The Cube (game show)
| The Cube | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Created by | Adam Adler |
| Presented by | Phillip Schofield |
| Voices of | Colin McFarlane |
| Theme music composer |
Nick Foster Ken Bolam |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 9 |
| No. of episodes | 85 (as of 8 August 2015) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Fountain Studios |
| Running time | 60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production company(s) | Objective Productions |
| Distributor | All3Media |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV, STV, UTV |
| Picture format |
576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 22 August 2009 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
1000 Heartbeats Tenable |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Cube is a British game show which first aired on ITV on 22 August 2009. Hosted by Phillip Schofield, it offers contestants the chance to win a top prize of £250,000 by completing challenges from within a 4m × 4m × 4m Perspex cube. It is based on the idea that even straightforward tasks become extremely challenging when confined and put under pressure inside a small, enclosed area whilst surrounded by a large live studio audience. Once inside, contestants can feel both claustrophobic and disorientated, affecting their concentration and abilities. Using "state-of-the-art filming techniques", the show aims to demonstrate the intense anxiety which contestants undergo as they progress through each task. The challenges involve catching, throwing, estimating, reacting, memorising, balancing, etc. Colin McFarlane provides the disembodied voice of The Cube, who explains the rules of the games.
The game is played by a single contestant within a transparent Perspex cube that measures 4 meters along each edge. The goal is to complete a series of seven games, each of which awards an increasing amount of prize money, before failing a total of nine times. Games are pre-selected for each individual contestant before the show to test their mental and physical faculties in various ways. A typical episode consists of two contestants' games.
The contestant begins with nine lives, and loses one for every unsuccessful attempt at a game. The contestant must repeat the game until they either complete it or run out of lives; in the latter case, the game ends and all money is forfeited. When a contestant succeeds, they are shown a preview of the next game and can decide to either stop playing and keep their winnings, or continue and risk the money. During a preview, the game is named and described by a male computer voice (provided by McFarlane) and demonstrated by "The Body," a woman dressed in a full-body jumpsuit and featureless metal mask. In the original series, McFarlane described the Body as "an expert in all games played within the Cube"; her real name has never been stated on camera or listed in the credits.
Schofield occasionally comments on the difficulty that past contestants have had with a game and notes the average number of lives lost while playing it, in order to help the contestant decide whether to continue or stop. Friends and family members in the audience may offer advice on decision-making and techniques for playing the games. Certain games have specific restrictions added to increase their difficulty, such as a time limit or allowing the use of only one hand. If the contestant violates any such restriction, they immediately lose a life.
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Wikipedia