I used to find this quite frightening. Sometimes I would have bad dreams about it! Having just watched it again at the age of 34, I think i'll be alright. Hopefully.
Creepy 80s sound effects could be why. But, then again, from a child's perspective, it could be both that *and* the concept of someone falling into space to drift off into eternity, too...
The Cold Cold Cold Packed Faced Vortex. I dreaded and feared this part of the show. sitting on my parents sitting room carpet and watching this thing which the other contestants couldn't see it menacingly moving around. It claimed so many victims and very few Earthlings made it back home safely for having to face that evil menace prior to taking the train back home. I think Planet Arg needs to own up to its responsibilities and pay compensation to all the victims' relatives which were killed by the Vortex. 'Arg' may only exist in the minds of a few of us that otherwise warmly remember this show. We can still 'go there' thanks to a few individuals who have recorded this on VHS cassette and digitized it and up loaded it to you tube..a big thank you!
What a brilliant, brilliant show this was. The Vortex terrified me. The idea that people might get zapped into space and then have to walk home ... scary.
I remember this. I was born in 1975. I reckon I was 9 or 10 when this was on. Was great unless someone got vortexed! That was a bit too real for me and a bit scary to say the least!
got to love the adventure game. I remember the talking plant (Uncle?) and a talking teapot too :) Its taken me a while to meet others who remember this and not think I had lost the plot ....."Yeah you know, back in the eighties, talking plant, the vortex...etc etc...(cue confused looks!) But oh, the joy when someone understands!
I always thought that this was part of Galloping Galaxies for some reason. It was really quite scary, either the sheer drop into the void of space would kill you, or that damn energy vortex would. Quite sinister compared to the colourful puzzles of the earlier games in the programme.
How the bbc has been exposed as sex offending paedophiles since the day u posted that post.... ..who would of thought that about animal jim savile etc etc....earliest post iv ever replied to 👍😁
I remember thinking that the contestants really did get 'evaporated' by the vortex, and even as an 8-yr-old kid thinking 'I wouldn't risk my life for those poxy prizes!'
Omg i thought about this game show since i was a child....thank god for internet....first time i seen this in 40 years... It mad how we were all children the same time..... Who remembers hong kong phoey.....and monkey magic??? With pigsy,,sandy,,monkey and the emperor... god feel so sentimental now.🤣😂🤣😂
@theboygazza Players have to walk onto the vortex - the vortex can't move onto the player's square. Since the player always has 3 or more directions they can go, it's not guaranteed they'll ever end up walking onto the vortex's square
My mum tried to ban me from watching this when I was younger!. She thought it was too "subversive" for me!. "Grange Hill" was a guilty pleasure as well when I could get away with it!. This was addictive viewing for me growing up!. I always loved it when the "Vortex" claimed a "victim!".
Miss this as a kid it was so amazing to watch and still keep it simple it's the best still great who's for dvd or blueray??I mean golden age of TV has gone it's okay some nights 🌙
I loved this as a kid yet no one knew what I was talking about as I couldn't remember what it was called. It's so dated now but I now love the crystal maze which is kind of the same
The vortex terrified me as a kid. And the fact that they got people to betray one another was pretty screwed up as well. You have to wonder what was going on in the producers' minds!
Fantastic show, from an amazing, classic era. Loved TV back then. Isn't that the guy from the series called "The Chinese Detective"? "I'd buy that for a Drogna" (Hope it's right.😁)
@@iestyndavies7287 Yes! He is. I never realised until you said. Lol! Not being nosey but your name sound's very familiar? I ask for two reasons. One, "Iestyn" isn't a common name. Two, you have the exact same name&surname as a cousin of mine. How odd is that??😁 Just saying..
@@iestyndavies7287 All of me! Lol! No, just kidding..I know it's a long shot, probably just a coincidence, but what a coincidence!! My cousin is from South Wales, (can't give too much.) Is heavily mental on 3 particular things (besides the normal pastimes of us Welshman.) This could safely answer this enigma. He's mental on Kelly's Heroes (movie), The Young One's (series) and the C64 (computer) You can't be him, but still unbelievable that you answered my comment with the same name.
@@vortexspinner4470 -Well I am a fan of two out of three! Love The Young Ones and I’m an avid retro gaming fan! Oh, and also from South Wales, Valleys boy see! 🏴
My brother invented a game which was based on this, called the 'duh duh' game (because duh duh was the signal to make another move) which we used to play on the kitchen floor tiles!
The same idea was re-used in 2010's Mission 2110 for CBBC, replacing the vortex with a big evil (very Doctor Who-esque) roboidz. It was called 'the hexafield' 5:02 _KREDITZ_ theme, I'll keep replaying it
Brilliant. Bless that chap Patrick Dowling for putting it together & getting BBC2 to put it on. Wouldn't have stood a hope nowadays with every programme having to get ratings. My brother & I made a boardgame based on it
I was probably old enough to know better (8 in 1981), but I believed it! At least, I didn't see any reason not to believe it. They were all so serious about the whole thing - Arg IS a planet on the other side of the galaxy, the contestants have NEVER seen the Adventure Game before, they ARE walking home through space! This innocent child couldn't see any reason for the television people to lie!
Do you remember that time they had some computer/maths boffin on it? He managed to logically work out how to safely get his two fellow contestants across - then got evaporated himself!
Im still trying to hunt down all the episodes. some of them have been uploaded to UA-cam but there's soo many missing ones. its such a shame cus this was the show that gave birth to the crystal maze and for it to have become lost media is such a tragedy
There are three things I remember thinking back to this programme now: The sexy voiceof the woman host, people bowing and saying "gronda gronda" to a potted plant and the scary vortex.
This was the scariest thing ever when you’re 9 and watching TV after school
I used to find this quite frightening. Sometimes I would have bad dreams about it! Having just watched it again at the age of 34, I think i'll be alright. Hopefully.
Just watched it the other night at the age of 44. After last night's bad dreams I'm not OK.
Creepy 80s sound effects could be why. But, then again, from a child's perspective, it could be both that *and* the concept of someone falling into space to drift off into eternity, too...
🤣🤣🤣same!
These days, being called "Karen" is like a bad dream.
Me too, I thought have they been vaporized!!??
Probably the greatest show the BBC ever created.
Oy vey!
Remember this around 8 years old and hearing Numan and the Human League on the radio and being really frightened but in a warm comforting way
I remember playing our own version of this at lunch time at school. this was such an awesome show.
The Cold Cold Cold Packed Faced Vortex. I dreaded and feared this part of the show. sitting on my parents sitting room carpet and watching this thing which the other contestants couldn't see it menacingly moving around. It claimed so many victims and very few Earthlings made it back home safely for having to face that evil menace prior to taking the train back home. I think Planet Arg needs to own up to its responsibilities and pay compensation to all the victims' relatives which were killed by the Vortex. 'Arg' may only exist in the minds of a few of us that otherwise warmly remember this show. We can still 'go there' thanks to a few individuals who have recorded this on VHS cassette and digitized it and up loaded it to you tube..a big thank you!
God that theme at the end made me tearful. So nostalgic.
It made me remember that I'd not done all my homework
Many, many thanks for this. Brought back great nostaligic feelings. Very grateful.
I seriously loved Lesley Judd!
Me and my sister used to recreate this game on our brown swirly livingroom carpet!
😂😂😂😂
😁 We had a brown swirly carpet in our living room too! Ah the 80s nostalgia.
I can well imagine that, when I think of what we did, it's what we did back then....
@@thefishwillbearmed7391 axminister carpets true 80's style lol
Ditto!!
Love love loved this show! The suspense of the vortex was so scary I could hardly watch. Still is! Gronda gronda.
Loved this show as a kid
What a brilliant, brilliant show this was. The Vortex terrified me. The idea that people might get zapped into space and then have to walk home ... scary.
thanks so much for uploading this. i loved this so much when i was a kid and i still do.
Leslie Judd casually vaporising space punters. Chilling.
that brings back memors, I use to watch it every week when it was on tv.
True blast from the past! When the BBC was actually very original, bizarre almost!
This was an awesome show in its day.
Bring back after the watershed 10pm
The adventure game was great...
Used to play this on our patterned carpet across the landing lol.
I remember those carpets.....
Some things should never come back! @_@
I remember this. I was born in 1975. I reckon I was 9
or 10 when this was on. Was great unless someone got vortexed! That was a bit too real for me and a bit scary to say the least!
I used to watch this n we use to play this game on our 80s front room carpet
Ha ha me too.. We had a carpet with big circles all over it and we played the Vortex on that.. This show freaked me out.. Born in 1970 here.
got to love the adventure game. I remember the talking plant (Uncle?) and a talking teapot too :)
Its taken me a while to meet others who remember this and not think I had lost the plot ....."Yeah you know, back in the eighties, talking plant, the vortex...etc etc...(cue confused looks!) But oh, the joy when someone understands!
Was it Uncle Aspidistra?
@@TITSTODIEFOR yes I think it was!
3:40 "I followed you on many adventures...I go first Indy..."
The real secret was to win the sandwich rolls in the earlier games. You could toss those ahead of you and see if they evaporated or not
You remember Gandors sandwiches too! lol
@@richardfey5574 it was real. they could place them in front of them to test if the vortex was there.
Yes, because you wouldn't want to eat a green cheese roll...
When I was a kid I nearly got evaporated by a car while playing 'The Vortex' on a box junction
+Stephen O'Donnell :-)
Stephen O'Donnell 😂😂
Stephen O'Donnell would you play the vortex
Yes. But never again on a box junction. Cars are more deadly than BBC graphics circa. early 80s. :)
Oh my God!! Lol!
in my opinion this was the forerunner to the crystal maze and is still better :-)
Yes and yes!
I always thought that this was part of Galloping Galaxies for some reason. It was really quite scary, either the sheer drop into the void of space would kill you, or that damn energy vortex would. Quite sinister compared to the colourful puzzles of the earlier games in the programme.
Very Good Programme which was on the BBC From 1980-86 It entertained us kids and was as good as The Crystal Maze. I wish the BBC Would bring it back!!
How the bbc has been exposed as sex offending paedophiles since the day u posted that post.... ..who would of thought that about animal jim savile etc etc....earliest post iv ever replied to 👍😁
Been good for a few shows
I was always terrified someone would fall through the gaps
Classic! Bring it back!
Yes
Adventure Game was designed by the late Patrick Dowling, also the producer of 'Vision On' with Tony Hart & Pat Keysell
I was about 10 when this was on TV. I used to think the contestants got proper vaporised on the Vortex . Scary for a ten year old lol
We didn’t mind when it was Keith Chegwin though.
@@holydiver73 Exactly my friend. Plus who knew that years later ol' Cheggers would get slaughtered on a regular basis.
@@stephenmcconnell1000 It was a coping mechanism after being traumatised on this show
There is something delightful about the jolly-hockey-sticks style of the female contingent in this clip. Appeals to my inner child a lot!
i LOVED this when I was wee - especially the Vortex. Bloody scary tho!!
God i remember this, I was young at the time, this is surprisingly tense.
I remember thinking that the contestants really did get 'evaporated' by the vortex, and even as an 8-yr-old kid thinking 'I wouldn't risk my life for those poxy prizes!'
Omg i thought about this game show since i was a child....thank god for internet....first time i seen this in 40 years...
It mad how we were all children the same time.....
Who remembers hong kong phoey.....and monkey magic??? With pigsy,,sandy,,monkey and the emperor... god feel so sentimental now.🤣😂🤣😂
I remember Monkey Magic ... Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks and that kids on muddy motorbikes show on at the weekend.
@@beingsshepherd Kickstart?
@@stephenmcconnell1000 Yes I think that's it.
This scared the crap out of me as a kid...
Used to love this as a kid
Don't worry contestants were always warned to take out life insurance.
Phew!
@@skylined5534 it was enjoyable for its day
Ah memories from my school days ❤
To think it's a TV studio is really clever idea
@theboygazza Players have to walk onto the vortex - the vortex can't move onto the player's square. Since the player always has 3 or more directions they can go, it's not guaranteed they'll ever end up walking onto the vortex's square
wow just found this vid, been looking forever for it,couldnt remember the name of the series
Adventure game who would you evapourate
My mum tried to ban me from watching this when I was younger!. She thought it was too "subversive" for me!. "Grange Hill" was a guilty pleasure as well when I could get away with it!. This was addictive viewing for me growing up!. I always loved it when the "Vortex" claimed a "victim!".
I was banned from watching Grange Hill too! Only made me want to watch more...in secret
Me too who were your favourites
She used to sometimes let you watch Grange Hill with that smackhead Zamo in it?
She can't see the vortex. It is a (early) computer generated graphic. It was totally invisible to the player in the tv studio.
Escape from Targ was the subtitle of an 8-bit game on the Atari 400/800 called Mercenary
Loved this show. The Vortex freaked me out as a kid!
Miss this as a kid it was so amazing to watch and still keep it simple it's the best still great who's for dvd or blueray??I mean golden age of TV has gone it's okay some nights 🌙
Yes there was, it was always grumpy!! lol I loved this as a kid to, I thought it was real!!!! haha
Gronda Gronda
I loved this as a kid yet no one knew what I was talking about as I couldn't remember what it was called. It's so dated now but I now love the crystal maze which is kind of the same
@TequilaCT this was actually pretty advanced sfx for its time
Loved it maybe 1 day a reality
Everyone in the comments was scared of the vortex when they were little,
it was the gibbering, sentient plant that freaked me out @__@
The vortex terrified me as a kid. And the fact that they got people to betray one another was pretty screwed up as well. You have to wonder what was going on in the producers' minds!
I loved this show. So very English.
As a kid, this was terrifying to watch.
Fantastic show, from an amazing, classic era. Loved TV back then. Isn't that the guy from the series called "The Chinese Detective"?
"I'd buy that for a Drogna"
(Hope it's right.😁)
He was in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom too.
@@iestyndavies7287 Yes! He is. I never realised until you said. Lol!
Not being nosey but your name sound's very familiar? I ask for two reasons. One, "Iestyn" isn't a common name. Two, you have the exact same name&surname as a cousin of mine.
How odd is that??😁
Just saying..
@@vortexspinner4470- Please elaborate! I assume you’re Welsh, which part?
@@iestyndavies7287 All of me! Lol!
No, just kidding..I know it's a long shot, probably just a coincidence, but what a coincidence!!
My cousin is from South Wales, (can't give too much.) Is heavily mental on 3 particular things (besides the normal pastimes of us Welshman.) This could safely answer this enigma. He's mental on Kelly's Heroes (movie), The Young One's (series) and the C64 (computer)
You can't be him, but still unbelievable that you answered my comment with the same name.
@@vortexspinner4470 -Well I am a fan of two out of three! Love The Young Ones and I’m an avid retro gaming fan! Oh, and also from South Wales, Valleys boy see! 🏴
I seem to have a vague recollection that when John Craven got evaporated all that was left behind was a tub of Brylcreme.
Cheggers always got evaporated when he played this...
My brother invented a game which was based on this, called the 'duh duh' game (because duh duh was the signal to make another move) which we used to play on the kitchen floor tiles!
I just dropped some acid.... I really shouldn't be watching this...
LOL!!!
I remember Cheggers was once evaporated.
Did he go pop?
The same idea was re-used in 2010's Mission 2110 for CBBC, replacing the vortex with a big evil (very Doctor Who-esque) roboidz. It was called 'the hexafield'
5:02 _KREDITZ_ theme, I'll keep replaying it
That's numberwang!
@Flickyhecky There are some episodes missing from the BBC ... is this one of them?!?! If only they would repeat it. I loved it.
The best way to beat these is to go horizontally across from one end to the other, then vertically
How do you work it out
THEY'VE GOT THE CHINESE DETECTIVE IN THIS!!!!
Yes easy
Brilliant. Bless that chap Patrick Dowling for putting it together & getting BBC2 to put it on. Wouldn't have stood a hope nowadays with every programme having to get ratings.
My brother & I made a boardgame based on it
Reckon it be a smash hit special shows 5 pop divas female newsreaders etc
I was probably old enough to know better (8 in 1981), but I believed it! At least, I didn't see any reason not to believe it. They were all so serious about the whole thing - Arg IS a planet on the other side of the galaxy, the contestants have NEVER seen the Adventure Game before, they ARE walking home through space!
This innocent child couldn't see any reason for the television people to lie!
I was SHIT scared of that vortex when I was a kid!!!
used to Love This
thanks for posting. took me back
Good old Saturday afternoon entertainment .
Madeline Smith...COOOOR!
Never go sideways.
Words to live by
1981?? Goooood grief!
Did this used to have a talking plant in a pot? Am I remembering this right?
Used to love this. Anyone recall simon groom from blue peter watering the plant and being vapourised? Good enough for him I say.
Do you remember that time they had some computer/maths boffin on it? He managed to logically work out how to safely get his two fellow contestants across - then got evaporated himself!
Perranporth silly bugger serves him right
Love Perranporth Beach.
I felt the tension, I really did!
Im still trying to hunt down all the episodes. some of them have been uploaded to UA-cam but there's soo many missing ones. its such a shame cus this was the show that gave birth to the crystal maze and for it to have become lost media is such a tragedy
*clap clap clap* Oh we desintegrated them jerry what fun! fnarfnarfnar!
I love watching them get vaporized by the vortex
I was an idiot as a kid and really believed they had to wait in space for the bus or was it a taxi?
David Yip
ha,ha.
i remember this show.
the vortex use to scare me!!!!!!!
hee,hee.
I'd forgotten completely about this show.
Fantastic - seems like only yesterday. Where do you people find these treasures?!
haha lol caught this on challenge TV the other decade. This always seemed like an insanely unfair game to me
kdreamland dude, its been five months….WWWHHHHHYYYYY???!!!!!!
it just seems too easy for them to get caught, because it can always move right up to them. but that's just my opinion
They have two or three options of where to move and sometimes the Vortex moves back rather than constantly being in the space next to them.
Why unfair
Lesley seems to enjoy it alot 😂😂
They did a similar game to The Vortex in Incredible Games.
Do you know the name
@@richardfey5574 Yes. It was called Dark Knight.
I used to think that too.. And think that people actually got zapped :)
So polite and acted ...brilliant show the vortex was creepy
There are three things I remember thinking back to this programme now: The sexy voiceof the woman host, people bowing and saying "gronda gronda" to a potted plant and the scary vortex.
And the guy who spoke backwards, doogyrev
And how it was originally hosted by Moira Stuart of all people
I wanted to control the vortex; so many i wish to evaporate!
Mark Heron who would you like to zap
Who would you evaporate?
@@richardfey5574 The list is extensive
Whose on your list
Vortex rules ! 😊
P.j. W just imagine if it became reality n used on certain convicts
If they could see where the contestant was going how could they ever lose?
They wouldn't if had extra Ray they win 100%
Channel 4 started at the end of 1982.
Wish Janet Ellis had have done the vortex
Yes been good
Brilliant. Gronda Gronda.