Incredible Games
Encyclopedia
Incredible Games was a popular children's game show which was broadcast between 6 February 1994 and 28 March 1995 and aired on BBC1
. It included a variety of games, performed by contestants between the ages of 10 and 13. The show itself was set in a fictional skyscraper (which was depicted in the titles by a London council
tower block
, Trellick Tower
, in North Kensington
) with a talking lift. In the first series, the lift was played by David Walliams
, who later starred in Little Britain
. In the second series, the lift was given a name, Sam, and was played by Gary Parker. Sam the Lift is popularly confused with the character played by Mark Speight
in the CITV show Scratchy & Co.
.
The aim of the show was to complete each game (set on a "floor" of the skyscraper), gradually rising up the tower. In the first series this climaxed in the alphabet soup game, and in the second series upon reaching the penthouse, where prizes could be won. In series two if a player lost a game, they were sent to the "basement" of the tower (the laundry room), and the other players had to take the lift back down to rescue them. In the first series the lift doors would open directly into game, whereas in the second series the lift doors would open to a generic corridor which had a series of doors, with a light above a door in the corridor indicating the relevant room. On occasions during the second series the lift door would open to reveal a darkened corridor with the dark knight walking slowly to the lift, which required the contestants to quickly shut the lift doors.
Two of the more famous games were the alphabet soup game and the dark knight game. The first game was where giant letters had to be fished out of a swimming pool (supposedly a soupbowl) to make words on the "fridge". In the second game the contestants had to move from square to square on a chess board (they could only move one space per turn, and every forward movement had to be followed by a sidestep), until they reached the end. The catch was that the "dark knight" was attempting to stop them, though he could only see the player's last move which was lit up.
A special celebrity edition of the show was aired at the end of the first season. Philippa Forrester
, Keith Chegwin
, and Rowland Rivron
featured as the contestants.
Simon Shelton, who played the Dark Knight in the series, later became Tinky Winky in Teletubbies
. Marco Sabba, a contestant on the fifth series
of the UK version of the TV show Big Brother
, competed in Incredible Games when he was younger.
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. It included a variety of games, performed by contestants between the ages of 10 and 13. The show itself was set in a fictional skyscraper (which was depicted in the titles by a London council
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
tower block
Tower block
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, office tower, apartment block, or block of flats, is a tall building or structure used as a residential and/or office building...
, Trellick Tower
Trellick Tower
Trellick Tower is a 31-storey block of flats in North Kensington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. It was designed in the Brutalist style by architect Ernő Goldfinger, after a commission from the Greater London Council in 1966, and completed in 1972...
, in North Kensington
North Kensington
North Kensington is an area of west London lying north of Notting Hill Gate and south of Harrow Road.North Kensington is the key neighbourhood of Notting Hill...
) with a talking lift. In the first series, the lift was played by David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
, who later starred in Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
. In the second series, the lift was given a name, Sam, and was played by Gary Parker. Sam the Lift is popularly confused with the character played by Mark Speight
Mark Speight
Mark Warwick Fordham Speight was an English television presenter, best known as the host of children's art programme SMart. Speight grew up in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, and left school at 16 to become a cartoonist...
in the CITV show Scratchy & Co.
Scratchy & Co.
Scratchy and Co was a CITV show, which was broadcast at certain periods from 6 May 1995 to 25 April 1998, which replaced What's Up Doc? as the Saturday morning ITV show.-Premise:...
.
The aim of the show was to complete each game (set on a "floor" of the skyscraper), gradually rising up the tower. In the first series this climaxed in the alphabet soup game, and in the second series upon reaching the penthouse, where prizes could be won. In series two if a player lost a game, they were sent to the "basement" of the tower (the laundry room), and the other players had to take the lift back down to rescue them. In the first series the lift doors would open directly into game, whereas in the second series the lift doors would open to a generic corridor which had a series of doors, with a light above a door in the corridor indicating the relevant room. On occasions during the second series the lift door would open to reveal a darkened corridor with the dark knight walking slowly to the lift, which required the contestants to quickly shut the lift doors.
Two of the more famous games were the alphabet soup game and the dark knight game. The first game was where giant letters had to be fished out of a swimming pool (supposedly a soupbowl) to make words on the "fridge". In the second game the contestants had to move from square to square on a chess board (they could only move one space per turn, and every forward movement had to be followed by a sidestep), until they reached the end. The catch was that the "dark knight" was attempting to stop them, though he could only see the player's last move which was lit up.
A special celebrity edition of the show was aired at the end of the first season. Philippa Forrester
Philippa Forrester
Philippa Forrester is an English television and radio presenter, producer and author. Having presented shows such as Tomorrow's World, The Heaven and Earth Show and Robot Wars, she now makes wildlife programmes with her husband, Charlie Hamilton James.-Education:Forrester was educated at Westgate...
, Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin is an English television presenter, former child actor and singer.-Early career:Chegwin's early roles were in works of the Children's Film Foundation, appearing as Egghead Wentworth in The Troublesome Double Egghead's Robot . He also appeared as a stowaway in Doomwatch episode...
, and Rowland Rivron
Rowland Rivron
Rowland J. Rivron is a British comedian, musician, writer and television presenter.-Early life: Rivron was brought up in Hillingdon, West London and attended Abbotsfield Secondary School...
featured as the contestants.
Simon Shelton, who played the Dark Knight in the series, later became Tinky Winky in Teletubbies
Teletubbies
Teletubbies is a BBC children's television series targeted at pre-school viewers and produced from 1997 to 2001 by Ragdoll Productions. It was created by Ragdoll's creative director Anne Wood CBE and Andrew Davenport, who wrote each of the show's 365 episodes. The programme's original narrator was...
. Marco Sabba, a contestant on the fifth series
Big Brother (UK series 5)
Big Brother 5 in 2004 was the fifth series of Big Brother in the UK, a reality television show shown on Channel 4 in which a number of contestants live in an isolated house trying to avoid being evicted by the public with the aim of winning a large cash prize at the end of the run.Due to the poor...
of the UK version of the TV show Big Brother
Big Brother (TV series)
Big Brother is a television show in which a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash...
, competed in Incredible Games when he was younger.
Transmissions
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 February 1994 | 1 May 1994 | 13 |
| 2 | 10 January 1995 | 28 March 1995 | 10 |
External links
- Incredible Games at classickidstv.co.uk