Great news for Canadian game show lovers: TVA will air its version of "La cible"
(The Target), the game show aired by France2 and, in Canada, on TV5. Their version will be titled "Le cercle"
(The Circle) and will be co-hosted by Charles Lafortune and Pierre Houde.
The game was originally developed for Fox, but never made it beyond pilot status. The concept, however, was successfully sold abroad. Here's what Hollywood Reporter had to say about the show:
Jan. 25, 2005
Fox World saves 'Face' for int'l players
Recycling has proven to be a profitable policy for Fox Television Studios. A quiz-show pilot that originally was intended for domestic syndication in the United States but never made it to broadcast has instead become a big player with French TV audiences in a unique international TV deal. Hayley Babcock, senior vp production for Fox World international production and format division Fox Television Studios, revealed today at the National Association of Television Program Executives convention in Las Vegas that France 2 has just signed for another season of the game show that originally was called "Face Off" and now airs in France as "La Cible." The new order will bring the number of episodes, produced for France 2 by A Prime Prods. in consultation with Fox World, to almost 500 half-hours. "We did a nonairing pilot for Twentieth Television for syndication, but at the time, a quiz show was just not what syndication wanted," Babcock said. "But we had the tape, and we brought the idea to the international markets." (Steve Brennan)
Here's a description of the European version:
La Cible is played on a circular set; starting from the outside, you have the audience bleachers, then a set of concentric circles, and finally, the ominous rotating camera atop a pole at the center of "the target". Starting with 12 players standing on the outermost circle, the game is played in several elimination rounds. Losers walk off the set; at the end of each round, the remaining players advance to the next inner circle.
Marvel at the photos at
this French page and especially
gameshowkult.de, an
excellent Euro game show site! Drool!
I will post more detailed rules later this week. This is exciting! I thought there would be no good game show this fall (except for L'Union Fait La Force, which is played for charity B^( ) so this is
great news for me!
