TVSquad

There's one thing weirder than a Japanese game show, and that's a reality show that goes behind the scenes of a Japanese game show. That's what Are You Game? is. It stars veteran game show host/entertainment reporter Todd Newton, who decides to go to Japan and be a contestant on a series of crazy game shows to see what happens (and maybe win a car). It's I Survived A Japanese Game Show: The Todd Newton Story.

"Our insurance bill is crazy," said executive producer Arthur Smith. This has to be one of the craziest ideas for a game show I've ever heard. I don't even think the Japanese do things like this, though ironically Smith and EP partner Kent Weed are also the men behind I Survived a Japanese Game Show. Now, they're bringing auto-competition to ABC with Crash Course. Man, I just can't see this ending well.

Think of the average reality show competitor. Then think of pairing them up with someone they know, putting them behind the wheel of a car and having them do things like drive on two wheels, or busting through walls. Or giving one of them control of the brake and the other the steering and gas. My god, there's a reason they have stunt people do these kinds of things on television and in the movies. The potential for horrifying flaming death is way higher than on any other reality shows. But at least we'll have the soothing voices of Dan Cortese and Orlando Jones to make us feel better about it. "Stop, drop and roll isn't going to put out that fire, Dan."

Spike TV is calling this holiday weekend, "MXC, The Original, Not the Ripoff, Weekend." On July 5th and 6th the network will be paying homage to Spike's original series based on a Japanese game show. Wait, so doesn't that make Spike's show the ripoff of the Japanese show? Maybe not. MXC uses real footage from the reality game show Takeshi's Castle and creates a whole new comedic storyline.

Spike TV makes sure to point out that MXC is not dubbed or a literal translation of Takeshi's Castle. The show is written and voiced by the following actors: Victor Wilson, Christopher Ranga, Mary Scheer, and John Cervenka.

One of my regular blog haunts is the game show news site BuzzerBlog, and when I logged into it today and saw this post, I couldn't believe my eyes: FOX and Fremantle Media are apparently putting together an American version of the popular Japanese game show Hole in the Wall. I was so flabbergasted that I had to see who else reported on it; sure enough, it was right there in Variety for all to see.

If you're not sure what Hole in the Wall is, take a look at the video after the jump. Basically, it's a game of human Tetris: contestants have to bend themselves into the shape of a cutout on a fast-approaching wall. If they do it in time, they go through the wall. If they don't, the wall pushes them into a pool of water. That's it. That's the whole game.