Monique, the tiger's head if you please. / Félindra, tête de tigre !A summer Game Show, originating in France in 1990 and, so far,
running for 23 seasons in the French version, but several foreign versions have been made. As of 2012, the French, Swedish, Dutch, Finnish, Russian and Algerian versions remain in production, along with a joint venture between the United States and the UK featuring teenagers.
All the shows take place on Fort Boyard, a 19th century fortress off the west coast of France.
Depending on the version, four to six contestants take part in physical and mental challenges under time limits to firstly acquire keys to a treasure room and then to acquire clues to a password that, inside the treasure room, will release a load of coins. All against some sort of countdown clock. Some versions have contestants playing to win actual money, but the French version features teams of celebrities playing for charity since the mid-nineties.
In the UK version, these challenges were set by Boyard, master of the fort (played by Leslie Grantham in the first UK version). Whether or not he's evil seems to vary according to the version.
In the current French version, the challenges are set by the
Père Fouras, an old, bald intellectual, and the show itself is hosted by Olivier Minne. Three dwarfs,
Passe-Partout,
Passe-Temps and
Passe-Muraille (since 2004), are frequently present to assist the master of the fort by escorting the team, bringing information about the next challenge, and holding on to what the team's won. The actor playing
Passe-Temps was fired in 2010.
When Channel 4 wanted to make a UK version, the filming schedule of the French original meant they couldn't use the fort, so they went and built
The Crystal Maze instead. Many years later there was indeed a British series of
Fort Boyard, but by that time it was viewed as
a poor man's '
The Crystal Maze'.
This show contains examples of:
- Cool Old Guy: Père Fouras.
- Face Your Fears: A contestant doesn't like heights? Chances are good that said contestant will find themselves walking a tightrope or performing another challenge at a high altitude. Also present in several challenges and ordeals involving mice, snakes, spiders, insects...
- Fanservice: The cylinders.
- Laser Hallway: The 2012 French edition features a laser hallway challenge, though involving wires rather than actual lasers.
- Lock and Key Puzzle: Literally, keys are required to open the treasure room, clues to retrieve the gold. Also, some challenges and ordeals fall under this category, with keys or other items required to retrieve the prize... or, in several cases, to exit the cell in which the challenge takes place.
- Losing Horns: If a team loses in the Treasure Room, a sad version of the show's theme tune is played. There's no falling off at the end, so it's a partial type A.
- Lost Forever: All the challenges and ordeals are one try only. In addition, in the latest French versions, failing one of the challenges to recover keys or imprisoned team members will result in the person being lost for the remainder of the game.
- Ms. Fanservice: The Naked Woman (Arianne in France).
- Mud Wrestling: One challenge involves a female contestant fighting a strongwoman in a pit of mud.
- Only Smart People May Pass / Riddle Me This: Many of the challenges, most of them are provided by the Père Fouras. In some cases, degenerating to "Only the dumb may not pass".
- Race Against the Clock: Each challenge, ordeal, or puzzle is like this, with varying consequences for running out of time ranging from being locked in the challenge cell to watching a clue word burn up to losing all the money earned in the Treasure Room.
- Wizard Beard: The Père Fouras.
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