How do you like Wednesday?

infobox television
show_name = Suiyō Dōdeshō


caption =
format = Variety
runtime = approx. 0:30 (per episode)
creator = Tadahisa Fujimura
Masamichi Ureshino
starring = Takayuki Suzui
Yō Ōizumi
country = Japan
network = HTB
first_aired = October 9, 1996
last_aired = September 25, 2002
num_episodes = 239|

nihongo|How do you like Wednesday?|水曜どうでしょう|Suiyō Dōdeshō is a famous Japanese TV variety series from Hokkaidō Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (HTB).

It was first shown on HTB on October 9, 1996 and achieved remarkable 18.6% viewing rate in December 8, 1999 that is very unusual for a late-night program made by a local TV. It made a name with the unique dialogue held between 4 guys over the series and has got spread gradually beyond its local by word of mouth, over the Internet and the DVD releases. The weekly regular series was halted in September 2002, but the new one has still been made approximately every one and a-half years so far since then; the latest series has been shown on HTB since October 19, 2005 (8 parts total). Most of the series have been rerun under the names of "Dōdeshō Returns" and "Suiyō Dōdeshō Classic" in many parts of Japan from its home ground, Hokkaidō, to the far south Okinawa.

Until the program's success, local variety programs in Hokkaidō were virtually non-existent. Now, however, local stations there produce more than 10 programs a week, all casting someone from the Office Cue, the agent which the regular casts of this program belong to. The program also had a significant influence to local programs of other regions in Japan, most notably Kwangaku! in Kansai region and Nobunaga in Tōkai region.

Cast and staff

Regular cast members

*Takayuki Suzui (鈴井 貴之), actor and film director.
*Yō Ōizumi (大泉 洋), actor and singer.
**Ōizumi, now a famous actor, was an unknown college student when the program started.

Production Staff

*Tadahisa Fujimura (藤村 忠寿), a director at HTB, who also narrates the show and frequently interacts with the cast as a off-screen voice, but in some episodes, he appears on screen and performs pretty much like a cast member.
*Masamichi Ureshino (嬉野 雅道), a director at HTB, who also films the show on a portable video camera. He has a very quiet personality but would occasionally provide some humorous moments as the show's "straight man".

emi-regular cast members

*Ken Yasuda (安田 顕), actor, who makes frequent appearances inside a full-body suit of HTB's mascot, On-chan
*Takuma Otoo (音尾琢磨), actor
*Hiroyuki Morizaki (森崎博之), actor
*Shigeyuki Sato (佐藤重幸), actor

Format

Suiyo Dodesho is considered a travel TV program, but most of the show consists of humorous dialogue and antics by the two cast members (with the occasional participation of Fujimura) while in transit, usually in response to the tough situations they encounter; hardly any time is spent at the "destinations". A typical travel pisode consists of Oizumi being tricked into visiting a distant location that serves as the starting point of that episode's journey, which he referes to as being "kidnapped". Oizumi, lacking sense of direction or distance, often does not realize that he's being taken to the Sapporo airport until the crew arrives at the terminal.

ome selected episodes

Journey on a Dice: From Tokyo to Sapporo

One of the most popular serial episodes in the program. 7 series produced during the run of the show. A typical series begins by the cast and crew in Tokyo, often with Oizumi being "kidnapped" and not knowing the nature of the activities panned for the episode being videotaped. The intent is to return to Sapporo ] from Tokyo stopping at multiple locations along the way, but at each location (including the starting point), they are faced with 6 choices of destinations, coupled with a means of public transportation, which the cast chooses by rolling a dice. The rule is that the cast and crew must go to the destination determined by the dice, even if the direction or the means of transportation are unfavorable. They also have to continue moving day and night until they return to Sapporo unless the outcome of the dice throw allows them to stay overnight. Due to the limited production budget and time, overnight stays are seldom included as a choice and overnight buses "shinya buses" are frequently used, leading to many tough situations for the cast and crew (but hilarious for the viewers). In the course of the show, the cast has often gotten the worst choice possible among the 6 destination/transportation choices. Of the two, Suzui tends to roll the worst choices, to which Oizumi have occasionally responded by shouting "You Loser ("Dame-Ningen")!". The humor comes from the cast's (and sometimes the crew's) emotional reaction and dialogue arising out of the tough situations encountered on the less desirable means of transportation.

Journey on the Country Signs of 212 Municipalities in Hokkaidō

Another popular series in earlier years. Suzui and Ōizumi travel their motherland, Hokkaidō, visiting each municipalities one by one, 212 in total at the time.To choose where to visit, however, they randomly pick a card. Each card has " [http://northern-road.jp/discover/index-cs.htm country signs] " (logo signs for tourists) representing each municipality, and they have to visit there. If they pick a card showing the sign of the town in southern Hokkaidō, then they have to go there even if they are 400km away in northern Hokkaidō. When Ōizumi heard the concept for the first time, naturally, he replied "It's nothing different from the Journey on a Dice!".

Tokyo Walker

The episode title is a reference to [http://www.walkerplus.com/tokyo/ "Tokyo Walker"] , a famous town magazine. This time, Ōizumi was given a chance to choose any place he wants to go by himself, as long as it's within Tokyo. What he didn't know, however, is the fact that they have to go all the places on foot.

Plunging the Arctic: 620 miles in Alaskan Peninsula

Suzui wanted to see aurora for a long time. This time they go to Alaska and rent a camper, drive to Coldfoot, a settlement where aurora appears. However, they can't see aurora at all until the last day, leaving their last hope on Coldfoot.

Tōhoku Living Hell Tour, Three Days and Two Nights

There was a group tour for the fans of the program, makes them visit Tōhoku region that had been introduced in earlier episodes. Following the tour, Suzui and Ōizumi want to meet their fellow fans, but they fear the panic made by their appearance. Because of that, they try approaching fans in disguise.

Journey on Picture Postcards, All Japan

This time, they pick a picture postcard, and go to the place which the picture shows, trying to take exactly the same picture.

The Longest Cooking Show in Japan: Chef Ōizumi, Summer Vegetable Special

Throughout the show Ōizumi insists he is a good cook and has cooked for the cast and crew on many occasions, although he takes an unbearably long time to cook them, and the resulting dishes are often inedible. In this episode, much fun is made of Oizumi's self-delusions about his cooking skills by setting him up in a "cooking show" in which "the chef" Ōizumi is asked to cook with fresh summer vegetables. However there are multiple catches in this show; Ōizumi must first cultivate a patch of overgrown grassland to plant summer vegetables and then has to make the dishes to serve them from clay on a potter's wheel, resulting in a months-long "cooking show". This show brought out much emotional outbursts from Ōizumi and the dialogue between the frustrated Ōizumi and the other 3 are the most hilarious.

Quiz! Dōdeshō to be on the Test

"Educational Program" broadcasted on college entrance exam season. Ōizumi has to answer the questions used for real college entrance exams, related to Japanese geography. When he makes a mistake, he has to go to the place of the right answer. For instance, if he couldn't answer the question "What is the name of the landscape in Akiyoshidō, Yamaguchi?", then he has to go to Akiyoshidō.

hikoku Pilgrimage 88 Temples, the Complete Conquest

Ōizumi and the directors have to visit all the 88 temples of Shikoku Pilgrimage route within 4 or 5 days. Which means they have to drive all the time, on narrow and curvy roads of Shikoku.

Moped Rally Through Eastern Japan

Suzui takes Ōizumi to Tokyo, and buys two cubs, a popular Japanese moped for them. Ōizumi is delighted until Fujimua tells him that Suzui and he has to ride the mopeds all the way back to Sapporo within 72 hours, otherwise they will be faced with a penalty. The most infamous incident in this episode is the "daru-ma ya wheelie incident", in which Ōizumi, who is carrying a daruma doll on his moped, inadverently performs a wheelie at a road construction site and crashes into a safety sign. Despite this and many other incidents, the crew makes it back to Sapporo in time.

Europe Revenge: The Beautiful Countries Break Humans

They drive from Paris and go through Germany, Denmark, and Scandinavian Peninsula, all the way to Helsinki. The beautiful, yet boring scenery of Scandinavia eventually makes them irritated.

We Show You All the Backstage Scenes of the 30 Hours Television!

Once, this late night program was broadcasted on prime time as a special program. To cerebrate it, the two casts hosted the "30 Hours Television", which was nothing but a series of live commercials scattered for 30 hours, few seconds each.

Hà Nội to Hồ Chí Minh City: Mopeds Throughout Vietnam 1800km

The last series of regular episodes, titled "The Last Run". This time, they have to go through Vietnam by mopeds, where the flood of countless mopeds goes across streets.

After regular episodes

*2003: Visitting places where they have been
*2004: Going to the jungle in Malaysia
*2005: Fishing in Iriomote Island
*2007: Visiting 20 countries in Europe

How do you like Wednesday? in popular culture

*Pani Poni Dash!: The anime title occasionally makes a reference to the program, namely in the episode 19, 23, and 26.
*Negima!?: The anime by the same staffs of Pani Poni Dash!, also makes multiple references to "How do you like Wednesday?", such as the one in episode 4. [http://negima.dip.jp/wiki/%E3%83%8D%E3%82%AE%E3%81%BE%21%3F_%E7%AC%AC4%E8%A9%B1]
*Haken no Hinkaku: Ōizumi played Shōji, an important role in this dorama. In its last episode, Shōji is looking at a poster showing the Japanese map titled "The Showdown Archipelago", which resembles the episode of "How do you like Wednesday?".
*Nurse Witch Komugi Z: In the second episode of the second season, a mob character wears a shirt lettered "How do you like Friday?".

External links

*ja icon [http://www.htb.co.jp/suidou/ HTB Official website]