is a Japanese

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

. It premiered on October 18, 2005, and ended on September 10, 2013, and aired on TBS every Tuesday night. Hosted by the comedy duo

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

, it featured seven other comedians in its regular cast, and had several recurring younger, up-and-coming comedians as guests. The show used

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

as its mascot, and its slogan was: "The program of the '' geinin'', by the ''geinin'', for the ''geinin''", parodying a line from his famous

Gettysburg Address The Gettysburg Address is a Public speaking, speech that President of the United States, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery, Soldiers' National Cemetery, ...

. The object of the show was to have the younger comedians watch and learn from the more experienced comedians through fun and games. The opening used the song "The Revolution" by BT and featured the regular cast as

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

ic ''

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

'' characters in a futuristic setting. The animation was done by

Studio 4°C is a Japanese animation studio founded by Eiko Tanaka and Koji Morimoto in 1986. The name comes from the temperature at which water is most dense. History Studio 4 °C has produced numerous feature films, OVAs, and shorts. Early film titl ...

, a studio well known for ''

The Animatrix is a 2003 adult animated science-fiction anthology film produced by the Wachowskis. The film details through nine animated short films the backstory of ''The Matrix'' film series, including the original war between humanity and machines which l ...

''.

Cast

Regulars

(

Masatoshi Hamada is a Japanese comedian best known as the ''tsukkomi'' half of the popular owarai duo Downtown alongside Hitoshi Matsumoto. His nickname is . Hamada is married to Natsumi Ogawa, with whom he has two children. Early life Hamada was born near Da ...

and

Hitoshi Matsumoto , commonly known as , is a Japanese film director and one of Japan's most popular comedians and TV hosts. He is one half of the comedy duo Downtown alongside Masatoshi Hamada. Like Hamada, Matsumoto was born and raised in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefe ...

) *

Summers Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wi ...

(

Kazuki Ōtake is a Japanese comedian. He is a former member of Japanese band UltraCats and current member of owarai group Summers. Filmography * ''Peanuts'' (2006) * ''Moomins on the Riviera ''Moomins on the Riviera'' (Finnish title: ''Muumit Rivieralla' ...

and Masakazu Mimura) *

Ameagari Kesshitai , also known simply as Ameagari, was a Japanese comedy duo ''( kombi)'' consisting of Hiroyuki Miyasako () and Tōru Hotohara (). They are from Osaka and, like most other comedians from the Kansai region, are employed by Yoshimoto Kogyo. The duo w ...

(

Hiroyuki Miyasako is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, voice actor and plays the boke in Ameagari Kesshitai. His partner is Tōru Hotoharu. He is represented by Yoshimoto Kogyo. Miyasako won the award for Best Supporting Actor at the 28th Hochi F ...

and Tōru Hotohara) *

Kyaeen is a Japanese comedy duo ''( kombi)'' consisting of Udo Suzuki (ウド鈴木) and Hiroyuki Amano (天野ひろゆき). They are employed by Asai Kikaku, a talent agency based in Tokyo. Their ''kombi'' name was inspired by the happy squeals of ...

(

Udo Suzuki , also known as Udo, is a Japanese musician and comedian. He used to be a member of the Japanese band UltraCats and is a member of the owarai group . See also * List of Japanese comedians This is a list of Japanese comedians—known in Japa ...

and

Hiroyuki Amano is a Japanese comedian, actor, voice actor, television presenter, film director and film critic. He is nicknamed . He performs ''tsukkomi'' and make stories in the comedy duo Kyaeen. His partner is Udo Suzuki. Amano is represented with Asai Kik ...

)

Semi-regulars

Tomomitsu Yamaguchi is a Japanese comedian, actor, voice actor, singer and presenter from Shijōnawate, Osaka. He is a graduate of the Osaka Prefecture North Shijōnawate Senior High School. He is currently attached to the Yoshimoto Creative Agency. He is best kn ...

Ogi Yahagi Ogi may refer to: People *Adolf Ogi (born 1942), Swiss politician *, Japanese football player *, Japanese actress and politician *Darko Ostojić (born 1965), nicknamed Ogi, Bosnian musician and actor *, Japanese football player *Ogi Ogas (born 197 ...

Jichō Kachō is a Japanese comedy unit (''kombi'') consisting of two , and . Sometimes also known as , they are one of the most popular ''owarai'' ''kombi'' coming from Yoshimoto Kōgyō in Tokyo. Their name literally means "Vice manager, Section manager", a ...

Shinagawa Shoji is a Japanese comedy duo ''( kombi)'' consisting of Hiroshi Shingawa (品川祐) and Tomoharu Shōji (庄司智春) who have featured in a number of television shows. They are employed by Yoshimoto Kogyo, and are mainly active in Tokyo. They gra ...

Speed Wagon In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quantity. ...

Nakagawa-ke is a Japanese comedy duo ''( kombi)'' consisting of Reiji (礼二) and Tsuyoshi (剛). Reiji and Tsuyoshi are actual brothers and their last name is Nakagawa, hence their unit name Nakagawake (Meaning ''House of Nakagawa''). They are employed b ...

Bananaman Bananaman is a fictional character appearing in British comic books. Bananaman is a parody of traditional superheroes, being portrayed as a schoolboy who is transformed into a muscled, caped adult man when he eats a banana. The character origin ...

Fujiwara Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include: ; Families * The Fujiwara clan and its members ** Fujiwara no Kamatari ...

Football Hour is a Japanese comedy duo ( kombi) consisting of Terumoto Gotō (tsukkomi) and Nozomu Iwao (boke), both from Osaka. They are performers for the entertainment company Yoshimoto Kogyo. They graduated from the Yoshimoto NSC Osaka 14th generation cl ...

External links

* {{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827121159/http://www.tbs.co.jp/lincoln05/ , date=August 27, 2013 , title=Official website 2010s Japanese television series 2005 Japanese television series debuts 2013 Japanese television series endings Japanese variety television shows TBS Television (Japan) original programming