Interview - Mike Park, (Contestant, Series 1 of Revival Series)

Mike Park, of Team Cosplay

Q: So what made you decide to apply for Crystal Maze? Did you watch it when it originally ran in the 90's?

Mike: "I simply heard about the interviews, and I thought why not. I've done plenty of interviews so I had an idea what may be required, so I wrangled my friends together and the rest is history. The original run of the show was a huge part of my childhood. All the way to the modern version of the show. I don't want to miss an episode."

Q: Who was your favourite presenter and Zone?

M: "With regards to the presenters, I love them all for different reasons. But I can say that Richard Ayoade is doing a smashing job, and I'd be happy to see him do this for many more series. Industrial Zone is my personal favourite, the aesthetic is something I've always liked."

Q: What was Richard Ayoade like in real life on set, on and off camera?

M: "Ayoade was a great host. There were a few great jokes that were cut for obvious reasons, others due to time., including an argument with the dragon in Aztec. I do hope they eventually release some unaired material, like the outtake videos we eventually found on YouTube of the original series. He was a good laugh."

Q: Were any games or situations pre-selected, prior to filming?

M: "All of the games were pre-selected, I suppose to give a good mix on each show. We did not know these beforehand, so we couldn't really plan tactically if that makes sense. However, we all happened to get the game types we wanted in advance."

Q: Were there any re-takes?

M: "Yes, after the game was completed, some extra shots were required for the camera. Mainly closeups, picking things up, putting them down etc. My first game was interrupted by a fire alarm, and Jen's second game had a few issues."

Q. Most embarrassing moment for you?

M: "I would say for me it would either be during the interview, doing a very high pitched yay! Or getting told off by another crew in another studio after the fire alarm, as I was singing loudly outside."

Q. How did you feel about your teammate Rob's embarrassing moment, when he was stuck spinning on the Planet in the Futuristic Zone? That's had 350k views on YouTube!

M: "He was also a disappointment! But its part of the games. Maybe I could have done that game, maybe not."

Q. Favourite Crystal Maze game from your episode?

M: "Personally out of the games we played, I liked the Futuristic cube game. I was just a little slow realising my mistake. However I think that one, in particular, was very well designed. I just wish I had taken my time in reading the clues."

Q. Preferred type of game - Skill, Mystery, Physical or Mental?

M: "Normally I prefer mystery games and mental. However if I were to get back on the show, I would be happy to give the physical and skill games a good go."

Q. If a new Zone was introduced into the Crystal Maze again, what would it be and why?

M: "Well I recently did a poll on Twitter. I do like the idea of an 'Apocalyptic Zone' or a 'Wild West' zone. But we shall see what the future has. Apocalyptic was my poll winner."

Q. As an Escape Room Manager / Puzzle designer yourself, do you think The Crystal Maze has a lot to give for the success and rise of Escape Rooms all around the world today?

M: "The Maze helps me to easily describe what an Escape room is, as I hear a lot of my customers say 'It's like a one hour long Crystal Maze game'. Escape rooms may have happened naturally on their own, but I like to think the show has helped with their success."

Q: Do you get noticed in the street for your appearance on Crystal Maze?

M: "It has happened a good few times. It happens a lot at work when people come in, or when out and about. Seems like the show is as popular as ever. Here is to many more Crystal Maze series in the future!".

I've got the Crystal!

 Well I went a bit mad on eBay today and bidded £440 for an actual Crystal Maze Crew Jacket and Crystal (boxed) from the Original Series.

I almost got outbidded at the last second, but my adrenaline kicked in at the last second in true maze style and I won the auction. Anita Stubbs, Production Secretary of the Original Series was selling it.

I'm getting it sent to a friend of mine in the UK, soon as I finish this deployment I look forward to coming home to my Crystal! What a childhood dream to own one of these.

What a dream come true at last! I have the Live experience Crystal, crowd funding Crystal, Crystal from the New Series, and now an actual one from the Original programme! I will take a photograph of them all together once I am back in the UK!

Collectively, this Fan Forum own quite a substantial collection of Maze Memorabelia. We could hold a convention at this rate!

02/02/18: Phil back in the UK has teased me with this Royal Mail Card, he is off to collect the original Crystal on my behalf tomorrow, then send it to me when I am back in the UK from this deployment. Exciting times. 

Another step closer to holding and owning an original Crystal from The Crystal Maze! 

The man behind the revived Crystal Maze

Neale Simpson, Executive Producer of the new series of The Crystal Maze, has invested a lot of thought and knowledge into making the revival series such a success. It has now been issued a commission for a further 12 episodes, 6 of which will be Celebrity. Many Congratulations to him. He has been very kind to interact regularly with our fan group via email and letters. We thank you massively for engaging with us so enthusiastically. He has gone into a lot of detail for us. We appreciate everything you have done so far for this show.

The awesome new Crystal Dome

The process of bringing back The Crystal Maze for good, was a long drawn out process that has taken a fair few years, assuming this could be in terms of purchasing the rights to the format, and ensuring that the revival would live up to high expectations. With the UK public sharing continued fond memories of the show, Channel 4 would of exercised caution in ensuring that the revival wouldn't fail, like Gladiators for example. I am relieved to say that this has not happened and it has been a roaring success. What was exciting for me is that they invited some of the key original brains back to create the new series. For example, James Dillion, who designed the original set to recreate and re-envisage the maze for a modern audience.

The new Futuristic Zone

The new series has reinvented a Zone. We are now greeted with a brand new clinically white, modern looking Futuristic Zone with Space Age style corridors (above). However, the modern future has also seen commercial constraints. Unfortunately now we don't see as many games in each zone unfortunately. We also don't see zones running to order as per the map, which at first bewildered fans. Normally contestants would traverse the maze in either a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction through connected zones, rather than diagonally and in random orders. But there are strong valid reasons for this. 

"An important consideration is now to ensure the maze is accessible for people with a disability, which previous series weren't required to do so." - Neale Simpson, Executive Producer of The Crystal Maze.

Host Richard Ayoade

Neale told us: "We had to contend with a different commercial hour structure to the original, most notably three ad breaks as opposed to two. In the original, zone transitions would sometimes take place in the middle of a part, thereby justifying making more of a feature of them; they had the time and the structure to revel in these moments in a way we simply can't. We realised that to maximise the content and make the most of the four zones the best place to put the transitions were at the end and start of each part. If you are seeing people exit a zone at the end of a part you don't want to see them arrive in the new one and then go to the ads; as soon as they arrive in a new zone you want to get cracking so we knew it made most sense to split the transitions over the break."

 

Zone Transitions

Discussing Zone transitions, Neale explained: "We have a Zone entrance for each time a Zone opens the show, and we have three ways in and out of Industrial and Aztec, two in Medieval and two in Futuristic. This means we can change how we come in and out each time and it doesn't matter which option we take because it isn't constrained by the idea that they must all then arrive in a specific zone next. 

Neale added: "The result isn't just more variety of transitions, it also means we are able to deliver more variety in zones and games. We were able to mix up running orders of shows and games in a way that meant we could ensure that there was minimal repetition across episodes, and shows that featured the most games alike would play out in completely different orders."

New Aztec Zone

In summary. As a fan, I believe that this is only a minor point, the quality of the new series is superb and the games ring true to the old spirit and charm of The Crystal Maze. We've got the maze back, we have a new legion of fans (or millennials!), that are being captivated by the thrills and spills of the show. We have living characters in the maze, such as "Jarhead", and the Knight. The infamous Aztec Water log is back, along with high tech games and an LED Crystal Dome. Plus the maze is now in High Definition. What more could we possibly want? I even read that they dug out candle candelabras from the original set to use in the new Medieval Zone. Talk about excellent attention to detail! Richard Ayoade is funny and works well as host. The Aztec Zone looks so much like the original one as well.The old plans were dug out of James Dillion's loft.

The fact that the maze is back in a Social Media age is also fantastic. TCM was born many years ago, only because Fort Boyard wasn't available for UK filming. Since then we have seen it morph into various exciting forms. We can even enjoy it again and again on YouTube, on 4oD.... or even at a live experience. These are truly exciting times to be a Crystal Maze Fan. It is back for a Series 2, and who knows it will continue to evolve again. It is a show that doesn't get old, it was way ahead of its time and still is. Long live TCM.

CREDIT: Thank you Neale for these stunning High Resolution Images of the Maze set. Wow!