Takeshi's Castle(en.wikipedia.org)
102 pointsby tosh7 hours ago15 comments
  • sunaookami6 hours ago
    I only know the German version from RTL2 which had funny commentary dubbed over it with made-up names and stuff. Curious, did the dubs in other countries do the same? Were there languages with the original commentary translated?
    • spacechild110 minutes ago
      I actually watched it as a kid on Eurosport. It also had the dubbed over commentary. The original has lots of comedy bits between the games, most of them were cut in the German version.
    • rimeice6 hours ago
      In the uk it was Craig Charles of red dwarf fame, renowned funk and soul DJ and robot wars host. It was brilliant.
      • oakesm95 hours ago
        I can hear his laugh just reading this
    • riffraff6 hours ago
      We had this in the 80s/90s in Italy within a show called "mai dire banzai", they mixed up clips of Takeshi's Castle and Za Gaman[0], and the commentary was three guys of which two acted as faux Japanese experts and the third acted surprised at the completely made up bits of Japanese culture.

      It was incredibly popular back then.

      0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Za_Gaman

    • jareklupinski6 hours ago
      US had Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (MXC)

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boww2fJUEHc

      strange Poland didn't have one...

      • djc4048 minutes ago
        Right you are Ken!
    • danirod6 hours ago
      The dubs for the Spanish version did it too. There were two dubs, one in 1990 and another one for a 2006 re-run. Both completely made up.
      • kaoD3 hours ago
        It was localized with the name Humor Amarillo ("Yellow Comedy").

        I know...

      • jesuslop4 hours ago
        Probably unscripted improv, and hilarious. Go chino cudeiro!
    • altmanaltman5 hours ago
      Yes, it was a deliberate strategy to add localized commentary, as the original context would not apply in foreign markets. An example of Transcreation

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcreation

    • 3 hours ago
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  • alexpotato5 hours ago
    I was involved in pro paintball for several years and at the start of every one of their matches, one of the pro teams would chant:

    "DON'T. GET. ELIMINATED."

    • huhtenberg4 hours ago
      Right you are, Kenny.
    • wildzzz2 hours ago
      My ncpa team would just say "fuckem up!". They did not like that at nationals.
  • jttnr6 hours ago
    Back in the early 2000s, I always had a good laugh whenever I was flipping through TV channels and stumbled upon Takeshi's Castle.
  • rdtsc6 hours ago
    “Right you are, Ken!”

    (From MXC, based on footage from Takeshi’s Castle)

    Still remember that phrase from years ago.

    • beej716 hours ago
      Kenny Blankenship and Vic Romano! The names so discordant with the visuals...
      • hubbahubbahubba2 hours ago
        How could you leave out the reporter in the field, Guy La Douche?
  • grimgrin7 hours ago
    You can watch some English subtitled rips here:

    https://archive.org/details/takeshis-castle-with-english-sub...

    The other archive link shared here, it's to another set of rips that appear to lack subtitles.

  • klocksib7 hours ago
    wait did you see that microsoft execution container (mxc) article and think "oh wow remember the best show that was on spiketv"? :D
    • tosh7 hours ago
      I don't know about spiketv but yes @ microsoft execution container post
  • 1potato4 hours ago
    There's a related Famicom game that's quite (in)famous: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeshi%27s_Challenge
  • pimeys6 hours ago
    His movies are also worth a watch: Hana bi, Sonatine, Brother, Dolls, and Zatōichi are all amazing movies.

    Should do a rewatch again, it's been a while...

    • 59percentmore3 hours ago
      You're forgetting the one.

      You know the one.

      Dies Irae plays softly in the distance

    • mappu3 hours ago
      I watched Hana bi and Sonatine recently. I thought "this sounds like Joe Hisaishi" - turns out it was, he scored basically all of Takeshi's films
    • prominent6606 hours ago
      Getting Any, a total Takeshi movie

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Any%3F

    • serf4 hours ago
      if you're into yakuza campyness try the outrage series. he's great in them.
    • grunchie6 hours ago
      absolutely blowing my mind to realize vic romano and detective nishi are the same actor
  • Fervicus6 hours ago
    Wouldn't have expected this on Hacker News. Used to love watching this as a kid!
  • prominent6606 hours ago
    IRL OG Fall Guys
  • jauntywundrkind7 hours ago
    Thanks! Someone once told me about this, told me MXC is actually Takeshi's Castle, but I forgot, long ago. Fun fact.
  • dfxm125 hours ago
    Most of Beat Takeshi's work is amazing, from this, to his films, even his infamous Nintendo game.
  • racl1016 hours ago
    "Right in to the mud!"

    Remember watching this as a kid after school eating my bag of chips I'd been given for lunch which I'd save up so I can eat it later while watching this. In Canada, it was aired as MXC.

    • hubbahubbahubba2 hours ago
      Sinkers and floaters. Lots of jokes about remedial dental work that would be required.
  • sudo_navendu7 hours ago
    [dead]