Viking: The Ultimate Obstacle Course

Viking: The Ultimate Obstacle Course (海筋肉王 ～バイキング～), sometimes abbreviated to Viking: TUOC, is a Japanese obstacle course endurance game show using an obstacle course produced by Fuji TV and ja. The English version of Viking is produced by ESPN2 with two American commentators calling the action. In Europe it airs on Eurosport 2 with the American commentators in the first season and British commentator Colin Bryce in the second. In the Philippines, Viking was aired in TV5 and hosted by Brod Pete, Richard del Rosario, and Gabe Mercardo. In Taiwan on JET TV in its original form with Chinese subtitles and Thailand on Channel 9 MCOT in Thai program "แชมป์ เฉือน แชมป์" (Champ VS Champ) in 2009, later this program are broadcast other Japanese game show like Original Iron Chef, Unbeatable Banzuke and Sasuke Ninja Warrior. The entire show is broadcast from Tokyo Bay.

The object of the show is to complete a giant obstacle course that tests the body and mind of 50 contestants for each show. Round by round, the contestants that do not get eliminated advance to the next round. There are 4 grueling stages called "1st Marine", "2nd Adventure", "3rd Fantasy" and "Final Viking". Whoever survives "Final Viking" is crowned the Ultimate Survivor. Obstacles change during each of the stages except for Final Viking at the end.

Comp # Marine Stage Obstacles Time Limit 1 Odysseys Loading Docks Castaway Main Deck Maths Parley Cannonball Run Swing Mast Captain's Cabin 120.0 2 Odysseys Loading Docks Castaway Main Deck Maths Parley Cannonball Run Swing Mast Captain's Cabin 110.0 3 Odysseys Loading Docks Alphabet ParleyCastaway Island Escape Maths Parley Cannonball Run Swing Mast Captain's Cabin 135.0

Comp # Adventure Stage Obstacles Time Limit 1 Galleon Galley Rope Maze Survival Flag or Survival Jump Log Screw Heavenly Climb 120.0 2 Galleon Galley Rope Maze Survival Flag or Survival Jump Log Screw Heavenly Climb 120.0 3 Galleon Colour Fusion Rope Maze Survival Flag or Survival Jump Tactical Parley Heavenly Climb 135.0

Comp # Viking Stage Obstacles Time Limit 1 Horizontal Rope (23m) Vertical Rope (10m) 100.0 2 Horizontal Rope (23m) Vertical Rope (10m) 100.0 3 Hawkeye Steady Voyager Ultimate Plank Heartbreaker None

Each contestant has 1 minute 50 seconds (otherwise for men: 2 minutes 15 seconds; for the women: 2 minutes 22 seconds) to run from the start to stop the clock at the top by going through the obstacles. Odyssey: a tilting rotating platform that must be crossed. Loading Dock: a balance beam with three overhead conveyor belts. One 15 lb. bag drops from each, and the contestant must catch one of them and carry it across the balance beam. If they fail to catch a bag, the beam they are stood on rotates, tipping them into the water. Castaway: a zipline with a large globe which the competitor must grab that leads to a cargo net on the other side. Alphabet Parley: The contestant sits in a chair and a letter and a number appear on a screen. The contestant must speak out a letter in the English alphabet corresponding to the Parley board, for example if the Parley board reads "2 before X", the answer would be "V". An incorrect guess drops the contestant through a trapdoor and into the water. Math Parley: The contestant hits 2 buttons that stop 2 random number generators. The contestant must add these 2 numbers together and enter in the correct answer using a keypad. For example, 76 + 45 = 121. An incorrect guess drops the contestant through a trapdoor and into the water. Island Escape: a small island platform with a rope. The contestant must jump from a ledge and onto the island and use the rope to pull himself/herself across to the next obstacle. Main Deck: an area where the contestant must lay a balance beam into one of two holes. They have a choice between a wider and heavier beam requiring strength or a light thin beam that tests their balance. The contestant must pick either one to cross. This obstacle alternates with Island Escape. Cannonball: a bridge of 4 cannonballs suspended over the water which the contestant must cross. Sasuke took this obstacle and renamed it the Spin Bridge for the 27th tournament. Swing Mast: contestants throw a rope with a weight on the end around a beam in the air. Hopefully the rope will wrap around the beam allowing them to swing across onto a mat below. If the rope hasn't been thrown properly, it will come loose and the contestant would not make it to the mat. Captain's Cabin: a giant rotating ship's wheel with climbing spikes with the clock stopper at the top. The contestant must climb up to the top and press the clock stopper before the time expires.

Survivors of the Adventure Stage have to complete several parts of the Fantasy Stage to make it to Final Viking. There are no time limits in any of the parts except Hawkeye. Hawkeye: The contestant is shown a rotating wheel of letters with one number hidden among the characters. The contestant must identify the number in 10 seconds or be dropped through a trapdoor. Steady Voyager: The contestant balances a long metal pole on his/her hand and maneuvers the pole through an electrified metal maze above them. If the pole touches the metal edges, sparks will fly and the contestant is eliminated. This is similar to Unbeatable Banzuke's "Ottoto 9"
Ultimate Plank: A giant pegboard sign that spells out VIKING and where contestants use two metal pegs and upper body strength to cross the entire word to the other side without using their legs during the run. Bio Clock: Similar to the 1st Marine Stage Math Parley, contestant stands on a trap door with a button in front of them. The clock starts ticking when the contestant presses the button and must stop within .5 seconds of 10 seconds (±.5) in order to proceed to the Final Viking. If the contestant fails, the trap door will open, causing the contestant to drop into the water below.

The Final Viking challenge has the remaining contestants scramble across a 75 foot horizontal rope and climb up a 30 foot vertical rope to the top. If the contestant makes it to the top in under 1 minute 40 seconds, they win. One man, Makoto Nagano, who was the only man ever to get to the Final Viking stage, came close but ran out of time when he was 5 feet away from the finish. No contestant has ever completed Final Viking; but if one does he or she will be crowned the Ultimate Viking. Nagano, incidentally, has completed the fourth and final stage of SASUKE (called Ninja Warrior in the US and UK), a similar obstacle course contest, which has featured many of the same contestants that have competed on Viking.

Viking also airs special editions of the show featuring revamped obstacle courses.

This version of Viking features many Japanese celebrities competing against each other. Some of the events have been head to head races. 1st Marine Stage 3 minutes. Including obstacles such as Odysseys, Pipe Slider, Raft Slide and Final Slopes. Unlike other versions of Viking, if a competitor falls in the water in this stage, they can carry on the course without any penalty. 2nd Adventure Stage 1 minutes 15 seconds. A long pathway featuring 20 swinging hammers that try and knock the competitors off the pathway and into the water below. It's similar to Sasuke's Hammer Dodge. From this stage onwards, if a competitor falls in the water, they are eliminated from the competition. 3rd Fantasy Stage 2 minutes. Features obstacles such as Castaway, Swing Mast and Cannonball Run. Final Viking All celebrities that completed the 3rd fantasy stage must separately climb up a tall scaffolding tower and hit a button at the top. The celebrity who completes this in the fastest time wins. Various celebrities take on the course, including television presenters, fighters, wrestlers and comedians.

The following is a list of currently available information of people who managed to reach at least the Second Adventure Stage in each competition. Under each competition, the results are listed in order of who went the farthest first. Their names are listed along with their number (1 100) from the competition, and the obstacle/stage they failed to complete. The first Viking competition was a special competition where 80 celebrities and famous athletes competed. The 2nd Competition had 100 attempts at the First Marine Stage. The obstacles used in each competition as well as a description of each obstacle are listed above. The first two Viking competitions used "layout #1" listed above, while the third Viking tournament used "layout #2". All air dates are of the Japanese broadcast on Fuji TV. If there are two or more competitors who failed the same obstacle, then who made it farthest is listed first. Note: There is a "Brain Ship Stage" which was a stage between the First Marine Stage and the Second Adventure Stage. Competitors would be split into two groups and would be given a series of numbers to memorize. After a few seconds the numbers would disappear, and competitors would write down the numbers on a piece of paper. The person with the most mistakes from each group would be eliminated. Due to bad weather, there was no Brain Ship Stage in the first competition.