From our other sites
The story
Emiko Uenuma brought up Sandwichman’s Mikio Date (51), who has been hospitalized and gone on leave after suffering a cerebral infarction, on the September 6 broadcast of “Uenuma & Takada no Kugizuke!” She speculated that Date’s good nature — despite carrying 14 regular TV programs as one of the industry’s most in-demand stars — may have made it hard for him to turn work down, and criticized the way the TV industry uses its talent, saying, “They’ll work the popular ones to the bone, won’t they.” On 5channel, the remark sparked a split reaction: some agreed, pointing to an industry structure that leans on the same popular names over and over, while many others were skeptical of blaming the industry, arguing his health problems stem from his own lifestyle.
Sun, Sep 6, 6:36 PM
Talent Emiko Uenuma (71) appeared on the Yomiuri TV program she hosts, “Uenuma & Takada no Kugizuke!” (Sundays, 11:40 AM), on the 6th, expressing concern for Sandwichman’s Mikio Date (51), who has been hospitalized with a cerebral infarction and has gone on leave to focus on treatment for the time being. Speaking about the hugely popular star, who carries 14 regular programs, she speculated that his good character leads him to accept work he’s offered.
(Omitted)
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Guess that means she just wasn't popular enough.
This is turning into some kind of philosophical debate.
His sketches are great, but he probably knows his unscripted studio banter ("hiraba") isn't quite on that level,
so naturally he feels he has to keep grinding while the demand is there — that's just common sense.
The problem is he kept pushing that hard long enough to actually wreck his body.
In Sandwichman's case, he's also the pillar propping up his agency Grape Company, so I bet that made him push himself even harder.
A lot of shows Chidori appears on don't actually need Chidori.
These days there are tons of wasteful studio shoots where a bunch of people just sit there watching a VTR clip.
Like Ikezaki sitting in the studio watching a video of someone's pet cat, and viewers are literally just watching Ikezaki watch a video — some of these shows clearly don't need Ikezaki, or even a studio, at all.
And there's always a reaction cutaway shot ("wipe") too.
Viewers probably care less about the content and more about feeling like they're watching it together with Ariyoshi, Chidori, or Sandwichman.
Sounds like you're fully on board with working them to the bone too.
He's top-tier when it comes to comedy sketches, yet they stick him on loose, throwaway variety shows.
I also wish they'd let him do more acting — like a real, gritty suspense film.
once someone's popular, they use that same person over and over.
This is one of the things that's made TV boring.
Showa-era TV featured a much wider pool of performers than today, with no lopsided casting.
Now it's the same people over and over.
Back then dramas ran for six months, and when a new series started up, it wouldn't reuse the same actors.
Now it's always the same actors, which is exactly why it's boring.
It's just an unhealthy lifestyle.
You never see Takechi on TV at all these days lol.
Or rather, the TV stations and ad agencies are taking too big a cut.
Watching your diet is easier said than done when you're a busy celebrity — probably a lot of high-salt, high-calorie meals and obligatory drinking with people.
He does a ton of eating segments on location.
"Resting is part of the job too!"
But also "if I'm not on the New Year's show, I'm quitting" (as a threat)
So which is it?
If you go around eating everything shouting "zero calories, zero calories," you can't really complain when people call this karma.
Background and points of debate
Sandwichman’s Mikio Date is a hugely in-demand star said to carry “14 regular programs,” and news of his hospitalization and leave of absence due to a cerebral infarction only broke in early September. Emiko Uenuma’s remarks point to the broader structure of Japan’s TV industry, where work keeps piling onto a handful of popular talents. Opinions on the thread split sharply between those who blame how the industry uses its stars and those who chalk it up to Date’s own lifestyle habits. Some also pointed out that Date and fellow Sandwichman member Takeshi Tomizawa’s agency, Grape Company, partly runs on a “bataa” system (a practice where booking a popular talent comes bundled with also hiring lesser-known talent from the same agency) — meaning Date’s personal workload is tied up with the agency’s overall business in a way the article alone doesn’t make clear. Others noted that Showa-era TV rotated through a much wider range of performers, feeding a view in some corners that always relying on “the same familiar faces” is part of what’s made television less interesting.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “Emiko Uenuma criticizes TV industry over Sandwichman Date’s cerebral infarction: “They’ll work the popular ones to the bone” / “I do wonder about that”.”
Leave a Reply