'Game Shows I Suppose' Covers The Crystal Maze, with @jordha

Podcaster, comedian and 'lonely nerd' (his words, not mine) Jordan Hass has been talking about game shows on his weekly podcast 'Game Shows I Suppose' since 2018. He's clearly got a love of the genre and has covered shows from both sides of the Atlantic alongside a range of guests. A great example to me is talking 'Big Break' with Ben Paddon, whom I once randomly had a game of 'You Don't Know Jack' with, which really caught my attention because I met Ben in the same town where I once annoyed Jim Davidson, it's a small world after all.

Jordan has long mentioned his love of everybody's favourite Channel 4 adventure game show on GSIS and today sees the drop of his TCM episode. It's just over 100 minutes of a guy talking about his favourite British game show so if you like/love/have heard of TCM: subscribe, put the kettle on, put your feet up, play Fall Guys, and have a listen.

Jordan can be found at -

• jordanhass.com
• twitter.com/jordha
• twitch.tv/JordanGames
• patreon.com/jordanhass

Newest Addition to the Collective Crystal Collection

Good day fellow Maze fans,

It's a very exciting day at Superfan HQ today, as we take delivery of another authentic TV crystal, one that was formerly a gap in our collective collection of crystals. The crystal is from the revived series and is one of the crystals from the podium in front of the dome. These are different from the crystals played for in the games only due to the lack of logo from the base, as this would have affected the light shining through it from the podium.

Fantasy Casting a Future Crystal Maze Team - @Ashens @paulgannonshow @elisnoid @MrBiffo @larrybundyjr @octav1usking @mrbarrylewis

Yesterday in the course of tweeting, something came up that had me rueing a missed opportunity to have something on TV I think people would love to see. Or at least I would anyhow.

I did enter us all in @barshens a few years ago, but never heard back

— Mr. Gannon (@PaulGannonShow) July 26, 2020

I apologize in advance as this bit of fantasy casting may go on a bit, but for the last few years there's been a group of collaborators whose work on YouTube, and on a podcast I've mentioned more than occasionally, has got me through some more trying times. I know it's a bit cliche but laughter is the best medicine and this lot never fails to elicit a chuckle or at least a smile out of me every time I go looking for their content. These are simply a bunch of fun entertaining people I'd love to see taking on the games of The Crystal Maze. Bickering, shouting at each other, and just being as entertaining and fun as I've always seen them. I'll be listing more than 5 names here but it's fantasy casting, my writing, my rules.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout - Fortnite meets Takeshi's Castle

I'm going to put it out there straight away. I hate Fortnite. From the moment Epic saw PUBG and said "This Fortnite game we've got going on, let's just ignore our initial idea we've put out there already and copy theirs" I've stayed well clear of the streaming favourite. I might just be old fashioned but I like my games to have a story, to draw me into a well-realized fictional world, and occasionally just have me turning zombies and Nazis into jam. When it comes to battle royale games, the concept of a load of 10-year-olds hurling abuse at me, killing my character with zero effort, and claiming intimate knowledge of my mother has simply never appealed to me.

Final List of Celebrity Names for The Crystal Maze's Next Specials

Now that the episodes which haven't aired yet on Channel 4 have broadcast in Australasia, thanks to our commenters we have a complete list of names for what Channel 4 will be calling the next series. A clip with almost all the following names can be seen at the bottom 

(Thanks Danker1990 and Phillip)

The Crystal Maze PC Game - I don't want to be harsh, but there's no other option really

In general, I will praise and adore all Crystal Maze memorabilia. Whether it's the board games, the jigsaw puzzles, the thermal reactive mug I had made, the press photos that I've been getting extorted for on eBay, I love it all. I'll big up The Crystal Maze Challenge by Neale Simpson any day (still available digitally for £3.99)

However, The Crystal Maze PC game is the most infuriating bucket of arse-gravy I have ever played. And I played, and completed, 'Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness'. Twice.

Good News! More Crystal Maze Incoming! Bad News! Not in the UK!

In 2017, three episodes never made broadcast. We'd been oversaturated with the same games over 20 episodes and so only 17 got to TV. It's happened again. 

Last year's episodes we haven't seen yet are to be aired on Australian children's channel ABC ME. They've been airing all of last year's episodes and will get the shows we haven't seen yet before we get them.

So, whos coming to Australia with me?

What do you mean 'pandemic'?

@BothersBar Remember how there were those three civilian Crystal Maze episodes that got shown in Australia but not the UK?

Looking like the OTHER unaired Crystal Maze episodes with the celebrities are going to start airing in Australia next week, on a different channel. pic.twitter.com/LBBzcSvFSO

— Captain ACAB, BA* (@TheGrimRecapper) July 3, 2020

My Trip Last Year to Test Out Games For The Crystal Maze

I've been sat around pretty bored of late. I keep ending up on eBay buying Crystal Maze related paraphernalia (more on that lot in another post for another day) so I thought I'd distract myself by recounting my travel last year from the North East to the South West to test games for The Crystal Maze.

I'll start by saying I don't drive, but thankfully we've got pretty good public transport covering the length and breadth of Great Britain. 

So...

Step 1 - Home to Middlesbrough: ~15 Miles. 

This stage is the easy bit. It's a trip I make not uncommonly. I went to Uni over there so it's somewhere I'm familiar with. At this time, McDonalds was doing Grand Big Macs so naturally, I had to go gorge myself on one in my usual combo - large meal, Big Mac, Fries, Strawberry milkshake. They should do GBMs more often because that meal kept me fed for the rest of what would be a long day. The meal in bag in hand, I head back to the bus station to wait for my first coach. I didn't take it on the coach, food in my possession rarely stays uneaten for long.

Step 2 - Middlesbrough to Leeds: ~65 miles

Getting Into Game Show Streaming inc. The Crystal Maze PC game

I'm a life long gamer. Since I first tore open a present of a Sega Master System 2 with built-in Sonic the Hedgehog (8-Bit version, bit different to the version everyone's familiar with), I haven't stopped. 

If you've got a PSN account, I'm 'Spudgun20', come say hello.

I recently got a new laptop which, unlike my past computers, doesn't soil itself trying to do anything more complex than minesweeper so I've been playing my old PS1 games via some emulators and I figured it could be fun to stream said games. 

As such, at twitch.tv/spudgun20 I'm going to be playing games such as 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire', 'The Weakest Link', 'Jeopardy', and a whole host of other older games on Twitch. It'll be mostly game shows but not exclusively, e.g. I've been rediscovering the game for The Italian Job. Chat'll be open, I'll get the old Crystal Maze PC game going, you can enjoy a relentless torrent of bad-control based failure.

If you know of any other game shows turned into games then let me know below. For now I've got TCM, Blockbusters, Weakest Link, Jeopardy, and Millionaire but I'd love to grow that list.

Follow me at twitch.tv/spudgun20 and say hi!

P.S. was setting my streaming up, looking for sound effects, and I found the ultimate clip of Chris Tarrant doing an alternate take for a voiceclip for a PC WWTBAM game (Some swearing within):

Crystal Maze Repeats on TV, No-One Told Me It Had Been Going A While

Before I get to Crystal Maze getting repeat airings, could you give these lads a 'like' each, please: 

 

 

Now that little bit of admin is out of the way...

Two Key Members of the Maze Blog, And as Such Crystal Maze Superfans, Shortlisted for The Crystal Maze Live Experience Superfan Competition

"These old doomsday devices are dangerously unstable. I'll rest easier not knowing where they are."

- Professor Farnsworth

Great words by a great man, and words we can all live by I'm sure you'll all agree. But another great quote of his, far more relevant to anything going on today - 

As you may have guessed from the overlong title, two of our number have been shortlisted for The Crystal Maze Live Experience's Superfan competition. 

The '90s Was The Golden Age Of Television, And Has Filled My 2020 So Far

The '90s was the golden age of television. Nothing will sway me from this opinion. Could I be slightly biased in that the '90s were my formative years? Absolutely. Were my years from the age of 1 to 11 based solely around that box in the corner and whatever was projected on the screen? Definitely. Did I learn to read age 3-ish by using the TV guide so I knew when my shows were on? Odd but true. It worked and I could read to a level where my nursery school ran out of books for me, all because I needed to know when The Crystal Maze and Fun House were on. However, it doesn't alter the fact that all the best TV was around during the '90s.

One of the perks of living in the here and now is that everything is online somewhere. Whether officially available through services like iPlayer and All4, or if it's a forgotten series that's just been uploaded by a YouTube user who enjoyed a show, had it recorded on VHS and wanted to share. 

With the recent situation seeing a lot of increased TV time, I've found myself trawling a lot of older TV shows. Sitcoms like 'Drop the Dead Donkey', 'Red Dwarf', 'Bottom' and 'Absolutely Fabulous' have kept me amused and dramas such as 'Crime Traveller' and 'Jonathan Creek' have filled a few hours. I found a show I'd forgotten existed called 'Harry' which was a BBC One drama set in and around Darlington, a town I'm very familiar with. I spent most of it infuriated by moments where I found myself saying "...and that street doesn't lead into there" far more often than I'd have liked to.

Trailer for 'Jedi Temple Challenge' Released - Inspired by TCM, Jungle Run and Raven

A game show based in the world of Star Wars had it's preview drop today. Jedi Temple Challenge, hosted by Ahmed Best a.k.a the voice of Jar Jar Binks, sees teams of Jedi Padawan take on challenges in a series of Star Wars themed areas.

Why mention it on here? Well the creator, Scott Bromley, openly names Crystal Maze, Jungle Run and Raven as inspiration behind the show on his podcast The Comedy Button (listen from 17:45)

We did. A lot. In fact we referenced Raven numerous times during the development of the series. Keep in mind this is 1 minute of hyper-paced action and not a full episode.

— Scott Bromley (@Scott_Bromley) May 27, 2020

Have to say, the Jedi temple looks very Jungle Run - Temple of the Jungle King.

Watch the trailer below and you'll certainly get very strong TCM and Raven vibes from the action on screen. At least they've taken inspiration from the best, but what I'd give for some of that sweet, sweet Disney budget.

Jedi Temple Challenge starts on June 3rd on Star Wars Kids.

Crystal Maze's Mumsey in America Alongside Fred Willard

Comedy great Fred Willard passed away at the weekend. You may remember him from roles in This is Spinal Tap, Anchorman, Modern Family, Everybody Loves Raymond and much, much more. Our thoughts go out to his family.

This got me on the hunt for footage of him from a comedy show: "An Evening at the Improv". I'd seen it a while back and the clips I was after are, I think, now set to private. So after a bit of hunting around through Reddit, this clip came to my attention this morning that I had to share.

Fred Willard hosting, and doing a skit with Sandra Caron. Her name may not be familiar but you know the face. This ought to clear up who she is for anyone unsure -

Mumsey/Auntie Sabrina worked on stage with the late Fred Willard. This clip is from 1981 so it was 9 years before she was seen sat behind her crystal ball with a smoke machine under the table. Should I find another clip of them, I'll be sure to share.

Crystal Maze Games That Were Too Hard 2: 2 Hard 2 Crystal

Ok, I admit it, that title is terrible. I apologize and I promise I'll never do anything that atrocious again until the next time I do it.

Following on from my last post covering all the '90s games that nobody won, I just wanted to have a quick look at all the games that have been used since Richard Ayoade took over which saw nobody walking out one crystal heavier than how they walked in.

Before I start, for reference and photos I'm using David Newton's website www.crystalmazedatabase.com. Much like if you want '90s show details you use Marc Gerrish, David Newton is who you can rely on for revival stats. Marc and David are to adventure game show fans as Stanley Gibbons is to stamp collectors. I only know that thanks to The New Statesman, I've been really ploughing through the boxsets lately.

Crystal Maze - Further Lock in Material

We've seen the PC game in the 90's, the Crystal Maze Phone and iPad game a decade ago... and now, during the lockdown it appears the Maze is still going strong. Someone has created an unofficial Crystal Maze Powerpoint game for £1.99, with proceeds going towards the NHS. Find it on eBay. It seems that you can play it over Zoom with friends and family. One of our Blog Members purchased it today to see if it's any good.

Meanwhile, during lockdown somebody certainly has been busy constructing a Crystal Maze for their Hamster! The video they have produced is absolutely brilliant and very funny, check it out here:

Crystal Maze Games That Were Too Hard To Win

One problem I've got with TCM since it came back, too many people going home with a prize. It's partly down to 50+ gold getting a middling prize but, and there's a mild spoiler for the US version rapidly approaching here so keep on reading at your own peril, out of 10 shows there was at least 3 and maybe 4 top prize winners.

A 100+ gold winner should be a treat, a rarity, there shouldn't be nearly half a series of winners. People are clearly winning too many games and earning too much time. A little conversation I had the other night started at frogs and ended up at games that were never won and as such, here's the '90s games that were never won, and should be looked at so as to stop people winning quite so often. I'm not including any of those one-off games made for a kid's Christmas Special as it's a lot easier to be an unbeaten game if only one small person has a go.

Series 1 - 1990

Nuke Defusing - A nice simple two minute game sharing a room with a nuclear bomb. It needed defusing by connecting the correct coloured wire to the associated image on the wall. For example connecting the YELLOW wire to a picture of some PAGES, or a GREEN wire to some FINGERS. The trouble comes in knowing what word was meant to be shown by the image, while it was meant to represent fingers, it's clearly a picture of a hand. With a two minute time limit, there was an explosion every time. Or the lights were turned up. Same thing.

Another 30th Anniversary - An Excuse To Mention Denis Norden

In February we covered the 30th anniversary of the start of The Crystal Maze so today I just wanted to mention it's 30 years since that first series ended. The last episode of series one went out on the 10th May 1990. It was the last show broadcast to be filmed at Shepperton Studios and it started with an outtake that they left in the final cut, a moment that wouldn't have been out of place on Denis Norden's 'It'll Be Alright On The Night'.

Today is 30 years since the last episode of series one, and it opened with this little outtake which they kept in the final cut pic.twitter.com/mXq8Wmcm8y

— Crystal Maze Fan Blog (@maze_blog) May 10, 2020

 

Series 4 Episode 4 - Laughter in the face of failure (w/ Behind The Scenes Clips)

There were 83 episodes of TCM in the 90's, including kids specials at Christmas, and of all of them there's one that stands out to me. People have suggested reviewing every episode and, whilst a good idea, that means 83 reviewing covering roughly 80 hours of material. However this one in particular is a show I want to give a bit of attention to.

First shown on 15th April 1993, S4E4 contained a record that remained until Richard Ayoade took over. And whilst that record was achieved in now standard 10 games, 27 years ago they didn't have a fixed amount of games to play, it was just however many they could squeeze in. Series 4 each episode had either 14 or 15 games and I'm talking here about a 14 episode show. I'm talking about the fewest crystals achieved by a team, in this case, one.

Wendy, Andrew, Dave, Hilary, Spencer and Jane

Game/Quiz Show Fantasy Casting

I was on Twitter last night (@maze_blog) and game show podcaster Jordan Hass was replying to someone in regards to a Weakest Link revival. Personally I felt there's only one choice for host and I woke up to a quick response from the gent in question:

😉 https://t.co/2E2nCpl0Nu

— Robert Rinder (@RobbieRinder) May 2, 2020

So I've been thinking, who else could be hosting what revival? And whilst I quite like Rylan on TV he's got enough shows under his belt, so he's not getting any more.

Some More Themed Wordsearches To Try Your Hand At

We've hit on a theme at the moment, moving on from YouTube playlists, crosswords and wordsearches. So here's a few we've put together for you to have a go at.


Click the image for an interactive version to play, check your volume levels, they can be a bit loud.

90's Futuristic Timer Clock Prop still working in 2020, 30 years on

Just thought i'd do another post. My Futuristic Timer Prop from the 90's Crystal Maze Set is still working, after 30 years. I just wanted to give it a new test, as I hadn't turned it on in more than a year. My heart skips a beat when I plug it in, I am always scared it won't start anymore. The circuitry inside is very fragile, given it's age. Absolutely incredible - that is four decades now, that have passed since the Original Series began and since this used to adorn the Original set at North Weald. It's still working. I acquired this piece about two years ago. The heart beat of the Original Crystal Maze is still alive, I am pleased to report. It's a testament to the Prop Makers. The other stuff is safe and sound too in storage.

One-Time Crystal Maze Guest Star Pearl Mackie Has New Role

One time guest star Pearl Mackie, also known for her role on Doctor Who alongside Peter Capaldi, can be seen this Friday in the last episode in the current series of hit Channel 4 sitcom 'Friday Night Dinner'.

Lockdown Puzzle #2 - The Crossword Maze

Another one of our Lockdown Puzzles for you all to keep further entertained during this difficult time. Can you complete the puzzle and Crack the Maze? 

This one was designed by our own Charlie Wheeler, in the style of the original floor plan - excellent work Charlie. 

Good luck!

Printable Version below:

Crystal Maze Lockdown Wordsearch

Maze adventurers, here is a lovely little wordsearch to feast your eyes over and play whilst we remain in an Automatic Lock in. Phil Newton-England, a member of our team, came up with this wordsearch for you all to have a go at and keep yourselves occupied. There are 33 Maze related words to find!

Coronavirus Update from admin at The Crystal Maze Fan Blog

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all 'Staying at Home', 'Protecting the NHS', and 'Saving Lives' by sticking to the advice. This is a strange time for everybody in this country at the moment. Whilst the whole country has been locked in, Crystal Maze style - remember - we still have The Crystal Maze on YouTube to enjoy (both old and new series). 

We still have the Original and Brand New Board games - along with the Eastern Zone Expansion Pack to keep ourselves entertained. There is also the book to buy on Amazon, that's been out a few years now, if you haven't already got it - it's packed with homemade games you can make and play at home to pass this lockdown time.

We have yet to see when Boris will buy us out with a Crystal, so we can all leave our homes. 

But, as Edward Tudor-Pole would say, 'keep on rocking' - stay safe. It's a shame that Channel 4 haven't used this opportunity to air the many unseen episodes of the Maze, which haven't yet been broadcast. Most were recorded in March last year, and there were a few civilian episodes as well. It is strange why Channel 4 aren't showing these episodes. One can only assume that they have kept them 'in reserve', so that when things get back to normal - they can plan a new series. There's also Crystal Maze USA - but we've only seen the first episode. We haven't found a way to download/watch them from the UK yet. 

It is a slight concern that the Live Experiences will be closed for an unknown period of time - I hope they survive the fallout of this Pandemic. Let's also hope that UK Production picks up again as soon as this lockdown ends. But with Social Distancing likely to be part of our lives for many more months to come, that is unlikely. What concerns me is The Crystal Maze set is sat there in Bottleyard. Obviously, it costs money to store a huge dormant set like that there.

Charlie Wheeler has been making good use of the lockdown period and has been making a full 3D representation of The Crystal Maze Zones. It is absolutely spectacular.  Futuristic is below. Another reason why The Crystal Maze would make a fantastic PS4 or PC game.

Fingers crossed our lives all return to normal soon, to some kind of normal. In true Richard Ayoade fashion, keep the hand social distance! In the mean time, why not have fun playing your own Crystal Maze Challenges at home, and watching endless repeats of the Maze? There's plenty of time to do so. Speak to you soon and take care.

Neil - (Admin, Crystal Maze Fan Blog).

Twitter, Reddit and a Lockdown Lack of Barbers Turns 'The Crystal Maze' Into a Worldwide Hairstyle

Stuck at home with not a barber in sight, many of us have resorted to cutting our own hair with varying degrees of success. In my case that would be zero success whatsoever, yes it's all short but it looks like I did it mid-earthquake.

This chart turned up online and has spread like things on the internet normally do:

I'm currently between 2 and 6, until I get some decent clippers

  

Since that popped up a few days ago, people around the world have been comparing their makeshift hairstyles, often but not always unaware of the very early 90's UK-centric reference to Richard O'Brien. And to a lesser extent Stephen Merchant (it was merely a coincidence as he was filming Logan at the time)

Hows Everyone Managing? Keeping Yourselves Busy? There's Not A Lot of Crystal Maze Stuff To Mention, So Have Some More Playlists Instead

Hope everyone's coping well. It's been 3 weeks of this weirdness and hopefully we're at least past the halfway point, maybe.

There's not been much TCM-related stuff to mention lately, given the circumstances, but our best goes out to Phoebe Scholfield on the passing of her husband, actor Jay Benedict, in relation to the present situation.

Phoebe had a role as a one-time sleeping princess from the first series of TCM. Other times this game was used, the role was played by Karen Heyworth. Phoebe's husband Jay may be best recognised as Newt's father from 'Aliens'

All of us at the blog send our best, our thoughts are with her and the rest of his family.

The Marvellous Work of Charlie Wheeler

We've all been finding ways of passing time whilst in lockdown, I myself have been perfecting my juggling, standing on my head and polishing off some PS4 games (My PSN ID is Spudgun20 if you want to add it, let me know you came from here). However that pales in comparison to what Charlie Wheeler has been doing with his time.

Couldn't sleep, so I finished off the #crystalmaze Industrial Zone! Fairly happy with this, could just do with being a bit dirtier. Modelled entirely in Cinema 4D :) pic.twitter.com/C3tNiuD9ox

— Charlie (@Wheeler____) March 31, 2020

Week One Of The UK Lockdown Done, How's Everyone Doing?

Obviously, with TV production at a bare minimum and presenters hosting shows from their homes, there's not going to be any TCM in the near future. So, putting game shows to the side for now, how's everyone coping? Think I can sum up my monotonous days quite adequately in a song...

On the plus side, I finally got hold of another book I needed for my TCM collection. The Crystal Maze Puzzle Book 2 has been listed online for months at extortionate prices. Only a week or so ago it was on eBay for £77. I know that the main book seller on there has an automated pricing system so its an algorithm deciding to try and fleece bank accounts but still, £77. Thankfully that automated system dropped it to £6 at the back end of last week so I snapped it up while I could before it shot up again.

 Let us know how you're managing in the comments below. Found anything good worth watching to share? Just need a chat? I might have to sort out a little get together on Twitch or something

More Free Time? Here's Some Game Show/Panel Shows To Enjoy

Well this is fun isn't it? All this free time and panicky shoppers raiding Sainsbury's is proving.... well it's something isn't it. I got a little mini lecture off a woman this morning in regards to me buying one of the last three bottles of semi-skimmed. Anyhow, in between trying the Resident Evil 3 demo and relearning to bake bread since everyone's had it all, I've been cobbling together some YouTube playlists of gameshows and panel shows to have a flick through. No more than one episode of each show, if you like something I'm sure you can go look for more in your own time, we've all got plenty of that for now. I'll be constantly adding to them over time as I remember and find more.

Game Shows

Panel Shows

It's a Friday the 13th Coronavirus special! Boxset Suggestions: If You Find Yourself With Free Time

For one reason or another, you might find yourself short of things to do at the moment. So here's some suggested playlists to make use of whatever free time you might have.


https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-crystal-maze

If I have to explain this one to you, I won't be mad but I will be extremely disappointed. And mad.

Your Favourite Crystal Maze Bloggers (because how many of those do you know) On Set

Our favourite TV producer Mr Neale Simpson, whose book The Crystal Maze Challenge is still available from all good book retailers, recently sent us some behind the scenes photos and look, its us!

 

 As we've mentioned we had our visit last year on a camera blocking day, so the crew were lining up shots and rehearsing filming with us as dummy contestants while game testing. As such here we are with Jon in the drink as we offer un-useful advice from the windows as seen through the TV cameras. Here's hoping we get another go this year, it's the best day out I get all year. That Aztec visit is my annual holiday.

We've got more pictures at our archive at http://maze.sky-hook.net/gallery/index.php

Challenge TV - Keeping Game Shows Repeats on Rotation Since '97

In 1995, the original run of The Crystal Maze came to an end and, this being before video streaming online or on-demand services, it meant there was no real way to watch the show anymore. One option was occasional repeated showings as part of Channel 4's 'The Bigger Breakfast'. This was an extension to the regular Big Breakfast which would be scheduled during school holidays when kids had less to do and needed more TV aimed at them to keep them busy. In amongst showings of 'Saved By The Bell', 'Batman' (the '60s version) and 'Eerie, Indiana' would often be a repeat of TCM. In 2000 The Bigger Breakfast' was replaced by T4 and the programming changed to mostly just be Popworld and repeats of Hollyoaks. However there was a more long term option than waiting for school holidays and hoping TCM was included in the week's programming. 

In 1993, "The Family Channel" was launched in the UK. Born from the remnants of ITVs closed South East franchise TVS, The Family Channel promised no sex, violence or bad language and instead focused on programming the family can watch together. Shows on the channel included Remington Steele, The Wonder Years and The Bob Newhart Show. However most importantly what would be a precursor to the the channels future, self produced content in Trivial Pursuit and a family version of the Roy Walker classic Catchphrase.

In 1997 the channel was rebranded as Challenge TV and all focused moved to game and quiz shows. Now while Challenge in its current incarnation has a somewhat limited selection (as I'm writing they've scheduled 2 hour blocks of Bruce's Price is Right, Pointless, The Chase and All Star Family Fortunes for the day), when it first launched there was a much wider range of programming filling the hours.

As Bradley Walsh Departs Doctor Who, Here's A Reminder of "Midas Touch"

As in the case of Bradley Walsh, every so often there's a personality whom you can't remember not knowing who they were. Jonathan Ross has been on TV since at least the 1950's for example. Before him Bruce Forsyth was entertaining Queen Liz I. But do you remember a time BB? Before Bradley?

He's done it all, quizzes, gameshows, sitcoms, soaps, serious drama, a film, viral corpsing videos from 'The Chase' and has just announced his departure from the role of Graham in 'Doctor Who'. Seriously, go look at his Wikipedia and gawp at just how much the man has done. So as he files another project away alongside "Wheel of Fortune" and "Mike Bassett England Manager", I wanted to quickly talk about the first show I remember seeing him on in 1995, "Midas Touch".

New Additions For My Personal Collection - Publicity Photos

I recently had a stumble through eBay and happened across some more TCM paraphernalia I couldn't turn down to add to my collection. I got a set of three Channel 4 publicity stills from the 90s series, one from S3, one from S4 and one from S5 or 6. I've got my eye on some more stuff but for now I need some frames for these.

Series 3

Series 4

Series 5 or 6

The 30th Anniversary Celebration Ends With A Big Surprise From Richard O'Brien

There was videos, there was anecdotes, there was memories and a quick happy birthday for Red Dwarf too.

But most importantly, and I mean MOST importantly, there was this...

‼️ THIS IS NOT A DRILL ‼️

What better way to end our 30th Anniversary celebrations than with a very special message from RICHARD O'BRIEN himself!!

...If you need us, we've gone for a lie down...#CrystalMaze #CrystalMaze30 #RichardOBrien #1990 pic.twitter.com/qqYJRd6PSk

— The Crystal Maze (@TheCrystalMaze) February 15, 2020

The Crystal Maze - 30th Anniversary Toast Post

30 years ago today on February 15th 1990, Sinead O'Connor was depressing everyone at #1, the UK was still 1 month away from the greatest movie ever committed to film in "Weekend at Bernie's" and Channel 4 broadcast the first episode of what would become a rather successful adventure game show. We just wanted to share some enthusiasm around the show and we also asked some fans to share their opinions of the show in a toast to The Crystal Maze's 30th anniversary (Note: Two days after we started putting this together, TCM's official Twitter account started asking for similar comments, so some may be via them):

@Phil98167545

Its entertaining. The host makes me laugh. He is a great host.😃

— Delina Edmond (@DelinaEdmond) February 11, 2020

I like it because of the set designs, the inspiration it gives me for my many projects...and I like shouting at the screen at the players who cant figure out where the Button for U3 on the wall (I'm looking at YOU Mr. Richard Colburn!)

— J.D. Sadler (@TheFinalDoctor) February 11, 2020

⭐️💎⭐️ THE CRYSTAL MAZE ⭐️💎⭐️💗👍🏼 I love The Crystal Maze! Missed him! 🥺 pic.twitter.com/dmaCnCz9JF

— CViper (@CViper2) February 11, 2020

I loved the crystal maze it so entertaining and with richard Ayoade as the host and he's funny he makes me laugh

— Samantha Redwin (@samantha_redwin) February 11, 2020

@JGAdventureZone

Cos I was on it!! 😉
Didn’t do that well 🤷🏻‍♂️
Got injured thanks to Ed Tudor-Pole 😩
Met five great people. Had three great days 26 years ago!! 😳 pic.twitter.com/9KbbLau1sh

— Roy Ellaby (@elan4872) February 11, 2020

what would you like me to say, it is my favorite UK Game Show, and it's something I would probably spend the most time on GSIS talking about, and saving it for a good guest!

— Jordan Hass (@jordha) February 11, 2020

It’s an epic adventure in sixty minutes culminating in a “Will they? Won’t they?” reveal.

What’s not to love? I’ll watch it until the day I die.

— Rob James (@FrasyBaby) February 12, 2020

I loved this show in the 90s! The #CrystalMaze deserved a reboot and it especially deserves to be screened in America (what took so long?) https://t.co/LGtDMGA34q

— Atish Patel - WTSP (@ATISH_WTSP) February 10, 2020

Loved the show from the very start - channel hopping & seeing this crazy bald guy locking someone up inside a medieval castle. There was nothing on tv like it....plus the fact that the zones were all genuine sets & not green screen absolutely amazed me. 🚀⚙️⚱️⚔️

— Phil Newton-England (@PhilNew98167545) February 13, 2020

I love the show because it was way ahead of its time. It was a very modern thing to watch back in the 90s, nothing we had ever seen before. It brought us escapism, adventure and fantasy. It brought us memorable moments. It made us all want to enter the Maze ourselves. This became a lifelong dream of mine. I was lucky to enter the maze twice by working on the new series. I've collected tonnes of items from the show, including timers from two of the original zones, Crystal's, tokens, books, jacket and more. I am so happy to see the Maze still going strong 30 years on. Maze Master Edward Tudor-Pole was just as good as Richard O'Brien. I loved Ocean Zone. - Neil Robinson

I feel like to get the best TV escapism and fantasy nowadays, you have to pay for it via Tom, Dick or Harry's streaming service. The Crystal Maze is free to air, and for that I will always be grateful 💎❤

— Alison G (@AlisonGurney) February 13, 2020

#crystalmaze30 #CrystalMaze

If there is one thing we can all agree on about what makes @TheCrystalMaze special other than the set designs and Games...It's the FAILS (Clip Source: https://t.co/0Ivu34VFqN)! pic.twitter.com/n93N8vKNSC

— J.D. Sadler (@TheFinalDoctor) February 13, 2020

L💎VE the show so much, I walked down the aisle to the theme tune 💙 pic.twitter.com/JocHgRZ4tz

— Phil Newton-England (@PhilNew98167545) February 14, 2020

Made a little something pretty for #crystalmaze #30years 💎 pic.twitter.com/YG9cA9y8Se

— Charlie (@Wheeler____) February 14, 2020

98% Sure There's More Crystal Maze Coming This Year - Bunim/Murray Post a Casting Call

It looks like there's going to be more TCM getting made for viewers on both sides of the Atlantic. Bunim/Murray have posted a new casting call for more families to take part in the US version. As seen on the site, filming will again take place in the UK (safe to presume Bristol's Bottleyard Studios) and participants must have a valid passport by July 3rd 2020.

US readers can click the splat to apply

Another hint as to what's to come came in the form of a tweet from @mockrockuk

Ed Tudor Pole Appearing at Whitby Steampunk Weekend This Weekend (8th - 9th Feb)

Mazemaster #2 Ed Tudor Pole will be appearing at Whitby Steampunk Weekend this weekend. On  Saturday, Ten Pole Tudor will be performing along with Alice's Night Circus and Biscuithead & the Biscuit Badgers (best band name ever) at the Whitby Pavilion.

And then on Sunday the 9th, ETP will be talking about his life and career as well as answering questions in a Q&A.Now I wouldn't expect too much talk on TCM but for me, it was the show that got me into his music. Plus with 'Swords of a Thousand Men' gaining some popularity as the soundtrack to Haven's current ad campaign, there'll be some new listeners discovering Tenpole Tudor's work. By the way, if you've never seen Aardman's "The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists!" I strongly suggest you change that.

As mentioned on the poster, outside of music he's appeared in Kull the Conqueror with Kevin Sorbo of Hercules fame and Tia Carrera from Wayne's World, Game of Thrones, played Riff Raff on stage in The Rocky Horror Show and was in scenes cut from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.