Japanese
TV is quite a bit different from American TV. First
of all, its done almost entirely in Japanese... (tries
to keep a straight face...fails.. ^_^)
But that is not the real difference I am talking about.
Compared to American TV shows, a lot of Japanese TV
shows are done on a very low budget. But this does nothing
to take away from their appeal. And in some ways, I
think it even adds to it.
Let me explain.
As serious as the Japanese can seem to an outsider,
they REALLY like to have a good time, and have a quite
a sense of humor. And in particular, they really enjoy
practical jokes.
A show I am watching right now goes like this:
A group of TV personalities, maybe 6 or 7 in total
are in a TV studio with an audience. They have set up
a practical joke targeting up and coming comedians.
These guys are just famous enough to be easily recognized,
but still have not hit it big and they all seem to be
enjoying their new-found celebrity status.
Being comedians, they are not famous because of their
looks, and for the most part they are average looking,
or maybe just a little below average.
Here's the joke:
There is a good looking woman posing as a fan and she
is posted at the entrance/exit to the building that
all of the targeted comedians happen to be working in
for the day.
As each of the comedians leave for the day (one at
a time) the woman stops them on the street and introduces
herself saying that she is a big fan of theirs. After
a little small talk (where she is falling all over the
guy about how big a fan she is) she gives him her business
card and points out that it contains her e-mail address
and she would like it very much if he would email her
as she would like to get to know him better.
The whole time a hidden camera is recording the entire
exchange and then proceeds to follow the comedian as
he leaves. The hosts of the show are back in the studio
watching the scene, along with the studio audience,
and they also have a bunch of cell phones that are keyed
to the email addresses she gives to the comedians. (Each
comedian was given a different email address, and each
email address corresponds to one of the in-studio cell
phones)
Out of the 9 comedians being targeted, 4 emailed her
back, two of them almost instantly. (within minutes)
The "good guy" award goes to one of the
comedians who told the woman on the spot that he should
not take her business card because he has a girlfriend
and he would not e-mail her anyway. (This was received
with a very good reaction from the studio audience,
which was made up almost entirely of women)
The really funny part is that all the e-mails received
by the comedians are read out loud during the show and
then one of the male hosts drafts a response and sends
it.
Over a period of about 20-30 days they kept up the
e-mail charade until the woman finally "agrees"
to see him again. (This part is time compressed and
is not shown in the show. Only the actual email traffic
itself is displayed on the show.)
Of the 4 that have been emailing with "her"
over the past month, the hosts of the show play a practical
joe on each of them in turn.
The first two went like this:
After a certain amount of time the "woman"
separately emails the first two guys and tells each
individually that she would like to see them again.
In turn she ells each of them to meet her at a certain
place at a certain time. It turns out the be exactly
the same place, at exactly the same time. Somewhere
in Shibuya, Shinjuku, or somewhere else that has huge
TV screens on the side of buildings. (The two comedians
don't know about each other.) When they show up at the
appointed place and time, they of course recognize each
other (since they are in the same field). They get to
chatting and eventually ask each other what they are
doing there. They both play it cool and say something
like, "oh nothing, just hanging out." (This
whole time a hidden camera and microphone is picking
up the whole thing and broadcasting it back to the studio.)
As the clock strikes the appointed time, suddenly,
the gigantic TV screen above them cuts to a scene from
the Studio of the TV show that they are unwittingly
a part of. The hosts of the show start screaming and
getting everyone's attention, including that of the
two comedians who showed up to meet that"fan".
The hosts of the show then let them in on what has
been happening, along with broadcasting this fact to
everyone else within ear and eye-shot of the giant TV
screen.
Slowly the two come to realize that they have been
duped. After getting over their initial shock, they
start to see the humor in the situation. (While
I am sure still holding out hope that their "girlfriend"
will show up.
AFter fully realizing they are the butt of the joke
they actual start to enjoy it. (Especially since they
know this extra TV coverage will be good for their careers.)
The 3rd comedians joke went like this:
The "woman" emailed him and told him that
she wanted to go to a soccer field with him and play
a little soccer. Since this particular comedian also
happens to0 be a really good soccer player, he readily
agrees since this will be a great chance for him to
show off his skills and make a good impression on the
lady. They meet at the field and he proceeds to do some
tricks with the ball which she dutifully squeals in
delight at. After a little bit of more of him showing
off for her, and she has him firmly wrapped around her
little finger she asks him to show her how hard he can
kick the ball.
Of course he agrees.
She takes the ball and sets it on the field, asking
him to give it his hardest kick.
(This is where it gets really funny)
When she placed the ball on the field she was very
particular about the place where she put it.
Right on the edge of a concealed pit.
The pit looks just like any other part of the field,
but in fact is nothing more than a thin layer of styrofoam
topped with a dusting of the same dirt that covers the
rest of the field.
She steps back, careful not to step onto the dirt covered
styrofoam, and asks him to give it a try.
He starts jogging in place, building up momentum for
his kick.
After revving up he springs forward gaining speed as
he runs towards the ball and nails it as hard as he
can, leaping into the air with his forceful kick.
As he comes down, he is totally swallowed by the pit
as the thin layer of styrofoam gives way. In a split
second he is completely out of site and there is nothing
left except a man sized hole in the styrofoam.
(Instant replay plays it back once more)
The camera zooms in on the hole.
(The studio audience are roaring in laughter. The hosts
of the show, who had ben hiding in a building nearby
show up on the scene and proceed to give a reply to
the instant reply)
To add insult to injury, the ball that he had just
kicked must have bounced off of a pole or wall because
it has come back and now actually falls into the hole
along with our recently swallowed comedian.
After another instant replay of the incident the camera
cuts back to the hole.
Nothing.
No movement.
The hosts go to investigate, peeling away some of the
styrofoam to get a better look.
And there he is.
Lying about 6 feet down in a pile of soft foam with
the biggest look of shock on his face. (covered in dirt)
He is in such shock that he can't even move or respond
to what they are saying to him.
After a minute he starts to come out of it and realizes
that he has been tricked.
The scene ends with him smiling with everyone else,
but he's a little on his guard, still not quite sure
of the joke is over or not.
And how does the 4yth comedian get let in on the joke?
I don't know yet because the show has saved that one
for next weeks episode. But seeing as they are keeping
me in anticipation for a full week, I am sure they have
saved the best one for last.
Comment 16
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