Richard Ayaode falls off the Medieval beam this Friday!

Hillarious, make sure you watch Friday!

The Brystal Maze Gromit!

Keep your eyes peeled around Bristol soon, this incredible Gromit with a Crystal/'Brystal' (Bristol) Maze design will be featured in a forthcoming 'Gromit Unleashed' Trail. The four iconic zones are incorporated onto him, alongside Bristol Landmarks - with the nose being the Crystal Dome. A work of art, I must admit. Incase you didn't already know, the current revived Crystal Maze series is filmed in Bristol at Bottleyard Studios.

Aardman Animations, also Bristol based, created Wallace and Gromit.

This is in aid of Bristol Children's Hospital so please donate / visit the Brystal Maze Gromit and support both the Maze and this great charity. We will try to check it out ourselves.

https://www.grandappeal.org.uk/latest-news/make-way-brystal-maze-gromit/

**UPDATE** The Brystal Maze Gromit will be located at Hengrove Promenade, Bristol (around the corner from where the Maze is filmed), from 2nd July.

Well done Liam - and Crystal Maze Celeb Series 2 ep 3 this Friday

Congratulations to our own Liam Tate for winning a Series 2 Crystal via the Maze Twitter Competition. Thrilled for you. We now have quite an impressive collection between all of us here at the Maze Fan Blog. Can we trade them all in for time at the dome now? ;) Maybe next year we can! This Friday 22nd June we will see a lovely ground breaking episode featuring a disabled contestant, proving that the Maze is open for all.

This weeks Contestants: Judy Murray, Tennis Coach, Wayne Bridge, Ex Footballer, Charlotte Crosby, Reality Star and TV Presenter, Rachel Riley, Countdown Presenter. and David Weir, Paralympian.

2nd Celebrity Episode...

Wow what an episode!

Former footballer Dennis Wise captains, with DJ Roman Kemp, Made in Chelsea's Binky Felstead, Happy Mondays' Bez, and Katie Price

Tonight's episode was the best yet, even though they only one two Crystals and collected a pitiful three gold tokens in the dome!. Games are so fantastic and well thought out. I also caught glimpses of a few of the games I tested for the show. The first one was a coloured ball sorter game in Futuristic - I was so out of breath testing this game, but managed to win the Crystal. It wasn't won in this episode, so I felt good about myself! I love how they have now implemented first person go pro shots into the episodes now, as well, a great touch.

My favourite game which I tested at the studio for this series was the Aztec Symbol Water game. It involved a grid of 9 gates, with ropes and ladders - a similar used game from the original, but this time involving water. When I tested the game, I got stuck in the far corner. There was no rope or ladder, and I panicked and forgot that I could swim underneath one of the gates. To confuse me, there was also a little ledge I tried to climb up on, but it didn't work. I finally made out from all the shouting from my team mates, to swim under water. I chuckled to myself this evening to see that one of the improvements from my testing was to add a red arrow, to indicate for the contestant to swim under water, where I got stuck haha.

Amazing stuff, best episode yet. The wall closing game in Medieval was genius as well, a bit like the 'when is a safe not a safe' game from the original. There was also a blue maze with various opening doors in Industrial, with a modern take. The room lit red when the contestant was locked in, very impressive. Claustrophobic games work really well, as it brings some kind of fear to the viewer they can relate to. Our fan group all loved it tonight. The lottery game Katie Price was one I also did not get, the 'Kinder egg' balls were evil as there were so many to open, it was just luck of the draw. We loved the Skull knocking game, which Dennis Wise got locked in with!

Anyway, big thumbs up from us all, we love the current series. Channel 4 have upped their game with the games, that's for sure. We just wish that they could bring the on screen timer back for the Crystal Dome.

Crystal Maze Scheduling

Here at the Maze Fan Blog, we have been asked numerous times what is happening to The Crystal Maze in the Scheduling. It has seemed to have been moved around numerous times, confusing viewers, (ourselves included!). On 4 on Demand it is stating Series 2 to be Series 4. We also believed that there were three 'missing' episodes of Series 1 still not aired, (yet previewed in Australia!). 20 were recorded last year and only 17 appear on Catch Up. Were three episodes canned for fears of stale games? Who knows. The original series had a consistent 1-6 easy to follow Series run. So, we put your questions to Channel 4 themselves, and received an official response from them today:

"In regards to your point on the last three episodes of Series 1 having not been aired, we can very much assure you that Channel 4 have aired all the episodes we intended to for the first series.

"We also want to clear up any confusion regarding All4 and the series numbers that are listed on there. We looked into this further for you and can inform you that this is down to an internal process within All4 in which episodes are 'bunched together' in what is considered a series based on when they are transmitted. The first and fourth series on All4 are celebrity specials, with the second and third series being the original format. 

"Finally, we would like to assure you that we take all your comments and feedback on board. Everything you have addressed in your email, from more consistent scheduling to wishing to see less celebrity editions and your desire to once again see the zones connected, will all be logged and noted." 

Channel 4 Viewer Services.

We gave them positive constructive feedback on our honest thoughts so far, and of course high praise, because the new zones and games are fantastic. We just want to see these minor niggles ironed out. 

The Crystal Maze 2: Electric Boogaloo

And so it's out in the world, new series, new games and Ayoade's got new suits. 

General opinion on Twitter seemed positive, there was a swarm of millennial's praising Alfie's every breath, as well as people warming to Big Narstie's enthusiasm and his lack of filter "All I could hear was bleeping." 

I really enjoyed the vast majority of the games, only one I took issue with was Alfie's first Aztec game being a virtual carbon copy of a 90's medieval game just with symbols replacing shields. HOWEVER I am not the only target demographic. Since the vast majority of viewers won't remember that game or weren't alive when it was on, why not do a bit of recycling, there's plenty of brand new games to keep me smiling. 

Now there's been a few articles put out as a bit of publicity, as they did last year they invited journalists to try some games, and according to a couple of pieces, some superfans were invited to test the new games. Those lucky swines. Well, lucky and probably at least in one case devilishly handsome.

Wired.co.uk  - How hordes of fans helped design games for The Crystal Maze

Huffington Post - 'The Crystal Maze': 46 Secrets We Unearthed While Going Behind-The-Scenes

1 down, 11 to go probably with a break after the first 5 specials. So here's a treat Channel 4's Youtube is streaming over the weekend. Plenty to spot: the first contestant using a wheelchair, the celebs featuring on this year's Xmas special (Unbelievable Jeff, it's not Xmas without _______), and a soggy Richard, which isn't street slang, I hope.

Endless loop preview of the rest of the series - "Polystyrene windows rammed full of ass"

Crystal Maze Behind the Scenes Secrets

Click here for the article

Series 2 starts tonight! We were one of the aforementioned guinea pigs who tested some of the games for this series.

Preview For Series 2

As it stands, the chronology for the series is getting somewhat convoluted, so as far as we're concerned everything that was filmed last year with the first selection of games is Series 1. Which means that what Channel 4 have started advertising is Series 2. We could really confuse matters and call them series 7 & 8 but for now, let's keep it simple.

So there's a few games that can be seen

Light Beam Reflection

Jarhead's moved jars to a cosy spot in Medieval

The planets are back but on springs rather than hanging from poles

A maths/shooting game

A take on Gladiators Hit and run, at a guess fall in the water and go back to the start.

And this.... Saying nothing till it's broadcast

And as a bonus, I stumbled across this picture online possibly an automatic lock-in, I'm guessing knock off the white skulls with the hanging one, knock off 3 black skulls and ALIS

First Preview of Crystal Maze Series 2

Advert this evening.

Series 2 Coming Very, Very Soon

New series starts Friday 8th June 9pm, and not that I'm biased or anything having helped out on this series even if just for a day (OK I'm unashamedly, massively biased), but this may be far better than the last.

LtoR: Alfie Deyes, Jorgie Porter, Greg Rutherford, Big Narstie, captained by Olympic legend Dame Kelly Holmes

Series 2 Celebrities Announced!

Derry Girls special: Jamie-Lee O'Donnell, Louisa Harland, Nicola Coughlan, Dylan Llewellyn and team captain Saoirse‑Monica Jackson.

Paralympic medallist David Weir, former England international Wayne Bridge, Countdown's Rachel Riley and reality TV person Charlotte Crosby, all captained by tennis ambassador Judy Murray.

Katie Price (dont bother with the inevitable rage, save it for the airdate) with Happy Mondays' maracas shaker Bez, presenter and DJ Roman Kemp and Made in Chelsea's Binky Felstead captained by former England midfielder Dennis Wise.

Double Olympic winner Dame Kelly Holmes is heading up a team compiled of MC Big Narstie (he's everywhere at the moment), Hollyoaks actress Jorgie Porter, YouTube person Alfie Deyes (that one that basically told everyone on twitter) and long jumper Greg Rutherford.

The final team is made up of comedian Joe Wilkinson, Blue Peter's Radzi Chinyanganya (so it turns out Blue Peter is still a thing), ITV presenter Kate Garraway and Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts, captained by real life Alan Partridge Richard Madeley.

The Crystal Maze Series 2 new Celebrity editions air next month. (Recorded April 2018).
There has been confusion about the Series as Series 1 was staggered and fragmented. Some outlets called the second half of Series 1, Series 2 and this is not the case. I am not really surprised Richard Madeley is taking part, as I recall reading about him and Judy giving the live experience a go. I am surprised, however that Alan Carr has not yet made a Maze Experience. I would love to see an all 90s Presenters team, as well as a live episode. (I know this would be a logistical nightmare).

Crystal Maze Contestant Badge

I own an original green jacket from Series 6, and noticed that Julian Shortman was selling his contestant Zone badge on eBay from his time on the show. Wow! Another awesome addition to the collection here at the Maze Fan group!

Original Crystal Maze Silver and Gold Dome Tokens!

Here at the Crystal Maze Fan Group, I received another great addition to my collection today - Original Gold and Silver Tokens from the 90's Crystal Maze, sent to me by Julian Shortman. He was a contestant on Series 6, Episode 7. The tokens are creased but not ripped or teared, which is extremely exciting. They not only survived blowing around the Crystal dome, but over two decades. Fantastic stuff - Now I have tokens from both the old and new mazes - they are going to make a fantastic framed prop maze piece. Thanks Julian! He said he will try and catch up with me sometime as he only lives down the M4, I think. What a fantastic piece of Maze History.

No Maze this weekend! :(

The last Maze episode we saw the ACDC Tribute band do rather well, we were even treated to a special rendition of the maze theme at the end of the episode! Unfortunately there will be no maze this weekend due to the Formula One Coverage. The Maze Facebook Groups states that it is "returning soon".

Where to watch the Maze on Demand, (Original and Revival)

Original Series 1990-1995

https://www.nowtv.com/watch-crystal-maze/3e2669dd4dd9f510VgnVCM1000000b43150a____

Free 14 day pass on Now TV - Great quality, all the Original Series - much better quality than YouTube.

It has also started back on Challenge TV as of 30th April 2018.

Revival Series 2016-Present

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-crystal-maze

Keep watching, liking, sharing the Maze - let's keep the Maze here to stay this time. I don't think us maze fans could bear the thought of the set getting dismantled and skipped again, and consigned to the history books! Long live The Crystal Maze. (Channel 4, KEEP IT FOREVER - best programme ever made). A recent poll on Twitter showed that most people do not want Celebrity Editions of the Maze.... C4, you need to pull the Celebrity editions..... there is one show that shouldn't have Celebs and that is the Maze. C4, please listen to your audiences. Thanks.

Crystal Maze Board Game Image

Found this awesome image from the original board game. Epic!

Crystal Maze Fan Facebook Group

If you would like to join our exclusive fan group Facebook Group Chat, drop us a comment here and I will add you to it.

Crystal Maze at Home

Currently in the process of making my courtyard at home in a subtle theme of the Aztec Zone! I've already bought some Aztec Mayan Totem Statues from the local garden centre... yes can you tell how obsessed I am with The Crystal Maze? The maze puzzle books have lots of great Aztec Symbols to draw inspiration from. Still got a lot to do yet, it is work in progress. Phil, group member has his living room as the Aztec Zone haha. Last week I was at the real Aztec Zone Set and it was a dream come true, I will live with those memories forever. One day I hope our team finally make it on TV.

 

We entered The CRYSTAL MAZE!!!

The 16th April 2018 will be a day we will never forget, we finally got our chance to enter the real Crystal Maze Studios - A lifelong, childhood dream for all of us, myself included. I don't want to reveal much detail as to the circumstances which led to that, but we had a blast as Official Games Testers for Series 2. The Studios were fantastic. I am not allowed to disclose any detail about the sets, or the new games, or any other information as I have signed a non-disclosure Channel 4 legal agreement - so will just leave you with some photographs of us at the Hotel before we set off for Bottleyard Studios that day. The night before we were all so excited, it was the same night that The Crystal Maze was back on Television (Second half of Series 1). Me and Phil laid out all our maze memorabelia, props and books, etc in the hotel room. We could of opened a Crystal Maze Museum! 

We had such a fantastic day down at the Studios, the highlight for me was meeting all the crew, and in particular, James Dillon, the Production Designer and Mastermind behind the Original 1990s and 21st Century Crystal Mazes. I was slightly gutted I couldn't meet Neale Simpson, Exec Producer, he was out that day. We got pix of us in all of the Zones, including with James Dillon himself - but we will not be allowed copies of these photographs until the next series airs - understandable, of course. I will write more about our day later this year, once I confirm I am legally able to do so. All I can say is, we were impressed with our experience. 

Zero Crystals! New Crystal Maze Records

Last week (15th April 2018), saw the return of the second half of Series 1 of the Maze. We saw the Hauxwell's take on TCM, and unfortunately for them they set two rather embarrassing record Crystal Maze firsts in the history of the show. Record #1  One Contestant actually managed to get locked in twice on the same episode. Record #2 The team failed miserably and collected ZERO CRYSTALS! This is a scenario that never played out before in the original series - the least amount of Crystals being 5 seconds at the Dome. In the Original, they would simply collect tokens for 5 seconds; the underscore and fans ending rather abruptly. Interestingly with the Zero Crystal Scenario, Ayoade presented a secondary Start/Stop Whistle and blew both simultaneously! The fans whimpered and stopped immediately. How embarrassing, but such a funny episode. I am glad that conventions are being broken down, and we are finally getting answers to new maze scenarios we always wondered about in the original series. This episode was spoken about on Radio 1 the next day, and the incident trended on Twitter that evening!

Still on Cloud 9 today. Had the best day of our lives yesterday. Sadly can't reveal why or post any details. You'll have to wait until the end of the year before I can write anything. I was so tired today. Thank you to those that made it happen and brought our dreams come true, and I hope our work and input helped.

Crystal Maze is back this Sunday 8pm Channel 4! And I am so excited for Monday, I just wish I could say why! It's going to be the best day of our lives, put it that way.

Rare unseen Crystal Maze Photos from a 90's Publication! Exclusive to the Maze Fan Blog - With the coolest Photograph of Richard O'Brien in the Ocean Zone! Wow.

The Crystal Maze - Second Half of Series 1 and Series 2

A Social Media post by the official Crystal Maze TV group posted the exciting news today that The Crystal Maze returns back on our screens on 15th April on Channel 4. These portion of episodes were filmed in 2017 and held back for 2018, so some viewers may feel a bit confused when they see similar games from before. This is due to the broadcast lag time. However, filming for Series 2 is shortly to begin - this comprises of 12 episodes, 6 Civilian and 6 Celebrity episodes. We are unsure when Series 2 will air yet, but an easy guess would be later towards the end of 2018.

We look forward to watching the rest of the episodes from Series 1, and in particular, look forward to watching Series 2. I can't reveal why yet until probably later on in the year once Series 2 has aired. I won't be revealing any specifics, but we've been given an awesome and incredible opportunity here at the Maze Fan Blog - it's not quite what we initially expected or planned, but we aren't complaining at all and very much look forward to what lies and waits for us. With our deep love and obsession for the Maze, we're not going the full whole hog yet (tragic because we love to fly the flag for our favourite show). We won't be giving up - but we've been gifted the next best thing to achieving our dream. That's all I can say, and we are really honoured.

The long journey to bring back The Crystal Maze

Visit This webpage article for a fantastic article of how stressful and tough it was to bring back The Crystal Maze to our screens. I came across this insightful article this evening. It began way back in April 2011. Interestingly, I created a lot of bring back TCM YouTube videos and Petitions around 2009/2010.

It was just very good luck that the Production Company had links to a French Broadcaster who owned the rights to TCM. It was also very lucky that the Live Experience provided a platform for C4 to test the waters with a pilot episode before C4 splashed serious money on a massive set - something they couldn't do before. We have Neale Simpson to thank for his pitching to C4 to bring the show back. His hard work has paid off. I still can't believe it's finally properly back at last. I love how it is back and I really like the sets and games.

My only minor niggles, I'd say, would be that the fantasy element isn't used as much as the original - e.g. too many references to the set, rather than the zone themes they move between. Richard O'Brien and Edward Tudor-Pole used to make up fantastic stories about each of the themed worlds which made the viewer believe they were really there, and Richard Ayoade spends a lot of time telling us its a set when we know it is a set. I wish they would cut this mockery out as there is a real risk the maze could become a parody of its own self.

I also wish they include Easter Eggs - i.e. regular references to the original series, as what happened in the SU2C Special with O'Brien, and photo of Pole on the wall. Finally, even if it's for one episode, use the classic theme and map / Get O'Brien back and into a cell in person to offer a contestant a riddle. Sorry, I don''t want much. :) Celebrity editions I would stay clear of. Sorry, demanding fan here, lol. I know they need to make it modern and appealling to new audiences but they need to let it stick to its roots as well. Long live the Maze! Watched Team 'Love it' this evening, they played well in the Futuristic and Medieval Zones. I laughed when Ayoade joked that the Industrial Tool game was like an IKEA CSI!

Happy 76th Birthday Richard O'Brien from the Crystal Maze Fan Blog! We hope Mumsey gave you a fantastic present!

Crystal Maze Crystal Collection

As a Maze Superfan I have amassed a rather impressive collection of Crystals, past and present. Firstly on the left, the Crystal Maze Crowd Funding Crystal - "I Build The Crystal Maze" is engraved on it. These were given to us for crowd funding the live experience on Indie Go Go in 2015/2016. The second crystal from left in the picture below, is a "live experience" crystal. These are smaller than the TV ones because the Maze Master actors have to carry them around with them. The third crystal from left is an actual crystal from the new series, I don't think it is a prize crystal from the end, but more like a crystal used in one of the game cells. I acquired this from the Production Company. Lastly, the one on the far right, is the original 90s' Prize Crystal from The Crystal Maze. I won this superb crystal on eBay (I almost had a heart attack when I nearly got outbidded!). It was a lot of money, but well worth it. It completes my collection. I just need to go on the new maze now and get the prize crystal from the new series! Will make a fantastic display in my cabinet at home. ;) 

The Evolution of The Crystal Maze - In Crystal Form!

The original 90'S series crystal I believe is a Swarovski one, and sits in a sturdy blue display box, as presented at the Crystal Dome by the presenters.The one I own was sold to be my the Production Secretary, Anita Stubbs. I believe some members of crew were given crystals as a keep sake for their work on the programme, hence why my one is not engraved. But as you can imagine, I am over the moon to now own this. It is in such excellent condition, it still looks new. Hard to believe it is a quarter of a century old. The original crystal gives off this lovely refractive light, which changes dependent on the angle you hold it. Love it!  Now I am just praying I am lucky enough to go on the new series, to get a 21st Century "prize" crystal to complete my awesome collection of Crystal Maze Memorabelia. I think it is just simply great how the maze has such an impressive history from its conception through to its modern day evolution. It is very rare that television programmes can do this, let alone survive a revival.

Crystal Maze, Mental Health, and Me

Before I really get into this, I'll say there are a few things in here that I've never really talked about for a long time. But if you're going to read it, stick with it.

I've already covered how much the show meant to me as a kid but I really glossed over why. Which has always been a problem of mine, glossing over the bad to make it less of a problem for myself and others. However something happened recently and for the longest of times, confidence has been a very scarce commodity in my life but that has somewhat changed.

As a kid, throughout most of my school years I was bullied, bad. The kind of level of bullying that a headteacher denies because they don't want to admit that there is a bullying problem in their school. They look for loopholes so they don't have to have paperwork linking their school and any particularly bloody incidents. So it continues because those doing it have got away with it. When you grow up in a small place with just two primary schools and one secondary school, which brings in pupils from a lot of other small places, every possibility and grouping is concentrated. You don't just get a mild mix of good, bad and other spread through a few schools in an area. You get the brightest and nicest of the best, as well as the most unpleasant and most violent of the worst.

I hated school, utterly hated it. I was good, I behaved, I kept quiet and left at the end of each day as soon as I could to ensure I didn't have to spend longer than necessary in those walls. I made sure I didn't get one detention after school because I wanted out every day. I was THAT kid and made myself that kid for a logical reason.

Gameshows were what made me smile, all I had to really cheer me up when console games weren't distracting me, We're talking about the days of basic satellite tv, dial-up internet in the pre-Youtube days, Playstation 2 (without online gaming) and for me: VHS recordings of The Crystal Maze and repeats on Challenge TV of shows such as Interceptor, You Bet!, Bullseye, Takeshi's Castle, Krypton Factor and many others. I could watch those recorded CM episodes over and over till the tape wore out. Most of which were preceded by a couple of seconds of Denise Van Outen and Richard Orford introducing them as part of 'The Bigger Breakfast' during school holiday mornings. Time went on and the repeated views on tape turned into repeated viewings on Youtube. Any reference to TCM on any other show and the small reminder would instantly cheer me up, seeing that it wasn't just me remembering it.

All through my adult life, the bad stuff stuck with me. Day in day out, I've struggled with people because for a big portion of that life, most people I've known contributed to a lot of unpleasantness. Even those who never physically contributed joined in verbally, at a guess they'd just rather be on the side of the bad than in its path, and with what I got I don't really blame them. Some stuff just doesn't get forgotten no matter how hard you try, so you bottle it up, you bury it and hide it. Now years later I know that's the worst thing to do but the damage was done, and for the last few years I've been getting various treatments to get myself sorted. I've never had any real confidence, but as I said at the start something happened.

 For a long time, I've been talking to people online with a shared love of The Crystal Maze. For certain reasons I ended up doing a lot of traveling a couple of weekends ago and meeting these like-minded, great people. A 570 mile round trip.  It's because of that day out, that opportunity that I finally have a bit of self-confidence. I have the confidence to be able to say that crap happened but I finally have a chance of something kind of big. Anything else I wouldn't have done all that traveling, I wouldn't have been able to mentally cope doing that kind of thing alone, that far, all those hours hundreds of miles from home in a city I'd never been even close to before. Sounds daft saying it aloud or in type, but having been somewhat hardwired to be withdrawn, it feels amazing to have done something like that which to many might seem a bit normal.

I guess when there's something wrong, look for anything good. Whatever it is if it makes you smile it'd absolutely worth it. If an opportunity of a lifetime comes up, say yes to it and work out how to incorporate it into your life later. 

Here is my Crystal Maze memorabelia mega fan collection - I have tonnes of stuff from the programme, past and present. I have shown the new Assistant Producer it and she was amazed - for reasons I can't disclose. I have fan t-shirts from the crowd funding experience, real 90s jacket, Crew Shirt from the new series, SU2C contestant shirt, electronic timer from the 90s futuristic zone, books, bags and more.