Posts Tagged ‘human tetris’

Push the buttons before you fall into hot water…

A new wacky clip from “Haneru no Tobira”, with comedians trying to press buttons and inflate floating platforms before they slide down a slippery incline:

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Japanese comedians burn themselves

Reader Matt sends us this funny clip from the Japanese television show Lincoln in which a group of comedians conduct safety tests involving objects that have been heated by the summer sun:

BBC buys rights to air ‘Tunnels no minnasan no okage deshita’ (human tetris)

The BBC has bought the rights to air selected segments from Tunnels no minnasan no okage deshita, the Japanese TV show that includes funny challenges like the “human tetris” wall game:

The BBC has bought the rights to a lowbrow Japanese game show, which uses a moving wall to ditch contestants in a pool of water in the corporation’s latest effort to bring fresh ideas to its audiences.

The BBC will screen the pratfalls and celebrity humiliations of certain segments of Tunnels no minnasan no okage deshita in September. The show has prevailed spectacularly in a television environment where custard pies, eating contests and buckets of maggots remain essential props.

The Tunnels show, which features an ever-changing cavalcade of ridiculous games and gut-churning pranks, is the prime-time jewel in the crown of Tokyo’s largest television station.

Now in its eleventh year, watched by millions and decried by a noted Japanese television critic as “deeply compelling rubbish”, the Tunnels show lurches from feature to feature in an hour of variety.

Sounds like it will be a lot better than Fox’s complete America remake of the wall game.

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And on a somewhat related note, here’s a clip of an Israeli Tunnels remake I came across on YouTube today:

Three spinning platforms, one pool full of very hot water…

In this ridiculous game from Haneru no Tobira, comedians must cross three spinning platforms, jump to a rope, and swing onto a little island floating the the surface of very hot water:

Fox to produce American ‘Human Tetris’ show

The “human tetris” Japanese game show segment, which became a YouTube hit after Japan Probe posted about about a year ago, will be adapted to American television by Fox:

The network has given a series order to “Hole in the Wall,” the “human Tetris” game show whose foreign incarnations have become a YouTube hit.

In the show, participants contort their bodies to fit precut walls flying toward them on a track. If they don’t fit through shapes, they’re pushed off the track into a pit of water below.

“I think its success is going to be instantaneous,” said Fox entertainment president Mike Darnell, who has picked up 13 hours (which could be divided into 26 half-hours) for next season. “It’s as simple as it gets. It’s one of those shows I think is going to be very addictive. You think, ‘I’m not going to watch this,’ and a half-hour later you’re still watching it.”

Originally launched in Japan in 2006, it now screens in 16 territories, including Australia, Russia and Denmark. Clips of the show have been popular on YouTube, with its videos registering millions of user views each. The franchise is produced by FremantleMedia, the firm behind “American Idol.”

[hat tip to Japanator]

Orangutan Conductor

This very cool performance won the grand prize on last night’s Kinchan no Kasoh Taisho special: