Smiling like a Cheshire cat today, but won't be allowed to say why until probably the end of the year!

I submitted our team entry "Superfans" earlier this month, and amazingly have already received a phone call from the Production team and are through the first stage. Fingers crossed. I won't say anymore, I will stay tight lipped. But it's another step closer to the ultimate dream we have all held since the 90s! A tiny fraction closer to entering The Crystal Maze for real. I was so excited to speak on the phone to one of the Producers. But I won't get too excited just yet. 

Ed Tudor-Pole: [to the computer in the Futuristic Zone] Barbara, will you go out with me?

Barbara: Not until you get a haircut.

Richard O'Brien: That's the idea!

Ed Tudor-Pole: Let the four winds blow!

Richard O'Brien: Tooo the Crystal Dome!

Richard O'Brien: Will you start the fans, please!

Computer Wallpapers

By Neil Robinson

Crystal Maze Live

By Jonathan Harris

In 2016, I backed a crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo to support a team called Little Lion Entertainment rebuild a popular 90’s TV Game Show as a live Interactive attraction in the heart of London, so that you could relive the experience that the show’s contestant’s would’ve experienced, but in real-time.

I went to the Maze to enjoy my opening night perk and was greeted by 7 other team mates, who were all Crystal Maze fans in themselves, and we were the first ever team to enter via the Industrial Zone, which corresponded to our coloured bomber jackets. Three other teams were also to enter the maze at the same time as us, all via their own allocated zone – Future being Blue, Medieval being Green and the Aztec Zone assigned Orange.

Taken to our entry point into the Maze, we watched a 90’s flashback video which highlighted popular things at the time – Tamagotchi, Supersoakers, before eventually focusing on “The Crystal Maze” and showing some highlights from the TV show, including Richard ‘O Briens introduction to an episode…

“Put out the fire and throw another log on the cat!”

“Get the slack out of the pants. Ooh! That’s not a nice thing to say!”

We then get to the scene recorded for the introduction of series 5, where Richard was writing a letter to Ed Tudor Pole…. however, instead of handing to Ed, the video goes and cuts out – and then our maze master bursts into the room in full character, channeling their 90’s vibes and the ecsentric vibes of Richard ‘O Brien – So, on my first run, I’m greeted by Tilly, who reminds me of some kind of Absoloutely Fabulous character!

So, Tilly’s role at this point is to ensure a fair balance of loss and win, and entertainment – but winning the games is very much down to us, the players! Tilly makes sure we know how to play the Crystal Maze, what our objectives are (being the Time Crystals which grant time in the end goal seen above, The Crystal Dome) and the game categories.

Tilly is also here to act as a bit of an Icebreaker, as are all the Maze Masters, and before long, we’re all laughing – I think it helped in that we were all fans of the Maze and were keen as mustard to get into the maze. One last thing before we enter the Maze and start playing games – we have to nominate a team captain, and a Vice Captain – Pedro, seen to the right of me in the photo above, was Captained, and myself brought as Vice Captain. So, with that done, and a loud cheer, we’re off into the Maze! I don’t wish to spoil the games, so i won’t be saying what we played, but what I can tell you is that the new “Lock in” handling method is well done. 

Obviously, health and safety wouldn't let folks be trapped in cells and unable to escape – (There’s this thing called “Fire” apparently) – So, what would happen is that when we move to the next zone, the prisoner would be taken off to complete a “Prison Puzzle” – They then had until the time we left the zone to complete the puzzle and leave the prison without costing the team a Crystal – However, if they failed to complete the puzzle, the team would AUTOMATICALLY forfeit a Crystal. This also handles the issue of members from other teams being left in the zone whilst other teams were about.

So, with each zone complete, the music kicks in, and we’re off the the next time zone to play more games throughout! Transitions are still made possible in the Maze, and leaving Industrial to enter Future Zone, Tilly opened a massive steam pipe cover, revealing a small crawl space – so down on our knees, we start crawling along and find we have to each choose a channel to “drop into” – once everyone is in place, we’re told to drop into the Cryogenic Pods and wait for our Maze Master to open the pod door – we’re then around the corner to climb down a ladder one at a time, and enter the main deck of Future Zone! Future to Medieval is presently is just walking through a doorway, so I can only imagine something is in the works.

Medieval to Aztec, however, we have to climb up a wall, through another small crawl space and down the steps the other side of an Aztec temple, into the Aztec zone, which is also rather hot and the floor is covered in sand! So, we’ve done 4 zones – we’ve got 12 Crystals, and 60 seconds in the Dome itself! So, we’re off to the final objective!

“TOOO THE CRYSTALLL DOOOMMMEEE!!!!!”

We then run up some hidden stairs leaving the Aztec Zone sand trailing up the said stairs, and just before we get to the exit doors, our maze master tells us to yell and cheer like we wanna scare the other teams – we burst out of the doors, to meet the Blue Team, who had obviously ended their run in the Industrial Zone. We wait on the other 2 teams to make their way back through the maze, and arrive at the dome.

It’s time for the face off. First, the maze masters commence their Crystal Counts, mainly to see which team got the most crystals (just a bit of fun) – Once that’s done, we’re briefed on the crystal dome gameplay. There are no silver tokens, and we are not to

1) Take tokens from the floor
2) Take tokens from below the knee

We’ve to start collecting on the maze masters signal OR a Green Light is shown. Blue team commence their run for tokens first, and the magic call is made. “WILL YOU START THE FANS PLEASE!” True enough, the magic of the Crystal Dome, just like in the TV show came alive – the fans whirred into action and the golden tickets started flying into the air – The dome itself had turned it’s lighting to a golden amber…… just wait… just wait and ….. GO! The dome lit up Green for just a second and the time the team had accrued from the maze itself started running down to 0, whilst white lights pulsed and flashed, the legendary “Forcefield” played over the loudspeakers in the Bar Area, and we cheered them on from outside the dome. The tokens were all gathering in the receptacle and quite surprisingly, at a good rate! So, of course, the team are busy shoving tokens into the box as the last seconds drip out, the music stops and the dome is bathed in Red Light. Their time was up. The red light faded back to the calm, dormant white of the dome and the fans had powered down. The doors opened and we applauded the team to come out.

Once the tokens had been taken over to a weighing device which allowed them to make a very quick and accurate count, the box was replaced into the holdster and our turn in the dome was next. I couldn’t beleive this. I was about to actually enter the crystal dome! I walked up the steps, through the doorway and held onto the rail – and once we were all in, the door was shut. I’m looking at my team mates with the excitedness of a 10 year old… It was time…..

“WILL YOU START THE FANS PLEASE!”

So, being on the inside this time, the fans kicked in and the amber lighting took effect – we just waited for the green light to show and get going…. the fans kick in with a lot of noise, and whilst you’re aware of the air stream, it’s not enough to make you want to keep your mouth closed. We had 60 seconds in the dome, Forcefield is playing, I’m catching tokens, and trying to reach desperately for the deposit box – part of the trick to the dome is letting the tokens find you, rather than trying to the catch the tokens. Another couple, one flies into my face – I’ll have that! We can see our Maze Master pleading with us outside the dome, more tokens! more tokens! In the end, our time comes to a halt and the dome bathes us in Red Light as the fans come to a halt.

It was done. I had completed a childhood dream. I had run the Crystal Maze. I’d had the same experience as one of the contestants on the TV Show – whilst I had missed out on the Cyberdrome Crystal Maze, I think what I’ve experienced is far more worth the wait than to be guided around by a computer and play some poorly maintained arcade games and computer games. We had been running from Cell to Cell, picking up physical, tangible Crystals, and a completely 90’s eccentric bonkers Maze Master character. The Maze Masters are as much fans of the show as we, the players were. This was worth every penny of the £100 perk I had pledged for, and I would be one of the first few to experience The Crystal Maze – LIVE, in the time it would be running.

So, whilst those thoughts ran through my head, we cheered on the remaining two teams who went through the same sequence and completed their runs. Sadly, we had rolled home in 3rd position so we had not won this particular face off, but with a score around 200 points, who the hell cared? We had all been there for some fun – The Maze Masters completed their final bits of acting and thanked us for playing… THE CRYSTAL MAZE!

Since it was opening night, I milled around for a little bit with Pedro and fellow team mates, and we were greeted by a champagne reception and a Free Bar! I had to settle for Coca Cola as I’m not able to consume alcohol, but we all cheered on the following 8 teams, and I had the opportunity to chat with Little Lion Entertainment – Sadly, my hopes of Richard O’Brien, Ed Tudor Pole or the lady who played Mumsie / Aunty Sabrina were not to come to fruition, but that didn’t even occur to me at the time. We were all still on hype mode from our runs, and the high carried on through the night as the drinks flowed and the fans shared their passion about the Maze.

As of Feb 2018, there are Live Experience Crystal Maze Venue's in both London and Manchester. Visit https://the-crystal-maze.com/ and run round the maze, and live the dream yourself. 

Here are a selection of funny outtakes and interesting behind the scenes clips of the 90's Crystal Maze.

                              

Behind the Scenes - 90's Crystal Maze Set

Original Series Crystal Maze Games Designer and Fan

"I Designed Games for the Original Crystal Maze"

One of our Blog Contributor's is Phil Newton-England. Our very own Phil designed a variety of games for the Original Series starring both Edward Tudor-Pole and Richard O'Brien. He is also a big super fan like the rest of us on this blog. He was voted as Challenge TV's No 1 Crystal Maze Fan. (I'd argue that with him, but he designed the games so he has one up on me!). Phil in the 90's had a dream job, that was to generate ideas and draw plans up for games to be built for the cells. The games themselves were built by Artem.

A highly imaginative and rewarding job, Phil put forward his plans and four of them were accepted and built. He designed the Hazard Symbols game in Futuristic (Above). This is the game in which a Meteor Storm happened to strike the Futuristic Zone, which featured pretty cool Special Effects of sparks flying around the abandoned Space Station. The game involved placing no two like symbols in adjacent spaces in a metal frame. 

Phil said: "I was 19 years old & remember getting home after work and switching on the TV. I saw this strangely dressed, bald-headed guy showing these people around a medieval castle...and locking the odd one or two inside. I thought ‘What is this weird show?' It was like NOTHING I’d ever seen before. Checking the TV guides it was called The Crystal Maze - from that moment I was hooked. ‘When’s it on next?’ I asked. Next Thursday 8pm my VCR was set to record this wacky, way out show (& yes...I still have the original airings recorded on VHS tapes in my wardrobe.

Phil-Newton England, Original Games Designer

Well, after watching & loving the show for 4 years my mind decided in a dream to place me, as a contestant, in the maze itself. I played one game unsuccessfully. The following morning I sketched the game I played on a piece of A4 & for some strange reason decided to mail it to the producers at Chatsworth TV. (I didn’t have emails & interweb back then).

They wrote back saying it was a great game but a bit too similar to one that had already appeared on the show. (Which to be fair, it was). They also said if I had any more game ideas they would like to see them. I got pen to paper & came up with eight new game designs.

Inspiration For The Games Inside The Crystal Maze

I drew inspiration from things I saw around work and out on the streets - people trying move certain objects from one room to another, parts of machinery that looked like they could be some part of a puzzle. I eventually sent my 8 designs to them & after various ‘phone conversations it was decided they would use 4 of the games I’d created for Series 6.

Build the Clock Face - Ocean Zone

These were the ‘no matching hexagons’ (Future), Ship & Cubes, Build the Clock Face & match the Octopus Tentacles (All in Ocean Zone, my favourite zone) the latter game appearing only in the kids special.

I was paid a one-off fee of £500 as I was told they alternated each year between payment or on-screen credit. They later asked me for some more ideas for series 7, which I started working on-but, unfortunately, the show was then de-commissioned.

I still have some of the unused game designs from back then & have since created another 60+ all locked away in a water-tight container & buried in the Aztec sands for Future archaeologists to find.

Built a Boat - Ocean Zone

Phil added: "As a little thank you, I was given one of the ROB era original jumpsuits (red) & 2 game crystals which now form part of my private collection, alongside my Crystal Maze fruit machine, all the puzzle books, board, LCD & PC game, jigsaws, original medic jacket (from series 6). I also decorated my old bedroom as the maze & Dome."

Tentacles, as used only in the 1994 Christmas Special

Top games from the first series of the revival

1. Spinning Planets in Futuristic

My former School friend Robert Griffin gets into a tizz stuck spinning on a planet, absolutely hilarious. This got a lot of YouTube views and featured on Gogglebox. Classic Crystal Maze moment this is. 

2. The Crystal Twist in the Medieval Zone

 One of my favourite concepts of The Crystal Maze, past and present is use of the "automatic lock in" - escape with the Crystal or get locked in scenarios. This is used a few times in the new series, to great effect. 

3. ALIS Dodge the Knight - Medieval Zone

Fantastic nostalgia with this game, elements of "Knightmare" blended into The Crystal Maze with a roving Knight you need to avoid and outsmart around a fortress. 

4. The unforgiving Wet Log - Aztec Zone

A true classic game returns here, twenty years later and contestants are still meeting their match into the drink!

5. ALIS - Riddle game - Medieval Zone

Fantastically simple, yet genius concept. Another of these brilliant "get the Crystal straight away, but solve the problem in order to escape" scenario. A contestant enters a cell to grab the Crystal, but there's a catch - they get locked in a prison cell by a hooded assailant. They have to correctly answer a few riddles in order to escape!  I also like the "Access Codes" game in Industrial, as well as the "build a circuit" game, and many more. They are all fantastic, fresh and fun. The hardest game of this series has been the game in Industrial where they have to stop several moving platforms and get them all aligned to create a pathway for the Crystal.  

The Christmas Special was fantastic, they turned the entire maze into a Winter Wonderland and they even turned Aztec into a Tundra Zone. This was the last time that the maze set was used for Series 1.

What 'The Crystal Maze' is to me

What The Crystal Maze means to me... by Liam Tate

In 1990, a couple living in their first house in Darlington found solace in an unusual little Channel 4 show. Relieved they finally found something to keep their 1 year old quiet, they could put this annoying little pile of atoms and noise in front of a portable Mitsubishi TV and he'd be quiet for an hour a week. This kept on for about a third of a year, every year until 1995. Then that unusual little Channel 4 show finished and he had to make do lesser offerings, but for the next 22 years he wouldn't shut up about that show. As that annoying, and now much bigger, pile of atoms and noise, there's still no other TV show that's grabbed me by the back of the head and pressed my face to the screen anytime it's on quite like CM manages.

Some people can quote every line from 54 years of Doctor Who, others question continuity in the maintenance of the engines of the starship Enterprise. I've repeatedly watched the same episodes from 6 series of a 90s gameshow for the vast majority of my time and to quote Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons when faced with imminent death: "Life Well Spent". Everyone has early Argos catalogue memories, something they always saw in those back pages of toys that they either never got or it seemed like they waited for years to get. Mine is the Crystal Maze board game. Still got it safe in the spare room somewhere. I remember seeing a review of the early PC game on ITV's 'Movies, Games, and Videos' on a Saturday morning/lunchtime. Didn't look great but still wanted it just because it was CM. Every single time it's mentioned on another show, referenced in some way, shape or form, there I am paying attention. The main reason I'm a Josh Widdecombe fan, every show he's been involved in, he's shoehorned in a reference to it somehow.

Even this morning, I was listening to Radio X and up comes a joke about Chris Moyles' producer settling down for a night with her boyfriend (Toby Tarrant, the son of Chris) a mucky book and the Crystal Maze theme, which she described as "Oooooh it's a tune". What with the long overdue revival, references have picked back up compared to most of the last 23 years. Although for me it was never really off the air, it was just very very repeated. At the start I made do with repeats being shown on The Bigger Breakfast, Channel 4's programming block during school holidays after The Big Breakfast which was just more Big Breakfast sandwiching other shows such as 'Eerie Indiana', 'The Monkees' and the 60's Batman series. I also had plenty recorded on VHS thanks to my gran cottoning on that having some taped would keep me quiet.

There's just something so fun and imaginative about TCM that grabs me and makes it impossible for me to not be borderline obsessed with it. Since my first mobile phone, the theme has been my ringtone. We've all got something unusual that we know far too many details about and CM is easily mine.