Great for the winner, but not too interesting for the viewer.
Give us the 80s and 90sThePrice Is Rightany day.
Better still, you cant beat a bit of Bully!
Game shows have changed considerably over the years.
Games were supposedly chosen from one of four categories, mystery, physical, skill, mental.
This lead to the oft-joked about challenges of making a cup of tea, or changing a light bulb.
Then there were the games that courted the ridiculous and sadistic.
Games that were so tricky, they were clearly designed to make fun of those competing.
Take the infamous Aztec spinning pole game.
Yes, the games producers certainly had a mean streak, and we loved it.
The setting of the maze was one of the most striking features.
The time zones also affected the style of games in each zone.
It was basically a money grab wind chamber, with money replaced by gold and silver tokens.
The team needed 100 gold tokens after the deduction of any silver tokens to win various prizes.
These usually involved adventure holidays or other lifestyle days out, and were mostly pretty lame.
This didnt matter, though, as the journey was what madeThe Crystal Mazeso good.
The success of theCrystal Mazewas not lost on TV producers, and clones of the show were inevitable.
It was like a mixture ofCrystal MazeandGladiators.
The team with the most salvage earned a higher place on the shows leaderboard.
Obviously, he didnt do well, and his scenes were more wooden than the inhabitants of Tracy Island.
Despite its cheese and cheapness, I loved the show when it was on.
Another attempt wasFort Boyard, originally a French show that pre-datedTheCrystal Mazeand was one of its main influences.
Fort Boyardwas set on a strange, isolated fort in the ocean.
This is a real place off the west coast of France, not a TV set.
Fort Boyardwas actually very successful, and range for multiple seasons across different TV channels.
Fronted by Craig Awoooga Charles, this show made use of the then-hot subject of Virtual Reality.
These were actually custom-made for the show, and werent just standard, already-existing titles.
With VR making a big come back, maybe the idea ofCyber Zonewill too.
This was to reach the end of the dungeon and find the item they were questing for.
Walk forward 3 steps!
Go Right, NO, left!
Never before have you seen so many people unable to tell their right from left.
Knightmarewas a perfect kids show for the time.
This approach, in turn, is what made the other shows listed here appealing.
Sadly, the formula died down, with a move to a moreGladiatorsor slapstick style.
Shows likeTakeshis Castle,Ninja Warrior, andTotalWipeoutbecame more popular.
Occasionally some do surface.
However, I detect a complete temporal disruption approaching…
