Fort Boyard 2017

Begins Saturday 24th June,
7:55pm UK (8:55 France)

France 2 or inevitable naughty streaming

Also on Belgian La Une every Friday night, please do not spoil until French show broadcast.

In what’s looking like a greatly exciting Summer with the return of The Crystal Maze, the granddaddy of the genre, Fort Boyard, returns for its 28th series in France and ten more teams of celebs arrive at the fort with the aim of prising Pere Fouras’ treasure from his hands.

This year sounds like a continuation of last year’s structure, likely retaining the board game theming, but with new touches here and there. Of note: adventures are governed by red clepsydres this year and it sounds like the prisons and Blanche’s Hall of Judgement are getting makeovers not unlike the Council got last year.

Six new cells and 20 new games promised, there’s a new Lady Boo and a new professor in the Boyard Academy, Eric Lampaert who’s a British comic and French film star (although I must say I hadn’t heard of him before this) alongside Francis Lalanne.

Join us as we dissect the show each week!

198 thoughts on “Fort Boyard 2017

  1. Matt C

    Nice to see Narcisse Lalanne back, too. Looks like Eric’s character is Pere Fouras’s nephew? Wonder how that’ll play out.

    Reply
  2. Mika

    Any tips on watching on the dark webs for this year? (Same for Crystal Maze)
    Then again, I can never watch it live usually anyway cause of timing.

    Reply
    1. Jack B

      Last year I was able to find videos of the episodes available on various french video sites within 24 hours of the broadcast. Presumably this will happen again this series.

      Reply
      1. Jack B

        I wonder if Opera VPN will work for Pluzz like it does for ProSieben? Has anyone tried this??

        Reply
        1. Matt Clemson

          Haven’t tried Opera yet; last year I used OKLiveTV, and I’ve just looked again briefly and it *seems* to be working.

          Reply
          1. Brig Bother Post author

            Yes that’s how I watched most of last year as well, although that’d only work in a live capacity.

            If anyone has Opera and wants to try pluzz.fr, do have a go and let us know as I’m at work right now and can’t test it myself.

          2. Matt Clemson

            Experimenting with the Android version (so won’t necessarily be how things work on PC): There’s no French server, but I’ll take a look to see if some other regions might be ‘good enough’.

          3. Jack B

            No French server on the PC version either. Of the 5 server options I tried Canada (figuring that was the only one that stood a chance) with no luck.

            Incidentally, pluzz.fr doesn’t seem to exist anymore- it just redirects to france.tv where you have the catchup options.

          4. Brig Bother Post author

            Oh that’s interesting, hadn’t realised that.

            If you don’t mind paying money, Tunnelbear is $10 a month, although that’s a bit pricey if FB on catch-up is all you want. You can go pretty much anywhere, though.

    2. Lee

      Mainly for Fort boyard. there a Russian social media site called vk.com. They have some Fort boyard groups you can join and can find a host of old episodes and new episodes on it.

      Reply
    3. Matt Clemson

      To dredge up the VPN discussion again, I note that there’s a year’s sub to Windscribe VPN as part of the current Humble Bundle for $12. I have no idea if they’re any good – or indeed have French location options – mind!

      Reply
      1. Brig Bother Post author

        If you’re able to watch live, OKTVLive’s France 2 stream was how I was watching last year when I couldn’t be bothered to fire up my VPN. I’ll put a link up when I get home this evening, unless someone else can oblige.

        Reply
  3. Nicolas Descamps

    Just a reminder that Eric Lampaert was the “amazing fiancee” in the third season of the reality show “My amazing fiance” (Mon incroyable fiancé)

    Reply
  4. Lee

    News just in. Apparently Belgium have brought some rights to the show. And they will be airing the new series on the Friday 23rd June. (A day before France)

    Can also catch it on La Une at 9:05pm Friday 23rd June. (Their Time)

    Reply
      1. Jack B

        On the plus side, their catchup service is easier to access then the French- I just got it to work using Hola Unblocker set to Belgium. If this is true, it may be helpful for those who can’t watch live on either countries feed.

        Reply
      2. Lee

        i do think its odd. Unless they plan on testing the waters and quickly filming there own series soon after (I believe the fort is still open to filming in July)

        Reply
        1. Brig Bother Post author

          I’m not sure there’s much point, La Une will almost certainly broadcast mainly to the French speaking part of Belgium who’ll know all the French celebs anyway, it doesn’t really make sense to then make your own French language version. It might be testing the waters for next year though.

          Reply
  5. Brig Bother Post author

    OK, here’s something I was quite wrong about – you CAN be taken prisoner during the red clepsydre adventures, it’s this year’s big rule change.

    I’m not sure how much I like this, we’ll see.

    Reply
    1. Jack B

      Blanche apparently remains after the key games, meaning anyone taken prisoner during the adventures will have to do the Great Escape automatically.

      I’m not sure what to think about this- it seems pretty harsh, and increases the likelihood of having incredibly short treasure room runs. At least we’ll probably get to see what happens if 2 people need to run the escape.

      Reply
      1. Brig Bother Post author

        I reckon that’s one of the thoughts behind it, the show’s creative director said in an interview once that multiple people doing it at once in practice was hilarious.

        For me it seems like 28 series in seems like an odd time to do it, but I made peace with outdoor adventures as key games so I’m willing to give it a chance.

        I would have been perfectly happy if every adventure was governed by a red water clock with the clue exploding when it runs out, it’d make the edit a lot easier and it would feel like we aren’t not being shown the whole stroy some of the time (we still wouldn’t, but at least we can have a much better idea the game and timing is above board).

        However if it means getting rid of combination locks and boxes for at least some of the games, surely the least impressive 10 seconds on television, for a better method (which sounds like the case for the games where these are going to be used) then this is a good thing, even if the traditional outdoors adventures will still be using them.

        Reply
        1. Alex

          And I believe two of the ‘cell’ adventures (Tete chercheuse and Train Fantome) will be regular ones with padlocks anyway, which seems a bit odd.

          Reply
          1. Lee

            Maybe i’m a little confused. But i thought these prisoner changes are only applying for the Key section of the show.

            I actually thought this was a way they are bringing back the classic style of clue games they had from the golden years.

            I also don’t believe I’ve seen a clepsydre on Tete.

  6. Mika

    https://youtu.be/tXFMacsxDew

    Ep 1 promo.
    Asile looks like it has an interesting twist on it, not sure how that’s gonna work in-game.

    And what’s the game with the bungee cord grids…? I don’t remember hearing about it in the previews.

    Reply
    1. Brig Bother Post author

      New prison escape I reckon.

      Looks like a new gag for the Hall of Adventures elevator, although I hope they’ve got more than one.

      I reckon the asylum is a rotating room with a fixed camera.

      Reply
      1. Alex

        From pics, I believe the asylum does have the two-part-room system that the original had.

        Reply
        1. Mika

          Best guess is, since it doesn’t look like it has that switch mechanism the original had, is maybe it’s “Smash into the room, rotate the room, leave the room, repeat”? Seems a bit overly complicated though.

          Reply
  7. Brig Bother Post author

    I think the question we all want to know the answer to but nobody has dared ask yet: is the Shooting Gallery returning?

    Reply
    1. Alex

      There’s a new game in the courtyard involving basically mini-Atlaspheres, and whilst we don’t know that it’s played, one of the photos that someone took during filming has the hexagonal stand the gun is on in the courtyard ready to be placed, so…probably.

      I’m probably looking into this too much.

      Reply
      1. Brig Bother Post author

        Other things I’ve gleaned looking through recent pictures:

        * The Spider looks like it’s had a radical overhaul, which is probably for the best.
        * There’s an adventure called “the stone lance”, which seems to involve some sort of lie-down ducking stool over the sea although I don’t know.
        * The Infernal Tyrolene seems to involve the person going down the zipline throwing some sort of flare into a barrel.
        * Some weeks there are TWO Champions of the Cage!

        Reply
        1. Alex

          The ‘stone lance’ is basically Crossbow-on-the-cheap. Guy lies down beneath a target, team fires balls from a slingshot at the target, a bullseye does what you’d expect.

          Reply
    1. Alex

      Ah, it’s a revamp of Flechettes from 2008. They’ve ironed out possible cheating as the original one had the players drop darts at a height manually, and the measures put in place to ensure that the darts were dropped at the same height weren’t the best.

      Reply
  8. Jack B

    Apparently Episode 1 is already available on belgian catch up:

    https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_fort-boyard?id=2227330

    You’ll need a VPN for it, but unlike the French site I managed to get other things on their catch up to work using Hola Unblocker (free download for Chrome or Firefox, go to the link, set it to Belgium). Haven’t tried this video yet but I dont see a reason why it wont work.

    I’ll be watching this later but will wait until after the French broadcast to give my opinions.

    Reply
    1. Brig Bother Post author

      Great stuff – yes please, if anyone who watches the Belgian broadcast could wait until after the French one tonight that would be great thanks.

      Reply
      1. Brig Bother Post author

        Incidentally I don’t know where the idea that the shows were going to be 90 minutes come from, it’s a 2 hr 12 min slot according to France 2.

        A time slot which manages to be way too long yet I don’t want them to cut anything.

        Reply
  9. Lee

    So basically its exactly the same format as last year. It kinda surprises me the lack of mention of the red clepsydres during the clue games.

    The show felt more faster pace. Games were edited alot more often it feels.

    New games are good. Dino rodeo looks fun, Ski seems ok. Asile seems fair.

    Reply
    1. Lee

      As always enjoy the sketches around the fort. The new guy in the watch tower isn’t bad.

      Prison escape seemed more fair compared to previous years.

      Kinda really it in my opinion. Didn’t really do anything new and was just a continuation from last year.

      Reply
  10. Brig Bother Post author

    Mmm. No real changes to the presentation since last year, so here are the things that caught my eye:

    SKI: Ski under a hurdle and then jump to catch a star with a key on it, crashing into a giant airbag. Sit on a chair to get back up to the top of the slope. Fun enough but I think this would perhaps be better in a slightly bigger room, or longer room at least.

    Double Cage: Contestant and Mister Boo in identical cube cages, race and tumble to flip the cage over the finish line and get back to the start. This seemed like a properly quite difficult test of physical ability in square atlaspheres. I quite liked.

    Mechanical Spider: Now doesn’t feature a Mechanical Spider but the entire floor is gummed up and features balls. Grab the balls and throw them at a target which will release the key, a bit like how it worked in Ring. Much easier said then done when the balls just stick to your hands.

    Asylum: Get in a straightjacket which has four red balls attached to it. Get flipped into the room (a bit like the old asylum game from years ago), shake to knock red balls off and then drop then into tubes dotted about the walls of the room with teeth, but each time you do it the room rotates 90 degrees so the wall becomes the new floor. You can exit and collect the key outside the room when all four balls are done. Probably my fave new game so far, this feels like quite a technical set-up.

    Rodeo Dino: Sit on a bucking dinosaur whilst wearing a hat with a spike on it, burst balloons in a tube above to release the key. Seemed to rely on a man dropping the balloon tube when he felt like it. Edited down to about a minute.

    Surf: Lie down on a surfboard at the top of a zipline atop the terrace. Before the board gets three quarters of the way down and hits a red block you have to be standing on it. I very much prefer these short events as key games (see also: Bike).

    Pere Fouras has a Scottish cousin called Peter Fouras: Amazing.

    Eric: Is he meant to be a sort of comedy take on Ramsay Bolton? Contestant sits in machine and asked “what happened next?” questions on old Fort Boyard clips. Two right answers win the key, wrong answers mean getting slapped in the face by the slapping machine.

    Hall of Judgement: Really like the new antechamber. The wardrobe door has been replaced with a sliding rock door thing, keys dispensed via mysterious steamy porthole.

    Red clepsydres: Is the contestant allowed to leave before getting the clue? I miss the clock more than I was expecting to. I quite like there’s a new antechamber to the Doll’s House. Clocks looked a little… short? Time will tell.

    Doll’s House: It looks like this has changed a bit – two bits of code on spiders to unlock a padlock on the scorpion chest but time ran out so I don’t know what happens next.

    Spa: You thought it was going to be a spa but ah-ha, it’s the All New Pere Fouras Show! Which is just like the last one except you bathe in jacuzzis and are joined by creatures who you have to answer a question on, two out of three to win.

    Great Escape: Really liked this, now the prison is bigger you have to tear it up to find the way out before tackling the course – 2:30 on the clock. My main concern is that whilst it’s bigger it’s still quite difficult for the camera to get good angles whilst they search.

    Felindra’s got her own story bit now. And why not? She’s the third longest standing cast member behind Passe-Partout (every episode) and Yann Le Gac as Pere Fouras (every series except two of them).

    If you enjoyed last year this year feels like more of the same. I note the music of the credits has been modified to remove any reference to the middle eight, boo.

    Reply
    1. Lee

      After re-watching the episode. it seems the dolls house has the clue canister inside the scorpion box. He just needs to find the code on the spiders to be able to grab it from the scorpions (So actually seems easier).

      Also they didn’t use a code to unlock the box in Surf. Could be more better for other games that have like a certain condition to be met. (Such as reaching something in Velo or Cloche and it automatically opens)

      Reply
    2. Matt Clemson

      What with the them leaning *hard* on the mixed-nationality thing with Eric… is his Academy theme being dressed up as a “Fort Boyard Citizenship Test”?

      Reply
  11. Mika

    Watched it via the Youtube Dark Arts (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0k85V5K0Xo – Still up as of posting)

    Agree with what feels like the general consensus – Very much feels like a “We got this right last year” season. Which is good cause last year was great, so not like much needed changed anyway.

    Is it just me, or are there a LOT more “You need to get ready for the next room” rooms? Not adventures, but first-half challenges.

    Anyway, new stuff:
    Ski – I like the idea of it, but yeah, doesn’t really fit the space given. Almost feels like this should’ve been the zipline game Surf is, and Surf coulda been a modern remake of Table Instable or something.

    Araignée – Didn’t think I’d say it, but I prefer last year’s. Interest concept, funny to watch, but I miss the giant spider, and the player doesn’t really need to go that far into the room, so you don’t get that panicked exit scramble.

    Deux Cages – I dunno… I like the concept of it, but really loses something just being out in the open like that.

    Rodeo Dino – NOT what I expected the goal to be. Does seem a bit unfair as game, but fun to watch.

    Lutte – I wonder what’s up with the new ropes. Wonder if that’s gonna play into one of the variations of this game, or if it’s just decor.

    Asile – Great set, great idea, but the game itself is ehhh… Even just a “run around the room x times to lower the key” woulda been cool. (Missed it – is this auto-lock-in? Seems like it should be but couldn’t tell 100%)

    Surf – Looks like a fun, challenging game to do. Not as much to watch. So yeah, pretty much Velo.

    Spa – Better take on Stage 215, though letting her just jump out before the things got dumped and then get back in felt kinda weak.

    Great Escape – Felt more interesting and more visual. Does seem to work better if there are multiple prisoners.

    Red Clepsydres – Missed if they could escape, too. Seems like they were debating it in Egout, but were told they couldn’t…? Stupid rusty French.

    So, yeah. Overall, still a great presentation. New stuff is “Alright but not awesome”, but hey, having more of the same is still great.

    Reply
    1. Nico W.

      I think you are right about the asylum being an automatic lock-in game. And I think it was turning too little, could have been crazier.
      And the Red Clepsydres seemed to me like you couldn’t escape. Given the way the Great Escape is done with the bit escape room-ey search it makes sense to try to get more prisoners imho, although I’m normally not a big fan of that.

      Reply
      1. Brig Bother Post author

        There’s not a great deal in the prison but I’m looking forward to an episode where inevitably they spend the entire 2:30 looking for the way out then waste a further 90 seconds doing the course.

        Interesting point of note that they’re only as quick as the slowest member, the last person out has to pull the lever to stop the clock.

        Reply
    2. Ian D

      It seems that you can’t quit red clepsydre clue events. From my understanding of French, I believe that they were told that during Egout when the team wanted him to back out.

      I don’t like that aspect of the red clepsydres. IMO, would be much better if they could quit.

      The one positive of them is that less events use codeboxes now. The indice was in the scorpion box in the Dolls House, and at the bottom in Egout. I expect that Manoir will just be a search for the cannister.

      Reply
  12. Lee

    Is it just me. Or is the Dino-Rodeo music remind you of the DJ Bobo Chihuahua song?

    Reply
  13. Jack B

    Agree with pretty much everything said here so far.

    Ski felt too big for the room it’s in. The main point is the comedy pratfall, and nothing else.

    Did not like Rodeo Dino at all. The idea itself isn’t bad, but the whole thing basically comes down to “Does the producer feel like lowering the balloons to give them the key or not”.

    Still trying to understand whether Asile is an automatic lock in or not.

    Quite surprised there was no mention of the red clepsydres, or that you could be taken prisoner during the adventures until it actually happened. If it’s really true that you can’t quit adventures, I’m not a fan- if we’re already blurring the lines between clue games and key games, the contestants should have the option to quit adventures just like they can quit key games.

    I really like the new Great Escape (it’s probably my favorite version yet), but I wish we wouldn’t have to force prisoners on the show. Automatic lock in games are ok, but when it feels like they’re made impossible for the sake of getting a prisoner it gets annoying.

    Reply
  14. Jack B

    2.59 million viewers last night- an improvement over last years premiere, but only finished second in the slot (behind TF1).

    Reply
  15. Brig Bother Post author

    Mechanical Spider has never really been a good game – an idea that’s quite funny but doesn’t quite work as a game.

    I’m surprised they haven’t done the current version with non-Newtonian fluid rather than gum.

    Reply
    1. David

      I mean, considering how badly it went when the Australian version of I’m a Celebrity used non-Newtownian fluid in a trial, I cannot imagine any situation in which a Boyard version doesn’t end in a bunch of anticlimactic lockins.

      Reply
  16. Lee

    Question for Episode 2. Is Jarres now a red clepsydre game. or is that now used for the abandoned cabin.

    Reply
  17. Jack B

    Bad news everyone- The Belgian catchup service doesn’t seem to have Fort Boyard uploaded anymore. Disappointing as I’m out tonight and most of tomorrow so will have to wait until Monday to watch this weeks one.

    Reply
      1. Mika

        Already taken down. TT_TT
        Missed all the good uploads cause at Anime Expo over the weekend. There’s a couple “video in box” ones, so maybe if I reaaaaaaally squint or zoom in…

        Reply
  18. Lee

    Just as a note. I belive Asile was in the news this week for breaking some TV code about Mental patients. The rules explained the game this week as cellule capitonnee instead of asile.

    Reply
  19. Alex

    Anyone with a better knowledge of French than me: what exactly was that sauce Willy covered that grass jelly with?

    Reply
  20. Brig Bother Post author

    Well that team completely smashed it. Of note:

    * I quite liked Boyard Zoo, although I do wish they’d make the tanks a bit bigger.

    * It looks like Jarres is now an adventure? There’s definitely a red clock outside it.

    * Did I miss something or was that literally the worst ever playing of noughts and crosses by both players at Council?

    For an episode two, surprisingly little new stuff.

    Reply
    1. Lee

      Agree with the smashing it.

      Next week Bruno returns to the fort. Along with Michaël Jeremiasz who is a wheelchair tennis player. Going to be interesting how they adapt the fort for him.

      Reply
  21. Alex

    I think they could have gotten somewhere towards the mid 20s if they had everyone collect at the same time instead of having three people shovel the gold into the other person’s arms. I don’t think the extra gold there makes up for the fact that they’re effectively three people down to collect, and it’s a slower method than just grabbing it yourself, surely.

    Reply
    1. Brig Bother Post author

      Time and again grab and run is proven to be the best method and yet they still don’t seem to do it.

      At least fewer teams use a smaller member as a tray.

      Reply
  22. David B

    I keep trying to watch an entire episode of this, but melt into the puddle whenever Blanche is on screen.

    Seriously, though, as someone who’s not really followed this show for some time, as I always preferred TCM to FB in terms of style, I really like what they’ve done with the big-scale challenges combined with more interesting themeing. And the presentation is really slick too.

    Why is it two hours and six minutes? Did the producers go “We couldn’t possibly cram it into two hours”? How do people get the time to watch this every week? I can only watch it by hammering the right-arrow key on YouTube throughout.

    The editing, where everyone gets out with two seconds to spare, still drives me mad because it devalues the times when someone genuinely makes it out by the skin of the teeth (which seemed to happen in the underwater saw game).

    And you all gripe about Richard Ayoade making pop-culture references but say nothing about Pere Fouras giving out the phone number for the SMS competition!?

    Reply
    1. Brig Bother Post author

      Oh Fort Boyard’s been tonally weird for years, moreso since the 2011 reboot, although the media whoredom of Pere Fouras has been gradual since becoming the fully blown antagonist.

      Reply
  23. Jack B

    Episode 2- great episode, good team, and some excellent moments. My thoughts:

    * Interesting to see the name change for the Asylum- I was sure it was a new game when first announced. Still not sure if this is an ALIS game or not.

    * Looks like Pays des merveilles has been made slightly harder- they don’t seem to have the rope at the start of the course anymore.

    * Cloche was absolutely amazing. Seeing people conquer their fears is one of the best things on Boyard, and sadly with all the editing and fast games these days you rarely see that anymore.

    * Narcisse Lalanne’s new intro is absolutely fantastic.

    * That was the most dramatic game of Poutre jets-d’eau I’ve seen in a long time. I found myself screaming at my computer in the hopes they would win and we would FINALLY get the prisonerless game we’ve all been waiting for. Unfortunately my first thought of “Watch them put all the jets on at once to stop the team” was pretty much right.

    * The new Blanche game seems to be another practically impossible one. Guess the turntables wasn’t enough?

    * The Zoo is probably my favorite new adventure in recent years. Nice to see an animal based game that doesn’t rely only on cockroaches and insects.

    * Can someone explain what the point of the cake at the end was? I was sure it was for Olivier’s birthday, but that’s apparently in March.

    Reply
    1. Brig Bother Post author

      I thought the Judgement game was absolutely fine, he was an inch off most of his attempts and it wasn’t the windscreen wipers that knocked then off.

      Cake was for Olivier’s 15th anniversary of hosting I believe.

      Reply
      1. Alex

        It was his 15th year hosting. You know what they’re like with the whole “celebrating their 10/15/20/25th birthday on the season and not the actual year” thing.

        Asile I believe IS an ALIS. The entrance/exit trap wall wouldn’t work unless the room is the right way up.

        Reply
        1. Brig Bother Post author

          That’d be my interpretation.

          Watching people conquer fear is awesomely dramatic – at heart all adventures before they all became basically ‘deal with it’ tasks were effectively watching a group of people try and persuade someone to do something they wouldn’t ordinarily like to do for the common good, and I do miss the slow burn a bit.

          Reply
    2. Matt Clemson

      Speaking of which, about the jets: Have they added a ruling to say you can’t crawl? I remember successful players in the past crawling it, but neither of these attempted that.

      Reply
  24. Michael

    Interesting to note this week – Olivier Dion (who apparently set the record for the Grande Evasion this week) has now been in two record-breaking teams in a row – this week he set that record, last year he was in the only team in recent memory to get below the house minimum.

    Reply
  25. Jason

    I’ve been impressed with the variety of new games (or new variants of games) they have added this season.
    – I’m still not convinced by Rodeo Dino after two attempts – is it a case of the game is too hard, or the contestants not “good enough”?
    – The Spa is a nice simple “twist”, the players don’t know what to expect until it happens.
    – Boyard Zoo achieved a lot for a three minute game (as edited)

    I like the continued effort they are putting in to the character biographies and cut-aways – Felindra, Blanche and Willy Rovelli; Eric Fouras in episode one; Lelanne in episode two.

    I did wonder what was going on with Asile given the hasty edits and continuity errors. The earlier comments about breaking broadcasting code would certainly explain it!

    Reply
    1. Matt C

      Out of interest, has there been any backstory offered in the past for the *host’s* presence on the fort?

      Reply
      1. Brig Bother Post author

        Not Minne as far as I know, but as I recall when the show originally started it was because Jacques Antoine asked and Pere Fouras, Guardian of the Fort, allowed them to film there, Patrice Laffont very much there as ‘host’ rather than ‘Maitre d’Fort’ capacity and he sort of transformed into the Master when they wanted the show to go a bit darker, although I suspect the backstory wasn’t really thought about that much. When Castaldi became host, the website alluded to all sorts of arcane tests he had to do before getting the role.

        Minne was employed very much in host rather than Master capacity, I think his official job title even now is ‘facilitator’. Personally I never liked it when Anne-Gaelle Riccio was already on the Fort for the pre-game sketches before the team arrived, I preferred the fiction that the second host bought the team along to the Fort with them. But I also miss watching them bag up the gold and make for their boat at the end of episodes because I’m old.

        The problem with only having really basic French is that I’m guessing the character backstories, I have no idea if Blanche and Rouge’s make logical sense from year to year or not, for example.

        If anyone knows better than my fifteen year old memories of early Google Translated websites, please speak up!

        Reply
  26. Jack B

    Pretty big increase in the ratings- 3.164 million viewers last night. Top rating for the slot, barely beating out Celebrity You’re Back in the Room on TF1.

    Reply
  27. Brig Bother Post author

    Everysooften I like to point out covers of bits of music that I like and that you might like as well. Having gone through a number of years of tuneless dirges the show’s got some really good pieces of music now.

    We’ve covered Nicolas Caligi before, a prolific author of pieces that I can’t tell the difference from the originals – there’s loads on his Soundcloud which I can’t work out how to link to from the app so search for him (not all of it is FB and not all ofmit is obvious FB, but I like his track called Ocean which sounds very close to the last version of Variation No. 1 used before they got rid of the ship) but for me his magnum opus is a full length version of the current theme arrangement which the last series alluded to but never really revealed:

    https://youtu.be/J55mP_M_Ui8

    Musicien du Fort is another prolific author who does some fun interpretations of pieces, my fave being a cover of the Presentation Of The Team which is one of my favourite bits of music from the show, a completely awesome build up to the adventure that awaits:

    https://youtu.be/vX5ltsarLM4

    Less prolific these days although still occasionally in the game is Ch4rLizard who does some great covers (Caserne being a modern fave https://youtu.be/4xMvflmo3cY) but my fave piece from his is actually the electrotastic Cellule Interactive:

    https://youtu.be/aoVhYVMELwM

    All,of them worth exploring if you’re into that sort of thing.

    I’m always intrigued by covers so if anybody else is doing them and they’re any good then shout!

    Reply
    1. Ian D

      I don’t know if it’s the camera angles, but I thought I saw that happen on the second attempt in Ep1 as well.

      Reply
      1. Brig Bother Post author

        It’s a bit weird because it’s barely noticable to the point that I’m not sure what the point of doing it is.

        I’m happy to give it the benefit of the doubt for now but I agree that it’d piss me off as well – I can get setting the game up for the height of the competitor but after that that should be it.

        Reply
  28. Brig Bother Post author

    Well I think if there was one takeaway from tonight it’s that Boyardodrome wasn’t worth the wait. I thought they’d have to stay inside the green section to release the key or have both of them beat the treadmill or something as it is a bit disappointing.

    I thought they accommodated the wheelchair guy quite well considering what a pig of a set is must be without two legs – not really hiding the editing whilst running round the fort, although it’s a pity they couldn’t adapt the Treasure Room for him, his sacrifice felt inevitable (although given they won four clues I did ponder whether they would need one and then what would happen). Not sure what the solution is.

    Reply
  29. Lee

    Good episode. Felt pretty fast. Agree with Boyardodrome. Felt strange to win so easy.

    Was thinking along your lines. They had 4 clues so they wouldn’t really need to swap him for a clue. (Although i admit they could done the scarfice slightly better by not making him stand up through the 2 minutes of the TR).

    Also while not Fort Boyard fault. Dissapointed in Fort-Boyard.fr for posting the gains of the show after the key games.

    Reply
  30. Alex

    Not sure I love the official YT account putting up 4 of the 6 clue games as previews before the show’s come out.

    Reply
  31. Alex

    Someone in the FB production office has been watching Stuart Ashens on YT.

    Three of the last four things have been weird things he’s eaten on his channel.

    Reply
  32. Brig Bother Post author

    Well that was certainly an episode.

    Someone won Rodeo-Dino.

    I was desperate for Magloire to do the prison break, as it was Thierry Samitier didn’t disappoint, and Magloire made up for it for hysterically stuffing up his council duel.

    TNT is literally Infernal Tyrolene as a one player game and works quite well as well, although it probably ought to be a key event really. Contestant going down the zipline tries to throw a flare into a barrel. If they miss (inevitably) they can unhook themselves from the zipline and swim to the barrel where a second flare awaits for them to light and dump in. When there’s an explosion the code box on the terrace magically opens, which I will still take over watching someone undo a padlock.

    There was a new duel, contestants push with their biceps against some pipes to raise a balloon in tension whilst some tanks with needles drive around tracks on the tables, whoever stops pushing with the requisite hardness lowers their balloon and the tank bursts it losing the game.

    Next ep in two weeks because of Women’s Euro Football.

    Reply
  33. Lee

    Dino Rodeo win was needed. (Although shoddy editing going on).

    Good to see a prisoner in Asil.. i mean cellule capitonnee

    Would have also liked to see the Automatic clue box been used for Rocket man since its just popping a balloon.

    Also would have linked to see Magloire do the Prisoner escape too. (We might have had our first 0 time in the TR). But also didn’t like the fact he seemed to have no time limit in Maison.

    Reply
  34. Mika

    Love that they’re making fun of American food now.

    The tanks in, well, Tanks, are *SO ADORABLE I WANT ONE*. Also interesting dressing up of what’s really a basic task.

    Like the changes to TNT/Tyroliene Inversee. That key box thing always felt kinda tacked on.

    Wow she killed Ketchuperie. Though I suppose more proof this is one of those “Know what to do immediately or you won’t have time” games.

    Is M. Boo told to take it easy on them in Deux Cages, or is he that bad? (That said, has anyone actually looked at his win/loss records? He seems to lose a lot, especially compared to Lady Boo, but maybe I’m imagining things.)

    Definitely like that (and confirmation that) Asile is a lock-in.

    Is Momie still around? A lot of Gagarin plays so far.

    Reply
    1. Brig Bother Post author

      Mister Boo’s win/loss record is really quite poor I think, but Cyril Andre plays the role well so I’m not sure he’s getting replaced any time soon. Previous Lady Boos have left rather than been sacked so I guess as long as you can do the games to a reasonable degree and the bits and pieces of acting that go along with it the job’s pretty safe.

      Momie is still on the fort AFAIK. There are still a few new games to be played so it makes sense there are older games to be played as well.

      Reply
    2. Matt Clemson

      I was seriously impressed by Ketchuperie. And I assume that the Passe-Muraille gag afterwards was him turning up to lead her off to get cleaned, only to be disappointed that it wasn’t necessary?

      Reply
      1. Mika

        Ya know, considering that running gag, I’m kinda surprised they didn’t do Spa this episode. I was really expecting it.

        Reply
  35. Steve

    I loved fort boyard wish I could watch this but just find it impossible to watch when have no idea what there saying/no clue what’s going on

    Reply
    1. Alex

      That doesn’t really stop me. It’s a lot easier than most other shows because it’s fairly easy to work out what they’ve got to do just by watching it.

      Reply
    2. Lee

      I think it helps just have have the basic concept of the show and a little knowledge of each of the games.

      I must also admit the Key half of the show does seem to be more funnier to watch than the clue half. it tends to get more serious.

      Then again it could be because i watch main other foreign versions such as Czech and Maroc which do the show proud.

      Reply
  36. Brig Bother Post author

    And DON’T FORGET! There’s no Fort Boyard tonight because of the football, it returns next Saturday.

    Edit: Although TV5Monde are showing last year’s series on Saturday nights at the moment if you’re very desperate.

    Reply
  37. Brig Bother Post author

    What are our key takeaways from this week?

    * Momie no longer takes you prisoner if you lose it.
    * If you use your Joker, it looks like PF gives you a choice of two names to take the adventure over this year.

    * The funniest thing was Olivier being startled by the massive tarantula near the water clock for Spider (which I still think is not a great game) – I don’t know which episode this was filmed but they’ve been there for the last few playings as well.

    * You really don’t have to eat much in Willy’s Kitchen to win these days do you?

    * How old-school were the games in the Council this week? I was half expecting Pere Fouras to instruct the Maitres des Jeux to prepare to receive the Time Chasers. If only Darts was replaced by that game where you had to tense your arm and then untense it to stop knocking a ball off.

    I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t like the red timers. I absolutely approve of modifying the games so that they don’t use codeboxes, but the show’s internal logic has stood for 26 years and it seems a bit odd when a contestant points it out and the host bats it away like the point of it is really obvious. If that’s deliberate I don’t get it, if it’s an accident then it’s rubbish. As a fundamental change I think they’ve handled it quite badly, I think they should have made much more of them. I think they need to be used in some capacity for every game or not at all (which has served the show perfectly well). As I’ve said previously I’d be fine with governing all the adventures with water clocks to help with the edit but the rules have to be consistent.

    No episode next week because of the World Athletics.

    Reply
  38. Lee

    Good episode. I believe it is the first the fort has given them the same game twice (Cloche) and it also counted as 2 games.

    strange to see Momie is no longer played for a prisoner. It leaves only museum and asile as our 2 lock in games on the fort.

    Speaking of which were at the half way stage in the episodes and still havent seen games such as Museum, Terre a lune, Exacibur, Percolator, abaonded library, Snakes, and probley a few more.

    Don’t forget there is no epsiode next week due to sport BUT i believe it is on in Belgium on Friday. Hopefully we can keep spoilers away until 12th august.

    Reply
    1. Mika

      Yeah, kinda disappointed about Momie. Especially how prisoner-happy they’ve made other stuff now.

      Does Restaurant appearing twice in almost every episode its first two seasons count?

      (Also, is this the first time someone’s done THREE adventures? With a full team, even)

      Also, they’ve made a lot of Cloche being “The most-quit game on the fort” – I guess that kinda makes sense. Weird cause it’s also felt like the ‘easiest’ of the height games.

      Reply
      1. Brig Bother Post author

        Yes I find that quite interesting, I’d take it over bungee jumping. Perhaps it’s the one that feels less safe to do?

        Surprised Surf was quit as well.

        Reply
        1. Mika

          I mean, I guess Cloche would feel pretty rickety, and the harness looks fairly loose. Also, who knows the g forces that swing does. (Looks really fun, personally)

          For Surf, best thought I can say is that the demo video has a *really* nasty-looking fall. (Though not sure if that’s even what they see, cause editing magic) Actually, Surf looks like it has a really nasty fall in general. Short cord, but that means it looks like they hit the platform pretty hard.

          Reply
          1. Mika

            Checking back now that I remember, looks like Cartman got a nasty looking cut on his face from Surf in ep 1.

          2. Brig Bother Post author

            Cloche always struck me as fun theme park ride, like really stripped back pirate ship.

            The thing with surf is that if you suddenly don’t like it you can just keep lying on the board. It seems to travel quite slowly so by the time you hit the water hanging underneath it if you fall off it probably won’t be that bad.

            I still think that short sharp physical tests like that fit better as key events anyway. I prefer adventures to be something relatively substantial and I think it’s just taking thr place of something else.

  39. Brig Bother Post author

    Incidentally bonus points for this year’s two new shots: running around behind Passe Partout, and arty close ups of the clepsydres running out.

    Reply
    1. Lee

      wasn’t the running around bit done last year but this year they made it so passe partout was in front?

      Also the clepsydre shots are good. They did it alot more this ep

      Reply
  40. Mika

    If you’re avoiding spoilers, beware the Twitters. FB.net’s feed is already giving away a bunch of Aug 19th’s stuff. (Not the 12th’s oddly enough, unless that’s a typo in all them tweets)

    Though one of them seems to indicate something happening that I swear I’ve not seen on the fort before.

    Reply
    1. Lee

      They did the August 12th Stuff last week. They usually do it a few weeks in advance.

      Reply
    2. Brig Bother Post author

      I’ve had to look it up now. Is it the suggestion of the bloke mud wrestling? Because I counted four other people on the team so it *might* be Double Lutte.

      Reply
      1. Lee

        He also wouldn’t be the first to do mud wrestling as a man. It was once done in 2002.

        Reply
        1. Mika

          I meant more *only* men doing Lutte. Every previous time has still been against Luttesse/Lady Boo, right?

          Reply
    1. Lee

      Although if you like old episodes. France 4 has Tony Parker Episode from 2015 at the same time as usual.

      Reply

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