RDF Television to close down

The Crystal Maze Fan blog are saddened to read tonight on social media that RDF Television is to close down. RDF produced the new series for Channel 4 in Bristol. We had a wonderful time meeting the runners and the producers of the show, when we were kindly invited to the set for two series as fans and game testers. (2018 and 2019). The staff were truly wonderful. As fans, we were given such a warm reception by them. We wont forget RDF, our experiences or the incredible staff, including Neale who was the Executive Producer. RDF was the company behind the Maze revival. Thank you all and we wish you well in your future careers. A sad day.

BBC Gladiators revival - Crystal Maze Fan Blog verdict

So last night, the Gladiators revival aired on BBC One and iPlayer. It was easy for a lot of people to dismiss it before even watching it, after the 2008 Sky One revival failure.

However, the BBC have pulled off something magical. They've kept the same original feel of the show, arena layout, same theme music and classic games, alongside new ones.

It's very hard to replicate 1990s nostalgia on TV these days, but I think they did a superb job. The show flowed like the old series, even the "another one bites the dust" chants were back from the crowd, holding their pointy foam fingers.

It was great to see games like Duel back, alongside new ones, before seeing the impressive Eliminator round again. It was amazing to see it back, as if it never disappeared off our screens. The Gladiators and Contenders were a good mix of personalities and the new hosts were good.

I was impressed, and will be tuning in again for the other 10 episodes. However it is a slight shame that they didn't film it at its original home at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. This new series was filmed in Sheffield, but to viewers not noticeable I guess. I was at the NIA (Utilita) Arena in Birmingham recently for a concert, and it was so nostalgic to be standing where the original Gladiators was filmed.

90s Saturday Night TV was awesome. As a 90s kid, I have such a fond memory of sitting down on a Saturday Night, eating McCains Micro Chips and watching Gladiators as a little boy, followed by Noels House Party. It was appointment television, everyone tuned in and no one could miss it. Great times.

I feel that the new series was missing Ulrika Johnson and John Anderson, but they are both getting on a bit - I was shocked to read in a coffee shop this afternoon on my phone, that John Anderson is now 92! A few people grumbled online about the lack of Jet and Wolf, but they're also getting on. They should give them a Cameo appearance at least.

Former presenter Ulrika praised the revival series, but she did have one criticism- lack of cheerleaders. She was interviewed on Good Morning Britain on Friday. She said they were beautiful in the original and added "depth" to the show. Who knows, they might bring them back for a second series.

Quite a lot of people have commented on Social Media that they noticed that music was missing during the Duel game, and other events. That's the main take away I have noticed from feedback. It was also clear that Viper was trying to emulate the bad boy vibes of Wolf.

I'm not yet sure if the classic game "Atlaspheres" will be returning, but don't think it will. They don't have lights in the floor for this new series.

I couldn't help but think about The Crystal Maze, another 90s show whilst watching the new Gladiators. I kept thinking that it was a shame that Channel 4 didn't bring back the Maze with a bang, the same way that BBC have done with Gladiators. I feel that Channel 4 made a mistake in not promoting the new 2017 Crystal Maze revival series enough, trying to reinvent the wheel and not bringing back the classic original Crystal Maze theme. The Crystal Maze revival was acceptable to many, but not a hit like the new Gladiators has been. 

Having celebrities ruined it, and having an already known TV personality host it (Richard Ayoade) left a sour taste for some vs the mysterious presenters Richard O'Brien and Edward Tudor Pole. The games were great, and set was great, but not joined together like the original. Sadly COVID finished off the Maze revival. A shame given that the Maze is still incredibly popular with the live experiences.

I'm not saying the Maze revival was bad, as I was excited to see it back and help on two series, which was amazing and I loved every second. What I'm saying is, it's a shame it was a victim of COVID and ended prematurely again. It deserves a second revival, just like Gladiators.

Let's hope that Channel 4 can learn from the Gladiators revival and bring back The Crystal Maze once again with a bang in the future. It deserves to be brought back all guns blazing, like BBC have done. The Crystal Maze is up there with Gladiators, and deserves to come back again with a high budget. Channel 4 have never promoted the Maze enough.

I'll be very surprised if the new Gladiator's isn't commissioned for at least another two or three more series. I'd also like to see merchandise for the new Gladiators, like the original.

90s shows still to revive? I can think of a few. Noel's House Party, Generation Game, YouBet!, Fun House, Don't Try this at Home, Big Break, Live and Kicking.

What are your views on the new BBC Gladiators? Please comment below, i'd love to hear them. Cheers. 

Crystal Maze Theme 80s style

What if The Crystal Maze came out in the 80s and the theme tune was different? Well the truth is, the Maze is technically 80s and 90s. Series One was filmed in 1989 and broadcast in 1990. There have been many fan remixes over the years on YouTube, but these 80s style ones are pretty awesome. I have also seen someone make an 8 bit version of the theme tune, as if it was on a Sega Master System. Check these videos out:

Crystal Maze title animation remade!

Someone we follow has recreated the opening title sequence of The Crystal Maze, and it is impresssive. Remaking the Crystal digitally is time consuming. Video below:

Take a look how he did it here:  https://onwardigo.wordpress.com/2024/01/01/crystal-ball/

Credit: Jaywalks

New props from the original Crystal Maze

The Crystal Maze Fan Blog have recently acquired a screen used game crystal from Series one of The Crystal Maze, as well as a Horseman figure. The Horseman figure was used in the "Treasure Hunt" game in Aztec during the the first series. (Pic below). Very nice rare props which we will look after. We are aware that original 90s Maze props are now scarce to find. 

 

The Crystal Maze Fan blog meets original Producer and Director David G.Croft!

Today, The Crystal Maze fan blog had the privilege to meet the original 90s Maze Director and Producer, David G. Croft. We spoke for a good hour about the show, and he signed some books in our collection. We also showed him the Futuristic zone timer clock prop we have, and he confirmed it as real. David G. Croft is the man seen laughing and joking about the contestants on the famous YouTube Crystal Maze blooper behind the scenes 'Christmas' tapes, as seen here: https://youtu.be/-U68PUwXUoQ?si=mNXukCNwtIPv9GmX and here: https://youtu.be/sQD_idvdjXg?si=uVzEoaVjH-mMa3dq

He spoke to us about the various filming techniques he used to put the show together, as well as interesting facts we didn't know before. He said that Channel Four had a budget of roughly £2,500 per game, and they had to create 48 games for each series. Croft said that there's only so many game ideas you can come up with, so this was a challenge.

They were able to roll over any spare cash on one game for others. Eventually, the Crystal Maze game budget ran low, and so they came up with the idea of hiring an actress as a Fortune Teller for a game to save on cost. This is how 'Mumsie' was born.

Mumsie

David explained that it was Richard O'Briens genius that brought the Mumsie idea to life, and it was him that brought mystique and fantasy to the show. O'Brien made The Crystal Maze feel like a real, believable world to viewers. 

Crystal Maze concept

The Crystal Maze came about by accident, as the Fort Boyard fort was empty at the time. A pilot episode of Fort Boyard was filmed inside a UK studio with Richard O'Brien. There was a particular dislike about the Fort Boyard end game using Tigers, which obviously were pointless as they'd never eat the contestants, Croft explained. Chatsworth TV went away and thought of other ideas. A mock up of the Crystal Dome was built in an industrial estate in Paris. They had no idea what to do with it at first, but the idea of the Maze developed around the dome idea. Initially there were ideas about building various levels that contestants would have to scale to reach the dome, in order to win. But then came the token and fan idea.

Richard O'Brien game briefing

It was David G. Croft's job to take Richard O'Brien around the games before the contestants arrived, to brief him how each of them worked. Sometimes O'Brien would play some games himself to get a feel for them. The contestants would stay in a nearby hotel in Harlow the night before and O'Brien would have dinner with them.

Inspiration for the games within The Crystal Maze

The game ideas came from David Bodycombe and various other people, including David G.Croft himself. He would stare at index cards with various game ideas. He said they had to think how to make a game fit within a 12x12 cell. If it didn't fit, it simply wouldn't work. The key was to visualise how it would look on screen, then talk to Artem, the game designers to build the games. They would also categorise the games based upon how suited they were for a particular zone. I told him how I particularly loved the games where they were locked in to begin with and had to escape. A great twist.

 Croft explained how he would get game ideas from looking in toy shops in Soho in London, and would "upscale" them into games.

When is a safe not safe - when you're locked in it!

David explained that the opening sequences of the shows were filmed at the very end of the day, around 10pm - the same time the contestants would complete the Crystal Dome. O'Brien would have been tired by this point, but he still displayed enthusiasm and wit. So next time you watch an episode, the start was filmed at the end! We never knew this. He also said that occasionally some Crystal Dome tickets would fly into the moat and they had to fish them out. They had to film the dome "pick up" shots a few times for best effect, as sometimes the tokens would stick to the floor or sides.

David said that they did have good cameras back then for the time. He explained sitting through watching VHS tapes, and producing snapshots of points where he needed them to go back in the following day to record "pick ups" and retake particular shots - e.g. a Crystal rolling down, or a contestant grabbing a crystal. The first day was for the contestants, and the second day was used to record the "pick ups". This was pretty interesting. Overall, back then it took ten days to produce and edit one episode. It was painstaking, but thorough.

The Legacy of The Crystal Maze

David said him and Malcolm Heyworth are enormously proud of how successful The Crystal Maze became. He said that the shows look cinematic and high quality, because they had so much time and money back then to do it. All the zones were joined together in real life, and he said they had so much fun filming the transition shots between zones.

Set Location

They got booted out of Shepperton Studios after series 1 as they were told the space was needed for something else. They looked for alternative spaces and kept getting offered factory spaces. The problem with factories, is there are pillars which means the set would not be interconnected. So they found an aircraft hangar at North Weald to get around this. They paid a fixed amount and the owner was happy for the enormous Maze set to remain up, rather than having to keep dismantling it and storing it each time. They were initially worried about the nearby motorway noise, but the density of the set drowned it out. They would always get the heads up from North Weald ATC about any incoming aircraft, so aircraft noise was not really an issue he said. Only the sound of occasional rain. I asked him if any contestants got injured on set, he said no thankfully. Only one electrician who put his foot through a light.

Corporate events used the Maze

Another interesting fact he told us, is the original 90s North Weald Aircraft Hangar set was used for corporate events when it wasn't used for filming! Much like the live experiences today. Filming for the original series always happened in Nov/Dec, so it was incredibly cold on set.

Marketing of the Maze

Croft was frustrated at the time that the Maze was not pushed enough by Channel Four in terms of marketing, T shirts and billboards etc. He also doesn't understand why the series was never released onto DVD.

Why the 90s Maze ended early, and what would have happened if Series 7 happened.

Croft said that the Maze ended early because Channel 4 felt like it had a good run, but there was still fuel in the tank for more, and it was still doing the viewing figures. They had discussed turning the Aztec Zone into Wild West Zone for a Series 7, and even an Arctic Zone - but dismissed this idea as it would look too white on screen.

Thanks for the fantastic chat David, and for bringing the Maze to life for us all. The Crystal Maze legacy continues.

 

The Crystal Maze is back on Challenge TV in 2023!

The original Crystal Maze has started being shown once again on Challenge TV. It was on a weird time this morning (at 5am) , so might be worth keeping your eyes on the Sky Schedule for when its shown next. A bizarre time to show it, but at least it's back on the box where it belongs. One of our group members spotted it on the telly this morning.

For me, it isn't Christmas without watching some episodes of this iconic show. It has now been a few years since the new revival series ended, and 28 years since the original finished. The Crystal Maze always seems to finish too prematurely. Let's hope it comes back again in the future.

In other Crystal Maze Fan Blog news, I am meeting David G. Croft this afternoon, in person for the first time. Which is pretty exciting. He was the Director of The original Crystal Maze and the brains behind quite a few of the games too. (Including Crystal Credits in the Futuristic Zone, pictured above). He also produced and directed Series 5 and 6. In further news, the Maze Fan Blog will be keeping the Original set plan. We aim to get it professionally restored in 2024, hoping to remove creases and yellowing if possible.

The Crystal Maze gets a channel on Pluto TV

 It's been a while since I watched linear broadcast TV. There's not an awful lot that grabs my attention anymore, besides Taskmaster and Doctor Who. As such the idea of "FAST channels" has pretty much blown by me unnoticed. Free, Ad-supported Streaming Television.

You might be aware of such providers of FAST channels such as Plex, Roku, and Pluto TV, possibly even just your internet-connected television, which can give viewers hundreds of channels each dedicated to individual shows.

Well, now Pluto has done exactly what the title of this may subtly hint at, Crystal Maze (from 2017 onwards) has its own channel.

And all you have to do to enjoy endless Crystal Maze (from 2017 onwards) is visit Pluto.tv

Can the celebrities conquer the Crystal Maze? The Crystal Maze is now available to watch for free on Pluto TV!#TheCrystalMaze #GameShow pic.twitter.com/LARBxQBhbh

— Pluto TV UK (@PlutoTVUK) December 11, 2023

Preliminary plan of The Crystal Maze 1990s set

A preliminary studio plan for the original first series of The Crystal Maze has recently surfaced. The initial plan shows the difference between the final version. You can see that Zones are shaped differently - even the Crystal Dome is linked differently! Open up all the images bigger for a closer look.

Aztec Zone was called "Jungle Zone" in early ideas. The first series was filmed at Shepperton TV studios, before relocating to a massive aircraft hangar at North Weald, Essex from Series two onwards. (The hangar remains today).

Images courtesy of David G.Croft, original Director for the iconic 1990s series.

The Crystal Maze Fan blog have recently acquired a similar studio plan showing the final studio version that we all know and love. It's huge - 63 inches! We will blog about that plan soon. We are excited to now be the proud owners of that valued piece of TV Memorabelia. Crystal Maze fans, you will like our next blog post...

 

More memorabilia to add to the Crystal Maze Fan Blog collection

The Crystal Maze Fan Blog have recently acquired some new special items from the original 90s series, and we look forward to blogging about them in due course.

Richard O'Brien on Cash in the Attic

Earlier this year, Richard O'Brien appeared on Cash in the Attic.

Check out the episode here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LaZUecZh2yY

Richard does touch on the Crystal Maze. He explained that the show got him into supporting children and charities, because he used to receive many letters from people who had lost their hair due to chemo. They would say that they looked like him with his bald head, so he would send them a note back. What a guy.

Edward Tudor-Pole Public appearances in 2024!

Former host of The Crystal Maze, Edward Tudor-Pole will be making several public appearances in 2024 across the UK. Be sure to meet this absolute legend in person if you can. 

I met him in 2016. It was fantastic to meet a childhood star of my favourite programme. It was quite surreal, I bought him a shot at the bar. He seems to be open to talk about his time on The Crystal Maze these days, as some of his tour adverts mention a Q&A and the fact that he presented the Maze. 

There's even an autobiography due out soon, where he may touch on his time on The Crystal Maze too.

List of tour events below, also follow his Facebook page.

 

A 32 Year Old Crystal Maze Mystery Solved - The Golfball from an IBM Selectric Typewriter (Thank you @Chrissie_c)

It's 1989, and series one is in production ready to broadcast in February 1990. The Crystal Maze is still finding its feet. They're producing a big elaborate game show and they still aren't 100% on the best way to do and present everything. When you watch it through now, there are little varied elements that stand out as slightly off. Maybe there's a music cue out of place, or there are bits of games that are slightly changed in later plays to account for something that just doesn't quite work.  The games aren't quite as big yet either. When looked at against games from later series, they're a little basic. Not that there's anything wrong with that, the creativity will come in time. 

One game that can be seen as a little basic was in Industrial and involved the contestant identifying small items by touch, needing to get 4 out of 5 correct to win the game. It was all fairly simple, small items. Wood shavings, tools, toys, things that should be easy to guess. However, for the last 32 years, I've had no clue what the hell these things were meant to be.

Never had a clue. Always thought they were a cap or stopper for some kind of equipment. Then @ElongatedCrab on Twitter was asking the same.

I was watching the crystal maze and there was a puzzle where you identify items by only touching them

What the hell is this thing? I can see it and I have absolutely no clue pic.twitter.com/Gp1fpaA725

— 🦀The Long Crab🦀 (@ElongatedCrab) April 12, 2022

Well, a quick retweet later and mystery solved. And I could never have figured this out with a lifetime of guesses.

It's the 'golf ball' head off a golfball typewriter.

Instead of keys that had the letters on them IBM Selectrics had a golfball-type thing that was electronically controlled to select the right letter when a key was pressed. https://t.co/EGLMWRLqrd

— Chrissie Caulfield (@Chrissie_c) April 12, 2022

That's been itching at the back of my head for decades, so thank you @Chrissie_c 

It's such a random item though, anyone else reckon they'd have eventually figured this out by touch alone?

Ed Tudor Pole Appearing at Stoke Con Trent 2022

Conventions are one of those things a lot have us have missed over the last two years. Getting together with hundreds of other fans of various franchises and properties. We've missed the cosplay, the stalls, and most importantly the opportunities at meeting a host of familiar faces.

At Collectormania in Milton Keynes once, I met Colin Baker as I was hiding behind him, avoiding being seen by someone from work who was wearing a less than flattering Power Ranger costume. It may have been the same day my mate and I literally bumped into Sir Geoff Hurst and I, very annoyed, had to explain to my non-football fan mate who SGH was.

Anyhow, conventions are back. And on April 10th, Stoke Con Trent shall have Ed Tudor Pole in attendance. 

As far as I'm aware, this is a rare convention appearance for Ed. But, given the opportunities performers have had in the last two years, I can imagine many may turn to conventions as they're a great earner for people. If someone's popular/busy, they can be earning thousands just signing autographs. 

In the past, I've managed brief chats with guests at conventions during their quieter moments. Never bought an autograph, always just went for the day out and to see who I can see. Just going to them as a day out, I've met Geoff Hurst, Colin Baker, D-Von Dudley, had a guy who played a blue Power Ranger ask me where I got my beer from as he needed a drink, seen a teenage crush in Alyson Hannigan in person, seen Mads Mikkelsen who I think is now just in everything, cons are just a fun day out seeing familiar faces.

Mentioning crushes, just checked the Stoke Con Trent guests and I can imagine this one was a crush for many. (I preferred Jet)

Tickets to attend Stoke Con Trent can be bought HERE

Happy 80th Birthday Richard O'Brien!

The legendary original Maze Master from The Crystal Maze, Richard O'Brien turned 80 today. (Yes, 80!). Happy Birthday Richard, we hope you have a lovely day and Mumsie has bought you a nice present. You are probably reading this. If you are, say hello.

Richard randomly sent a signed note to me during lockdown, which was amazing. Which leads me to believe that he does indeed read this blog.

Richard should be called a "Sir" - but he once said he would turn down a knighthood as it goes against everything he believes in.

Thank you for your amazing talent - Rocky Horror and The Crystal Maze still endure all these years later. It is a testament to your hard work and zany personality.

Richard is probably throwing a party in the Medieval Zone today - but in reality he lives in New Zealand. Have a great day Richard!

Best Wishes

Crystal Maze Fan Blog and Fans Worldwide. 

Maze games of a birthday nature....

It's Been A While - I Took Some Time Off - Saw @Ashens, @NostalNerd, @TristaBytes, @mrbiffo and co. have been to Crystal Maze Live

 It's been a while since I did one of these. I've been doing 14 hour days, 9 days a week and I inevitably burned out. The last few weeks haven't been great for me so I've had a mental health week to myself. Honestly, barely moved from the bed. According to my phone, I've gone from 55k steps a week to 400. But if you aren't coping, you aren't coping, simple as that. 

So it's left me some time to catch up on a lot of things. Fixed my laptop for example. For several months the concept of sound has been beyond this thing, input or output, nothing. May as well have tried getting it to accept eclairs as a form of audio, just nothing. And nothing says I've been binge eating quite like shoehorning eclairs in there for no sensical reason whatsoever.

Washing piles are done, the sun's been out so I've been able to plough through the numerous mounds of washing that have accumulated around the house without relying on an electroholic tumbler.

Now, when I dragged my carcass out of bed eventually this morning (been really struggling on mornings so when I saw today would be hot, hung my washing out last night. Woke up to dry clothes.) I sat down at my laptop and saw that several of my favourite Youtube and Twitch types were at Crystal Maze Live.

Last night, These excellent folks and I cracked the Crystal Maze (Team Cygnet Moon ~don't ask).

I did two physical games, got two crystals, almost died of exhaustion. WOULD RECOMMEND.@TristaBytes @myunie @ashens @mrbiffo @SlopesGameRoom @quangdx @TheCrystalMaze @CrystalMazeHQ pic.twitter.com/ZVoV1mRtSu

— Nostalgia Nerd (@nostalnerd) March 24, 2022

 Content creators whose work has really helped over the last couple of years, so it put a smile on my face seeing them there. 

Just putting it on record some of these were in my fantasy celeb episode casting, and I did put forward the idea of a YouTuber team to producers, to be told Youtube types want too much money.

Ah well. This is the next best thing isn't it? 

The Story of The Crystal Maze Documentary

We are excited to bring you a documentary on The Crystal Maze. First of it's kind, made by a YouTuber called "Back in the Day". 

Enjoy - we would be keen to hear your thoughts.

The axing of The Crystal Maze

A video I did a few months ago on Youtube. 2021 was a sad year for the Maze - however it has come back before, so let's not get too upset. The legacy continues with the live experiences, so hopefully another revival may come back when the pandemic fades away. The show is too iconic to just disappear forever.

Saving props is a logistical challenge

 

It has been incredibly hard work saving as many pieces of the scrapped Crystal Maze TV set as possible these past few months. We've sweated profusely, lifted heavy stuff, got dirty, stood on a nail on the set and made our bank accounts lighter. On top of that, three van shuttles between Swindon and Bristol - with another van for Maze blog member Phil to transfer his Eastern Zone props up to Leeds. Look at him poking his head through the Jarhead prop!

The problem with props, is they look small on screen - but when you take them home, they take up half your living room. Luckily I am fortunate and have two houses, so the props I saved have been distributed between them. (A cellar and a garage). If only we had a large free open space, we could easily reconstruct some iconic games from the maze. All props saved will be used to keep the show's legacy alive and help to push for another revival. We all love The Crystal Maze - rebuild and bring it back.

If any Maze fan in the Wiltshire area has a free garage or small building space for long term free use, let me know.

Clarification on Maze prop sales

We would like to make a clarification. We have all been personally spending a fortune saving as many bits of the Maze to keep for the fan club. This hasn't been cheap (in the thousands), plus three van hires. Again, not cheap.

Any props we sell are spares and aren't for profit, but cover expenses. We have now made the TV production team aware of our intentions. 

An Interview with Former Crystal Maze Contestant and Jungle Run Host Michael Underwood

 Hello, it's Jack here! As well as being an editor for this blog I also run a separate blog and podcast called Jack's Throwback Attack. For the last few years, I have been getting in contact with people I remember watching on TV during my childhood during the '90s and '00s. You may remember back in 2018 that I was lucky enough to interview both David G. Croft and Richard O'Brien about their time on The Crystal Maze.

Well I've now begun my fourth series and my next guest also has a link to the maze, it's Michael Underwood. 

Michael was a contestant on the first children's special of The Crystal Maze aired during Christmas of 1990, at the time Michael was only 15 years old. One of the things we discuss in this mammoth 90-minute interview is his time on the show and reveals a few stories about the filming, including why he found the Aztec "feed the god" game so tricky. 

Of course, a few years later, Michael won the chance to be a CBBC presenter on the Saturday night TV show Whatever You Want which started out as just a 6-week contract. He ended up staying for three years before moving over to CITV. 

It was of course during his time with CITV he became the third and final (and the longest) host of Jungle Run. A show which was very similar to The Crystal Maze in many ways. Also, a favourite of the maze bloggers too and of course that show gets discussed at length. 

Here's the podcast, video and audio-only versions, enjoy!

Jack's Throwback Attack · S4 E1 - A Chat With Michael Underwood

Given the spin and now re-united! Crystal Maze's Rob & The Red Planet!

August 31st, 2021 marks a day in history, as Rob Griffin has been re-united with a particularly memorable prop from the labyrinth known as The Crystal Maze!

Rob became famous following his appearance on The Crystal Maze after his adventure with The Cosplay Team left him a captive in the Futuristic Zone briefly! 

Saying that, it wouldn't be the first time human beings have become stuck on the Red Planet, as it appears to be a popular mechanic of Hollywood Filmmakers!

The planets have become that iconic in the show as a result of Rob, that The Crystal Maze Live experience decided they had to implement the game at one of their venues - which we can confirm Rob did manage to complete on this occasion!

If you were watching the show, you'll know that there was a further mishap in the Aztec Zone, but I'll leave you to watch that and enjoy it for yourselves!

Also, Neil (Blog Team) has uploaded the magical moment to YouTube, so why not tune in and enjoy this moment of mirth?

We'll have some more videos soon, so as MazeMaster Ayoade would say -
"Thank you for watching, if indeed you still are!"

Memorabilia from the show for sale - Screen Used Crystal Maze Props

The Crystal Maze Fan blog has been working hard recently, saving as many pieces from The Crystal Maze TV show as possible, given that the programme was abruptly axed by Channel Four recently.

We made one van trip last month when the set was demolished, and we made one final trip yesterday to collect the remaining pieces. We sold all 14 TV game Crystals in just 24 hours. Three were sold to the USA, one went to Scotland, one went to Ireland and the rest across England. This is a testament to the enduring popularity of the show, and why it must return again in the near future.

We took a rare photo of 14 real game Crystals all together before we sent them out to you all. We are also currently selling Aztec Zone Game Letter Tiles and have two Medieval Mine Cart game jewels left. 

If you are interested, check out our eBay -

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144176532397?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338273189&customid=&toolid=10001&pub=5575378759&icep_ff3=1&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229508&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg

We will blog about all of the items we have saved from the Maze in due course.

No profits are made from these sales - all monies go towards the Crystal Maze fan blog which is preserving as many items as possible from the show. Only spare props are sold to recover our expenses

The Crystal Maze has been axed by Channel 4

You may have seen a news article today circulating in the Sun newspaper and social media, suggesting that The Crystal Maze revival has been axed by Channel 4.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/crystal-maze-axed-channel-4-24782992.amp

We have known this for about six weeks, but have remained quiet until it was made public by the media. 

The revival was a success. The new set, designed once again by James Dillion who designed the original set was fantastic. The games were good. Towards the end, we even had a Crystal Maze series commissioned by Nickelodeon for America.

The beauty of The Crystal Maze format, is it has the ability to remain fresh. They brought in Eastern Zone - but they still could have tried another Presenter and perhaps brought back Ocean Zone.  Derren Brown would make a fantastic presenter. The Crystal Maze remains very popular, especially with the rise of online escape rooms during lockdown. It's a shame the Maze is gone already when it still had lots of mileage. I feel that C4 deciding to make too many Celebrity editions turned viewers off 

The only consolidation, is that Channel 4 have the option to maybe bring it back again in the future. Hopefully when the COVID-19 pandemic calms down. 

Sadly, the new set has already been dismantled and skipped. We personally witnessed it. However we have done our best to save as many relics as possible incase it never returns. We went on a bit of a Maze blog mission.

We will bring you another blog on this soon. In the meantime, we aim to keep the iconic show's legacy alive and campaign for another return. We all need to keep the popularity of the show alive to help it come back again in the future. Make sure you all email Channel 4 Viewer Services to express how unhappy you are that the Maze has been axed, and that you want another series.

The Crystal Maze - Enter and play the Maze at home (Full game here)

 

I know, you've missed the Maze as much as I have. Well why not give this Virtual Crystal Maze Team Challenge a go with friends and family? You must download all of the PDF files first, and then open them - otherwise the game will not work. You cannot just open the PDF files. 

Download the free virtual online game here: The Crystal Maze - Virtual Team Challenge

It works using zoom with other friends/family members. A preview of the game is below:

Don't forget, you can watch the first three original series of The Crystal Maze on Britbox as well.