I surfed by this show a few times thinking it was just another dumb ‘reality’ show. But after watching it I find it to be one of the funniest shows I’ve seen in a long time!
If you’re familiar with Woody Allen’s great film What’s Up Tiger Lilly? that’s essentially what MXC is. If not, MXC (or Most Extreme Elimination Challenge) takes a popular Japanese gameshow and dubs phoney dialog over top of it. Although that doesn’t sound very funny you just have to watch it.
Most of the dialog is from the two announcers who often go off on weird tangents and make (sometimes cruel) jokes about the contestants. The contestants’ voices are often dubbed with silly cheers & yells matching their performance and appearance.
A quick Google search showed me that the Japanese gameshow is called Takeshi’s Castle and its pretty popular around the world. The best way I can describe it is a cross between The Battle of the Network Stars and H.R. Puffnstuff! And its pretty entertaining itself, although incredibly silly. What I like is that the stunts the people have to do are usually no cakewalk, and they often get hurt. One website said that literally dozens of players have suffered concussions, broken bones etc. A refreshing change from current gameshows, where people sue for mental anguish if they chip a nail on their game buzzer.
Some people who were fans of Takeshi’s Castle find the phoney dialog annoying, but I get the feeling they’re the same ones who would watch MST3K and complain that they can’t enjoy the movie because, “those annoying guys keep talking over it!”
Every time we visit our friends for the weekend, we watch it on Sunday night. We all think it’s hilarious.
Half the fun is the voice-over. Not only the ludicrous banter of the “hosts”, but also the play-by-play and color commentary during the events. And the “names” and “occupations” of the contestants are great, too.
The other half of the fun is the contestants themselves. The challenges are just so silly that seeing grown men & women attempting to complete them is funny. But add to that the fact that all the contestants are really seriously jazzed about the challenges – some of them take it as seriously as Olympic events!
Who knew that there was anything worth watching on Spike?
I love that show. Been watching it since the beginning. I’ve got my whole family and quite a few people from work watching it. The contestant introductions are definitely the best part.
I find that Guy LaDouche guy kind of irritating though.
Ah, yes. I agree, this is a lot of fun. I love the ridiculous double entendres, the gags, and the dubbing (I love the fact that whenever Kenny and Vic are on screen talking, the dialog is intentionally made to match up with their hand movements. It’s clever. I can’t really explain.). Those Japanese certainly have unique game shows. Leave it to the Americans to make them even more interesting.
Until next time, remember what we say around here… DON’T GET ELIMINATED!
You know, I tink I’d probably be amazed at how much time they spend writing this show. Getting the dialog to match the gestures, facial expressions, and what’s happening with the contestants must really take some effort. And then they manage to make everything sound unrehearsed and off-the-cuff. Brilliant.
