here. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonzai-should-go-away/234315/2 "2004-03-14T23:48:52Z")
I presume this is _Banzai_ you’re talking about? _Borderline racist_??? It’s fucking disgusting!!! Dammit, it’s a piece of comedy genius. My Japanese friend took 20mins to realise that it was a piss-take, and not just an import of a real gameshow. The ridiculing of English soap-opera stars kind of gave it away. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonzai-should-go-away/234315/3 "2004-03-14T23:53:37Z")
Oh, btw, wait until you get to the challenge of “Think of as many racist words as you can, without repeating any”… ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonzai-should-go-away/234315/4 "2004-03-15T00:14:06Z")
Hmm, I didn’t really percieve it as racsist I thought it was just a run of the mill spoof show spoofing a Japanese Gameshow format. On the other hand I think the format gets boring very quickly and it now bores me to tears. ---
**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonzai-should-go-away/234315/5 "2004-03-15T01:59:27Z")
But don’t the Asian actors just present other people doing stupid stuff? All the insulting tasks were done by British actors. Even Lady One Question or Mr Shake Hands Man aren’t too bad; the catch is that they and the audience know what’s going, similar to Candid Camera. Sure, kids will get teased - but in my experience it doesn’t take much to set off the stupid fucking little punks. ---
**Author:** ![MarkofT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MarkofT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarkofT)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonzai-should-go-away/234315/6 "2004-03-16T17:04:06Z")
They can’t really import Japanese gameshows to the US because they are just too fucked up. I really liked Banzai when they showed it on FOX. I never knew it was a British show. I love Mr. Shake Hands Man and Mrs. One Question. Also, SpikeTV has a show called “Most Extreme Elimination Challenge”. It takes footage from a Japanese show called “Takashi’s Castle” and the producers make up new dialog. ---
**Author:** ![Legolamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@Legolamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legolamb)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonzai-should-go-away/234315/7 "2004-03-16T17:53:06Z")
Borderline racist? Oh, puh-leese! Silly, pointless and only funny for the first couple of times you see it, yes, but not racist. As **GorillaMan** and **Rabid\_Squirrel** said, it’s the predominantly white English (and occasionally American) actors, sportsmen and other minor celebrities that do the stupid things and have the piss ripped out of them. Either you’ve been badly wooshed, **Tarkas** or your skin is thinner than Lara Flynn-Boyle. 'Lamb, who’s still embarrassed he could tell which arse belonged to Phil Tufnell… ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonzai-should-go-away/234315/8 "2004-03-16T18:34:23Z")
C’mon **Tars**. _C’mon_. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonzai-should-go-away/234315/9 "2004-03-17T16:12:20Z")
**Tars Tarkas** , the next time you’re watching a show you don’t like, look down at your hand. See that thing you’re holding? Now, put it down, pick up the remote, and change the fucking channel. I hate it when people bitch about a show they don’t like. Just don’t watch it. It’s really that simple. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonzai-should-go-away/234315/10 "2004-03-17T16:45:27Z")
Me thinks the OP has been mightily whooshed. The whole show is more unfair to faded 80s pop idols, and they all take part because _it’s funny_.