Eric Takabayashi <etakajp@yahoo.co.jp> wrote in message news:<3FFA10D4.87CC38AC@yahoo.co.jp>...
> Ken Yasumoto-Nicolson wrote:
> 
> >
> > My wife pointed out she already does consultations for up to 3 million
> > yen a session, so she was just playing for a couple of days' salary,
> > but even with remarkably easy questions she still failed on the last
> > one.
> 
> Yeah, I don't get why these Japanese celebrities, some of whom make
> millions of dollars a year, are the ones playing for what amounts to
> pocket money (and bitching when they don't win or make a mistake) or tiny
> trinkets such as inch tall crystal figurines, instead of allowing common
> people to play and win more than postcard drawings during the closing
> credits.

Actually, I don't mind these Swarovski (sp!) crystal figures as they
are relatively cheap prizes - it's the regular shows with a holiday at
the end - what really does happen to the prizes? The talents are
certainly not taking the holidays they win!

The most evil, I think, is Sanma's Karakuri TV - a big prize, talent
gets first shot, then the studio or viewers at home go into the hat.

> > I was taken by how similar their portrayal of that situation
> > was to the endless Japanese shows where we see inside rich people's
> > homes and are supposed to be impressed by the price tags on the
> > wall-to-wall shite they have piled up.
> 
> I love those shows. I'll never forget the guy who went from being someone
> who never went to high school, to the richest guy in town. He started a
> construction company and now has a five floor replica of a Japanese
> castle on a hill (appointed inside with purple crushed velvet, etc., to
> make it look like a hostess club or love hotel) and has a stable of
> exotic cars such as a Lamborghini Countach he claimed was his car for
> going out to eat ramen. Just the plain looking metal door on the gate to
> the house cost 30 million yen. 

We always laugh when they come up with the price tag on an
average-looking item like that sort of thing! They are meant to be
taken seriously (I think?) but as they say, a fool and his money are
easily parted.

> He had two high school aged kids who were
> embarrassed. The little shits should try growing up poor to learn to
> appreciate what they have.

I don't know if you saw Sanma's Dreams Come True or whatever show on
Sunday - they had two typical Shibuya 16 year-olds, hair dye and
inch-thick make-up, who had a dream to swim in an oasis. They got
invited to the Sahara, so you saw them at the airport, showing off the
designer shades and skimpy swimsuits they'd bought. Off they went to
meet this Beduin family at an oasis, who told them that one had dried
up, but they were welcome to come along for the ride to the next, 100
km or more away. The catch was they had to push the cart behind the
camel, had about 1 litre each per day of water, no bath, etc, etc for
the three day trip. One got some eye injury patched up - not stopping
her pasting the other eye with mascara - both had their feet
blistered, etc. This was interspersed with interviews with their
parents who hoped the experience would knock some sense into them.
They eventually (and eventfully) got to the next oasis, raced on ahead
for their swim, only to find it all dried up too. I thought that made
really good telly.

Ken