Series by Series - My Favourite Games, Revival Edition

 I fully intended on doing this a few weeks ago while my 90s favourites were still fresh in my mind, but then life got in the way. However, I was watching one of my preferred Twitch streams (If someone's watching game shows on Twitch I'm either lurking or annoying the streamer and chat room inhabitants with a pile of pointless info) and it just got me back to wanting to get this done. 

This list is going to be distinctly shorter as I'm only choosing one game from each round of filming. All4 might have the revived series down as 8 series, but those have been put together as 8 runs from 3 rounds of filming. One round a year in 2017, '18 and '19. This is why most games were seen in multiple series.

So, my 3 favourite games from the revived incarnation of The Crystal Maze. Here we go.

2017

Josh Widdicombe Has A Book on His Love of 90's TV Coming Soon... I Wouldn't Bet Against A Crystal Maze Mention

 For the unaware, Josh Widdecombe is a stand up comedian, TV personality, podcaster and now writer. He put out a tweet today announcing a book he's written: 'Watching Neighbours Twice A Day: How '90s TV (Almost) Prepared Me For Life'

**HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT**

I have written a book that I am HUGELY proud of and it is now available for pre-order! If you would like to do that click here: https://t.co/aG06NJueIN (some signed copies available!) pic.twitter.com/1lTIxRHlpI

— Josh Widdicombe (@joshwiddicombe) May 7, 2021 

Now, Mr Widdicombe likes The Crystal Maze. He may not mention it in that little clip, nor has he told me personally, but the clues have been around for a while that he's a bit of a fan.

He's slipped a mention in for shows he's taken part in...

...written...

Series by Series - My Favourite Games, '90s Edition

 "My favourite game?" It's a question that could have several different responses. Resident Evil. Kerplunk. That song by The Cardigans where the video had her driving. But there was always games that would pop up on The Crystal Maze where young me, and old me, would pay a little more attention. Games that I would enjoy watching being played a little more than others. Maybe I found them more creative or just more fun. So, here's some games I just felt outranked the rest of each series offerings.

Series One (1990) - Timebomb

The first series, none of the games were all that complex. It was a new production so everything felt a little bit simplistic. Whether it was simply dropping a ball bearing in a hole with utmost precision, or having to identify objects by touch alone, the games weren't yet the most imaginative. So my choice for series one is the game that went a bit further in setting a scene. Timebomb saw the contestant have to connect coloured wires to pictures of objects to create a link. For example, a yellow wire to a picture of some pages. Yellow Pages. But rather than just have a timer counting down the time allotted for the game as with all games, there was also a nuclear bomb in the room counting down too. Fail to complete the game and... the lights got turned up. Last 30 seconds the bomb started smoking, the tension built, there was a bit of imagination here, a milligram of plot, and I still like seeing it even though I know no-one ever beat the game. 

Escaping The Last Pyramid with The Sands Of Time!!

For the purposes of this review, we should say that Charlie Wheeler, the games creator and owner of Ultimate Quest, provided me with the game session free of charge.

On Sunday April 4th, when most people are enjoying their easter eggs, myself and two friends left earth behind to enter a strange and mysterious world known as The Last Pyramid.

Arriving into the Zoom Meeting, we are met with the games title card and the 3 minute sandtimer ticks down warming us up into the game and our host, Seraphinia, welcomes us to the Pyramid and it's rules and objectives.

Applying for the 1994 Crystal Maze Christmas Special

 Regular contributor Phil Newton-England emailed me over this yesterday, photos of an application form for the 1994 Crystal Maze Christmas Special, the last kids Christmas special that would be produced.

Gordon Ramsay's Bank Balance: An Opinion

There's a new game show promising big money prizes and Gordon Ramsay swearing at contestants, people haven't been wholly complimentary about it, but I kinda like it.

Point one: it's been done. Sort of.

Different style, same principle, balance everything on the wobbly prop

Now I'm definitely in a minority, when I say I like it, judging by the torrent of unpleasantness I've seen on social media about the format being maybe too complicated, or that Ramsay has clearly just stolen a TARDIS to set up shop in, but I think the game itself is a fun watch.

Admittedly the rules are maybe a little complex to start but I found it pretty easy to follow after a watch:

The Time A Saudi TV Channel Borrowed From My Crystal Maze Intro Editing

 Since the revived series started, I've taken the episodes, done a bit of chopping, stuck the original theme underneath and created a montage style opening more akin to the 90s series. They were on YouTube for posterity but YouTube said no and I no longer have a YouTube. Annoying? Yes but nothing to get angry at. It's not lost me anything.

After the first run, I put together the following:

Crystal Maze - and a possible way to explore... in D&D?

Whilst the UK is feeling the struggles of being locked in at home, people like myself who need to escape somehow to help manage their mental health, have taken to playing Dungeons and Dragon's as a means of escaping to fantastical worlds and leaving modern comforts behind in the form of role-playing gaming.

With the crews of Critical Role, High Rollers, Acquisitions Inc. & Force Grey all enjoying playing their games whilst broadcasting them to Twitch & YouTube platforms, interest in the game has grown massively, especially with the growth of the digital toolset "D&D Beyond" providing a quick, easy way to manage your character, uptake has never been higher!

Traversing the Crystal Maze is much alike to D&D, as you and your band are lead by the Dungeon Master across strange lands, handling the people of the land and helping them out, and solving devious and dangerous puzzles.

Of course, Dungeons and Dragon's has a connection to the Crystal Maze in the form of
Reckless Rick, yes, Mr O Brien!

 

1994 Crystal Maze "I Cracked The Crystal Maze" Crystal For Sale

 Much like we did for Alan Holloway from series 1, we've seen a commemorative crystal for sale and want to make sure that Crystal Maze fans are as informed as we can make them about possibly owning one of those little items that we'd all clamber over one another for (in the 'before times' obviously, clamberings a bit trickier keeping a 2meter gap)

In the course of my regular checking on eBay for any TCM merch that I haven't got, I found this.

I've been in contact with the seller, on the item page they say they're selling due to Covid, and I think we can all attest to what a kick that's been. So we just want to help someone selling their bit of TV history while at the same time helping a fan of the show (you) have the opportunity at owning one of these highly desirable baubles, which would be surely the centrepiece of any TCM collection. I'd be going in for it myself but I too have been taking a kicking so at least I can do some good here.

I don't want to give away their identity, but it's from an episode in the second half of series 5. Let's see what we can do and get this in the hands of a fan just in time for the show's 31st Birthday.

Click here to go to the sale.

The Crystal Maze Comes to BritBox

 It's been available on NOW TV for a while but, just in time for its 31st birthday, The Crystal Maze is coming to worldwide subscription service users via BritBox.

Available in the UK, Canada, the U.S. and Australia, BritBox provides subscribers with a wide range of boxsets of British shows and currently boasts 1.5 million subscribers in North America alone. They also create original content, a notable example being the recent revival of Spitting Image.

💥 Arriving in March 💥

Which shows are you most excited to stream? #BritBox pic.twitter.com/2XCMj61anG

— BritBox_UK (@BritBox_UK) February 10, 2021

^^ Look, top billing!^^

March sees a selection of 90's favourites being added, including 'Jungle Run', select episodes of 'Knightmare', and the first 3 series of 'The Crystal Maze'. So that's 1.5 million more I need to pester to watch TCM. It's going to be a busy March.

The Richard O'Brien Industrial years will be added to BritBox on March 4th 

BritBox is available for £6 a month or £60 for a year

The Crystal Maze Turns 31: A Look at the US Version Against The UK Original

 From the desktop of Phillip Newton-England:

The year 2020 was, as someone once said, an Annus Horribilis for....well, all of us really. One of the only decent things to come out of last year was the avalanche of ‘new’ Crystal Maze episodes. Not only did we get the remaining celebrity episodes of what was technically series 3, but we also got to see the ‘missing’ civilian episodes from the very first series over on E4.

 But the extra icing on the cake for me was the airing of The Crystal Maze U.S. on NickelodeonUK. Now I know not everyone has seen it yet so I won’t give too much away, but here at the blog we’re going to give you a moderately detailed description of the differences and similarities to our own U.K. version.

The Crystal Maze Fan Blog Discord Is Now Open

 Here's something I probably could have done weeks ago, put together a Discord server. For those unfamiliar, Discord is a messaging app mostly created with gamers in mind but allows users to join topic-focused communities. Say, for example, people who have a keen interest in game shows. It's simply something else to do in these very, very dull times.

Join at this link and say Hi! 

https://discord.gg/z7YvQdwgsq

James Corden and Carey Mulligan Talk Crystal Maze on The Late Late Show

One thing I've just never quite understood: the scheduling of late-night US talk shows. Having them nightly, I get that because there's a lot of people out there with a lot of material to promote. It's the time that these shows go out at that goes right over my head. An ideal example of this is The Late Late Show on CBS. It's listed as going out at 12:37am. Now is it just me, or does anyone else use that kind of time for sleeping. Do Americans not go to bed until nearing 2am? Also, 12:37 is more than a little specific isn't it?

 James Corden, known on this side of the Atlantic for 'Gavin and Stacey', 'Doctor Who' and that single he did with Dizzee Rascal, was chatting with Carey Mulligan on The Late Late Show last night/this morning/whenever it goes out. You may be familiar with the show from its Carpool Karaoke segment, a segment that probably broadcasts at 1am. The topic of surprise parties came up and Carey brought up surprising her husband with a trip to The Crystal Maze Live Experience with 35 of his mates and taking over the venue for a session.

Coming Soon from Neale Simpson, the Producer of The Crystal Maze, 'Lightning'

 I will never be able to thank Neale Simpson enough for letting the other blog members and myself on set to test games. Not just once but twice. Those two days are days I will never forget and he let me live out a childhood dream that, for a very long time, I never saw happening because the show wasn't on. I'd give limbs for another day on that set, two if it was for a TV recording*, but a certain pandemic seems to be putting a gigantic spanner in those works. 

By the way, Neale's book The Crystal Maze Challenge is still available online, £4 on Google Play. Go on, he's one of the nicest TV producers I've ever had a pot of tea with. It's a short list of those that have, but I don't particularly care. Chris Lore and Neale didn't have to come down and have a chat with us lot, yet they did.

However, the situation is what it is and it's a situation that certainly won't be fixed by sulking about it. As such Neale, in his role as Creative Director at Fizz, has got a new show starting next week on BBC Two and it looks rather fun.

The Crystal Maze - FAQ (More will be added over time)

 In the course of my Twitter browsing, I often happen upon the same things coming up. "What was that show kinda like Crystal Maze but with tigers?", "So Crystal Maze is just Jungle Run for adults?" and "What's Crystal Maze?". That last one really gets to me, its been 31 years.

Anyhow, and it may get added to over time, here is just some answers to questions that may or may not have been asked frequently:

1. The Crystal Maze - Fort Boyard Link

• In the late '80s, Channel 4 wanted their own version of a forthcoming French format "The Keys to Fort Boyard"

Ayoade, Vaccination, Catchphrase and Jurassic Park - How Was Your Weekend?

Things aren't looking great at the moment. To paraphrase the joke EVERY U.S. talk show made on Friday: The last week has been a hell of a year. But what really topped off the weekend came via Stephen Mulhern's Catchphrase on ITV. Mr Ayoade was a contestant, but I wasn't watching at the time, I was fully engrossed in Jurassic World Evolution. PlayStation have a sale on and I packed out my hard drive again.

Anyhow, a couple of tweets caught my eye and knocked my confidence in seeing any future series of Crystal Maze.

Lockdown 3: Lockdown with a Vengeance. Let the Binge Watching Continue

Happy 2021. Well it was inevitable, wasn't it? Once again Britain is locked in.

I won't say anything you haven't read or thought yourself, we know it's a pain in the arse, but what I can do is suggest something to fill in the hours you may be about to spend stuck inside again. 

Here's some playlists, if something takes your fantasy there'll be plenty more on YouTube to find.

If you've got any suggestions to add, stick them in the comments below and I'll add a playlist and this page will always be there keeping options available. And I'll get to the obvious one I've missed in due course. I found some more recent uploads of the episodes with much better picture quality than we've been used to on what's been uploaded to the youtubes in the past.

I Have Had My Tiny Little Mind Blown - There Was A Sequel Series to Crystal Maze: Magic Carnival

It's escaped my notice for 25 years, but there was a follow up to The Crystal Maze.

Last night I was watching Channel 4's "Back to the '90s", part of a series celebrating 4 decades of Channel 4. I was doing my usual thing on Twitter, liking and retweeting everything remotely relevant to this humble little blog. Every mention of quality Channel 4 programming (of which GamesMaster was noticeable by its absence). One tweet certainly grabbed my attention:

I Art Directed the last original series of The Crystal Maze, such a buzz to work on #backtothe90s

— Richard Drew (@dickydrew) December 28, 2020

The whole thread is there to find on Twitter, and after some messages, something came up that I've never heard of in 30ish years of being far too obsessed with a quirky Channel 4 gameshow:

I was very fortunate in my AD career to work with some fantastic Production Designers, but James and Dennis ( de Groot) probably had the biggest influence on me. James n I did the follow up show Magic Carnival together, was meant to succeed CM but it only got to pilot stage.

— Richard Drew (@dickydrew) December 29, 2020

Who Are The Final Set of Contestants For This Series (New Years Eve, 8pm)

 Almost as suddenly as it started, this series is almost over. However, we've still got one last episode to enjoy. So for the last time this series, who are they? Where've you seen them before? Which one's been on Strictly or I'm a Celeb? Keep reading after the photo.

Who Are the Next Set (December 24th) of Crystal Maze Contestants

 No sooner has one show finished and the next is nearly upon us. This Thursday, or as it was also known until fairly recently "Christmas Eve" (Hello Boris), at 10:55pm we get episode 5 of the current run. Yes, it's a little late but if you've got kids then they may well be up anyway in anticipation of whatever you've got them to play Fortnite on with a few more pixels to use. Or if you don't want them watching TV that late the whole run is on All4 already.

But who's taking part for the night, and where do you maybe perhaps possibly know them from?

Who Are Next Week's (Monday 21st December) Crystal Maze Contestants?

 Next week is bringing Christmas (sort of) and however we're each spending it, at least we still have some Crystal Maze to enjoy. Don't forget to go looking for the old Christmas specials online, they're all there if you look hard enough, and you don't have to look that hard. But who's taking part? Where do you know them from? And Why? When? How? If?.... Enough rubbish, here's who's who.

A Crystal Maze Christmas Special (for Future Consideration)

 'Tis the season to forget what an utter pile of [insert your own choice of something unpleasant here] this year has been. I'm finding myself laid up for a few days after a doctor stuck a needle in the underside of my foot and as such have spent today ploughing through various specials of various shows. 

My Christmas seasonal viewing tends to include the same shows year after year, I'm a creature of habit. I'll enjoy Richard Richard taking a finger off while preparing Christmas dinner in 'Bottom', I'll watch Blackadder's Christmas Carol and see the most harrowing use of a codpiece as Baldrick presents himself to the future Queen. I'll even revisit episodes of Never Mind the Buzzcocks I've got stashed for a Rick Wakeman/Bill Bailey supergroup the world needs more of.

But there's one set of shows that it should come as no surprise to anyone to know that'll I'll be watching without fail, the TCM Kids Christmas Specials. Yeah, I'll still be watching the more recent offerings that's have made the effort to offer up a more festive mise-en-scene but I do have a slight problem with them. As the show is currently, every show is a celebrity special, so they aren't all that special. I do really enjoy all the extra changes they make but, to me, they are missing one big shift that'd make them a proper Christmas Special.

Who Are Next Week's (December 17th) Crystal Maze Contestants?

Another week down and another episode aired, enjoy it? Good. Well there's another one next week and if you aren't sure who's on, or if you do know but have no idea who they actually are, keep reading.

Who Are Next Week's (December 10th) Crystal Maze Contestants?

 Hope we all enjoyed the return of the celebs. Nice high score too. However just as one episode becomes merely what was on yesterday, let's look forward to next week and have a look at who's who.

For Sale: One Original Crystal Maze "I Cracked The Crystal Maze" Crystal from Series One (1990)

 Thanks to the modern wonder that is social media, one of the contestants for the very first series filmed back in 1989 and broadcast in 1990 has been in touch regarding selling his prize crystal from the show. 

Now, I'll be the first to admit I'd love one for my collection. I'd give vital organs and limbs for one. But right now I've other priorities so I'd love to help another proper Crystal Maze fan (you, the reader) get in contact with the seller and work out a sale yourself.

Who Are Next Week's (December 3rd) Crystal Maze Contestants?

I hope we've all been enjoying the extra few episodes we've been treated to on E4 over the last couple of weeks. They've certainly generated reactions online widely ranging between annoyance and sheer rage.. However it's now that time again where there's going to be celebrity Crystal Maze on the telly, someone inevitably reads that it's a celebrity special, sees a name and asks "Who's that?". Well, allow me to try and fill in some blanks.

A Reminder of New Civilian Crystal Maze, and News of New Celeb Specials

 Just a reminder that this Sunday sees some new episodes of The Crystal Maze starting to air on E4 at 4:55pm followed immediately by the family-friendly PG edit of all new Taskmaster.

Ever heard Roman numerals decoded in a Bristol accent?

No?

You haven't lived people!

Let's right that wrong on Sunday

4:55pm on @E4Tweets #CrystalMaze pic.twitter.com/ouA5w11UnO

— The Crystal Maze (@TheCrystalMaze) November 11, 2020

However that's just 3 new episodes, whatever will we do with ourselves when the third is shown in just over a fortnight?

Gameshows and Streaming: Twitch Communities Making Viewing a Social Night In

 We're in a weird time, aren't we? We can't really have the level of socialization that we used to have (I've never been social but I know people like interacting) and yet thanks to modern technology we can still communicate in ways that the human race could never have imagined even 50 years ago. If you've ever used Twitch, you'll know that whatever people can do for a live-stream, they'll do happily and build up an audience. It's certainly been a way for people to fill their time under present circumstances.

Performers have turned to Twitch to generate some additional income in these times where they can't be booking gigs and getting on stage for audiences. Comedian and podcaster Richard Herring can't do his podcasts or shows from Leicester Square Theatre anymore so he's doing them live-streamed on Twitch. Likewise for Limmy, instead of being able to tell jokes on stage, he's taken to playing truck driving simulators for hundreds of viewers. Even as I'm typing this, Love Island narrator and Taskmaster alumnus Iain Stirling is playing FIFA 21 for 800 viewers.

TV presenters, wrestlers, singers, writers, people from all areas of entertainment have been creating content on Twitch including many who've already built up a following on YouTube.

At Long Last, 3 Forgotten Crystal Maze Episodes Get To Broadcast

 In 2017, 20 episodes were commissioned for a revived series of 'The Crystal Maze' hot on the heels of a successful one-off hosted by Stephen Merchant. Richard Ayoade took the helm for the series and everyone was enjoying themselves. However, as time wore on everyone was commenting that the games were becoming a bit samey, and viewing figures dropped as we'd all seen the Totem Mastermind Dragon game just a little too often. After 17 episodes, Channel 4 seemingly gave up with the run leaving three unaired.

These episodes still aired in other markets the show was sold to so they weren't forgotten completely, but last night @UndeniablyAlex alerted me to an ad airing on Channel 4 after they aired 'The Bridge' showing they were going to be airing these 3 shows on E4. "Coming Soon" says the ad so expect them within the month. 

@maze_blog @BothersBar here is that trailer confirming indeed S1 will finally be completed in the UK pic.twitter.com/qORcKK8PkO

— Danny Lee Kerner (@Danny_L_Kerner) November 1, 2020

About time too, with Lockdown 2 steaming into view on the horizon, I'm going to need something to watch. You'll be able to see The Ali family, The Midwives, and the Sasani Family and Friends at some point soon on E4.

The Midwives

Also, don't forget that The Crystal Maze USA will be back on Nickelodeon UK this week after a two-week hiatus. Friday, at 7pm.

You Bet! - When Talent Shows Were 100% Dancing Dog Free

It's been over a month since the last post. Life has been busy, things have been hectic, and everything's been a bit bleh. But while I've got some free time in the office, I thought I'd look at the other show I liked maybe a little too much.

Everyone's got one unusual, maybe even weird skill that it could safely be assumed isn't all that common. No show took advantage of that quite like You Bet!. 

Based on the German language format "Wetten Dass?", You Bet! invited celebrity guests to bet on the outcome of a very wide range of weird and wonderful challenges taken on by members of the public and some of these challenges were the kind of feats you wouldn't really see anywhere else.

First hosted by Bruce Forsyth in 1988, followed by Matthew Kelly then Darren Day, You Bet! was a talent show that featured the bare minimum of singing, dancing and illusion. Instead, you could see feats such as a dutchman driving a flatbed truck up and over an arch without disturbing the dinner service set up on the back of the truck. Or if that doesn't take your interest, how about a teenager identifying makes and models of car just by looking at the shape of the rear lights. Or a driver cracking eggs using the teeth on the bucket of his digger, whilst blindfolded.

The Crystal Maze Live IN YOUR LIVING ROOM!/BATHROOM!/CUPBOARD UNDER THE STAIRS!

 Well, the world's not getting any less weird. We seem to be going backward in terms of progress and supermarkets are apparently rationing stuff again.

So before you get roped back into another endless routine of Zoom quizzes, how about something different? Those delightful people behind the Crystal Maze (Hi Charlie!) have come up with a fun alternative to the same stuff you've been doing since March - A play at home Crystal Maze team challenge. 

For £15 a head, your team of at least 8 will be guided through 16 all-new puzzles and tasks. Sign up here and you'll be led by an experienced Maze Master where you can still shout at one another through smaller digital windows. Meaning you get to question your friend's choice of putting Argos catalogues on their bookshelves. 

Been working on this for an age and it's finally available! You can now play a Virtual @CrystalMazeHQ from home, 16 new games and the new Crystal Dome round - hosted by your own personal Maze Master! It's £15 a head and you can book here!https://t.co/a8pTuxwo6G

(1/2) pic.twitter.com/hjBbcTwFTK

— Charlie (@Wheeler____) September 25, 2020

There's also a free offering for 4 players to download without a mazemaster that includes 8 games to play along with. Sign up free and download the necessary PDF files HERE

To play, you'll need some form of video conferencing software (eg Zoom), pen and paper to make notes with, and access to Youtube.

Get your team together, tell them you're sick of quizzes, and do something different together: booking a mazemaster and yelling at each other's ineptitude online.

Don't forget, The Crystal Maze is on TV over on Nickelodeon every Friday at 7pm. Adam Conover is mazemastering with all new (to the UK) episodes of the US version of the show.

Stay safe people.

'Under Consoletation' Cover The Crystal Maze in a Patreon-only Podcast

 In the same way that they've been dissecting every episode of 'Gamesmaster' for their podcast 'Under Consoletation', Luke Owen and Ash Versus have picked apart an episode of The Crystal Maze for a special one-off podcast for their Patreons.

Noel's House Party - Saturday Night Marmite

 When I was small and weirder, I was highly entertained by shows that would merge fiction and reality, TCM being the obvious example but there were plenty of others. Shows that would take real people and have them experiencing life in, to some degree, a fantasy world. Knightmare took its contestants and made them have an adventure through a swords-and-sorcery style greenscreen-scape. Scavengers took contestants to a derelict space cruiser and made them work in the recycling sector for the viewing public's "entertainment". Gamesmaster - Oil rig, hell, heaven, island... they were determined to inject a little fiction into the art of having children play Mortal Kombat II. This mixture of fiction in reality would spill into BBC1 Saturday nights with the help of a short beardy bloke off of the radio.

An Unexpected Item of Mail from Richard O'Brien

I came home from work this afternoon and saw an envelope with a New Zealand stamp, an Air Mail sticker, and my address in strangely familiar handwriting. I had suspicions that the letter was from Richard O'Brien, after all, he is the only person I know of who resides there. I said to myself "Nah, surely it can't be". I excitedly logged onto the maze fan group to tell everyone and then opened the envelope carefully. Inside was a lovely autographed white card reading "Stay Safe Neil and never give up".  This was a beautiful message from the Maze legend himself. I was overwhelmed by it really. He even hand wrote my full postal address on the envelope. What a guy!

The Crystal Maze USA Starts Tonight at 7pm on Nickelodeon UK

 Morning, just a quick one. Wanted to stick a reminder out into the ether that the American incarnation of The Crystal Maze is starting tonight (September 4th) on Nickelodeon US. We reviewed the first episode after it aired stateside but for most of us, that is the only episode we've seen so we'll get to enjoy it show by show just like we would any new series. 

The show's hosted by TV personality and comedian Adam Conover, if you've never seen him before go and watch some 'Adam Ruins Everything' clips over on YouTube and prepare to lose several hours of your day. 

Nickelodeon is available in the UK on Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, and on NOW TV's £4 a month kids package

A Puzzle Book Kickstarter We Want You To Support

 If you've read our stuff, you probably know the name Charlie Wheeler. We've interviewed him, we've gushed about his CG rendering (below), and we've plugged his puzzle books which it just so happens are still available on Amazon.

The Crystal Maze USA with Adam Conover Comes to Nickelodeon UK

 As first reported by NickALive!, The US version of The Crystal Maze is making its way to British TV. 

Starting Friday September 4th at 7pm on Nickelodeon, (repeated at 10pm) Adam Conover will be taking teams of American families around the familiar maze with a grand prize of $25,000 at stake in the Crystal Dome.

Nickelodeon is available on Sky, Virgin, Talk Talk, and if you now feel an urge to add Nickelodeon to your viewing habits, NOW TV's kids pack is £4 a month, which gets you Nickelodeon, Nick Jr, Nicktoons, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito and Boomerang.

I vanished down an Adam Conover YouTube rabbit hole just before posting this. If you've never seen Adam Ruins Everything, go watch one, it'll soon turn into several.

QI, you've had Corey Taylor and Teri Hatcher, about time to give Adam a seat.

A Message From Mumsey

Thanks to Charlie Wheeler, there's a video that's just gone up on Twitter with a message from Mumsey (Sandra Caron) 

A special message from a very special someone... ❤️ #CrystalMaze pic.twitter.com/cRYRy9qLl9

— Charlie (@Wheeler____) August 15, 2020

So, as a thank you to Charlie for sorting that out, everyone go buy a puzzle book. Go on, you know you want to.

'It's Only A Game Show' Talks The Crystal Maze This Saturday

 Following on from last week and @jordha talking about TCM on 'Game Shows I Suppose', this Saturday sees the UK perspective. Brit based podcast 'It's Only A Game Show' (no points for knowing which show that references, I've mentioned my Jim Davidson story enough as it is) takes to your podcast feeds at the end of the week to have a fun little chat about our favourite big-budget adventure game show.

'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