During its run from 1998 to 2002, Susunu! Denpa Shōnen (translated: Do Not Proceed! Crazy Youth) became the biggest thing on Japanese television. The travel-focused variety show, cited by many as the foundation for reality TV as we know it, saw contestants tossed into survival scenarios, their hardships undercut by cartoonish production graphics and boisterous hosts. It was appointment television for millions of viewers—17 million weekly at its peak—the kind of compulsively watchable sugar rush... Read this story
