Ed Tudor Pole Appearing at Stoke Con Trent 2022

Conventions are one of those things a lot have us have missed over the last two years. Getting together with hundreds of other fans of various franchises and properties. We've missed the cosplay, the stalls, and most importantly the opportunities at meeting a host of familiar faces.

At Collectormania in Milton Keynes once, I met Colin Baker as I was hiding behind him, avoiding being seen by someone from work who was wearing a less than flattering Power Ranger costume. It may have been the same day my mate and I literally bumped into Sir Geoff Hurst and I, very annoyed, had to explain to my non-football fan mate who SGH was.

Anyhow, conventions are back. And on April 10th, Stoke Con Trent shall have Ed Tudor Pole in attendance. 

As far as I'm aware, this is a rare convention appearance for Ed. But, given the opportunities performers have had in the last two years, I can imagine many may turn to conventions as they're a great earner for people. If someone's popular/busy, they can be earning thousands just signing autographs. 

In the past, I've managed brief chats with guests at conventions during their quieter moments. Never bought an autograph, always just went for the day out and to see who I can see. Just going to them as a day out, I've met Geoff Hurst, Colin Baker, D-Von Dudley, had a guy who played a blue Power Ranger ask me where I got my beer from as he needed a drink, seen a teenage crush in Alyson Hannigan in person, seen Mads Mikkelsen who I think is now just in everything, cons are just a fun day out seeing familiar faces.

Mentioning crushes, just checked the Stoke Con Trent guests and I can imagine this one was a crush for many. (I preferred Jet)

Tickets to attend Stoke Con Trent can be bought HERE

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. 

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.

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.