Challenger (game show) facts for kids

Challenger was a super fun Australian kids' game show. It aired on the Nine Network in 1997 and 1998. The first host was Diarmid Heidenreich. He was known for playing a pizza delivery guy in TV ads! Later, Adrian DeVito and Zoe Sheridan took over as hosts. They made 265 episodes of the show. It was replaced by another show called Now You See It.

How the Game Worked

This show was all about two teams. They were called Alpha and Omega. Each team had three kids: a captain and two other players.

First Round: Brain Power

This round tested how smart the teams were. The team with the most points decided which team would go first in the physical challenges.

When Diarmid hosted, questions were in six different groups. These included things like Entertainment, Geography, and Sport. If all questions for a player were from the same group, they got bonus points!

When Adrian and Zoe hosted, this round was called "Mind Zone." Questions were in three groups. These were often "what/who/where am I" questions.

Second Round: Physical Challenges

In this round, each team member tried a different physical challenge. They earned points by doing well.

• Diarmid's Run: Challenges often involved collecting a certain number of items. Or, they had to reach a goal to answer questions.
• Adrian and Zoe's Run: The goal was to collect special discs. These discs had random questions on them. For each correct answer, teams got 10 points. If a team collected all 6 discs and answered all questions right, they got 20 bonus points!

Each team had 40 seconds to complete their challenge.

Final Round: Slime Time!

This was the most exciting part! The team leaders stood in glass tanks. Above them was a slime showerhead. One teammate was blindfolded. Another had their hands tied behind their back.

The four teammates had to search a big blue vat of slime. They were looking for a disc with a question on it.

• Answering the Question: The team that found the disc could answer the question themselves. Or, they could make the other team answer it.
• Winning Points: If the answering team got it right, they earned 50 points! The other team's captain would then get slimed.
• Missing the Question: If the answering team got it wrong, the other team got 50 points. Then, their own captain would get slimed!
• Double Slime! Sometimes, both captains got slimed!

When Diarmid hosted, this round was called "Slime Time." A hidden person pulled the slime lever. The slime was mud-colored.

When Adrian and Zoe hosted, it was called "Hyperflush." Adrian himself pulled the lever! The slime changed colors, sometimes green-yellow or blue. Sometimes, a special guest like a school principal or teacher would even get slimed with a team captain!

Prizes

Winning teams got cool prizes!

• Diarmid's Run: Prizes included items from Australian Geographic stores. Sometimes, a Sega Saturn gaming console was given away!
• Adrian and Zoe's Run: Teams could win Lorus watches and Sony Music Australia CDs.

Awesome Challenges

The show had many cool physical challenges. Most involved collecting discs or balls to earn points by answering questions. Some challenges were about connecting pieces together.

Challenge Descriptions

• Oblivion: Contestants went through a maze with spinning mirrors. A teammate outside the maze had to tell them where to go. When Diarmid hosted, this was called "Get Lost."
• Pro-Pole-sion: Kids swung on poles high in the air. They tried to grab discs stuck to the poles.
• The Sphere: A contestant was spun around in a big orb. After spinning, they had to pop red balloons to find discs. Some balloons had flour inside! Diarmid called this "Cape Sphere."
• Vertically Challenged: Contestants climbed a wall that looked like a volcano. They grabbed four discs on the way up. At the top, they searched a UFO for two more discs. Some holes had shaving cream or flour!
• Go Ballistic: One contestant stood in a rocket as plastic balls rained down. Their teammates put six buckets of balls onto a conveyor belt. The contestant had to catch six red balls and put them in a chute.
• Big Squeeze: A contestant wore a "fat suit" and ran through an obstacle course to collect discs.
• Schwing It: This challenge had an obstacle course. It included a flying fox over a smoky pit, a chain link bridge, and monkey rings. Some discs hung on the rings, so kids had to hang with one hand! Diarmid called this "Hang Loose."
• The Pipe Line: One contestant on a ladder took pipe pieces from the roof. Two teammates tried to attach them to hanging pipes. Smoke would fill the area, making it hard to see! No team ever finished this challenge completely.
• Rampage: A contestant was attached to a bungee cord. They had to run up a half-pipe ramp to grab discs.
• Blockage: All three contestants had to build a puzzle with blocks. They saw a picture of the finished puzzle to help them. This challenge was only in Diarmid's run. No team ever finished the puzzle completely.

Fun Facts

• During challenges, the audience cheered loudly! They would yell the contestant's name, then clap three times. In the last 10 seconds, they counted down from ten to one.
• Only twice did a team get all three questions right in a category. Once for sports and once for entertainment!
• "Pipeline" and "Blockage" were the only challenges that no team ever finished. They were just too hard to do in 40 seconds!
• The show was shown again on the Nine Network from 1999 to 2002.
• In the final round, when Adrian and Zoe hosted, the audience would cheer the team's name (like "Alpha, Omega!") until the blindfolded contestant found the disc.
• When the slime dumped on a losing captain, the audience would laugh! They stopped when the slime ran out.
• Sylvia Jeffreys, who is now a famous journalist and newsreader for the Nine Network, was once a contestant on this show! She was on Team Omega during Adrian and Zoe's run.