At long last, we've seen officially released material regarding Nickelodeon's incarnation of The Crystal Maze (and not just us borrowing from industry sites). Thankfully I can say that what we've seen so far looks like a rare case of an American remake done right.
It's also nice to see them digging out previous series games since it's been made for a new audience, which means the return of the swinging planets and a chance for somebody to out-Rob Rob. As can also be seen in the trailer is the return of the airgun maze and, from experience, I know it's not suited to anyone above a certain height so it's good it's been given to a kid to play. They also seem to have carried across the Megacrystal, not surprising as its an extra opportunity for parents to doubly disappoint their kids. Adam seems to have the quirky Willy Wonka-esque charm required for the job as well as the dress sense and most importantly of all, they haven't changed much, aside from the $25,000 prize. Whilst we may be OK in the UK with prizes that can be described as absolutely ordinary, Americans may not be as appreciative of an hour-long show culminating in maybe winning a weekend trip exploring caves.
I'll be honest, I've been dreading this as America hasn't got a great track record of remaking UK shows. Red Dwarf, Fawlty Towers, IT Crowd, all pale in comparison to their source material. However this trailer has me smiling, more so than today's Ghostbusters Afterlife trailer, and considering I'm full of flu that in itself is quite an achievement.
And the music by @djryanlofty, can we have that on the next UK version please?
'The Crystal Maze' starts on Nickelodeon on the 24th January 2020 at 7PM (ET/PT)
We called this back in April, even down to them using the UK set, who wants lottery numbers for 8 months time?
Are we going to be able to watch this in the UK for instance on Nick UK at any point?
ReplyDeletePS - I don't suppose any more thought has been even to an app upgrade for the Eastern expansion pack for the board game?
well if CBS & Viacom have merged their cbs all access pass by the time this comes out there will be a 1080p downloadable source (means of getting i won't reveal yet) but there will be a means of getting it. Currently the only way to watch nick content is through a phone app but is region locked even with vpn's. I do have a directv account and i know some nick content is available there.
DeleteAs of UK releases i don't know if it being nick produced they may give it to C4 for any of their channels. It could just be for the US for now. Challenge TV could go after it if really successful like they do with ninja warrior.
DeleteAnother thing which has come to mind is that if the logo has been changed, surely the map transitioning must also be redesigned. I so hope the clock is visible on the dome as that what really annoys me with ours.
DeleteNo they arent making an eastern expansion for the board game app sadly.
ReplyDeleteShame, Ok thanks - but at least hopeful on the US front.
ReplyDelete