I Survived A Japanese Game Show (originally titled
Big In Japan ) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
reality show that saw its first season premiere on
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
June 24, 2008. The show follows a group of Americans, who leave the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
where they compete in a
Japanese style game showJapanese variety show is television entertainment made up of a variety of original stunts, musical performances, comedy skits, quiz contests, and other acts.-Current situation:...
. The winner takes home
US $The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents .The U.S...
250,000. The series won both the Best Reality prize and the overall prize at the 2009
Rose d'OrThe Rose d'Or is a television award. It has been given annually in spring since 1961 at the Festival Rose d'Or. Since 2004, the festival has been held in Lucerne, Switzerland...
ceremony.
Season 2, which was supposed to have premiered on July 8, was moved up to June 17 at and debuted that night at 9PM EDT/PDT.
I Survived A Japanese Game Show (originally titled
Big In Japan ) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
reality show that saw its first season premiere on
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
June 24, 2008. The show follows a group of Americans, who leave the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
where they compete in a
Japanese style game showJapanese variety show is television entertainment made up of a variety of original stunts, musical performances, comedy skits, quiz contests, and other acts.-Current situation:...
. The winner takes home
US $The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents .The U.S...
250,000. The series won both the Best Reality prize and the overall prize at the 2009
Rose d'OrThe Rose d'Or is a television award. It has been given annually in spring since 1961 at the Festival Rose d'Or. Since 2004, the festival has been held in Lucerne, Switzerland...
ceremony.
Season 2, which was supposed to have premiered on July 8, was moved up to June 17 at and debuted that night at 9PM EDT/PDT. The rating is TV-PG (L) for all shows.
Format
- See also Big in Japan (format)
Big in Japan is a reality television/game show format created by the Danish production company Babyfoot, where contestants travel to Tokyo Japan to compete in a Japanese game show. Shot on location at Toho Studios....
In Season One, contestants are informed that they are to take part in a reality-style competition, but not informed of the nature of the show. They are flown to Tokyo, Japan, and taken to the
Toho Studiosis a Japanese film and theatre production/distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...
, where it is revealed that they are to compete on a Japanese game show called . For Season Two,
Majide host
Rome Kandais a Japanese tarento, comedian and actor.Born in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, he moved to the USA in 1999 and has made appearances on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide as a samurai, hosts the "Majide" game on I Survived a Japanese Game Show and works under the alias of Kei Kato on the G4...
surprised each of the contestants in their hometowns informing them they were going to Japan. They are broken up into teams and, in the first six episodes of Season One and first seven episodes and the first half of the final episode of Season Two, compete in games against each other. The winning team is given a reward activity while the losing team is given a punishment activity. In the second season, the first game played saw the winning team have an advantage into the second game, where rewards and punishments were handed out afterward. In the final episode, the first two games reverted to the rules of Season One. Two members of the losing team are chosen to compete in a additional game head-to-head where the loser of that game is eliminated. In the final part, the teams are broken up and the four remaining players face three elimination challenges in Season One, and final three facing two elimination games in Season Two; in all cases, the losing contestant is eliminated from the show and carried offstage and sent back to the United States by the "sayonara mob" (脱落者决定), dressed in black suits.
The series follows not only the
Majide competition, but also the contestants' activities backstage and outside the game show in reality style. The contestants live in a house (Kasai House) together, with a
Mama-sanA mama-san, or mamasan, is a woman who works in a supervisory role in certain establishments in Southeast Asia, typically those related to sex work, but sometimes in drinking places as well. Papa-san may be used to refer to a man in a similar position...
(Kozue Saito), who generally expects the contestants to live in line with Japanese culture and customs. In season 2, they live in the Majide Guest House with Mama-san.
The host of season one was Japanese-American
Tony SanoTony Sano, a Japanese-American born in Tokyo, is the multi-talented host of ABC's I Survived a Japanese Game Show. On the experience, Sano commented, "it was great to see people from different cultures coming together."....
, whose additional television credits include
MTV Spring Break Japan and a recurring role on the
The CW4KidsThe CW4Kids is a Saturday morning cartoon block on The CW that premiered on Saturday, May 24, 2008, replacing Kids' WB . The block is programmed by 4Kids Entertainment, which programmed the competing 4Kids TV block...
series
Kamen Rider: Dragon KnightKamen Rider: Dragon Knight is the title of the American adaptation of the Japanese tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Ryuki, the twelfth installment in the Kamen Rider Series. It is being brought to television by Steve and Michael Wang...
. About the show, Sano commented, "It's going to be like nothing American audiences have seen on network television" (Matt Hurwitz, Associated Press) Episodes are narrated by
Robert CaitRobert Cait is a Canadian-born comedian and voice actor.Among the characters he voices are Duke the Golden retriever in Bush's Baked beans television commercials and Horace T...
.
The show is produced by A. Smith & Co. Productions (the producers of Gordon Ramsey's
Hell's Kitchen and
Kitchen NightmaresKitchen Nightmares is an American reality television series on the Fox Broadcasting network, in which chef Gordon Ramsay spends a week with a failing restaurant in an attempt to save the establishment. It is based on the UK show Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.The US show premiered Wednesday September...
in the USA) with Arthur Smith, Kent Weed of A. Smith and Co. and Tim Cresenti of Small World International Format Television as executive producers and Weed directing, and is distributed by Disney/ABC's
Greengrass ProductionsGreengrass Productions is an independent television production company that is a subdivision of the Disney-ABC Television Group.It has, over the years, produced miniseries such as Oliver Stone's Wild Palms, game shows such as I Survived a Japanese Game Show, and reality series such as Extreme...
division. The format was created by
DanishDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
producers Karsten Bartholin and David Sidebothin for Babyfoot Aps, and was originally titled
Big in Japan.
Majide
Majide (which is Japanese slang for "Seriously?!"), the
show-within-the-showA story within a story is a literary device or conceit in which one story is told during the action of another story. Mise en abyme is the French term for a similar literary device...
, is not an actual Japanese game show, but is intended to resemble what a stereotypical Japanese game show is like. The American producers watched hours of these Japanese game shows, took the most common elements and created all of the games, with help from producers in Japan, who also produced the game segments at Toho Studios. In contrast to many American game shows, which are usually based on either trivia (such as
Jeopardy!Jeopardy! is an American quiz show featuring trivia in topics such as history, literature, the arts, pop culture, and science. The show has a unique answer-and-question format in which contestants are presented with clues in the form of answers, and must phrase their responses in question form.The...
) or mental skill (like
The Price is RightThe Price Is Right is a U.S. television game show that is currently owned by the FremantleMedia subsidiary of the RTL Group. It was created by Bob Stewart for Goodson-Todman Productions in the United States in 1956, and was significantly revamped by them in 1972...
), Japanese game shows tend to be more physically oriented, such as
Takeshi's Castlewas a Japanese game show that aired from 1986 to 1989 on the Tokyo Broadcasting System. It featured the Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano as a count who owns a castle and sets up impossible challenges for players to get to him. The show has become a cult television hit around the world...
. The
NickelodeonNickelodeon is an American cable television channel owned by Viacom. Since the mid-1990s and early 2000s Nickelodoen as a brand has expanded into other territories including Europe, the Middle-East, Russia and Asia.It is often referred to by its shortened name, Nick, a practice that dates back to...
game show
Double Dare was a hybrid of both the American and Japanese styles.
Majide is hosted by
Rome Kandais a Japanese tarento, comedian and actor.Born in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, he moved to the USA in 1999 and has made appearances on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide as a samurai, hosts the "Majide" game on I Survived a Japanese Game Show and works under the alias of Kei Kato on the G4...
and judged by Masahiro Hurugori, known on the show as Judge Bobu (Bob). Kanda has translated "Majide" (マジで) as "You've got to be crazy!"
Season One
Season one premiered on June 24, 2008. It was hosted by Tony Sano. It ran for seven episodes and finished on August 5, 2008.
Season Two
The second season premiered June 17, 2009. Tony Sano did not return to host. In addition, the number of contestants increased from ten to twelve, and there are two team games per episode instead of one. The team that wins the first team game is given an advantage in the second, while the rest of the format remains the same. It ran for eight episodes and finished on August 5, 2009.
Season Three
It is currently unknown if ABC will renew the series for a third season since its ratings and viewers in its previous season were lower than the first season.
International formats
Besides the USA, fifteen other countries have bought this format. The American version of this show is airing in Denmark on
TV 3+TV3+ Denmark is a general entertainment channel owned by Modern Times Group broadcasting to Denmark.TV3+ has its origins in the youth channel ZTV and women's channel TV6 that were launched in the mid-90s when Kinnevik invested heavily in new free-to-air channels. In April 1996, Danish ZTV, TV6 and...
, New Zealand's TV2, Singapore's
Channel 5MediaCorp Channel 5 is a 24-hour free-to-air English-language television channel based in Singapore...
, the Philippines'
Studio 23Studio 23 is a Filipino television network owned by the AMCARA Broadcasting Network. The network is named for its flagship station in Metro Manila, DWAC-TV, which is carried on UHF channel 23...
, Sweden's TV6, Slovenia's
TV3 SloveniaTV3 is a television channel in Slovenia owned by Modern Times Group . The channel was also known as Prva TV from 1 November 2004 to 1 October 2006....
and Portugal's
SIC RadicalSIC Radical is a cable television channel in Portugal owned by Sociedade Independente de Comunicação.SIC Radical is an entertainment channel targeted at teens and young adults. Programs are mostly imported, mainly from the United States and the United Kingdom...
. The Greek version of the show (under the original name
Big In Japan) airs on
Alpha TVAlpha TV is a Greek terrestrial channel . The station features a mix of Greek and foreign shows with an emphasis on entertainment programs. The studios are located near Athens...
.In Malaysia
8tv8tv is a common name for television channels. It may refer to:*News Channel 8*8TV in Catalonia, Spain*8TV *8TV 8TV 宽带卫星网络电视.电影] in China*WISH-TV in Indianapolis, USA*Wood TV in Michigan, USA...
, Fridays 10:30pm, Brazil [ People & Arts ] 22:00.
Sweden
In 2009, Sweden began airing its own version of the show called
Hjälp! Jag är med i en japansk TV-show (Help! I'm in a Japanese television show) with Swedish celebrities competing against each other. The show was produced and aired by TV4.
The Swedish version was also recorded in the Toho Studios but didn't include Tony Sano, Masahiro Hurugori and Rome Kanda. Instead, the show was narrated (and sometimes hosted) by
Carolina GynningCarolina Gynning Nilsson is a Swedish glamour model and television personality. She is best known for being a presenter on Sweden's version of American Idol. Gynning is also a painter, singer, and author. She is also one of Sweden's more popular bloggers.-Early life:Gynning was born in Malmö but...
. The
show-within-the-showA story within a story is a literary device or conceit in which one story is told during the action of another story. Mise en abyme is the French term for a similar literary device...
was not
Majide, but
Do Konjo and was hosted by
Yoshi AmaoYoshi Amao , is a versatile Japanese actor, talent, comedian, emcee, and martial artist based in New York City, and is the current emcee for the hit reality TV game show Big In Japan on air throughout Europe....
with Mr. Fu as the judge.
Contestants
- Kjell Eriksson (radio host) - winner of "Hjälp! Jag är med i en japansk TV-show"
- Klasse Möllberg (musician, actor) - runner-up
- Regina Lund
Regina Charlotta Lund is a Swedish actress and singer. She is the daughter of actress Sonja Lund. Regina is no longer in a relationship with the Swedish rock star Joakim Thåström. She is frequently seen in Swedish magazines with new men by her side. The last in the row is an American tattoo...
(actress, singer) - third place
- Sandra Dahlberg (artist) - 5th eliminated after episode 8
- Johannes Brost
Johannes Brost is a Swedish actor.He grew up in the Skåne province in southern Sweden. His mother, the actress Gudrun Brost worked at the Malmö City Theater. He followed his mother’s footsteps and became a stage actor, working both in Malmö and Stockholm, and later starred in several movies and on...
(actor) - 4th eliminated after episode 7
- Dogge Doggelito
Douglas Léon , is a Swedish rapper best known under his stage name Dogge Doggelito. He grew up in Alby, a suburb in Botkyrka, south-west of Stockholm....
(artist) - Left the show after episode 6
- Anna Book
Anna Book is a Swedish pop singer. She participated in Let's Dance, the Swedish version of Dancing With The Stars, in 2006 and finished in 2nd place....
(singer) - 3rd eliminated after episode 6
- Marie Picasso
Marie Picasso is a Swedish singer, host and model who first rose to fame as a housemate on the popular reality television show Big Brother, before going on to win the fourth series of the Swedish singing competition Idol.-Big Brother:In 2002, Picasso appeared as a housemate on the hugely popular...
(singer, model) - 2nd eliminated after episode 4
- Tore Kullgren (TV-profile) - 1st eliminated after episode 1
The winner of the final episode of "Hjälp! Jag är med i en japansk TV-show" was Kjell Eriksson, against runner-up Klasse Möllberg.
Norway
A
NorwegianNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
version of the
SwedishSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
format has also been aired by the
NorwegianNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
networkA television network is a distribution network for television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many television stations. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small number of broadcast networks. Many early...
TV3TV3 Norway is a commercial television channel targeting Norway owned by Viasat, which is a part of the Swedish media group Modern Times Group...
External links