Another Kids Game Show Coming

[DoItRockapella]

It's good to see kids game shows making a comeback. In the pipeline right now, we've got On The Spot, Family Brain Surge, Scrabble Showdown, The Game Of Life, Fort Boyard...

...FORT BOYARD?

Yes, American kids are being cast for the French stunt show. GSNN links to this article. It appears to be mostly a British production, but since American kids are being cast, I'm assuming it will reach US screens at some point. You know, a game show involving getting locked in the cells of a Napoleonic fortress is going to go over so well on American kids TV.

[Dbacksfan12]

You know, a game show involving getting locked in the cells of a Napoleonic fortress is going to go over so well on American kids TV.

And why not?  This seems like the kind of thing a kid (At least, I would have) enjoyed doing.  Didn't they try this as a one-off or something back in the 90s?

[DoItRockapella]

Actually, I wasn't talking about the kids - I would have loved this as a kid too. I'm really more concerned about the adult Moral Guardians, who I get the feeling will declare this "too scary" or something.

In answer to your question, Bother's Bar discusses the American Fort Boyard one-off here.

[vtown7]

You know, a game show involving getting locked in the cells of a Napoleonic fortress is going to go over so well on American kids TV.

And why not?  This seems like the kind of thing a kid (At least, I would have) enjoyed doing.  Didn't they try this as a one-off or something back in the 90s?

At the ripe young age of 33, I would still like to do it.  So much so that when they opened up the application process for civilians I applied... even though I don't live in France.

I think it is something that can work, although it does depend on how they tinker with the format - it, like Deal, exists in many variations.

They did a one off in 1993 and personally I found it to be incredibly lacking.

R.

[TLEberle]

You know, a game show involving getting locked in the cells of a Napoleonic fortress is going to go over so well on American kids TV.

Crystal Maze is the same format, different chrome, and they did a junior special at least once. I don't see why this is all the more offensive.

[Joe Mello]

My guess would be that they're doing the pilot series over there to see if it's worth it to find/build a set on American soil.

[Brig Bother]

Signs are pointing to a UK vs US duel version of the format, which has worked quite well in Scandinavia (although the production company have been playing around with various duel format for about ten years, it only really feels like last year they've found one that works). I'm not crazy about the show as a two team affair, they tried it in France last year and although I thought it was quite clever it tanked, so they're going back to a one team affair this year and doing up the cells fantastically in one final throw of the dice.

The Swedish show has gone down better I think but I doubt a UK vs US show will work like that because it gets rid of a team at the halfway point and you don't really want to alienate half your potential audience.

They've done a kid's special on the French show several years ago for the show's 15th season. It is fair to say kids make up a large percentage of the show's audience - same with Crystal Maze really.

Will kids watching kids have the same appeal as kids watching adults mess things up? Pass. The Crystal Maze kids specials were quite good fun, but the attraction for me (as a kid at the time) was that it acted as a sneak preview for some of next year's games. I would not like to suggest this was an average viewpoint.