06/05/2019

Crystal Maze Parodies/Sketches (Video-heavy Post)

In 1992 Kurt Cobain, of the grunge group Nirvana, said that he felt like the band had finally made it after 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' was the basis for a parody by Weird Al Yankovic. Comedic tributes for things don't happen out of malice, they happen because the subject involved is highly ingrained in the public consciousness. Over the years there's been a few tributes to TCM featured on TV, so for those that haven't seen them (I'd guess mostly through age or these shows not being shown wherever you may be reading), here's a few.


The Mary Whitehouse Experience





Having started on BBC Radio 1 (remember when they did scripted comedy? Me neither), Rob Newman, David Baddiel, Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis made the transition to TV on BBC2 in 1991-92 and this critique on the ineptitude of contestants proved one of the more memorable sketches.


Spitting Image




Satirical puppet show 'Spitting Image' used TCM to also highlight ineptitude, this time that of the Labour Party at the time. Recognizable contestants include a boozing John Prescott and an overly specific Gordon Brown. With names involved such as Steve Coogan, Craig Ferguson (more known in the US now than he is over here), Stewart Lee, Alistair McGowan, Andy Parsons, Kate Robbins and John Thompson, Spitting Image was iconic for its grotesque caricature puppets and its willingness to leave no public figure safe from its cutting commentary. Have the look for 'The Chicken Song', you'll be humming it for weeks.


Maid Marian and her Merry Men





Moving away from sketch comedy for this one, MMAHMM was a children's sitcom created by Tony Robinson (Baldrick in Blackadder, host of archeological investigation show Time Team). Often parodying pop culture of the time, and in this case using, again, contestant ineptitude as the basis of the segment. Well worth watching full episodes of this if you've never seen it.


Cardinal Burns




The most recent one I could find, this one from E4 sketch show 'Cardinal Burns' is pretty self-explanatory. If you've ever been stood in the Post Office waiting ages for them to find your parcel, this is why.


The Adam and Joe Show




Starting in 1996, TAAJS featured a series of recurring sketches where the titular Adam and Joe recreated television shows with Star Wars figures giving us this. 20ish years later Adam would go on to be Jarhead on the revived series asking riddles to confused contestants, and at some point in-between he's recognizable as the reporter in the Simon Pegg film Hot Fuzz whose head befalls an unpleasant fate. And as if to bring the Adam Buxton/Jabba the Hutt/Crystal Maze trifecta full circle, here's an extra clip of Adam, Richard and Jabba together in Lisbon in 2016, pre-revival.


More Here and Here (I remembered more after publishing this)

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