Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan
Encyclopedia
was a popular Japan
ese television variety show
aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System
around the mid-1980s. Starring Ken Shimura
and Cha Kato
, former members of the group The Drifters from Hachiji Dayo! Zen'in Shugo, the irreverent and satirical program would poke fun at contemporary society in Japan
, and would feature comedy vignettes similar to those found on The Benny Hill Show
or The Carol Burnett Show
. Leslie Nielsen
once made a special appearance on the show as well.
It is notable for having a segment featuring funny home videos sent in by viewers, as the home camcorder
became more popular in Japan
, which Ken and Kato would comment on. In 1989, American producer Vin Di Bona
initiated a partnership with Tokyo Broadcasting System to develop a similar program in the west, which ultimately led to the successful America's Funniest Home Videos
and other similar shows worldwide. Some videos seen in the first season of America's Funniest Home Videos originally aired on Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan.
The duo also had a PC Engine
video game called "Kato-chan and Ken-chan
" (translated and censored for a Western TurboGrafx-16
release as J.J. & Jeff
) based on their antics, filled with toilet humor, and featuring them as the game's playable characters.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese television variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System
Tokyo Broadcasting System
, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
around the mid-1980s. Starring Ken Shimura
Ken Shimura
, is a Japanese comedian and actor. He co-starred with Masashi Tashiro, Nobuyoshi Kuwano in the Japanese variety show "Ken Shimura no Bakatono-sama"....
and Cha Kato
Cha Kato
, also known as Kato-chan, is a male Japanese comedian and actor. His real name is . Cha is one of the members of The Drifters and plays drums...
, former members of the group The Drifters from Hachiji Dayo! Zen'in Shugo, the irreverent and satirical program would poke fun at contemporary society in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and would feature comedy vignettes similar to those found on The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill.There were various incarnations of the show between 1951 and 1991, and it aired in over 140 countries. The show is generally sketch-based with heavy use of slapstick, mime, parody and double-entendre...
or The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show is a variety / sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33...
. Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
once made a special appearance on the show as well.
It is notable for having a segment featuring funny home videos sent in by viewers, as the home camcorder
Camcorder
A camcorder is an electronic device that combines a video camera and a video recorder into one unit. Equipment manufacturers do not seem to have strict guidelines for the term usage...
became more popular in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, which Ken and Kato would comment on. In 1989, American producer Vin Di Bona
Vin Di Bona
Vincent John "Vin" Di Bona is a television producer for many American television shows such as America's Funniest People, MacGyver and Entertainment Tonight as well as America's Funniest Home Videos...
initiated a partnership with Tokyo Broadcasting System to develop a similar program in the west, which ultimately led to the successful America's Funniest Home Videos
America's Funniest Home Videos
America's Funniest Home Videos is an American reality television program on ABC in which viewers are able to send in humorous homemade videotapes. The most common videos usually feature slapstick physical comedy arising from incidents, accidents and mishaps...
and other similar shows worldwide. Some videos seen in the first season of America's Funniest Home Videos originally aired on Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan.
The duo also had a PC Engine
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
video game called "Kato-chan and Ken-chan
J.J. & Jeff
J.J. & Jeff, known in Japan as , is a side scrolling platform game for the TurboGrafx-16. The Japanese version is loosely based on the then-popular comedy television show Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan which Vin Di Bona Productions used as its inspiration for the popular television show...
" (translated and censored for a Western TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
release as J.J. & Jeff
J.J. & Jeff
J.J. & Jeff, known in Japan as , is a side scrolling platform game for the TurboGrafx-16. The Japanese version is loosely based on the then-popular comedy television show Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan which Vin Di Bona Productions used as its inspiration for the popular television show...
) based on their antics, filled with toilet humor, and featuring them as the game's playable characters.