If you ever thought Beadle’s About was a bit too near the knuckle, Panic Face King will not be for you.
In a recent episode, the Japanese television game show had one contestant sitting in an office with three other men.
As the ominous theme music to 24 played over the top, viewers watched him sit talking to the three.
Suddenly the windows smash, the sound of gunfire echoes through the room, and blood spurts from the chests of the men around him.
As they collapse, he crawls in obvious terror to the door, scrabbling in fear against it when he finds it locked.
This trauma-inducing experience is billed as comedy, with a studio audience laughing merrily over the top.
US television has seen similar shows – notably Scare Tactics, which faked serial killer attacks, live burials and UFO abductions – but Panic Face King’s startlingly lifelike and brutal images are still shocking.
One blogger on Boing Boing is unimpressed. Mark Frauenfelder says: “The producers of this program ought to be fined and locked up, if you asked me.”
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