But don't let that worry you, this is still great.
The show is set on the mysterious Fort Boyard out in the middle of the sea (well, off the west coast of France anyway). It is a real fort, you used to be able to visit it. There is a history to it but I'm not going to go into it right now.
The first thing to strike you is the titles. They are good. A rendered 3D image of the Fort Boyard logo splashing out of the sea (you see water dripping off and everything). Then a quick overview of the Fort and then some cut away shots of some snakes, some spiders (big ones!) and some tigers (important role for all three of these).
One thing to bear in mind during the review. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND FRENCH yet I still think this is the best thing ever. There is the mandortry chat to the players of which there are 6, either a 3/3 or 4/2 split male and female (usually celebrities) and then the game starts. There is an eighty minute clock counting down from the second the prison keeper strikes the big gong.
The game is split into four sections, the first three have to be done within the eighty minutes: Get seven keys, Earn time in the Time Chasers section, earn clues to a password and then using all the time they have earnt, grab as much gold as they can and get out.
The first thing is for one of the team to go and visit Pere Fouras up in the tower. He will give out a key providing the team member can get a riddle correct (Crystal Maze enthusiasts might see the connection here between him and Mumsey). If the riddle is wrong however, he throws it down from the tower into the sea
But all is not lost; another team member dives into the sea and gets it! Obviously, having to dive wastes more time than getting it right first off, obviously.
After that, the game starts playing properly. The Fort has lots and lots of rooms. Each one has a key inside it but it can't be got unless a puzzle is solved or a task is completed. Outside each room is a water timer (a clepsidre) this is the amount of time that is given to do the task and get out of the room. A player is sent in to a room to perform the task. Sometimes they are physical slogs (do this as fast as you can, for example) an example of this would be a game where outside the fort is a rope, attached to which is the key but unfortuantely, a couple of cannonballs as well. The contestant has to keep pulling the rope from inside the room until the key appears (in which case they can reach through the window and get it)
There are also games of skill for example in the 1997 series there is a game called The Librarian's Column, whereby a player goes in the room and the key underneath a pile of books. Unfortunately, when you move all the books out of the way the stack topples and a lever blocks the door. The contestant has to rebuild the pile of books to push the lever back up before the time runs out. There are a couple of games which involve mental dexterity but it has to be said, not many.
The reason they have to get out before the timer runs out is because otherwise they get locked in. This is quite tragic as it means that that person is sent to jail and can't play until the end of the keys bit. Sometime during this little jaunt around the fort there will be another chance to get a key from Pere Fouras. However, if they got it wrong the first time round, he won't throw it out the window if they get it the riddle wrong this time, they just miss out in a key. They still get it if they get it right. If they got the riddle correct on their first visit then if they get it wrong this time he'll throw it out the window for someone to get (but it's another key!) After 7 keys have been got, the team can then visit the jail where everyone who gets locked in ends up. Before 1997, they each had a chance to get out by guessing which coloured exit a rat will leave by when dropped in a maze. If they were right then they were released but if they were wrong then they stayed in jail for the rest of the show.
Now however (1997) there is an added little bit. The 7th key is always given away but someone has to get in a go-cart and get it. The only problem is, it's dropped into Salle de Tresor (The Treasure Room) with the tigers still in it! (Don't worry, the cart is enclosed). Each person has a chance of going in but that is decided by again dropping a rat in a maze. This series, everyone in jail is released but if they were in jail they have more of a chance of being picked to play then the people who didn't get locked in. However, if they en out then they have to spend the rest of the game in jail.
By the way, if they take too long to get 7 keys, they can sacrifice players to the fort by way of the Oubliette. One player is sent down there for every key that they need. They aren't seen again until the end of the show.
Next comes Chassers de Temps (Time Chasers). The ultimate goal at the end of the game is to have as much time as possible in Salle de Tresor (Treasure Room) to collect as much gold as they can. Here, they decide how much time the are going to get, anything from 90 seconds to 4 minutes. The team get 90 seconds for free, then each team member is sent one at a time into a darkened room to do duels of skill and strategy against some masked guardians. This might be holding a burning piece of paper as long as you can (first one to put it down loses ) or to memorize a coloured sequence of balls, the first one not to make a mistake wins. For every game they win they get 25 extra seconds. If anybody is in jail at this point, the team captain will play their duels as well as his/her own.
After this little diversion, the rest of time they have left will be spent playing clue games. Inside Salle de Tresor is a lettered grid and the gold won't tumble unless the right letters are stood on. These letters make up a word and the contestants now have to play games to get clues for that word. This is the best bit of Fort Boyard as the games are both spectacular and maybe a little bit scary for the players involved (the psychology factor if anything makes for surprisingly good television, but the games are so well thought out you have to watch them).
These games are more . Examples include being in a tarantula infested room and the clue is on one of them which involves a lot of picking up of spiders. And there is le Tete Cherchuse, where a player plays a game with his head poking up through a conveyor belt. This passes thorouh several chambers. In those chambers are words which the rest of the team outside can cross off the list, the idea being that the one left will be the clue. Unfortunately, these chambers are infested with flies, toads, roaches and the like which makes the thing FAR more interesting. The other sort of games are ones that involve a little bit of danger, bungee jumping, or my personal favourite game, one that involves sliding into the sea, swimming about 50-75 metres then climbing aboard a small ship and climbing up the rigging to get to the clue, all within 3:30! If the time runs out on any games, either the room lights go off or the clue explodes, so no-one has any idea what it was, either way, the game is lost and the player has to stop what they were doing.
When all the time has run out, the players take a trip to Salle de Tresor. This is very important. The clues lead to a password and the gold won't tumble unless the right letters are trod on on the big board. When the 80:00 have finished, the gong sounds the time starts. The tigers are put away and the players have the time they earnt to stand on the correct letters and collect as much gold as they can. If they get the password wrong then the game is over, you only get one chance. When the time is almost up, the gate begins to shut and the players have to leave quickly, as they let the tigers out again when the time is up!
After this, the money they collected is weighed (if they got the password wrong then get a small donation, the players are playing for charity) and then thats the end of the programme.
And it's great. I love the programme to bits and I recommend anyone to watch it at least once. It's a damn shame that C4 won't make a proper version of it, however.
Uppers Just about everything about it, really.
Downers Yeah, right.
VERDICT: 10/10 - Extremely fantastic. Not Guilty AND makes money selling the rights for the film and book.
Links to other sites on the Web
Other trials
Nick's Gameshow courtroom
Richard Bevan's Fort Boyard page!!
Andy's German Fort Boyard page
The Fort Boyard game guide!
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