Interceptor (TV series)
| Interceptor | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Created by | Jacques Antoine |
| Presented by | Annabel Croft |
| Starring |
Sean O'Kane (as the Interceptor) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60mins (inc. adverts) |
| Production company(s) | Chatsworth and Thames |
| Distributor | FremantleMedia |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 19 July 1989 – 1 January 1990 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Treasure Hunt (1982–1989) |
| Followed by |
The Crystal Maze (1990–1995) |
Interceptor is a British game show created by Jacques Antoine, Jean Jacques Pasquier and Malcolm Heyworth. It was produced by Chatsworth in association with Thames and shown on the ITV network during the summer of 1989, with one last episode held back and shown on 1 January 1990 for a New Year special. It was made in between Treasure Hunt and The Crystal Maze, game shows from the same production company.
The show was hosted by former tennis player and Treasure Hunt sky-runner Annabel Croft. The eponymous Interceptor was played by actor Sean O'Kane.
Only eight episodes (one series) were made. It was re-run on digital TV channel Challenge from 2001 onwards. A public vote on UKGameshows in 2002 saw the series voted the UK's 13th best game show.
Each episode of the series was based, like Treasure Hunt, in a region of the UK, and began from a local tourist attraction. The host, Annabel Croft, would introduce the episode's two contestants, one woman (the yellow contestant) and one man (the blue contestant). Each contestant would be given a locked backpack - one would contain £1,000 in cash, the other containing nothing but weights. Both backpacks had five large infra-red receptors on the back. The contestants would be blindfolded and taken by helicopter to locations in the area. The challenge was for both contestants, under radio guidance from Croft, to obtain the key to their opposite number's backpack - usually, some distance away from their start point - and meet up, all within a 40-minute time limit.
A simple enough task, except for some obstructions placed in their way. Principal among these was the titular Interceptor, a tall man dressed in black, armed with an infra-red projector mounted on his left forearm (the technology for which was procured from the British Army), and possessed of an intimidating fish-eagle screech and a catchphrase, "I LIKE IT!" whenever he spotted a contestant from his helicopter or if he won at the end of an episode. His role to pursue the contestants and - to the accompaniment of post-production sound effects - 'zap' the receptors on their backpacks, causing the locks to jam. Thus, if the contestant carrying the money is 'zapped', neither contestant wins. (Although not declared in the programme, The Interceptor was only allowed a mamximum of 20 "zaps" per show, and had a digital readout on his laser projector which informed him of how many shots he had left).
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