There isn’t much to be said about MXC so I’m going to explain the original idea before the entire thing. The Tokyo Broadcasting System had created a show called Takeshi’s Castle that aired in the late eighties. People would be put through some of the strangest, and most painful, competitions in order to eliminate one another and move on. All this leads to one person left who could complete all the tasks and win one million yen.

About twenty years later, a few Americans got together, found the episodes of Takeshi’s Castle, and edited the show to their own liking. Some editing and photoshop allowed the competitors to be placed into different teams and hilarious voices to be dubbed over the Japanese voices. Announcers Kenny Blankenship and Vic Romano add some rousing commentary to each event as teams that have no bearing to one another compete to win the day’s events.

Some of the events are just downright ridiculous. One of the weirdest ones would have to be the competitors getting into giant hand costumes and having to throw themselves face down onto cards with the correct answers to whatever questions were asked. One of the most painful contests includes a bunch of rolling logs and people having to jump from one to the other and get to the other side. Needless to say but most of them don’t make it and fall to their painful doom. Another sees competitors hit a ball at the top of what looks like a huge pinball machine, run down the side with a basket, and then try to catch the ball in the basket as it rolls off the end. Sounds simple right? Well, they try to catch the ball blindly of course while jumping outward with the basket and landing in a huge mud pit.

You can’t help but laugh while watching the show and it’s not even because of the fantastic things each competitor says before heading out to battle. The events themselves are just totally insane and I would be incredibly impressed if anyone that took place in the original episodes is not in traction today. For those that think Jackass is nothing but a bunch of idiots hurting themselves for no reason and won’t ever watch the show, then this is your healthy alternative. With MXC, you can watch a bunch of everyday people trying to win some money but hurting themselves in much worse ways. This collection of two volumes gives you twenty-six full episodes of just nonsensical events that people seem to enjoy getting demolished in.

Oooo that’s one gotta hurt Ken!

Episodes

Volume Four: Disc One

C.S.I. vs. Kid’s Entertainment
The Master Debaters: Kerry/Edwards Supporters Vs. Bush/Cheney Supporters
Waste Industry vs. Advertising
Malcontents Vs. Baked Goods
Mall Workers Vs. The Telephone Company
Art World Vs. Insurance Industry
Seafood Industry Vs. High Society

Volume Four: Disc Two

Lumber Industry Vs. Broadcast news
Postal Service Vs. Motor Sports
The Court Room Vs. Rodeo Industry
Sports Women vs. Business Women
White Collar Careers Vs. Blue Collar Careers
Comic Book Industry Vs. Personal Hygiene

Volume Five: Disc One

Desperate Housewives Vs. Ultimate Fighters
Real Mafia Vs. Video Game Industry
Country Music Superstars Vs. The World Of James Bond
Hollywood’s Jilted Wives Vs. Cheating Husbands
Las Vegas Vs. Sesame Street
Total Nonstop Action Vs. World Wrestling
Wack Pack Vs. Hollywood Rehabbers

Volume Five: Disc Two

Pro Athletes Vs. Super Models
Celebrity Justice Vs. TV Motor Sports Shows
Tough Guys Vs. Chick Flix
The World Of Hip Hop Vs. Hollywood Horror Movies
Mega-Millionaires Vs. Where Are They Now?
NASCAR Vs. Box Office Bombs

The episodes are shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and it looks like they always have. Each of the episodes is taken straight from Japanese television with little or no touch-ups done whatsoever to them. But they really don’t need to look too good in order to be enjoyable.

The episodes are heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound and come through just fine. The announcing can all be heard clearly and the dubbed over voices for the competitors is great too. Every scream, shriek, moan, grunt, and sound of pain comes through loudly and awesomely. It would be nice though if it was tried out with surround sound so the announcing could come out of one place while the dubbed competitors could be heard all around.

Original Episode of Takeshi’s Castle (Episode #75) - This is simply the same show you’ve been watching without the funny voices or commentary, fully in Japanese, and with subtitles.

Original Episode of Takeshi’s Castle (Episode #86) - Same as above.

I love this show straight and simple. Each episode is just as over the top as the last one and the one after it. I’m still amazed that these games were ever played seriously by people and honestly I don’t enjoy them nearly as much in their original form. The special features aren’t much and to me are even less because they just aren’t as fun. Hearing the great commentary from Kenny and Vic along with the hilarious randomness coming from the male and female competitors makes all the lunacy that much better. I could watch these over and over again because they’re just that damn funny and will always be worth checking out when you need a good laugh or are just plain bored out of your mind. It’s kind of strange that volumes one and two were packaged together, then volume three was released solo, and now four and five come in a set too. Not sure why they’re doing it that way, but more episodes for only a couple bucks more won’t get complaints out of me. Volume three sells for close to twenty bucks while this set goes for around twenty-two. You decide which is the better deal and DON’T GET ELIMINATED!

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Magnolia presents MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge: Volumes Four & Five. Created by: The Tokyo Broadcasting System. Starring: Victor Wilson, Christopher Darga, John Cervanka, Mary Scheer. Running time: 526 minutes on 4 discs. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: November 11, 2008. Available at Amazon