Ciao Darwin

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Ciao Darwin is a variety game show format from Italy sold under licence to several countries, including Romania, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, Canada and USA.

There are two competing teams of about 50 people each, usually made up of people who fit certain opposing stereotypes. In each game two members of the audience are selected at random, one from each team, indicated by a light in front of them which remains illuminated when all the other team members’ lights have gone off. Presumably the producers of the show can select who they would like to be chosen “at random”, but the contestants do not know in advance.

The games involve contestants competing in acts of bravery, style and talent. The Finale is a water tank game.

[edit] Italian version

In Italy it aired on Canale 5 from 1998 until 2003, hosted by Italian celebrities Paolo Bonolis and Luca Laurenti. It restarted in 2007.

[edit] Finale

In the Finale, the two contestants each sit in a tank that fills with water each time an incorrect answer is given (and, in the case of the Italian and Polish versions, each time a correct answer is given by the other contestant). There are variations between the rules in the Italian, Romanian, Hungarian and Polish versions. The tank is cylindrical in shape in all but the Polish version. The water rises by increments that are marked on the side of the tank (except in Poland). The number of these varies:

Italy – six – the loser is the first tank to be filled to the sixth level
Romania – ten – the loser is the first who cannot remain seated and hold their breathe underwater, which usually happens after level 8 or 9
Hungary – nine – the loser is the first who cannot remain seated and hold their breathe underwater, which usually happens after level 8
Poland – five - the loser is the first who cannot remain seated and hold their breathe underwater, which usually happens after level 4

The contestants remain fully dressed and participate in the clothes that they were already wearing, although they are allowed to take off their shoes (except in the Romanian version) and their jewellery (except in the Italian version).

The tanks are filled with an initial amount of water determined by the relative scores of the competing teams. Normally this is between one and three increments. In theory it would be possible to answer all questions correctly and go away with just wet feet. In practice, however, the water level rises to at least chest height.

There have been some other strange variations, such two people from the same team sitting together in the tank, contestants blindfolded and creatures like toads and snakes added, and dyed or foamy water being used. In all but the Hungarian version, contestants are given a snorkel to help them breathe, although this is seldom used. In the Hungarian and Polish versions, the rule about remaining seated is strictly enforced, and this often leads to the fully clothed contestants totally under the water by the end.