Episode Title: 泥んこ息止めバトル (Big Mud Pit Breath Holding Battle!)
Broadcast Date: Sunday, September 18th 2011
Viewing Links:
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzA1NjU0OTI4.html
Guests:
笑福亭鶴瓶 (Shofukutei Shohei)
Important Vocabulary:
泥んこ（どろんこ）: A mass of mud. A mud pit.
弟子（でし）: Pupil, Disciple
The first hold your breath under mud contest! The one who can hold his breath under the mud the longest is the winner!
Shohei (of Shohei Hey! fame) is up first ("Top Batter!") Unfortunately his first attempt (Matsumoto seeing Shohei covered with mud: "you look like an Obasan!") is invalid because the timer doesn't start. Despite Shohei's suggestion that they could take the time off the video tape, the consensus is they must reset and redo his attempt. A hose truck from a construction company (!) has been arranged to clean the mud off him.
His second attempt (making believe it's the first) goes well-- a little mud goes in Shohei's nose, but then... there's a typo on the cue-card (the Kanji for 瓶 (hei) in Shohei is written as 平(hey)). This is rude. They must reset and go again.
His third attempt is interrupted by a kid in an anachronistic school uniform (from Hokkaido!) that wants to become Shohei's pupil, in addition to the timer not starting.
Fifth attempt: producer Suga says Shohei's D*ck came out of his bathing suit (Matsumoto: "What kind of program do you think this is!")
Sixth attempt: Yamasaki touches the show banner (KanBan), angering the stagehand (入江さん) who's job it is to hold and prepare banners (he's been doing it for 22 years!)
Seventh Attempt: "This is the last!" Shohei says before diving in again. Unfortunately, Hamada collapses from hunger ("I haven't eaten since this morning!") , prompting the preparation of an impromptu bowl of udon. Shohei: "You've got UDON?"
Eighth Attempt: After Sadist Hamada helps Shohei get clean (he's eaten now) Shohei runs into an unexpected bather in the mud pit グレート義太夫 Great Gidayuu. The farce soon ends.
Episode Analysis:
Explicitly answering episode #1000, but replacing a large water tank with a mud pit, if not stellar in itself, this episode seems to epitomize the style of humor GnT strives for at its best. Mixing both improvisational humor and a very strict pre-scripted structure, it also derives humor from the quite real abuse Shohei has to undergo, and the increasingly unreal, absurdist events that occur.
Very interesting is the way in which this episode and the previous are all based upon and undermine the Sempai relationship between Shohei and the other Geinin. At the same time they revere their mentor, they simultaneously heap abuse on him.
I wouldn't mind if they brought Shohei back for a third go. But after the mud pit, it's uncertain how they could escalate.
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