Takeshi's Castle

Love the original, this has none of the charm and moaning negative unfunny commentators.

Despite wishing for a Takeshi reboot for decades, I was only able to watch 2 episodes before my initial fears were confirmed.... It's trash TV. So sad.

Yes the show is hard and it was hard initially, but there were multiple rounds where noone made it so a fighting spirit award was given so that some warriors can continue.

The charm of the original series built on a shoestring budget around some big characters is absent. Big budget bright colours, it feels more like total wipeout.

The commentary is the worst part. Bring back Craig?

I wish there was a way to turn off the English commentators for the Prime version. Romesh Ranganathan and Tom Davis are about as funny as a root canal and unnecessarily mean about the contestants, who all look really nice and funny. I would have preferred an option for the original Japanese narration either with dubbing or subtitles. And surprise surprise the English script is written by Geoff Norcott, another terminally unfunny 'comedian'.

As for the games themselves, they look a blast and there is some genuine skill involved to win the rounds. Some of them are a little hard but there is enough of a mercy element not to be overly harsh. I'd be giving this 8 if it wasn't for the annoying English guys talking over it. Please consider adding an original audio option for the remaining episodes.

I never thought this show would.be rebooted and the reboot is glorious! It's got the spirit, the energy, and over the top drama I didn't even realize I was missing. This is a bigger budget continuation of the original series, and what is loses in low budget charm it more than makes up for in energy and thoughtful redesign of events and a new award and make up challenge system. Overall it's a welcome development and I hope it gets multiple seasons!

Pros:

• higher budget
• more events
• new format is A+ good
• behind the scenes glimpses are super positive

Cons:

• season is short
• lost that "is this in someone's backyard?" vibe.

I love the show, pays great homage to the original.

The presenters - particularly Romesh - is probably the least suited to host such a fun, and light show.

He spends the whole time being condescending, rude and just overly negative about the show and the contestants that are just having a good time. Where he clearly is not.

Nothing wrong with poking fun but he comes across as that arse in a pub that after two minutes of trying to laugh off his awkward Reddit level rudeness, you just walk away.

He's just so off the mark of the spirit of this show, and in the effort to appeal to the UK market they're trying to have rudeness which is normally sharp witty and funny that we're known for - and cram the absolute maximum level of "yeah it ain't that good, what a pathetic attempt" energy as possible. He just isn't having a good time and the audience knows it.

Tom is alright, he just ain't that funny. Romesh is just awful. Enough to actually ruin the show.

I'll finish it, because I love TC, but this clear attempt to appeal to a wider UK market you've ruined a show.

Takeshi's Castle was my favorite show back in the day, and I was thrilled to discover a new season on Amazon Prime. I highly recommend binge-watching it all in one sitting - it's still as awesome as ever! The production values are top-notch, and the games seem a bit more challenging, which adds an extra layer of excitement.

As I watched the German version, I couldn't comment much on the criticism of the UK commentators. The German version is quite similar to the original show.

Overall, it's an incredible show that evokes a lot of nostalgia. We even get some of the original characters and games back, which is a huge plus. And let's not forget the eye candy in the form of some models and bikini girls in some of the games - it's all part of the charm!

However, there's one thing that could be improved: subtitles for the Japanese banter. The commentary is great, but a lot of the time the contestants or Takeshi's army grunts say something in Japanese, and you never know what it means.

Despite this minor flaw, it's still a fantastic show. Don't you dare Amazon Prime cancel it!