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.

Firstly, the U.S. show was filmed on the same set at the studios here in Bristol - using the four zones of Aztec, Eastern, Futuristic & Industrial. The first major change was that of the Mazemaster himself. The UK’s Richard Ayoade stood back to let Adam Conover guide the teams around the challenges that lay within. Adam’s wardrobe consisted of some of the most glittery jackets I’ve ever seen, complimented by crazy shoes and the added touch of wearing nail polish to finish off the look. Adam didn’t have the ‘hand on a stick’ that Richard Ayoade used and was more than happy to take the hands of the contestants and lead them to the next game. It was in the four zones that Adam brought them to life, having a cool cocktail or playing a hand-held game in the Aztec zone, to having his own exercise bike in Eastern. Nothing was too way-out for this Mazemaster - even more than happy to keep his own birthday cake to himself !!

The next main difference was the opening titles & music. A more punchy theme for U.S. audiences, composed by Ryan Lofty & David Butterfield. It told the viewers that this was going to be a fast and exciting ride. The new visuals had the standard clips of that week's team interspersed with a more labyrinth-like crystal design, taking the viewers down into the facets of the crystal itself !!

Now to the games themselves. The U.S. challenges were all games that had been seen in previous U.K. series. However, a few of them were variations on a theme - with some being transferred from one zone into another with slight amendments. For example, a medieval key-hooking game made its way into a blossom garden in the Eastern zone, a one-time ‘disappearing’ medieval bridge and a cell that closed in on its contestant also made their way East. One other slight variation was the contestants' jumpsuits. Although the same ones were used, a small ‘Nickelodeon’ patch was placed onto the player's right-side chest.

 There were 10 episodes in the first series and the teams consisted of family members - 2 adults and 3 children, with the adults playing one game each and the younger family members playing two games each. This created another difference from the U.K. version. With our episodes having ten games to play, the U.S. version had only eight per episode. However, the megacrystal was also brought in to use in this U.S. version.

 One of the plus points was at the final challenge in the Crystal Dome. The U.S. families were playing for cash prizes and not just a ‘pony trekking adventure in Ullswater’. Each team could win up to a possible $25,000. - and I’m not going to spoil it and tell you if any did !!!

 A production difference was that these episodes were given titles. Usually from comments made by the Mazemaster or the contestants themselves, in their respective episodes. Some examples are ‘The foggy abyss of doom’, ‘That’s gonna leave a Mark’ and ‘Swing it like a boss’.  The families that appeared were (in alphabetical order):

Bentley Family

Blair Family

Browne Family

Clark Family

Eastman Family

Fowler/Morton Family

Glenn Family

LeFors Family

Serratos Family

Williams Family.

All in all, the U.S. version kept the format of the maze true to its original concept. A zany, hyperactive Mazemaster taking an excited team around the four zones for adventures and thrills - helping them when needed, but never giving too much away.

 Personally, I love the U.S. version and I think Adam Conover makes the part his own, so let’s just keep our fingers crossed that we get a second series in the near future !!!

Crystal Maze - We wish you a very happy 31st birthday !!!!