Takeshi's Castle

Hilarious commentary throughout. Love Tom Davis and Romesh Ranagnathan. The games are hard but the commentary and the games itself makes it extremely funny. Great redo of the original series which is classic TV series. They bring back the old characters from the previous series with new twists on the old games. The only disappointment is there isnt more epsiodes for Tim and Romesh to narrate, can not get enough of the duo doing comedy. Would definitely recommend. Even learnt a lot about Japanese celebrities which are not as prominent within the UK. Great watching. Can't wait for another series to come out.

The entire history of reality TV has happened since the show's original run, and you'll see some of that regurgitated here. Expect audience reactions, endlessly repeated backstories and a highly curated group of quirky contestants who like being on camera. On top of that, expect plenty of nostalgia - it is, after all, the whole reason this reboot exists.

Higher production, less character - the usual. Same games with a different soul animating them.

But, somehow, it isn't completely terrible, so don't let me put you off a light watch to take your mind off things. I really enjoyed the guards this time around. However, I advise avoiding the English commentary as much as possible - not to idolise the just-about-okay OG commentary from Craig Charles, but Romesh Ranganathan and Tom Davis beg the question of just how bad the state of UK comedy must be for them to find continuous employment.

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 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.

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?