Boyard Land was a short-lived Spin-Off of the French game show Fort Boyard, that started airing in December 2019. It was cancelled in June 2021 due to low audience ratings.
The game shares host Olivier Minne as well as a few characters from Fort Boyard, but it has its own identity. Notably, it is set on land rather than a sea fortress; also, two teams of celebrities are competing against each other, although the rewards still go to charity associations.
"Boyard Land" is an amusement park dating from the late 19th/early 20th century, created by Père Fouras. It is populated by various entertainers typical of The Freakshow, who welcomes the contestants to the challenges, each inspired by attractions from old fairs. Willy Rovelli is the park's director.
Boyard Land provides examples of:
- Amusement Park of Doom: Boyard Land looks like an nice place at first glance, but it still has a sinister side. First of all, the rats, snakes and other creepy-crawlies Fort Boyard is famous for are back in several challenges. Also, the denizens are welcoming enough, but they are based on seriously outdated Freakshow archetypes that nowadays wouldn't be so popular at modern fairs.
- Ascended Extra: In Fort Boyard, Willy Rovelli is just a crazy chef who faces the contestants in some challenges. Here, he's the director of Boyard Land and the main antagonist of the two teams. Although Père Fouras created the park, he's only present in flashbacks or videos, and Willy even has shades of The Starscream toward him.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: The characters populating Boyard Land are inspired by the various sideshow acts that were popular in The Edwardian Era; as such, they might be a bit unsettling to modern audience (and contestants), but that's the intended effect.
- The Freakshow: Most of its typical representatives are found with the characters, including the Bearded Lady (Mme Barbe), The Strongman (M. Moustache), the Little People (Pass'Ivite & Passe Moilesucre), the Conjoined Twins (Les Double Passe), the Contortionist (Passe Passe) as well as a Stage Magician, a tattooed firebreather, etc.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Flashbacks portray Père Fouras more as a misunderstood scientist than the old wizard type he'd become in Fort Boyard. He used his mechanical genius to build Boyard Land, with attractions never seen before.
- Girls with Moustaches: Mme Barbe; double as a Strong Woman and paired with M. Moustache. (She also plays Lady Boo in Fort Boyard.)
- Golden Snitch: The final challenge, which involves climbing to the top of a Ferris Wheel, is worth 150 boyards. As it is unlikely there's such a large difference between the teams, the winner of this challenge is usually the winner of the game.
- It Will Never Catch On: A flashback shows that Père Fouras's inventions were mocked by his contemporaries, including a prototype of... electric push-scooter.
- Large-Ham Announcer: Willy Rovelli as the director, of course, since he's modeled after the bombastic ringmasters of old-school circus. Although not the host, he shows up plenty often in the games... generally making announcements through loudspeaker, just for starters.
- Manly Facial Hair: Monsieur Moustache has an impressive handlebar mustache, and is based on the strongmen of old fairs. And no, it isn't fake: he's played by Hugo Saladon, who was nominated "most beautiful mustache of France 2018". (Yes, that's a thing.)
- Monster Clown: Pass'Idrôle in "La Maison des Clowns" promises a few Jump Scares. The challenge is of course reserved to contestants with coulrophobia.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Like in Fort Boyard, snakes and crocodiles are among the various critters you can expect to deal with in certain challenges.
- Spin-Off: Of Fort Boyard, and the inspiration is obvious. The money the contestants need to win and progress in the game is the boyard, and it shares the same fondness for scary critters like rats, snakes, roaches, etc. Some challenges being in open air rather than cells, though, allows for more space.
- The Strongman: M. Moustache is the typical circus strongman, and physically challenges some of the contestants along with Mme Barbe.
- Theme Naming: Most of the denizens are sporting French Punny Names including the word "Passe", modeled after Passe-Partout, Passe-Temps and Passe-Muraille from Fort Boyard.
- Pass'Ivite ("Not-So-Fast"): a dwarf (officially Passe-Muraille's cousin, played by the same actor) who drives one of the two contestants' karts (the Boyardmobiles).
- Passe Laseconde ("Get-into-Second-Gear"): a fakir woman, drives the second kart.
- Passe Moilesucre ("Gimme-the-Sugar"): a dwarf woman with candy-floss-themed hair.
- Passe Passe ("tour de passe-passe" means "legerdemain"): a Contortionist woman.
- Double Passe ("Dual-Pass"): Conjoined Twin sisters.
- Passe Nulle-Part ("Slips-Nowhere"): a giant (2.35m / 7'8½")
- Pass'Idrôle ("Not-That-Funny"): a clown.
- Quick Draw: The "Pistoleros" game in the Arcades is a duel where the contestants must be the first to gun down colored targets with a six-shooter.
- Victory Pose: Vicent Lagaf' does the "Usain Bolt" pose upon winning handily the diving challenge.
- The Voiceless: Most of the fair's denizens never speak, with the exception of Director Willy, Roni the Fairy and the Double Passe.
- Walk the Plank: The "Enigma" challenge, where Captain Fouras asks a riddle while the contestants are on slowly retreating planks above water... with a few crocodiles in it.
