Saving props is a logistical challenge

 

It has been incredibly hard work saving as many pieces of the scrapped Crystal Maze TV set as possible these past few months. We've sweated profusely, lifted heavy stuff, got dirty, stood on a nail on the set and made our bank accounts lighter. On top of that, three van shuttles between Swindon and Bristol - with another van for Maze blog member Phil to transfer his Eastern Zone props up to Leeds. Look at him poking his head through the Jarhead prop!

The problem with props, is they look small on screen - but when you take them home, they take up half your living room. Luckily I am fortunate and have two houses, so the props I saved have been distributed between them. (A cellar and a garage). If only we had a large free open space, we could easily reconstruct some iconic games from the maze. All props saved will be used to keep the show's legacy alive and help to push for another revival. We all love The Crystal Maze - rebuild and bring it back.

If any Maze fan in the Wiltshire area has a free garage or small building space for long term free use, let me know.

Clarification on Maze prop sales

We would like to make a clarification. We have all been personally spending a fortune saving as many bits of the Maze to keep for the fan club. This hasn't been cheap (in the thousands), plus three van hires. Again, not cheap.

Any props we sell are spares and aren't for profit, but cover expenses. We have now made the TV production team aware of our intentions. 

An Interview with Former Crystal Maze Contestant and Jungle Run Host Michael Underwood

 Hello, it's Jack here! As well as being an editor for this blog I also run a separate blog and podcast called Jack's Throwback Attack. For the last few years, I have been getting in contact with people I remember watching on TV during my childhood during the '90s and '00s. You may remember back in 2018 that I was lucky enough to interview both David G. Croft and Richard O'Brien about their time on The Crystal Maze.

Well I've now begun my fourth series and my next guest also has a link to the maze, it's Michael Underwood. 

Michael was a contestant on the first children's special of The Crystal Maze aired during Christmas of 1990, at the time Michael was only 15 years old. One of the things we discuss in this mammoth 90-minute interview is his time on the show and reveals a few stories about the filming, including why he found the Aztec "feed the god" game so tricky. 

Of course, a few years later, Michael won the chance to be a CBBC presenter on the Saturday night TV show Whatever You Want which started out as just a 6-week contract. He ended up staying for three years before moving over to CITV. 

It was of course during his time with CITV he became the third and final (and the longest) host of Jungle Run. A show which was very similar to The Crystal Maze in many ways. Also, a favourite of the maze bloggers too and of course that show gets discussed at length. 

Here's the podcast, video and audio-only versions, enjoy!

Jack's Throwback Attack · S4 E1 - A Chat With Michael Underwood