Original Takeshi's Castle
The original show involved between 100 and 142 contestants whom General Tani (Hayato Tani) "forced" into a series of physical challenges, eliminating many of the contestants. Each show finished with a "Final Showdown" in which Count Takeshi (Kitano) was faced by the remaining contestants. In early episodes they would storm the castle set itself in a short-range water gun assault. Later episodes introduced carts with paper rings, and eventually lasers and light-sensitive targets. If the contestant's gun penetrated the paper ring or hit the sensor on Takeshi's cart, against such weapons as a large water gun and a laser-armed plane, Takeshi's cart was deactivated, the castle was "taken" and the game "won". The player who stopped Takeshi won one million yen (which, at the time, was roughly equivalent to $8,000 US or £5,000 sterling). However, there were only nine winners during the show's run.
The series featured extensive landscaping of a fixed campus at TBS-owned Midoriyama (Green Mountain) Studios that included large man-made lakes and extensive permanent obstacles in Yokohama, Japan. The final regular episode aired on April 14, 1989 followed by several one off specials.
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