''Incredible Games'' is a

children's A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

that originally aired from 30 January to 1 May 1994 on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

and then from 10 January to 28 March 1995 on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

. 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 A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdiction. ...

Trellick Tower Trellick Tower is a Grade II* listed building, listed tower block on the Cheltenham Estate in Kensal Town, London. Opened in 1972, it was commissioned by the Greater London Council and designed in the Brutalist architecture, Brutalist style by ...

, in

North Kensington North Kensington is an area of west and northwest London. It is north of Notting Hill and south of Kensal Green predominately in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and partly in the London Borough of Brent and City of Westminster. The ...

) with a talking lift. In the first series, the lift was played by

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams (), is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little ...

, who later starred in ''

Little Britain Little Britain may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little Britain'' (TV series), a British radio and then television series ** '' Little Britain USA'', an American spin-off * "Little Britain", a song by Dreadzone from the 1995 album ''Second ...

''. In the second series, the lift was given a name, Sam, and was played by Gary Parker.

Format

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 'Alphabet Soup' and 'The Dark Knight'. The first game was where giant letters had to be fished out of a swimming pool (ostensibly a soup bowl) 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.

Transmissions

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2020 1994 British television series debuts 1995 British television series endings 1990s British game shows 1990s British children's television series BBC children's television shows BBC television game shows British English-language television shows British children's game shows Television series about children Television shows shot at BBC Elstree Centre