Review of Super Banzai Video Show

Introduction

For the uninitiated, Banzai is an unconventional game show, where the audience is invited to bet on the outcome of some very silly and often risqué stunts and challenges. It started life on the digital channel E4 but its brand of irreverent and outrageous comedy soon made the transition to Channel 4. It is presented in the style of a Japanese game show and is given a brilliant voiceover by Burt Kwouk of the Pink Panther fame. With its pseudo oriental font and characters, including a Shaolin monk who yells "Banzai!" in alternative ways as well as the bespectacled grinning, Mr Cheeky Chappy, all interspersed with sort of South Park meets manga animations, it`s fair to say that nothing like this comedy has ever been seen on British television. With Mr Shake Hands man and Lady One Question unleashed on an unsuspecting showbiz world, as well as C-list celebrities taking part in increasingly bizarre challenges, Banzai has been accurately described as post-pub entertainment. The Super Banzai Video Show is arguably the best of the show put together on DVD with added interactivity.

There are three choices on the main menu screen. 15 minutes of Play At Home Fun give you and a friend to bet on the outcome of five challenges, while the DVD keeps score of your guesses. The Gambling Opportunities is the meat of the disc, with 50 minutes of antics taken from the show. Finally there is a Super Fun Extras section with added gambling goodness.

Video

This disc is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. To complement the Japanese style of the show, the image looks like an NTSC transfer, with the comparatively soft image, but that is to do with the show rather than any technical specification. Banzai has a unique look to it, one that is very much based on the Japanese culture, so the screen is usually very busy, with lots of garish primary colours. The animations between the bets are of a simplistic almost South Park style, with simple representations of characters or funny tricks with the pseudo font. The live pieces very much have the appearance of being done on the cheap, which just adds to the fun.

Audio

A DD 2.0 track graces this disc and is perfectly suitable to convey the material. All the dialogue is clearly audible. Banzai is styled as the ancient oriental art of gambling, so the music and the voiceovers are similarly of a Japanese/Chinese style/accent. The dulcet tones of Burt Kwouk provide half the commentary and the deliberate mispronunciations and elaborately named bets keep with the tone of the programme. Unfortunately, the most notable omission is that of subtitles.

Features

There are five options under the extras option. First is the Sing-A-Long-A-Banzai, where our favourite bald headed monk, goes all Freddie Mercury stylee to sing out "Banzai!" By now I was enjoying this disc so much that I found myself joining in. There is the animated Hitler Gandhi (miss-spelt Ghandi) game, where you have to guess who will be at the front of a carousel when it stops spinning, Gandhi or Hitler. If you get this right 3 times in a row, you will unlock 3 minutes of outtakes. There is a similar Mr Shake Hands game, where you must guess how long the animated characters will shake hands for. Guess correctly 3 times in a row and you will unlock 8 minutes of saucy betting extras. There are 10 minutes of unseen gambling mayhem, and finally screensavers for Windows and MacOS.

Conclusion

I`ll be upfront and say that I`ve never sat down and watched Banzai properly on a Friday night. I`ve caught glimpses and have been intrigued, but never enough to stay with it. Having sat down and watched through this disc, twice I have to say that it is the funniest thing I have seen in ages. That said, it won`t appeal to all denominations, and does skate a little close to the line on occasions. This disc is definitely not one for all the family. From the moment you stick this disc into your player the insanity commences. The copyright warning hasn`t even faded before the Bald headed monk pops up, does a couple of Kung fu moves and yells "Banzai". You are immediately presented with three options. Choose correctly to start the disc. Choose incorrectly and you are faced with a glowering celebrity of yesteryear with added commentary from Burt Kwouk and co.

Then the disc starts and you are presented with three options, Play At Home Fun allow you to bet on the outcome of five challenges using your DVD remote, and the disc tallies your score as you play through this section. You can watch the challenges without the opportunity to bet, but where`s the fun in that? Immediately you are graced with the hilarious commentary and elaborate game titles. The Fantastic Freddie Man Flutter sees three Freddie Mercury look-alikes hanging from a crossbar in a goalmouth. You have to bet on which one will hang the longest. Then there is the eye watering, Genital Weight Gamble with Mr Peter Beale. Yes, you have to bet on how much Pete Beale`s meat and two veg weigh, as measured by Mr Cheeky Chappy gleefully pulling on what can only be described as a `contraption`. Among this collection is also The Four Letter Word Water Wager, where a group of synchronised swimmers spell out a rude word in the swimming pool, you guess which one it is.

The Gambling Opportunities is the main meat of the disc, with 50 minutes of similar bets, but you can`t bet on them yourselves using the remote. Among them is the hilarious Squirrel Fishing with Vangelis versus Marzipan (hours of fun with a fishing rod and some nuts), The Famous Man Dingle Dangle Dilemma (can you identify eighties `yoof` TV icon Normski by his tackle?), The Old Lady Wheelchair Chicken Challenge and, of course the legendary Peter Purves Satanic Message Puzzle. There are many more including appearances by Mr Shake Hands Man I and II, as well as Lady One Question. Other celebrities on the disc include Keith Harris and Orville, various Big Brother has-beens, Lou Ferigno, Kelsey Grammer, Bill Murray, Bob Holness and Fish from Marillion. The irreverence shown to celebrity in this programme is sidesplitting and often a little embarrassing but compulsive viewing nonetheless.

But Banzai does skate a little close to the edge, and there may be some who find it`s humour a little offensive. An Interesting Doggie Death Dilemma, where you had to bet which dog would be put down at the vets was never shown on TV, but is in the extras here. Also The Lonely Man Christmas Specimen Showdown, gives three men their choice of jazz mag, sends them behind a screen with a cup and the first one to… EEEUUWWW!!! That makes my teeth itch just thinking about it.

Nevertheless, Banzai is extremely funny. There is a question mark over replay value, and it would have been good if you had been able to gamble on all the bets using the DVD remote instead of just the ones in the short first section, but I can see this disc on many Christmas lists. I can`t think of anything else like this, it is wholly unique. In a world where mind numbing sitcoms and tedious sketch shows rule comedy TV, when something as rare as this comes along, you have to sit up and take notice. What other show makes the toughest motorcycle cop in California cry? Me, I`m still chuckling at those dangling squirrels.