The Desert Forges
| The Desert Forges | |
|---|---|
| Presented by |
Richard Fairbrass Gabrielle Richens |
| Starring |
Melanie Winiger as The Poetess |
| Country of origin | France |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production company(s) | Grundy and Adventure Line Productions |
| Distributor | FremantleMedia |
| Release | |
| Original network | Channel 5 |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 23 June – 25 August 2001 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
Fort Boyard The Crystal Maze |
The Desert Forges was a game show set in the Wadi Rum desert region in Jordan. It was first aired on Channel 5 from 23 June to 25 August 2001. It is based on a French format called "Les Forges du Désert", created by Pierre Sportolaro in 1999 and produced by Adventure Line Productions, also producers of Fort Boyard.
Each episode starts with two teams, each with two contestants, one male and one female. They are referred to as the green team and the orange team (identified by the colour of their clothing), and are usually a couple, friends, or brother and sister.
Both teams go through a series of challenges, and the winning team gets the chance to win gold ingots, which they cast themselves from the Forges Room.
The show was presented by Richard Fairbrass and Gabrielle Richens, with Melanie Winiger starring as the Poetess, ruler of the Palace.
Minor characters include Zioto who starts the time during the Palace challenges, Abdullah, the timekeeper in the Desert Duels who fires a rifle to indicate the start and end of the clock, the Forgemaster who runs the Forges Room, Zach and Ramm (identified by video cameras attached to their heads), who act as the "eyes and ears" of the Poetess and allow her to watch the progress made by the two teams, and Meliha, a guide who guides teams between houses in the Palace.
The show is divided into three segments: the Desert Duels, The Palace and the Forges Room.
This first part of the show consists of four challenges out in the desert. Some duels involve all four team members, but many are limited to two.
In the first game, team members compete to determine who gains control of a dagger, and the winner of each subsequent game takes or retains the dagger. The team with the dagger generally sets the standard for the other team to follow. Each duel won also gains a flame for the winning team, which they'll use in the second part of the show.
Many of the desert duels take the form of a staggered race - the team possessing the dagger starts by releasing a sand-timer, and the other team starts when that timer runs out. At the end of the race, the first starter releases another sand timer. If the second starter catches up with and tags the first starter during the race, or if they arrive before the second sand-timer runs out, they'll win; otherwise, the first starter wins.
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Wikipedia