Why You Watch Spike TV's "MXC"

MXC is a hilarious, dubbed broadcast of a show that is actually Japanese in origin. For reasons unknown to us, these Japanese people are engage in a full-scale competition the like of which we have never seen. This show involves wearing costumes, jumping into mud or otherwise stagnant pools of water, and literally going to extreme measures to embarrass and hurt oneself. Why do they do this?

I don't know, and this has been the source of my obsession revolving around this show. Yet, even as my curiosity stews every time I watch this show, I can't look away. Though MXC features painful eliminations (falls, wipeout, spills, tumbles) that make one grimace just to view them, there's something absolutely hysterical about the show. Lots of this may have more to do with the commentary that has been dubbed over the action, which is so cheesy in nature it's hard not to laugh at it. Still, even the smiles on the faces of the contestants (have they no idea the horrors that are about to ensue?) could not assuage my curiosity. Just what do those people think they're doing all this for?

And so, my quest into the truth behind the joviality of MXC began. My suspicious nature led me to the early conclusion that these antics, while highly entertaining to American audiences, may in fact be extremely sinister in nature. And I was determined to prove this.

Soon, I was lost in a world of MXC fan sites. I was unable to unearth all sorts of information, but it took me a great deal of swearing and clicking before I finally found out what the ultimate goal of all this craziness is. That I can't tell, that no American audience can tell what the end goal is, has been the result of careful editing.

What we know as MXC airing on Spike TV (incidentally owned by MTV networks) was actually once called Takeshi's Castle by TBS. And by TBS, I mean the Tokyo Broadcasting System. It originally aired in May 1986, and ran to April 1989 when the host of the show (Takeshi) decided to leave. In Takeshi's Castle, more than one hundred contestants competed in various stunts and games (those we seen on MXC) in an attempt to storm Takeshi's castle. All this leads up to a final battle with Takeshi (which we do not see). Defeating him, a near-impossible feat, results in the winning of one million yen (which I've learned, from a reasonably trustworthy source, is about ten grand US dollars).

The American version of this show, named MXC is more of a satire on extreme sports and game shows in general, with ribald commentary dubbed in to make us choke up with laughter. Only the painful "eliminations" are shown, so that there seems to be little rhyme or reason to the stunts being performed. And while you may grimace when you watch, you will also be thoroughly entertained.

And the best news is, there's nothing sinister about. While it seems plumb crazy and dangerous besides, the contestants truly are having a grand old time. So now I can eliminate my MXC obsession, and get back to enjoying the show.