My Idea of Reality TV

Fuji's "Viking" to Debut on America's ESPN 2

Japan's top-rated TV network FUJI TELEVISION joins forces with ESPN, the world's premiere sports channel, to bring "VIKING: THE ULTIMATE OBSTACLE COURSE CHALLENGE" to US viewers.

Produced by Japan's top sports-variety producer Ushio Higuchi, "VIKING" features a series of grueling obstacle courses designed to test the outer limits of human strength, speed, agility, and endurance.

Built around a maritime theme, the VIKING course resembles a giant pirate warship, full of ropes, wooden masts, and gigantic cannonballs. On the forbidding 1st Marine Stage (larger than a football field), 100 contestants navigate perilous obstacles such as the "Swing Mast," "Loading Dock," and "Captain's Cabin." Contestants who fail to overcome an obstacle plunge headlong into pools of water waiting below. Those few intrepid fighters who successfully complete the 1st Marine Stage proceed on to stages with gradually increasing levels of difficulty, culminating in the "Final Viking"
— the ultimate test of mind, body, and spirit.

Following in the footsteps of its incredibly successful "Iron Chef" franchise (aired in the US on The Food Network), Fuji Television continues its impressive track record of importing spectacular television entertainment from Japan to the United States. (I watch this)

6 x 30-min episodes of "VIKING: THE ULTIMATE OBSTACLE COURSE CHALLENGE" will premiere on ESPN2 beginning February 18, 2006.

VIKING is produced by Monster 9, in association with Fuji Television. The English-dubbed version is produced by Fujisankei Communications International.