Game Show that debuted in 2008 on MTV based on the Silent Library sketches from the Japanese comedy show Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende. The main difference is that the American version uses members of the public and puts actual money at stake — the Gaki no Tsukai guys do it simply because it's funny.
Unlike most game shows, all the players are on a single team of six people acting in cooperation. This team is usually made up of college students, but sometimes celebrities (particularly bands or musicians, such as Justin Bieber, given that this is MTV) will play with friends along to fill out the table, with the occasional theme teams such as six of the New York Giants, or six Hooters waitresses. Celebs and theme teams will generally play for charity rather than for winnings.
The team assembles in a library and must remain quiet as much as possible. They're then given cards faced down and each picks one at random, then all flip them over at once. For most games, five of the players will have a green SAFE card, with one unfortunate being given a yellow card with a skull and crossbones. (In some games, only one person is safe, and the other five are required to finish the task at hand.) The unfortunate chosen must then endure a "Punishment Game", which involves some truly bizarre (and quite hilarious) tasks, such as:
- drinking water or milk dirtied in various manners (such as drinking dishwater, hot dog water, seaweed soda, or wasabi-milk)
- eating unusual food mixtures (such as Swedish Fish covered in tartar sauce, or an entire meal blended together into a not very appetizing slurry) or non-food items (such as a 'pizza' made with homemade modeling dough)
- withstanding mildly to moderately painful attacks (ranging from being a target in a carnival bean bag game to men having to straddle a pool table or shuffleboard table and thus enduring an object making forceful contact with the crotch) or foul odors
- having various objects, particularly food items, shot at them by teammates using compressed gas guns or 'water' guns (one game involved the punished wearing a bowl around his head and neck while his teammates shot lettuce, tomatoes, bacon bits, and salad dressing at him)
- having to perform manual dexterity tasks of varying difficulties (such as catching dishes with gloves covered in dish soap, or applying makeup while the hands are being pulled by a marionette crossbar)
To say the least, the bystanders must try their best not to burst out laughing or exceed the noise level during the punishment (shown to the viewer via a noise gauge). In fact, the more surreal games are not difficult to accomplish, but by keeping everyone quiet while the game is in play. (The game that usually shows up every episode, "Bad Door," works on this principle.) If they manage to complete the task and stay below the gauge, they win some money, which goes up each round. And each successful task adds more cash to the pot. Not a bad deal just for keeping quiet in the library, eh?
As of 2023, the near entire series is available to watch
officially on the MTV Vault YouTube channel.
Game Show Tropes in use:
- All or Nothing: Sort of. If the contestants make too much noise during the rounds and hit the red zone in the gauge, and/or fail to complete a task correctly, then they don't win any money for that challenge.
- Celebrity Edition: Quite common during the show's later years.
- Double the Dollars: The value of each challenge increased from one round to the next, starting at $300 and ending at $1,000. Played straightest in going from Round 2 ($400) to Round 3 ($800).
- Game Show Host: The first major change from the original - Zero Kazama is placed where the librarian in the original sits, but functions as the scorekeeper.
- Stage Money: Zero has a stack of it on hand and pays the contestants off as they exit the library at the end of the show.
Now remember: silence. Continue reading this show's tropes:
- Abnormal Ammo: Some challenges involve contestants being shot with various foodstuffs.
- Bait-and-Switch: Some challenges seem to involve a certain idea that is turned on its head. For example: one punishment has it so that a contestant has a baseball helmet with a baseball on it to be a tee for a young player. Instead, the contestant is hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat.
- Bilingual Bonus: The Eye Catch animation shows a bunch of books with the original Japanese name on the spines.
- Eat That: Certain challenges involve blending themed foods and drinking the contents together, or consuming unappetizing items. Not keeping the food down results in not winning the challenge if the other players manage to keep quiet.
- Foreign Remake: And not the only one, too.
- Groin Attack: Common during the more outlandish tasks.
- The Stoic: Zero Kazama shows inhumane resilience in the presence of the sheer zaniness of the show.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: On Celebrity Editions for charity, the players will receive the highest amount of cash for playing the game at the end. This is so that the receiving charity will not be left with a paltry sum of cash.
- "Your lack of success... leads to failure. No money!"
