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Saudi Arabia Signs On for Most Extreme Elimination Challenge
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, known originally in Japan as Takeshi's Castle, is a show about schadenfreude. The competition show took what Japanese game shows are best known for in the West, pain and humiliation, and took it up to 11. Players ran and jumped through nigh impossible obstacle courses at the risk of falling into muddy water or getting covered in some unknown substance. While Japanese game shows may have cornered the market, this type of entertainment is anything but culture restricted. In fact, Saudi Arabia is ready to create its very own version.
The Saudi Arabian General Sports Authority's chairman Turki Bin Abdulmohsen Al Alsheikh, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, and Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Japan Ahmed Bin Yunes Albarak visited TBS Holdings in Akasaka, Tokyo where they signed a contract on November 24 to reproduce the show for Saudi Arabian audiences.
The show is slated to debut at the end of next year on several Saudi television channels. The staff are sparing no expense and even recreating an Arab-style castle in Riyadh. The 50-obstacle course and castle will be built over the course of 10 months and take up approximately 300,000 square meters.
The Saudi Arabian General Sports Authority hopes that by broadcasting a local version of Takeshi's Castle, it will promote sports entertainment among the country's youth.
Prince Faisal previously visited TBS in May 2015 and the visit led to a Saudi production of the Japanese sports program SASUKE (Ninja Warrior).
The group met with TBS Holdings president Toshichika Ishihara, who thanked Prince Faisal for his cooperation on the SASUKE remake and promised his support on the upcoming Takeshi's Castle project.
American production company RC Entertainment, Inc. took the Japanese original starring Takeshi Kitano (Beat Takeshi) and dubbed it into English, changing Kitano's role from Count Takeshi to Vic Ramano, re-editing much of the footage to create a different premise and add a dash of gross-out humor.
Takeshi's Castle has aired in 159 countries according to TBS. It has also been remade in Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Source: Yahoo! News Japan, Arabian Business via Hachima Kikō
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history