Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge

Last updated

Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge
Fort Boyard Ultimate Challenge logo.jpeg
GenreChildren's adventure game show
Based on Fort Boyard
by Jacques Antoine
Presented by Laura Hamilton
Geno Segers
Andy Akinwolere
Theme music composer Paul Farrer
Country of originUnited States (Series 1–2)
United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series5
No. of episodes50 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersNigel Pickard
Ged Allen
Pierre Godde
ProducerSteve Pinhay
Production locations Fort Boyard, France
Running time20 minutes per episode (approx.) (Series 1–2)
1 hour per episode (approx.) (including adverts) (Series 3–5)
Production companies
Original release
Network Disney XD (USA)
CITV (UK)
Release23 March 2012 (2012-03-23) –
17 December 2014 (2014-12-17)

Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge is a children's game show, based on the French show Fort Boyard , which aired on both CITV and Disney XD. The show is a challenge game where six different "fearless" teams of teenagers battle-to-the-finish to win the "Ultimate Challenge" and become the "Ultimate Conquerors Of The Fort". The show is a revived and updated version of the original format, broadcast in the UK from 1998 to 2003.

Contents

While being a commission from CITV in the UK, the first two series were produced as a British-American co-production with Disney XD, who held worldwide pay rights to the series outside France and Nordic territories, [1] and was co-presented by Geno Segers and Laura Hamilton. The series initially started its run in the United States on 17 October 2011 [2] to 23 March 2012 in the United States. In the United Kingdom, it premiered on New Year's Day 2012. After the series was renewed for a third series in June 2012, [3] the series became solely a British production, with Geno Segers being replaced with Andy Akinwolere as co-presenter. [4] The third series began on 8 December 2012 and was simulcast on the ITV network. The fourth series began airing on 20 October 2013 and the fifth series began airing on 15 October 2014. The series ended on 17 December 2014 after five series.

Format

Six teams compete against each other in a tournament. In every episode, two teams face each other in a battle to see who is the strongest and toughest team. The challenges are based on toughness, fear and speed. In each season, the teams play three times each; with the two teams which have the most gold coins returning for the final round of the tournament at the series' finale.

In every level, the teams fight to get a key which helps them in the final level of the game in the Treasure Chamber. If they get three (five in series 3, 4 and 5) keys or more at the end of the game, they get the maximum amount of time in the Treasure Chamber (three minutes); but if they get two (four from series 3) keys or less, a time penalty will be dealt out (see below). If a team wins a 4th key (6th or more from series 3), they receive an extra 150 bonus coins per key which are added to their final total.

Challenges

Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge uses exactly the same games like in the original show; but with different names, no lock-ins and may also be slightly adapted to suit the show. For example, in Boiler Room the contestant is not handcuffed to the pipe; instead must move a chain with the key on through the maze and out to the exit within the time limit, and The Searching Head, where the two contestants sit in a seat and there is no conveyor belt; instead, there is a plastic glass on the sides.

Each solo team challenge is against the water timer (known as a clepsdyre) usually set at either 1:30, 2:00 or 2:30 minutes. Some games (such as Tightrope and nearly all duels) require a code to open the box containing the key, which is outside the room or nearby the other team members. Games involving members of both teams are not against the water clock and are known as "duels".

Regular challenges

In order of first appearance:

Council duels

Before the teams go to the Treasure Chamber, the last challenge in every episode is a non-timed duel in the Council "hallway" (an open area on the second floor close to where "Cold Room" is located) between both teams.

Tests usually involve a level of skill and speed; such as building a tower with shaped blocks, using chopsticks to write the word "Boyard" on a pole or hammering nails into a piece of wood. The whole team(s) take part in the duel and the winners receive the final key of the day. Games played so far include:

In order of first appearance:

  • Surface Tension
  • Tipping Point
  • Tower Build
  • Balance of Forces
  • Letter Pick
  • Hammer Time
  • Reflex
  • Weights
  • Hang Nail
  • Floating Towers
  • Dominoes
  • Shape Stack
  • Roach Race

The Treasure Chamber

The Treasure Chamber is the climax to every episode of Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge. The gold is stored here, which is guarded by the fort's tigers (only in series 4 and 5).

Series 1 and 2

Before they enter the treasure chamber, every team is handed a scroll with a plan of the board (a giant alphabet chessboard), which is composed of Georgian letters and the word "Fort Boyard" is also written out on it. On this chessboard, they must place four circular plates of colour, as shown in the plan. These plates are hidden in the decorative elements of the chamber (a treasure chest, barrel or underneath ropes). They must therefore find where they are hidden. Boxes are suspended in the fountain and the key for the coins is on top of a vertical rod above and on either side of the Fountain.

Once a team has found and placed their four plates in the right place, the captain returns his/her hand to a tiger's head located nearby the entrance. If correct, the key is released to open their chest containing the coins. Once the chest is opened, coins fall into the fountain below. The team members must collect as many of these coins as possible and put them into a Plexiglas box near the entrance.

At 0:20 seconds from the end of the 3 minutes, the bell (rung by Laura Hamilton) sounds and the gate of the Treasure Chamber begins to descend, meaning that the eight candidates must get out before it closes.

Then it is time to weigh the coins; two candidates from each team take turns placing their container on the scales to set the number of points scored by the team. At the end of the show, the ranking of teams is updated compared to previous results.

Keys for the Treasure Chamber

No. of keysTime awarded
43:00 minutes + 150 bonus coins
33:00 minutes
22:40 minutes
12:40 minutes (for 3 team members),
2:20 minutes (for the other 1 team member)
02:40 minutes (for 2 team members),
2:20 minutes (for the other 2 team members)

Series 3 to 5

Several changes were made to the Treasure Chamber in this series, including a new time structure and layout. For example, the crests are not hidden and the floor plan being outside and having to memorise it.

Keys for the Treasure Chamber

No. of keysTime awarded
6 or 7
3:00 minutes
+ 150 bonus coins per key No time penalty
5No time penalty
410 second time penalty
320 second time penalty
230 second time penalty
140 Second time penalty
050 Second time penalty

Filming

Fort Boyard from the air Fort boyard vue aerienne.jpg
Fort Boyard from the air

Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge is set and filmed on the Fort Boyard fortress, on the west coast of France.

From a broadcasting perspective, Fort Boyard itself was refurbished during 1988–89 to become, essentially, a large outdoor television studio. The Fort has its own doctor, catering facilities, as well as production gallery and veterinary centre. The Fort is equipped with 10 portable television cameras, one camera crane for overhead shots, one under-water camera as well as a number of smaller cameras which specifically cover individual games and challenges around the Fort.

Filming took place between 9–15 July 2011; consisting of two seasons of 10 episodes each. A third season was filmed from 7–14 July 2012, with a further 10 episodes made. The fourth was filmed from 18–25 June 2013 and the fifth from 22–27 June 2014.

Teams

Each season of the show features over 24 participants divided up into six teams, each featuring a colour and symbol of an animal. For the first four seasons, the team names were the Yellow Scorpions, Red Vipers, Silver Dragons, Green Jaguars, Blue Sharks and White Falcons. In the fifth season, the team names were the Silver Rhinos, the Orange Tigers, the Lime Crocodiles, the Black Tarantulas, the Golden Eagles and the Purple Cobras. The participants wear coloured T-shirts with their colour and symbol (and in Season 3 onwards, their first names as well) to showcase what team they are on. Each team also has a captain.

In series 1 and 2, the participants were of 13 to 19 years of age, consisting of two British and American contestants each, with three boys and one girl in each team.

In Series 3-5, all contestants were British and consisted of 13-18 year olds in Season 3, and 12-18 year olds in Seasons 4-5. This time, there were two boys and girls in each team.

Episodes

Series 1

Episode No.TeamsAir date (UK)Winner
1Yellow Scorpions Vs Red Vipers1 January 2012Yellow Scorpions
2White Falcons Vs Blue Sharks7 January 2012White Falcons
3Green Jaguars Vs Silver Dragons14 January 2012Green Jaguars
4Blue Sharks Vs Red Vipers21 January 2012Blue Sharks
5Yellow Scorpions Vs Green Jaguars28 January 2012Yellow Scorpions
6Silver Dragons Vs White Falcons4 February 2012White Falcons
7Yellow Scorpions Vs Blue Sharks11 February 2012Yellow Scorpions with 2,110 coins
8Red Vipers Vs Silver Dragons18 February 2012Red Vipers
9Green Jaguars Vs White Falcons25 February 2012Green Jaguars
10 (Final)Yellow Scorpions Vs Green Jaguars3 March 2012Yellow Scorpions

Series 2

Episode No.TeamsAir date (UK)Winner
1White Falcons Vs Blue Sharks10 March 2012Blue Sharks
2Yellow Scorpions Vs Red Vipers17 March 2012Red Vipers
3Silver Dragons Vs Green Jaguars24 March 2012Silver Dragons
4Red Vipers Vs Blue Sharks31 March 2012Red Vipers
5Silver Dragons Vs White Falcons1 April 2012Silver Dragons
6Yellow Scorpions Vs Green Jaguars7 April 2012Yellow Scorpions
7Silver Dragons Vs Red Vipers8 April 2012Silver Dragons
8Yellow Scorpions Vs Blue Sharks14 April 2012Blue Sharks
9Green Jaguars Vs White Falcons21 April 2012White Falcons
10 (Final)Silver Dragons Vs Blue Sharks28 April 2012Silver Dragons

Series 3

Episode No.TeamsAir date (UK)Winner
1Green Jaguars Vs White Falcons8 December 2012White Falcons
2Blue Sharks Vs Silver Dragons9 December 2012Blue Sharks
3Red Vipers Vs Yellow Scorpions15 December 2012Yellow Scorpions
4Green Jaguars Vs Yellow Scorpions16 December 2012Green Jaguars
5Silver Dragons Vs White Falcons22 December 2012White Falcons
6Red Vipers Vs Blue Sharks23 December 2012Blue Sharks
7Blue Sharks Vs White Falcons26 December 2012Blue Sharks
8Red Vipers Vs Green Jaguars27 December 2012Green Jaguars
9Silver Dragons Vs Yellow Scorpions29 December 2012Yellow Scorpions
10 (Final)Green Jaguars Vs Blue Sharks30 December 2012Green Jaguars

Note: episodes 7–10 were not simulcast on both UK channels as usual; the airdates are for ITV1 only. CITV aired these at a later date, due to schedule changes and to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary. [5]

Series 4

Episode No.TeamsAir date (UK)Winner
1Yellow Scorpions Vs Blue Sharks20 October 2013Yellow Scorpions
2White Falcons Vs Green Jaguars27 October 2013Green Jaguars
3Red Vipers Vs Silver Dragons3 November 2013Red Vipers
4Silver Dragons Vs Green Jaguars10 November 2013Green Jaguars
5White Falcons Vs Yellow Scorpions17 November 2013White Falcons
6Red Vipers Vs Blue Sharks24 November 2013Red Vipers
7Yellow Scorpions Vs Silver Dragons1 December 2013Silver Dragons
8 White Falcons Vs Red Vipers8 December 2013White Falcons
9Blue Sharks Vs Green Jaguars15 December 2013Green Jaguars
10 (Final)White Falcons Vs Green Jaguars22 December 2013Green Jaguars

Series 5

Episode No.TeamsAir date (UK)Winner
1Grey Rhinos Vs Orange Tigers15 October 2014Grey Rhinos
2Purple Cobras Vs Black Tarantulas22 October 2014Black Tarantulas
3Golden Eagles Vs Lime Crocodiles29 October 2014Green Crocodiles
4Golden Eagles Vs Purple Cobras5 November 2014Golden Eagles
5Orange Tigers Vs Black Tarantulas12 November 2014Black Tarantulas
6Grey Rhinos Vs Lime Crocodiles19 November 2014Green Crocodiles
7Golden Eagles Vs Orange Tigers26 November 2014Golden Eagles
8Grey Rhinos Vs Purple Cobras3 December 2014Grey Rhinos
9Lime Crocodiles Vs Black Tarantulas10 December 2014Black Tarantulas
10 (Final)Grey Rhinos Vs Black Tarantulas17 December 2014Black Tarantulas

Transmissions

Disney XD (USA)

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
11017 October 20117 November 2011
21016 January 201227 January 2012

CITV (UK)

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1101 January 20123 March 2012
21010 March 201228 April 2012
3108 December 201230 December 2012
41020 October 201322 December 2013
51015 October 201417 December 2014

Awards and nominations

Awards
YearAwardCategoryResult
2014 British Academy Children's Awards Best Children's Entertainment [6] Nominated

Related Research Articles

<i>The Crystal Maze</i> British game show

The Crystal Maze is a British game show devised by Jacques Antoine, based upon his format for the French game show Fort Boyard, and produced for Channel 4. The programme focuses on teams of contestants, a mixed group of men and women, attempting a range of challenges to earn time required to help them complete one final challenge, which if completed successfully earns them a prize. The premise of the show is themed around challenges set to different periods of human history within a fictional labyrinth of time and space, and is notable for the use of golf ball-sized Swarovski glass crystals as a reward for each challenge successfully completed by contestants, and lock-in conditions for contestants that ran out of time or broke a three-strikes rule on a challenge.

<i>Fort Boyard</i> (game show) French game show

Fort Boyard is a French game show created by Jacques Antoine that was first broadcast on 7 July 1990. Many foreign versions of the show, totalling over 1,800 episodes, have aired around the world since 1990.

<i>Jungle Run</i> British TV series or programme

Jungle Run is a British children's television adventure series that aired on CITV as part of the ITV network from 10 September 1999 to 29 November 2006. It was a game show similar to shows such as Fort Boyard and The Crystal Maze. The show has had three presenters, referred to as the "Jungle Guide": Dominic Wood from 1999 to 2000, Chris Jarvis from 2001 to 2002 and Michael Underwood from 2003 to 2006. It was recorded at the disused air base, RAF Newton, near Nottingham.

<i>The Desert Forges</i> French TV series or program

The Desert Forges is a game show set in the Wadi Rum desert region in Jordan. It was first aired on Channel 5 from 23 June to 25 August 2001. It is based on a French format called Les Forges du Désert, created by Pierre Sportolaro in 1999 and produced by Adventure Line Productions, also producers of Fort Boyard.

<i>Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Duel</i> Season of television series

Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Duel is the 13th season of the MTV reality game show, The Challenge. This is the first edition of The Duel series, with The Duel II following in 2009.

<i>Pirate Master</i> American reality television series

Pirate Master is an American reality television show created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on CBS. The show followed sixteen modern-day pirates on their quest for a gold treasure valued at US$1,000,000. The show was hosted by Cameron Daddo and was filmed around and on the Caribbean island nation of Dominica.

<i>Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Island</i> Season of television series

Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Island is the 16th season of the MTV reality game show, The Challenge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Hamilton</span> English television presenter and property expert

Laura Jane Hamilton is an English television presenter, property expert and entrepreneur. She began her career on children's television, presenting shows such as Fun Song Factory and on Nickelodeon. She participated in series six of Dancing on Ice in 2011, finishing in second place. Since February 2012, Hamilton has been a presenter of Channel 4's A Place in the Sun and also co-presented Cowboy Builders & Bodge Jobs for Channel 5 in 2015. In 2022 she joined ITV's This Morning presenting Live features on location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney XD (Southeast Asian TV channel)</span> Defunct pan-Asian pay television channel

Disney XD was a Southeast Asian pay television channel owned by The Walt Disney Company Pte. Ltd. and part of the Disney Branded Television unit of the United States-based Walt Disney Television, it was also operated by Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific during the acquisition on both Disney and Fox in 2019. It was aimed primarily at children, 6–15 years old on the namesake television channel in the United States.

<i>Ultimate Spider-Man</i> (TV series) American superhero animated series

Ultimate Spider-Man is an American superhero animated television series broadcast on the cable network Disney XD, based on the Spider-Man comics published by Marvel Comics. The series featured writers such as Brian Michael Bendis, Paul Dini, and Man of Action.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geno Segers</span> American actor, and gridiron and rugby league footballer

Lonnie G. "Geno" Segers Jr. is an American actor known for his roles as Chayton Littlestone in the Cinemax original series Banshee, Dwayne in NBC's Perfect Harmony, Mason Makoola in the Disney XD television series Pair of Kings, Kincaid on MTV's Teen Wolf and also as co-host of Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge for two seasons.

<i>Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.</i> Television series

Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. is an American animated television series based on the superhero character by Marvel Comics. The series premiered on August 11, 2013, on Disney XD as part of the Marvel Universe block, and ended on June 28, 2015.

<i>Avengers Assemble</i> (TV series) Animated series (2013–2019)

Avengers Assemble is an American animated television series based on the fictional Marvel Comics superhero team known as the Avengers. Designed to capitalize on the success of the 2012 film The Avengers, the series premiered on Disney XD on May 26, 2013, as the successor to The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

<i>The Challenge: Battle of the Exes</i> Season of television series

The Challenge: Battle of the Exes is the 22nd season of the MTV reality game show, The Challenge. It takes place in the Dominican Republic and Iceland, with former cast members from MTV's The Real World, Road Rules, and The Challenge competing. A launch special, "The Pre-Game," premiered on January 11, 2012, explaining the previous history of how the couples broke up. The season premiered on January 25, 2012, and concluded on April 4, 2012, with the Reunion special.

Japanizi "Going, Going, Gong!" ("ゴーイング、ゴーイング、ゴング！") is a Canadian children's physical game show with a Japanese motif where contestants compete with a teammate against other teams as they tackle obstacles and challenges to test their mental capabilities, strength, endurance, and smarts. The series first aired on YTV starting 5 November 2013 and in the United States on Disney XD as of 4 November 2013.

Win, Lose or Draw is a game show that aired as a preview on January 17, 2014, and officially premiered on March 3, 2014 on Disney Channel.

<i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i> (TV series) American superhero animated television series

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is an American animated television series based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is produced by Marvel Animation. The series premiered on September 5, 2015 on Disney XD, as part of the Marvel Universe.

<i>The Switch Drag Race</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of The Switch Drag Race began airing on 25 March 2018 on the MEGA and WOW Presents Plus's streaming service. It ran for thirty-one episodes.

References

  1. ↑ "Fort Boyard gets kid-friendly version on Disney XD".
  2. ↑ "Fort Boyard – Ultimate Challenge". TV.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "Disney, CiTV renew Fort Boyard" . Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  4. ↑ "Third season of Fort Boyard greenlit".
  5. ↑ "CITV set for classic kids TV weekend". BBC News . Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "BAFTA Children's Awards". BAFTA. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.