What would Bob Barker say?

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Game shows in America tend to be pretty tame. It's mostly answering questions, usually to a timer, and if you get it wrong or the time runs out, a buzzer sounds and the contestant loses points. The sense of tension is built completely out of outrunning the timer, and all that is risked is some money or a prize. All in all, not really all that exciting.

Now, the Japanese know how to run a game show.

Japanese game shows rarely involve anything as simple as answering a question, and the contestants risk not only prizes, but also their dignity (as well as other things, which you will witness here). In this clip, the contestants must recite a tongue twister correctly within the time limit. (Remember "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers"? Like that, only in Japanese.) But what's really special is what happens if they fail.

Yow. I mean, holy shit. We Americans like to go on about being good sports, but damn. These guys could really teach us a thing or two about taking one for the Gipper. Imagine what one of us would do if we had to endure this just for the sake of a thousand dollars or a dinette set.


Here's another illustration of the kind of thing you might see on a game show in Japan. This is one of my favorite video clips - Silent Library. The idea is that the game takes place in a library, where it is presumed that one will be quiet, of course - no matter what.

You're way ahead of me...

As Professor Hikita would say, "Hory To-REE-do!"

More from Japan...

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...these on a completely different tack.

These are collections of little clips which apparently run between segments of a Japanese children's program. According to one commentor at YouTube, the show has been running at least 30 years, and so their library of these clips must be truly mind-boggling.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

The constructions you see in these clips are called Rube Goldberg machines in the West, after Rube Goldberg, a famous cartoonist of the first half of the 20th century. Basically, a Rube Goldberg machine is any construction that accomplishes a simple task in an extremely complicated way. (If you've seen any Wallace & Grommit cartoon, you've seen one of these in action.)

These clips fill me with delight and awe. Making these things requires artistry of a very specific kind, and I'm always amazed at the inventiveness involved. I envy the ability to take ordinary objects and press them into such artful service.

Besides, they're just plain fun. And pretty!

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I seem to be on a bit of a video kick lately - not a whole lot to say, but finding tons of stuff to link to. Yay for YouTube! There's so much amazing stuff on there - not just funny, but interesting, too. Old archival footage, bits from TV shows I remember from way back, odd and lovely artistic clips, etc. One could spend days sifting through all that.

So you'll be seeing more of these thing in my LJ. Just a heads-up, in case that kind of thing isn't your particular brand of vodka. But rest assured, I will only post clips that I think are really worth reccing. ;)

Like this one:

Watch on YouTube

Rudolf Nureyev is stalked by Miss Piggy!