is a Japanese television program from the 1980s. It is not particularly well-known or remembered in Japan, but it became famous in other countries, particularly the United Kingdom. This is likely due to its appearance on the British television program '' Clive James on Television'' and subsequently '' Tarrant on TV'', under the name ''Endurance''. The program was a version of an activity at Japanese universities, the ''gaman taikai'' or "endurance contest", where students try to outdo each other in withstanding unpleasant experiences. The TV program featured teams from universities, such as Keio University, who were subjected to various unpleasant ordeals, such as being buried up to the neck in sand or licked by reptiles. The person who endured the longest was declared the winner. Short segments of the program were used in the British television shows, which humorously examined television programs from around the world. Following ''Clive James on Television'', clips from the now-defunct show were also used in the 1990s in ''Tarrant on TV''. A very short-lived British version of the show was also created, hosted by

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, but it did not feature the extreme conditions of the original program. Only two series of the British version were produced for

Challenge TV Challenge is a British free-to-air television channel owned by Sky, a division of Comcast. The channel mostly transmits game shows from the UK and around the world, with some original productions. History The Family Channel The channel was o ...

, which first aired from 1997 to 1998, and it saw little success. The use of the clips on the

Clive James Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.prisoners of war also complained about the contents. James went on to write a novel called ''Brrm! Brrm!'' with a Japanese lead character, Akira Suzuki, who was made fun of by his British friends using the word "endurance". The program made the ''

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'' for "Most Extreme Game Show".

''Endurance UK''

After short segments of the now-defunct show were used in ''Clive James on Television'' and ''Tarrant on TV'', the format was picked up by British television company

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, who were in the process of rebranding The Family Channel (originally based at TVS Television Centre in

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) into a game show network called

. The short-lived British version of the show ran for two series (airing from 1997 to 1998) and was hosted by

from a 'Japanese-styled' studio with 'Japanese' assistants Hoki and Koki (actually actors Peter Cocks and Stephen Taylor Woodrow, from TVS children's show '' What's Up Doc?'', in

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). In series two, Tara O'Connor replaced Olivia Stranger as the host (the 'Gong Banger'), while Chris Sievey (previously seen as Frank Sidebottom on the TVS shows ''

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'', ''

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'', and '' What's Up Doc?'') joined as a 'Gimp man' character. The show did not feature the extreme conditions of the original program, with the games being similar to ones shown on ITV's ''

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'', and so the British version saw little success.

References

{{Reflist 1980s Japanese television series Japanese game shows Television controversies in Japan Sports entertainment

''Endurance UK''

See also

References