Well here we are at episode two, the first one split the fanbase quite considerably. What will tonight have in store?
Several new things promised tonight if last week’s preview was anything to go by, including the welcome return after an eighteen-year sabbatical for Ball On A Plank! Brilliant.
Tangentally, Mission Milennium started on France 3 last week, although I’ve not been able to get the video for it working.
It’s a BALL! On a PLANk!
BALL ON A PLANK!
It’s more on-topic here than it is on any of the other Show Discussion threads: apparently the last Cyberdrome Crystal Maze, at Canaston Bowl near the Oakwood theme park that’s not a million miles away from Tenby, closed at the end of June. Boo. 🙁 I am quite sad about this.
Ah well, it’s down to the Encounter Zone in Dubai to save us now.
I’m quite upset I never got the chance to “do” the Cyberdrome Crystal Maze, and it’s unlikely I’ll be goig to Dubai in the near future.
The Crystal MAze Quiz Machine (alright, Gambling with Skill) isn’t quite the same experience, I wouldn’t have thought.
Hasn’t BALL ON A PLANK taken only a sixteen year sabbatical? I think I remember it in the 1994 roster.
Still no video of the full episode, which is annoying, but Fortboyard.net has videos of the new stuff featured this week (SPOILERS, obv.) – I’m very wrong about the first set of prisoners, they don’t go to the council, they play a game themselves on the little table attached to the doors. The winner is released automatically, the loser must go through the infested tunnels in the basement of the fort within the time limit in order to release himself – failure to do so in time means relinquishing a key to the opposing team before the Crossbow Relay.
With this new approach to Fort Boyard i’d love to see if they can get it back on UK TV. I do like watching the French version but it’s not the same for me having initially being introduced to the format via the lovely Melinda Messenger and Leslie Grantham! Also, whats the point in having the treasure room floor anymore if you don’t need to spell out the password. A flaw here i think in the new game and i don’t like it!
Do you think there should just be a 20ft pit? 🙂
Ha maybe! Or a drop down to the flooded foundations to put an obstacle in their way while getting the treasure?!
I think it’s a bit odd how they still have the clue word requirement but it’s not really properly executed. I feel that they needed to think a bit more about how the rules of the new game should work? For me, simplicity is key and they always try to complicate it too much. . .
What is complex about it?
I think it was simple (in the UK version) that you had a certain amount of time to get keys to open the treasure room door and then what time is left to complete challenges to get the clue words to unlock the treasure. Each year in the French version they change things around, and add bits to the rules that aren’t needed obviously till fill the 180 minute time slot they have. An example of this for this year is the Crossbow relay.
They could simplify the rules for team games and an example could be: the two teams initially work together but separately on the fort to win enough keys to open the treasure room. They would then go head-to-head in challenges to win clues to the codeword for the treasure room. They could then after the gong goes have 2 minutes to guess the code word (the team with more clues will find it easier) and the team that guesses it can go for the treasure. If they get it wrong, then they forfeit their place in the competition and the loosing team get to go for the gold?
No that won’t work – so they get two minutes to work out the codeword “and the team that guesses it goes for the treasure”? What if they both get it? What if they both get it wrong?
The current set-up is designed to find a winning team out of two teams – that is now the nature of the show, whilst keeping most of the elements the show had previously. Collect as much gold as possible to win but include some tension in not revealing if they got the word right until right at the end.
hmmm yes i get what you mean. I haven’t thought about it much and was putting the idea out there. I just feel that how the show ends doesn’t really work right… I guess i feel that the spelling of the code word on the treasure room floor is big, classic part of Fort Boyard and should have been kept somehow. I think it could have still been done if they thought a bit more about it? Any ideas?!
Sadly the fort has changed but in a really postive way. It was top of the ratings On Saturday. The reason the treasure room floor is still there is because of the other versions might require it. i quite like it being there with just the Fort Boyard written on it. I quite like the show focusing more on Key and clues rather than the TR because they are both main parts of the show.
Still waiting for Episode 2.
Yeah bring on Ep 2. Maybe i’ll feel a bit different about it? I still do like the new format and think it could be great for the UK but i feel it still needs a little bit of tweeking here and there. We’ll see if i think the same after Ep2! haha
I’m intrigued to know if any countries are using the one team versus the fort this year. Presumably, if this version of FB continues to climb the ratings and they get a few more years out of it, if it slips back into the doldrums they can flip back again!
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Ok, so I’ve just seen ep on the one week delay, and I figure it is okay to talk about it. In case it isn’t, I’ve left a big blank space and you can go ahead and delete it, Brig.
I’m starting to get into it. Fundamentally, it’s still Boyard, but I find it’s more of a spin off than anything. Here’s some thoughts…
– I do miss the atmosphere – things like Olivier saying “toujours tout fort” at the end of the show, going into a key/clue game relatively uniformed, spelling of the words, the music played when they rarely got seven keys on their own in the first section, and btw Olivier, I’m not a fashion consultant, but you are dressed to the nines with sneakers?
– I really wish they’d get rid of screw you games – ie. cylinder. Now that they’re played in the clue half, you guarantee yourself a prisoner.
– Some games don’t feel right “switching halves”
– Is there a limit on clue games – would they actually schedule them for a repeat, knowing that someone could run the tables (ie. les anciens champions)? It would seem unfair that some games (ie. the world luggage game, ceiling tic tac toe) could be repeated as you’d have learned from your mistakes the previous time.
– I assume the key games are set in advance (ie. contestant coordinators don’t work with game layout team)? It seems a bit too easy to switch around if you wanted…
– It’s weird not to have time on screen for clue games. The clepsydre doesn’t work that well, when you’ve had one thing one way for 15+ years.
– What happens with a tie in the first half? Run to pere fouras?
– Does a duel unwon (ie pere fouras) in the clue games guarantee that both have to play automatic lockins? That was not very well explained on this episode.
– What the hell was with that final tonight? Champs are the only one to attempt a clue word, and they go in and scoop up some boyards. They’re wrong, so they don’t win the 10 000E but they get to stay incumbents? Should les cuivres win because they got more clues to start with? It seems a bit odd. I realize it’s like that in TLMVPSP where you have to “beat” the champ, but on FB there’s not as much of a way of measuring a tie.
All in all it’s a shame they didn’t call it FB: The Duel or something like that (ie. Millionaire Hot Seat). The show is the same but it’s pretty much a different format.
I’ll keep watching, but I’d quite almost prefer last year’s format just without celeb teams. And can we give them proper FB jerseys/logos on their shirts. It basically tells me, “hey, we’re civilians, we don’t earn the right to be on FB proper”.
Anyone know if the new music’s popped up?
Ok, I’m done 🙂 Still not bitter that I wasn’t chosen mind you…
We still haven’t got it online yet!
My understanding is as follows (bearing in mind I haven’t actually seern episode two yet):
What happens with a tie in the first half? Run to pere fouras?
I think that the Crossbow Relay is all or nothing, in theory, and the hope is one team is far enough ahead so as not to play it. Although I could well be wrong.
but on FB there’s not as much of a way of measuring a tie.
Again, my understanding is the codeword is the most important bit with the amount of gold collected being used to break the tie in the event they both get it right/wrong. Is that not how it works then? BEcause that’s what it should be.
Edit Actually just spoilt the result for myself, that is a bit weird isn’t it? It looks like nobody collected any gold. I wonder if the production team thought that would ever happen.
Apologies that the blanks didn’t go in – next time I’ll use some characters as spacing.
Incidentally, it looks like this site might have a naughty copy of ep 2 up tomorrow: http://fort-boyard-lerepertoire.e-monsite.com/ (also has LOADS of other eps, including two eps of a fairly rare 1995 series where Patrice and Pere Fouras offer a commentary for really old episodes…). Warning: pop-ups.
2005’s the show’s last properly vintage year I reckon, so go and watch one of those if you haven’t really watched the French show much.