Full Metal Challenge

Full Metal Challenge was a car focussed game show series that aired on Channel 4 in 2003. The show was created by Cathy Rogers and RDF Media, and presented by Rogers, and Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins! In a nutshell, the show featured 27 teams from around the world, who were asked to build a vehicle, and enter it into a competition, often described by co-host Rollins narration as a “World Series for Cars”.

Filmed at the disused Richborough Power Station, the show was sort of like an evolution from Cathy Rogers earlier Game Show; Scrapheap Challenge. Basically, each team consisted of three people, and each team were given $3000 and one month to build a vehicle that “could withstand anything”, which was sound advice, given that the teams had no idea what the challenges they would face, looked like. In addition to those rules, the vehicles could be no heavier than 3 tons, or wider than 8 feet. Once the teams and vehicles arrived at the disused power station, three team would compete in each heat (9 in total), with the top machine in each heat going through to the semi-finals, and then after three semi-finals, the top team in each one would go through to the grand final!

The range of vehicles brought in to compete, were all totally unique. Many of the machines were built from scratch, whilst others used donor vehicles as their base, and built up from there. And there were so many different types, from tracked vehicles, to multi wheel vehicles, small vehicles, big vehicles, some built for speed, others built for maeuvarability, there were all sorts.

Once at the site, they competed in a range of different games. During the heats, the first game was always bowling. A giant runway, with massive pins at the end, and a couple of runs to knock down as many pins as possible. Then the second game was a choice of three:

1. Bumper Cars: A wet surface, and large obstacles to bump to score as many points as possible,
2. Pit Ball: A large dirt pit, with a large metal, and ablaze football to kick over the hills, and
3. Hall of Mirrors: A giant house of mirrors, with walls that like to change the shape of the maze periodically.

Then round three had a choice of two:

1. Rollercoaster: A giant track, with bumps, hills, and a few see-saws, fastest time wins most number of points, and
2. Wetropolis (I know): A giant pond, with increasing depth, vehicles had to drive into thae water, and reverse around giant fire hydrants.

Then the machine with the least points would be ‘destroyed’. And then finally the two remaining vehicles would compete in a Sumo type competition, with decreasing circles, to find the episode’s winner.

During the Semi’s and Grand Final however, two new games were added. The first was King of the Hill, where machines had to drive up multi-coloured dirt mounds, and run over flags. First to take the big one in the centre, wins. Then in the Grand Final, they introduced the best game of them all, even had the best theme tune. Grand International, think the Grand National horse race, but without the horses. It was the last game to be introduced, but also rather annoying, as it was so entertaining, I would’ve loved to have seen other vehicles, than the top 3 compete in it.

With 27 teams from countries all over the world; it was interesting to see which 3 teams reached the Final. Firstly there was a team from Chile, with a small, pale blue, rally like car; who ironically were the first team to appear on the show, they came in 3rd place. In second place, was my favourite team from Canada. They entered the most magnificent machine of the entire series; a super large tracked tank like vehicle, that was always fun to see compete. But in first place, was a group of Lifeboat workers from the UK, who entered an eight wheel vehicle, that consistantly set record times in nearly all the events.

Without a doubt, Full Metal Challenge, was my favourite TV Show of 2003. I loved the idea of it, and loved the surprise of what vehicles were coming up, as well as looking out for ones teased to come. The games were big, and fun to watch, although again I wished they’d shown more Grand International races. But other than that niggle, I was a deicated fan. You could also play an interesting game, trying to figure out which coloured Leather Jacket Rogers was going to wear each week, was it going to be regular red, or the cool dark blue. I can even remember the theme songs for all the show’s games, and most of the teams’ too.

But like many truly unique gameshows of this time, it only had one season. Which even today I am surprised at. It was a mad-cap, loud, and destructive gameshow about cars. So even if it didn’t return immediately, why didn’t it come back eventually, at the time BBC‘s Top Gear was taking off, and featuring the same sort of wackiness? Full Metal Challenge would have made a great competing show, or a perfect one during the breaks between series of Top Gear.

It has been over 21 years now since the launch of this magnificent, but tragically short lived show, but I still remember this show with a great fondness, as much a fondness as I have for Robot Wars!