[Relambrien]

I don't know exactly how the BBC is handling the show, but over here in America, they screwed it up horribly.

Yes, they still do the exact same thing as in the Japanese show. But it's not done correctly.

If you look around YouTube for Japanese game show videos, you'll find that they're primarily supposed to be sources of entertainment, both for the contestants and the viewers. Many shows seem to focus on humiliating the contestants for the entertainment of the audience (and the contestants themselves, because apparently they can actually laugh at themselves).

However, in America, most game shows are for the contestants to -win- something. As such, they tend to have a serious overtone (see Who Wants to be a Millionare, Deal or No Deal, etc.) rather than a casual, let's-have-fun overtone.

The American version of "Hole in the Wall" took the original Japanese game and put it in an American game show environment, which causes it to fail horribly. Spotlights, a dark room, serious hosts, etc., which is not how the game was supposed to be played. The end result is a feeling of discordance that turns you off from the show.