Banzai (2003–2004)

Oriental game show hosts hold betting on ridiculous challenges.

Stars:

Antonio Banderas, Lisa Barbuscia, Todd Bridges

Cast

Series cast summary:
Antonio Banderas	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Lisa Barbuscia	...	Herself (1 episode, 2003)
Todd Bridges	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Nick Carter	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Hugh Cornwell	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Simon Cowell	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Rob Curling	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Lou Ferrigno	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Elliott Gould	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Kelsey Grammer	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Jennifer Love Hewitt	...	Herself (1 episode, 2003)
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Angelina Jolie	...	Herself (1 episode, 2003)
Jodie Kidd	...	Herself (1 episode, 2003)
Mike Lindup	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Glen Matlock	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Summer Moore	...	Summer The Valley Girl (1 episode, 2003)
Bill Murray	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Adam Sandler	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Gene Simmons	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
George Takei	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)
Rick Wakeman	...	Himself (1 episode, 2003)

Storyline

Oriental game show hosts hold betting on ridiculous challenges.

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Plot Keywords:

character name in title

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Genres:

Comedy | Game-Show

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 2003 (Iceland)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Radar

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The show was canceled by the Fox Network after six episodes. In February 2004, Comedy Central bought the rights to the series and planned on airing all 10 produced episodes, four of which never aired on Fox. The deal also included the option to produce new episodes. But after showing five of the previously aired episodes, Comedy Central pulled it from the schedule. The show was a target of protests throughout its run from Asian-Americans who felt the show portrayed demeaning stereotypes of Asians. These protests succeeded in getting many major sponsors to pull their advertising from the show. G4 began airing the reruns along with the original British version in 2006.

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Quotes

Announcer: [repeated line before challenges] PLACE YOUR BETS NOW!

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Connections

Version of Banzai (2001)

User Reviews

Most irritating show ever

This show makes The Anna Nicole Show look wholesome. "Banzai" consists of a string of retarded, unfunny "stunts," where the home viewers are supposed to bet on the outcome. Maybe if we got some prize money for every time we were right, this show would be worth watching.

Instead, the obnoxious stereotypical Japanese accents just make my head want to explode. How do the guys at Fox get away with this rubbish? If they replaced the faux Japanese "warrior" people with African-American plantation type people and renamed the show "Let Me Axe You Sometin'," the show wouldn't even air!

The folks at Fox need to get lobotomies and bring back quality shows like "Family Guy" instead of this unoriginal nonsense.