Takeshi's Castle (partially found pilot of Japanese game show; 1986)

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Revision as of 21:34, 2 May 2022 by SpaceManiac888 (talk | contribs) (Surprised I am seemingly the first Keshi Head on this Wiki, since I would have imagined an article on the pilot would have been written years ago. Alas, no winners this time, on Takeshi's Castle! Credit to the Keshi Heads forum for providing so much detail on the pilot too!)
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Takeshiscastlepilot1.jpg

For the pilot, Hayato Tani was the Count.

Status: Lost

Takeshi's Castle is a Japanese game show that was originally broadcast on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) between 2nd May 1986 to 19th October 1990. It involved contestants attempting to complete exceedingly difficult obstacles in order to storm Count Takeshi's Castle, controlled by Japanese comedian Takeshi Kitano. Prior to the inaugural episode, a pilot was known to have been filmed.

Background

The premise of Takeshi's Castle is that a large number of contestants were "forced" by General Tani (Hayato Tani) to storm Takeshi's Castle.[1] Beforehand, they must complete a number of difficult physical challenges standing between them and the Castle.[1] Each challenge ultimately would eliminate a considerable proportion of the contestants, resulting in a few individuals being the only ones to challenge Takeshi and his Emerald Guards in the Show Down.[2] Often, the remaining contestants would be unsuccessful, although on rare occasions a few have defeated Takeshi by deactivating his cart.[3][2]

Prior to the first episode, a pilot was filmed. As noted by the photos and description provided by a television magazine, Takeshi and Tani's roles were reversed, with Takeshi leading the contestants into storming the Castle, controlled by Tani.[4][5] The narrative according to the magazine stated Tani and Shingo Yanagisawa launched a rebellion against Takeshi, the former taking over his Castle in the process.[6] Takeshi therefore used the help of subordinate Saburo Ishikura and the public in an attempt to retake the Castle.[6] It also provided Takeshi's motivation for creating the show, stating he wanted to promote games out in the fields, and being against the growing usage of the Famicom.[6] This perhaps humorously explains why Takeshi came up with Takeshi's Challenge.[6]

Aside from Show Down, the games consisted of The Great Wall, Slipped Disks, Skipping Stones, Square Maze, Boulder Dash and Uphill Garden, Rope, and the Final Fall.[4][5] According to an English translation of the magazine, Slipped Disks and Final Fall had contestants be eliminated if they were "covered in paint".[7] The photos also indicate that the original version of Skipping Stones would be played by at least two contestants, while Square Maze would have a contestant guide another through it in a similar fashion to special episodes involving families, Takeshi also providing assistance via a monitor.[4][5][7] Additionally, a game referred to as "Sprinkler Mine Zone" was also included, which never appeared beyond the pilot.[8] The magazine states that 80 people participated in the pilot.[4][5]

Availability

Ultimately, the pilot never aired internationally, although the magazine stated it was aired in Japan sometime in 1986.[8] However, the pilot has yet to resurface.[8] At least three and a half seconds of footage from Slipped Disks may have been included in a trailer promoting the pilot, although this trailer also remains missing. Nevertheless, several photos, including from magazines,[4][5] can be viewed online.

Gallery

Images

See Also

External Links

References