Hi everyone! I haven't uploaded in a long time and there are only two videos on the channel. I've had an extremely busy few months with a lot of changes going on in my life, including moving from one side of the world to the other. I am hard at work on my next video which I hope to have up in the next week or so. Thanks for your patience!
I had the privilege of appearing on the Crystal Maze, with Vaughn, Pippa, Chris, Phil and Yvette, it was with *Ed Tudor Pole*, and we were one of the teams on the 1st episode, in his tenure as host. (the programme aired in 1994 but was filmed in late 1993). I've just realised it was THIRTY years ago and I still remember my team mates names. I met my fellow team mates the night before filming, we had never met before, so it was a fast bonding experience for sure, but unforgettable too. It was amazing, wacky, cold and brilliant.. I fell in the water in Aztec World, and got locked in, and I also failed my game in Ocean World too.. Oops. The team, abley lead by Captain Vaughn and Vice-Cap'n Pippa , finally won 4 crystals, which meant 20 secs in the Dome, BUT Vaughn and the others bought Phil and I out, so we had TEN seconds in the Dome, what a blast that was. The best MINUS SCORE ever, but such such fun, it was filmed in the Winter of 93', and shown on Channel 4 May 94' (it was snowing outside) and we had to pretend we were sweating in Aztec World, plus, as I said, I fell in, it was freezing. What did I get from the experience???.. FLU, a Gold and Silver ticket (plucked from the moat) and MY CRYSTAL, which says 'I cracked the Crystal Dome 1994' on it.. I am proud to say I STILL HAVE MY CRYSTAL :D Great memories. Best wishes from Wales..
Wow what an incredible experience this must have been - thanks for sharing your memories! This is one of the errors I made in my video, that the 6 people taking part in each episode were already friends, when in actual fact they were all strangers! I have had quite a few messages from people who have appeared on some of the shows I have covered on the channel so far, including the Crystal Maze, and I'm thinking in the future, I'd love to do some interviews with some of you to learn more about your experience on the show. Mind if I get in touch with you in the future at some point regarding this?
@@officialbackintheday I would be delighted, it was a very memorable part of my life.. I am double the age I was when I appeared on the show. But I remember it like it was yesterday. Heartiest best wishes from Wales.
@@wenglishsal Not sure when I will be able to do a project like this, but definitely some time in the future. I'll reach out again when the time is right :) Thanks so much!
@@officialbackintheday Oh, I've just 'subbed' too, your posts have evoked lots of memories for me, thank you. And, once again, best wishes to you from Wales.
Same here but we have variations on it, like "Will you start the air fryer, please!" and because we're gamers "Will you start the game, please" Is another :D
The best gameshow Channel 4 ever made! It was always a part of my childhood, loved the music, zones, games, hosts the lot! Will never never be forgotten or will get old!
I was one of the camera operators on the first 3 series, it was a fabulous experience. Richard was instrumental in its success, charming on screen and off. An incredibly talented group of people behind the cameras collaborated to create this amazing Adventure Game Show.
i was 13 too back in 1990 , this was one of the highlights of the week, we used to love it. I can't remember quite what time it was on, was it around 6.30pm??
Both Richard and Ed were fantastic in their own way. The real reason why it ended, nobody knows for sure. Anyhow, a wonderful documentary you made. excellent!
@Dark Dragon 772 I'd always assumed that the ratings dropped when Tudor-Pole took over, but it actually turns out that the averages had increased. The show was still one of the highest rated on Channel 4 when it ended. But as well as Channel 4 going cold on the idea of renewing it for another series, I've also heard a story about the French production company becoming obstructive in keeping the show on-air, as they were looking to launch Fort Boyard in the UK and felt that The Crystal Maze, being based upon it, could harm its chances of success if they ran concurrently.
+World Of Aviation well said. Richard(O'Brien) and Ed(Tudor-Pole) weren't being the same presenter its nice to see the 2 presenters have different personalities
Maid Marion and her Merry Men did an excellent spoof of The Crystal Maze in one of their episodes, in series 4 if I remember correctly. Another great show which I hope will be covered on your fantastic channel.
Plus when the prize is £1000 to charity... You can't help but think... Those celebrities could have chipped in a small amount each and given more without having to do tricks for our entertainment. The general public had real stakes to play for and most of the time the prizes were pretty naff but still something the general populace probably wouldn't have had opportunities to experience without playing the game. The focus therefore remained on the game, on their dilemmas on rescuing friends or abandoning them for the cost of a hot air balloon ride. My mum fancied Richard O'Brien and I have always loved characters like the Master he played. As kids we all desired our own crystal and I still will see a sparkly crystal doorknob and declare it as a crystal from the Crystal Maze! 😂
Annoying too that the celebs get those 'I cracked the crystal maze' crystals that they really aren't bothered about,whilst genuine fans would have loved to have appeared on the show and won one !!!
Totally agree, and this goes for so many shows on TV now. Weakest Link, Catchphrase, SAS Who Dares Wins, Hunted - all only have celebrity 'specials' now. In a cost of living crisis, it would make so much more sense to have members of the public winning money to pay their gas bills.
One of the things about the Maze-masters, especially O'Brian and Tudor-Pole, is that subtle evil they portrayed. There was always this malicious, almost sentient, atmosphere in the Maze. Like a force existed within it, wanting to lock up the players. The Maze-Master leading the victims... sorry players, from trap to trap. Almost gleefully. O'Brian whipping out his harmonica, playfully waiting for that timer to run out. Tudor-Pole telling his stories, all with a dark edge. A warning of doom, delivered just that artful moment too late. I don't think the remake ever truly caught that magic again. It came close, very very close. Well the live experiences and themed escape rooms are out there now, keeping the sprit alive. And who knows, you never can keep a good villain down
I would say that the word which describes their approach is "mercurial". They would flit between calm and energetic, and as you said, you never quite knew whether they really supported the players or not. They seemed more interested in the game itself, whatever the result. There's a little of that in Tregard and Pickle from "Knightmare".
@@24magiccarrot Not to mention, Richard Ayoade basically just played.....Richard Ayoade. He's been on far too many panel shows at this point for us (the viewer) to see him as anything _BUT_ himself nowadays...... Whereas Richard O'Brian and Ed Tudur-Pole almost disappeared into their role and actually played a character, which helped sell the illusion that something was a bit malevolent about them, and the maze itself.
@@BadgerOff32 Richard O'Brien didn't really disappear as much as he didn't really need to work and only did projects he thought were fun, He felt he did as much as he could with Crystal Maze without it becoming repetitive so did a lot more stage work, whilst cashing in the royalty cheques he still gets every year from Rocky Horror. Ed Tudor pole was okay in Crystal Maze, just suffered a backlash trying to fill the massive shoes of O'Brien.
I was 14 in 1990 when this first aired on channel 4. And what an awesome gameshow it was. One of the best shows ever made on TV. My favourite maze master was Richard Obrien. He was such a great character and I would always go "yay" when that harmonica came out. Such great memories. Would love to see it back on our screens again some day.
The Crystal Maze is my all time favourite gameshow and it was a big part of my childhood - I used to watch repeats of it on Challenge staying at my grandparents house on weekends growing up as a kid. It will forever remain a 90s gem 💎 I’m going to do the Live Experience in Manchester in the coming months with my family as part of my birthday present, which I’m really excited about. It’ll be like reliving my childhood and playing The Crystal Maze for real. ❤️😊
That's awesome! I'm now living in London and definitely want to get a group of friends together to do the experience in London. Maybe I'll make a video out of it if possible!
I was in my early teens when The Crystal Maze came out and I absolutely loved it! It's still one of best game shows ever made and every now and then I re-watch old episodes. To this day I often refer to my Mum, who's now 82, as "Mumsy" to see how many people get it. Sadly, not that many. But for the few who do it feels like one of those, "If you know, you know" things the younglings say today! When Richard left and Ed took over I didn't feel too bad about it because I was the one person in the country who liked Ed! I loved his, "Let the four winds blow!" line when starting up the Dome, something I wouldn't get until a decade or so later! I now count myself the first person to be a Tenpole Tudor fan without knowing it! 🤣 (If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, look them up, you won't regret it!). I was quite furious when the show was cancelled, in some small part because Ed was widely blamed for its downfall, which I thought very unfair. I did like the reboot as I was already a fan of Richard Ayoade, but I felt it had too many celebrity episodes and too few normal people ones. But maybe it's because I just didn't know who most of them were! I do hope we get more eventually and Ayoade returns. Thanks for this memorable look back at one of the greatest shows to ever grace TV!
If you can share it with some folks who might be interested, that would be great!
11 месяцев назад+4
At the 08:00 mark, talking about the 'straw' on the floor. This is called 'thresh' its a mixture of hay cow waste that would grip the floor. In the winds it would blow away so to keep it in a room a lump of wood was placed at the bottom of a door hence the name 'threshold'
Love love love this show. Great video! I ALMOST became a contestant of the first kids xmas special. In my audition (think there were 6 of us) 2 got in. The vice captain and captain. The captain was none other than Michael Underwood - who as an adult hosted Jungle Run on citv, which was very similar to the crystal maze 👌 ...i also had the boardgame and had my own crystal maze scrapbook 🙈
Just rewatching this documentary as I do the dishes LOL. Brilliant work - a good deal of info & footage contained. (Although I am a bit biased as some of the games i designed are in your video at 10:4410:48 & 11:40 Hopefully you will do one on the Live Experiences soon. 👍🏼
I loved watching The Crystal Maze, Gladiators and Noel's House Party which made my childhood far better than those born 10 or years after me. I'm also glad that Fort Boyard did get the chance it deserved as that was a great show too. TV shows like this help make the Golden Era of British TV.
Absolutely loved this show as a kid back in the 90s. We used to all sit down and watch it as a family. Have fond childhood memories watching this Gameshow. Great video really enjoyed it.
This video made me mad nostalgic. I guess being born at the start of the 90s it was inevitable. The theme music for this show is unforgettable. You can go half a dozen years without hearing it, and after the first few beats you are reminded of it all over again.
the show’s director David G. Croft has explained that the Crystal Maze was only cancelled because back in the 90s, there was far less competition from the other terrestrial channels; C4 could afford to have a more cavalier attitude with winning formats and they just decided that they’d had enough of it! It had nothing to do with Ed (who was brilliant). Croft says that C4 would never have dreamed of letting it go today. You can hear the rest on Jack’s Throwback Attack podcast.
The crystal maze gave all of us adults the chance to feel like children again in the sense of the raw viseral excitement and fantasy play..a great will always rise from the ashes of mumsys urn. 🙏😉
I always loved the Crystal Maze and have rewatched the original series' many times. The new series never worked for me, and I gave up on it as they got it wrong in so many ways. Less games. The old series was so fast paced that it kept your attention. With smart phones and a million channels, now more than ever the pace needs to be kept up, but instead they changed 3/4 games per zone to 2/3 with loads of standing around chatting. They blamed longer adverts for the change, but adverts aren't that much longer (a TV hour was 49 minutes then, and is 42 minutes now) They could have kept 3 games per zone (possibly with more 2 min games). The teleport. The old set felt real. Yes it had polystyrene rocks etc, but if you bought a locked in player out, someone had to go round the maze to get them. The new series scrapped that, with a teleport to leave the future zone and a teleport to get a locked in person out... Except teleports aren't real, so when someone was bought out, for them to appear the moment they're bought out, they clearly weren't in the cell. Yes I know it's just a TV show, but it doesn't follow it's own logic. Continuity and timekeeping. The old series hid continuity errors well. When someone fell in the water they went somewhere to dry off during the next game. When the remote control buggy got its magnet stuck to the wall and couldn't move at all (in multiple episodes) they'd cut to the teammates outside the game and a few seconds later the buggy was off again (probably after one of the crew got it free)... New series, they can't be bothered, with contestants miraculously gaining elbow/knee pads as they walk through a door... And they even cut down the games so you don't see all of a 3 minute game! (More time for standing around chatting)... And since the lack of time was the justification for less games why did they introduce games without a timelimit?!?
You're absolutely right on every level here. If they'd have cut the chatter out, they could well have played another 2 or 3 games per episode. One teams introduction took 7 minutes...2 games lost there already. I didn't like Ayoade taking the Mickey out of the sets either (yes....we all know it's a studio set)...but the fantasy element should have remained imo. Although there were quite a few good games, some were a bit basic. The majority of which either had balls, buttons or colours in their build. I just wish there'd been more variety & originality in the selection. One other thing that let the reboot down was.....'celebrities'. They should not have used them (if anything, for the Christmas Specials only). Is it cheaper to get celebs than members of the public ?? ie insurance, travel, accommodation - will that all be covered if they use celebs instead ???
I remember on one episode of series 1 this one girl fell in the moat bridge from futuristic to medieval and was sent to Mumsey to dry off then richard made it a cute story that was like “Mumsey didn’t have to do that and give up her one and only towel but she did”
These documentaries are brilliant. I'm glad the channel is gaining some traction and I can see the subscriber number jumping up as I go from video to video. Great work!
@@officialbackintheday 2 weeks later and your sub count has pretty much tripled! I've just seen an old 80's game show called The Adventure Game. Looks to me like a bit of a precursor to shows like Crystal Maze and Knightmare. I'm sure you've got a list of ideas but if you're taking requests it could be one to look into.
Thanks so much for uploading this! I’m probably one of the BIGGEST fans of The Crystal Maze (no need to switch on the fans yet and ask Richard / Ed to blow their whistle so the tokens start whizzing around The Crystal Dome!) and so this was a delight to watch! I was gutted when the original run ended and as I was only a kid at the time, I remember haplessly looking in the TV Guides wandering why it wasn’t coming back. I was too young to wonder why programmes were axed, or what that meant exactly. Richard O’Brien WAS The Crystal Maze for me. I still liked it when Ed took over and yes, it wasn’t “quite” the same show, but given the choice of two more series with Ed or no programme at all, I was quite happy to enjoy Series 5 and 6. I wish there was more behind the scenes of the show. There have been some outtakes posted on an old RUclips Clip and what’s so delightful to see, is the producers and director reacting, JUST how we were at home when the contestants didn’t quite grasp the game or what they needed to do! Hope your video gets many more views, as this is great to watch. Thank you! ☺️ 🔮
Thanks so much! This was the very first video I uploaded, and the voice quality was not that great haha! Maybe I'll remake this someday and make it a much longer full retrospective :)
@@officialbackintheday I saw the clip was uploaded about 2 years ago now, but I’d have never have known that was the first one of these you did, it was brilliant and spot on. Great to see the British Fort Boyard clip that Richard did the pilot for, before TCM was then born. I saw one or two of the other shows you have looked back on, that hold such memories for me. Fort Boyard and Knightmare being amongst them - so need to check those out sometime. Rightly, Richard Ayoade’s tenure was mentioned, but he’s someone I’ve tried hard to “get into”, but just haven’t been able to and as such just couldn’t warm to him. I therefore only watched it when he was host as and when, even under the same great banner of “The Crystal Maze”. Richard o’Brien and Ed’s episodes for me!
I’ll always remember the episode of Maid Marion where they spoofed Crystal Maze. Hysterical. Loved this show, always got bummed out when I missed it. S4C were determined to move all the English language programming around on a whim!
You can tell how goated a show is when even a kid from the early 2010s enjoyed it on its rerun on Challenge. I was so pumped to see the modern return in 2017. We need more shows like this tbh.
Hi. Many thanks for this well-made, adequately researched and downright amazing documentary. My wife and I enjoyed watching this. We are impressed. Very best wishes to you.
Hey Neil. Just saw the post up on the fan blog - thanks a lot. One small thing - I'm British not American haha! (even though my accent sounds slightly more American!) Cheers!
This is a very well presented documentary. Fantastic narration and well thought through facts. I loved Crystal Maze and never missed an episode. Its theme tune is my ringtone on my phone. I tried to be excited by Ed but for me, he just couldn’t bring that energy that Richard O’ Brien brought to the show. When the show was aired I was just a bit too young to be able to apply. I was gutted but loved watching anyway. Thanks for bringing this to us 👏🏻
Another precursor that is often forgotten, is the early 1980s BBC TV series called The Adventure Game. Set in a fantasy world, a group of contestants had to solve puzzles in order to escape and get back to earth.
Yeah, I remember the contestants had to give gifts at the end of the level. There was a talking plant pot, if you gave it water as a gift, you failed and was blasted out to space .....lol epic😊
Like everyone else I have incredibly fond memories of the original show. It was the only night of the week I could stay up extra late to watch it recorded earlier (ironically we'd be out at a quiz night). Richard O'Brien really made the show and even years later when I first watched Rocky Horror, all I could see was him from the crystal maze. A huge thank you to everyone who was involved in the show for making alot of us happy on bleek Thursday nights in the 90s.
Great nostalgia video, thanks, I really enjoyed the revived series with Richard Ayoade, especially with the celebrity guests if they were the kinds of people he low-down hated, mostly loud diva ones, of which reality TV has furnished us with many. Darned shame it got cancelled again, it was a highlight of the week, for me.
Just found your channel, great stuff 👍🏻 Do you remember the kids show 'Fun House' with Pat Sharp? Twas almost like Gladiators & Crystal Maze rolled into one for kids. You should do a retrospective for that.
Thank you for reminding us this fantastic game show. The CrystalMaze was such a revolutionary show to watch in that yes its for prizes but what you had do to win it was new and exciting. Richard too was a cool witty funny presenter who would have you in giggles with his mad innuendos directed at players. I was at high school in UK and people would say oh did you see CM last night it was WICKED too watch as a teen....
Sometimes, tv shows for example, just have a good short run. Many shows that I consider some of the best TV made, have been six seasons or less. I think that the ratings drop after Richard went was considerable, hence it didn’t run for very long with Tudor pole as his replacement. I remember everyone being pissed off that Richard had gone, and had been replaced. That and that cost per episode. They wanted to keep it fresh also and not drive it into the ground, so c4 cancelled it. On another note, OP, loving your videos where you breakdown some of my favourite shows as a child. Including this classic! I would rush home wherever I was, just so I could be in front of the TV for the crystal maze with Richard.
I remember very well those days. When I was seven years old, I used to watch with my late grandfather the day I remember, I remember my grandfather. Thank you.💔🥹
thanks for the video, i was born in 87 and grew up loving this through the 90s original airings and reruns. One of the best tv shows ever, i liked the Tudor Pole episodes as much. I think i was about 5 when i used to come home from school to watch Knightmare then this [im sure they used to put it on after knightmare] from 92 on.
ahh cool i wouldn't remember that i was only a young kid at the time, i might be wrong but in my head i used to watch Crystal Maze after this (must of changed channel). But i'm aware there could of been a couple of programmes in between the 2 that i'm forgetting.@@DanceySteveYNWA
@@shaunlodwig yeah, I think maybe HollyOaks(?) was before Crystal Maze,but I could be wrong. I used to love Knightmare and Crystal Maze too, quite different to the usual crap we had with just the 5 channels
I might've said the other day after watching your video on Takeshi's Castle that it was the best TV show ever but that was clearly hyperbole because THIS IS the best TV show ever made! 😁
I loved this show as a kid. It was an escape from, well, everything really. I haven't watched any telly in years and had no idea there was a newer series! It's the first time I've missed tv for yonks. Ayoade's a total boss too. I'll be watching an episode a week every Sunday starting this weekend, no binging.
What a great video. Seems strange seeing you get some buses that I grew up with where I lived. The 235 used to run from Chigwell Station to Chingford Hatch, and the 254 was used to do the route that you did ad your last one, the 549
Very good documentary. Richard O’Brian was so charismatic in this. Him, the dome and the Aztec Zone spring to mind whenever this is mentioned. That and the Crystal Maze fruit machine. Anyone ever play that?
Yep - fun fact about the fruit machine; O'Brien never actually voiced the lines on the game as Barcrest couldn't get the license for some reason - either because he didn't want to, or they were asking to much in fees. There's also an almost identical machine called The Crystal Dome - which I suspect they used after the license ran out!
The way they designed and built the zones still holds up today. It doesnt look dated. I think Richard was just too good though. None of the replacements could match him. Re creating shows like that usually proves too hard.
What amazes me was that between series 1 and 2 they moved soundstages and had to rebuild the whole set from scratch and it doesn’t even look that different I love the environment and vibes the maze gave sm and richard playing a character that lives in the maze and guides people through it could make so many stories
Great video.. Happy to have been a fan through the original run with Richard O'Brien. As good as other hosts were I don't think any of them captured that original magic that Richard did. Sure it would be nice to have it back again regularly, but I think making it now as it was then.. would probably be much harder to do, cost a lot more and take a lot longer to film. So I don't see it returning regularly for some time if ever again.
Crikey, 12th May 1994, i was 10 and excited that the new series was starting! Still remember it as i told my friends i wasnt going out to play, as The Crystal Maze a coming on and there was a new presenter lol. 😂 better days! Wierd the things you remember.
I honestly love the “Reckless Rick” character Richard plays. A guy living in a fake world with his mumsey leading new people through the maze but they always eventually make it out and get to go home and he has to stay behind and somehow make his life and job fun in some ways by always cracking jokes and telling stories. The ones with Mumsey and Ralph are the best especially “Ralph was helping mumsey with her aerobics. At least that was what I think they were doing.” Sadly today lots of jokes and innuendos Richard made won’t fly nowadays 😔 another of my faves was “If you want to get physical you got to come upstairs with me” You could make a ton of stories of Rick and the crystal maze without it being a gameshow and just focus on the environment and the maze itself. It is a really interesting concept and he built up an interesting character probably without knowing it. He is really great at improv. More hosts nowadays need that spark Richard had where he felt like he could connect with the contestants and push boundaries and still have fun. Sad that medieval later got replaced by eastern it felt like the last of richard and his character was gone from the maze. He and Mumsey made their way out and took medieval with them
The bloopers and behind the scenes videos from The Crystal Maze are hilarious, particularly when you can hear the director in the gallery laughing at the baffling actions of some of the contestants. Personally I preferred the Industrial Zone over the Ocean Zone, it was a shame it was dropped by C4, the same could be said for Treasure Hunt although that was more down to Chatsworth wanting to do something else (Interceptor) rather than C4 pulling the plug.
The celebrity ones were the worse, that goes for all game shows with celebs. I just turn off,all full of themselves. Love Richard o'brien, can't believe he is in his 80's. Thank you for refreshing my memory.
I loved this show as a kid, still do at 41 😂, I never knew it was originally a fort boyard spin off, I always assumed it was the other way around but that’s really cool. I have to say though, Richard was the best host and I was surprised that Ed managed to do so well after him and I liked Ed too. After those two left I don’t really think it’ll ever be able to bring back that old magic, everyone else seems to be trying to hard when those two were just naturals. At least we grew up during the good stuff haha
after school during tea or dinner, with the usual classics, was real shows with education and learning, not like these days where social media fries the brain however if they can bring back crystal maze i doubt it would ever be the same honestly
I'm a game show afficionado but this is one I'd never heard of, presumably because it's never made its way across the pond to the U.S. as a remake. But for some odd reason, the new Crystal Maze appeared in my RUclips recommended feed yesterday, and as a lover of game shows who had never seen this one, I had to watch it. It looked like a lot of fun. I could never really get into The IT Crowd (I watched a few episodes), but I enjoyed Richard Ayuwade as host. He has a cynicism and a dry, sarcastic sense of humor that really speaks to me.
Great documentary, but I wish you could have mentioned the Crystal Maze Experience, which was the main driving force for the show to come back in the first place.
@@officialbackintheday I wish you did. And no problem. 🙂 I was one of the very first people to have entered the Crystal Maze Experience when it first opened in London during 2016. Got the tickets from being an official backer when they were raising money for their Indiegogo campaign.
@@officialbackintheday I highly recommend it. Did you see my Crystal Maze titles remake by any chance? I used promo footage from the experience to make it. This was back before the show eventually came back.
Crystal maze was broadcast and had reruns in Kuwait during the 90s. I really love this game and all the zones are amazing. The show must return but as the original show just like in 1990.
One of my all time favorite game show. It made my childhood very fun and exciting, me and my siblings used to make some of the games at home with whatever we had and compete just for the laughs and entertainment. I'm glad I grew up in the 90's ❤
I RECALL meeting Richard OBrien he was one of niceist most kind and humane person I have even met, this came on on tv and people loved watching the show because of his personality. He is missed my many who knew him.
I loved this show, I also remember something similar that the BBC did called "The Adventure Game" which was really bizarre but fun to watch and had rooms with challenges and puzzles in it.
I used to love this show as a kid one of the TV shows that made my weekends so fun I always thought that Richard O' Brian should have played the Doctor. He had the right look for the character
I had to make a comment on this video, as I felt it has been put together very well. This game show was a big part of my life and will always be a part of me. it was a ritual for myself and my family to sit down and watch this every week. Richard O’Brien was a fantastic host, I always look forward to the harmonica playing, sadly, I believe there was some kind of controversy of his departure and believe it was allegedly to do with alcohol or drugs related, but do not quote me on this as it was many years ago. it’s such a shame not to see this on our TV screens as a regular show. I thank you for making this documentary. It was a nice piece.
I was born 1990 and grew up watching this with my sister. I found Richard to kinda scary despite how actully light hearted and comedic the show was. A lot of fond memories with this show
Hi everyone! I haven't uploaded in a long time and there are only two videos on the channel. I've had an extremely busy few months with a lot of changes going on in my life, including moving from one side of the world to the other. I am hard at work on my next video which I hope to have up in the next week or so. Thanks for your patience!
Just a follow up to this. Currently working on the next video. Should be finished within a week!
@@officialbackintheday is there a reason the crystal maze theme park in pembrokeshire was never mentioned? i actually went there when i was in school
honestly take your time, your videos are amazingly detailed and always amazing to watch
Continuing the theme of 90's game shows, how about the Krypton Factor?
I had the privilege of appearing on the Crystal Maze, with Vaughn, Pippa, Chris, Phil and Yvette, it was with *Ed Tudor Pole*, and we were one of the teams on the 1st episode, in his tenure as host. (the programme aired in 1994 but was filmed in late 1993).
I've just realised it was THIRTY years ago and I still remember my team mates names.
I met my fellow team mates the night before filming, we had never met before, so it was a fast bonding experience for sure, but unforgettable too.
It was amazing, wacky, cold and brilliant.. I fell in the water in Aztec World, and got locked in, and I also failed my game in Ocean World too.. Oops.
The team, abley lead by Captain Vaughn and Vice-Cap'n Pippa , finally won 4 crystals, which meant 20 secs in the Dome, BUT Vaughn and the others bought Phil and I out, so we had TEN seconds in the Dome, what a blast that was.
The best MINUS SCORE ever, but such such fun, it was filmed in the Winter of 93', and shown on Channel 4 May 94' (it was snowing outside) and we had to pretend we were sweating in Aztec World, plus, as I said, I fell in, it was freezing.
What did I get from the experience???..
FLU, a Gold and Silver ticket (plucked from the moat) and MY CRYSTAL, which says 'I cracked the Crystal Dome 1994' on it..
I am proud to say I STILL HAVE MY CRYSTAL :D
Great memories.
Best wishes from Wales..
Wow what an incredible experience this must have been - thanks for sharing your memories! This is one of the errors I made in my video, that the 6 people taking part in each episode were already friends, when in actual fact they were all strangers!
I have had quite a few messages from people who have appeared on some of the shows I have covered on the channel so far, including the Crystal Maze, and I'm thinking in the future, I'd love to do some interviews with some of you to learn more about your experience on the show. Mind if I get in touch with you in the future at some point regarding this?
@@officialbackintheday I would be delighted, it was a very memorable part of my life.. I am double the age I was when I appeared on the show. But I remember it like it was yesterday.
Heartiest best wishes from Wales.
@@wenglishsal Not sure when I will be able to do a project like this, but definitely some time in the future. I'll reach out again when the time is right :) Thanks so much!
@@officialbackintheday Oh, I've just 'subbed' too, your posts have evoked lots of memories for me, thank you.
And, once again, best wishes to you from Wales.
great story, thanks for sharing.
Crystal Maze, Knightmare, Gladiators - growing up in the 80’s / 90’s was a special time 😊
Spot on. they don't make gameshows like these any more. Nothing has come close to Knightmare or The Crystal Maze.
At least gladiators is back in almost it's original format minus the cheerleaders.
Knightmare was amazing. I always remember the tunnel level where there was spinning saw blades coming towards the player who had a helmet on.
Team leader:- "Take a small sidestep to your left."
😐 -> 💀 -> 👀
Treguard:- "Ooh nasty!"
Yess Gladiators!
To this day the phrase "will you start the fans please" is regularly uttered in our house.
Same here but we have variations on it, like "Will you start the air fryer, please!" and because we're gamers "Will you start the game, please" Is another :D
@@mikkdc We're not adverse to the odd "air fryer, REEEADDYY" a-la Gladiators
The best gameshow Channel 4 ever made! It was always a part of my childhood, loved the music, zones, games, hosts the lot! Will never never be forgotten or will get old!
It's not forgotten as they made a bunch of new ones not long back
I was one of the camera operators on the first 3 series, it was a fabulous experience. Richard was instrumental in its success, charming on screen and off. An incredibly talented group of people behind the cameras collaborated to create this amazing Adventure Game Show.
That wire frame drawing at around 2:50 is just so iconic, and looked so futuristic when watching at the time.
I was 13 when CM first aired. Everyone at school watched it. Richard O'brien was brilliant. His snarky comments were hilarious. Mumsie!
Send the answer on a postcard lol
i was 13 too back in 1990 , this was one of the highlights of the week, we used to love it. I can't remember quite what time it was on, was it around 6.30pm??
@Drobium77 Possibly 7pm or 8pm. I honestly can not remember. Best game show ever.
Both Richard and Ed were fantastic in their own way. The real reason why it ended, nobody knows for sure. Anyhow, a wonderful documentary you made. excellent!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed. Still at work on my next video. Really hoping to get it done soon!
@Dark Dragon 772 I'd always assumed that the ratings dropped when Tudor-Pole took over, but it actually turns out that the averages had increased. The show was still one of the highest rated on Channel 4 when it ended. But as well as Channel 4 going cold on the idea of renewing it for another series, I've also heard a story about the French production company becoming obstructive in keeping the show on-air, as they were looking to launch Fort Boyard in the UK and felt that The Crystal Maze, being based upon it, could harm its chances of success if they ran concurrently.
+World Of Aviation well said. Richard(O'Brien) and Ed(Tudor-Pole) weren't being the same presenter its nice to see the 2 presenters have different personalities
Gamesmaster was also axed around that time. Despite it still being a ratings success.
Richard O Brien was the best host, Ed was OK but not as good as the original but was still good to watch
Maid Marion and her Merry Men did an excellent spoof of The Crystal Maze in one of their episodes, in series 4 if I remember correctly. Another great show which I hope will be covered on your fantastic channel.
This had to be one of the funniest episodes ever and pancake day 😂
If they do ever bring it back they should only have it with members of the public. This is what made the show special.
Couldn't agree more. The celebrities tend to try and steal the show and it undermines the premise.
Plus when the prize is £1000 to charity... You can't help but think... Those celebrities could have chipped in a small amount each and given more without having to do tricks for our entertainment.
The general public had real stakes to play for and most of the time the prizes were pretty naff but still something the general populace probably wouldn't have had opportunities to experience without playing the game. The focus therefore remained on the game, on their dilemmas on rescuing friends or abandoning them for the cost of a hot air balloon ride.
My mum fancied Richard O'Brien and I have always loved characters like the Master he played. As kids we all desired our own crystal and I still will see a sparkly crystal doorknob and declare it as a crystal from the Crystal Maze! 😂
They completely didn't get what made the original good. Cutting the games also didn't help.
Annoying too that the celebs get those 'I cracked the crystal maze' crystals that they really aren't bothered about,whilst genuine fans would have loved to have appeared on the show and won one !!!
Totally agree, and this goes for so many shows on TV now. Weakest Link, Catchphrase, SAS Who Dares Wins, Hunted - all only have celebrity 'specials' now. In a cost of living crisis, it would make so much more sense to have members of the public winning money to pay their gas bills.
One of the things about the Maze-masters, especially O'Brian and Tudor-Pole, is that subtle evil they portrayed.
There was always this malicious, almost sentient, atmosphere in the Maze. Like a force existed within it, wanting to lock up the players. The Maze-Master leading the victims... sorry players, from trap to trap. Almost gleefully. O'Brian whipping out his harmonica, playfully waiting for that timer to run out. Tudor-Pole telling his stories, all with a dark edge. A warning of doom, delivered just that artful moment too late.
I don't think the remake ever truly caught that magic again. It came close, very very close.
Well the live experiences and themed escape rooms are out there now, keeping the sprit alive. And who knows, you never can keep a good villain down
I would say that the word which describes their approach is "mercurial". They would flit between calm and energetic, and as you said, you never quite knew whether they really supported the players or not. They seemed more interested in the game itself, whatever the result. There's a little of that in Tregard and Pickle from "Knightmare".
That was part of it's charm, you never really knew WHAT the maze was, but you learnt little things about it every so often.
The reboot sucked because it was another celebrity does ex show rather than the general public.
@@24magiccarrot Not to mention, Richard Ayoade basically just played.....Richard Ayoade. He's been on far too many panel shows at this point for us (the viewer) to see him as anything _BUT_ himself nowadays......
Whereas Richard O'Brian and Ed Tudur-Pole almost disappeared into their role and actually played a character, which helped sell the illusion that something was a bit malevolent about them, and the maze itself.
@@BadgerOff32 Richard O'Brien didn't really disappear as much as he didn't really need to work and only did projects he thought were fun, He felt he did as much as he could with Crystal Maze without it becoming repetitive so did a lot more stage work, whilst cashing in the royalty cheques he still gets every year from Rocky Horror.
Ed Tudor pole was okay in Crystal Maze, just suffered a backlash trying to fill the massive shoes of O'Brien.
I was 14 in 1990 when this first aired on channel 4. And what an awesome gameshow it was. One of the best shows ever made on TV. My favourite maze master was Richard Obrien. He was such a great character and I would always go "yay" when that harmonica came out. Such great memories. Would love to see it back on our screens again some day.
The Crystal Maze is my all time favourite gameshow and it was a big part of my childhood - I used to watch repeats of it on Challenge staying at my grandparents house on weekends growing up as a kid. It will forever remain a 90s gem 💎
I’m going to do the Live Experience in Manchester in the coming months with my family as part of my birthday present, which I’m really excited about. It’ll be like reliving my childhood and playing The Crystal Maze for real. ❤️😊
That's awesome! I'm now living in London and definitely want to get a group of friends together to do the experience in London. Maybe I'll make a video out of it if possible!
My step-mom went on this, she kept her crystal on top of the TV for years afterwards 😂. I absolutely loved that thing ❤.
I was in my early teens when The Crystal Maze came out and I absolutely loved it! It's still one of best game shows ever made and every now and then I re-watch old episodes. To this day I often refer to my Mum, who's now 82, as "Mumsy" to see how many people get it. Sadly, not that many. But for the few who do it feels like one of those, "If you know, you know" things the younglings say today!
When Richard left and Ed took over I didn't feel too bad about it because I was the one person in the country who liked Ed! I loved his, "Let the four winds blow!" line when starting up the Dome, something I wouldn't get until a decade or so later! I now count myself the first person to be a Tenpole Tudor fan without knowing it! 🤣 (If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, look them up, you won't regret it!). I was quite furious when the show was cancelled, in some small part because Ed was widely blamed for its downfall, which I thought very unfair.
I did like the reboot as I was already a fan of Richard Ayoade, but I felt it had too many celebrity episodes and too few normal people ones. But maybe it's because I just didn't know who most of them were! I do hope we get more eventually and Ayoade returns.
Thanks for this memorable look back at one of the greatest shows to ever grace TV!
Thanks so much, stay tuned for more :)
Have only just discovered this channel, but how is it not more popular?
If you can share it with some folks who might be interested, that would be great!
At the 08:00 mark, talking about the 'straw' on the floor.
This is called 'thresh' its a mixture of hay cow waste that would grip the floor. In the winds it would blow away so to keep it in a room a lump of wood was placed at the bottom of a door hence the name 'threshold'
Love love love this show. Great video! I ALMOST became a contestant of the first kids xmas special. In my audition (think there were 6 of us) 2 got in. The vice captain and captain. The captain was none other than Michael Underwood - who as an adult hosted Jungle Run on citv, which was very similar to the crystal maze 👌 ...i also had the boardgame and had my own crystal maze scrapbook 🙈
Wow that's awesome!
Thanks for making this. The theme song alone just brings back so much nostalgia from my childhood.
Just rewatching this documentary as I do the dishes LOL. Brilliant work - a good deal of info & footage contained. (Although I am a bit biased as some of the games i designed are in your video at 10:44 10:48 & 11:40
Hopefully you will do one on the Live Experiences soon. 👍🏼
I loved watching The Crystal Maze, Gladiators and Noel's House Party which made my childhood far better than those born 10 or years after me. I'm also glad that Fort Boyard did get the chance it deserved as that was a great show too. TV shows like this help make the Golden Era of British TV.
Absolutely loved this show as a kid back in the 90s. We used to all sit down and watch it as a family. Have fond childhood memories watching this Gameshow. Great video really enjoyed it.
This video made me mad nostalgic. I guess being born at the start of the 90s it was inevitable. The theme music for this show is unforgettable. You can go half a dozen years without hearing it, and after the first few beats you are reminded of it all over again.
the show’s director David G. Croft has explained that the Crystal Maze was only cancelled because back in the 90s, there was far less competition from the other terrestrial channels; C4 could afford to have a more cavalier attitude with winning formats and they just decided that they’d had enough of it! It had nothing to do with Ed (who was brilliant). Croft says that C4 would never have dreamed of letting it go today. You can hear the rest on Jack’s Throwback Attack podcast.
Absolutely true. A common misconception. In my eyes, Ed took the presenting up an extra few notches - he was manic as anything !!!!
@@philnewton-england7795 I don't think it was to do with Ed, but more the quality of the games were better.
Cheers @@Mitjitsu I agree with you on that - but then I am biased as i designed a few games for series 6. Lol 👍🏼👍🏼
@@philnewton-england7795 Which ones?
"Croft says that C4 would never have dreamed of letting it go today."
Well that's not true because it's been cancelled again. 😆
Love this trip down memory lane!! Thank you 😊
Glad you enjoyed it!
The crystal maze gave all of us adults the chance to feel like children again in the sense of the raw viseral excitement and fantasy play..a great will always rise from the ashes of mumsys urn. 🙏😉
What a wonderful discovery this channel is. Superb content. 😊
Thanks a lot, glad you're enjoying the videos!
This is spectacular, really good quality documentary.
Very well-made documentary! Thank you! Keep up the good work! The Crystal Maze is, and always will be amazing!
You earned a subscriber my friend. You cover my childhood in your videos!
Great to have you here :) If you could share the videos with anyone you think might be interested, that would be awesome!
I always loved the Crystal Maze and have rewatched the original series' many times.
The new series never worked for me, and I gave up on it as they got it wrong in so many ways.
Less games. The old series was so fast paced that it kept your attention. With smart phones and a million channels, now more than ever the pace needs to be kept up, but instead they changed 3/4 games per zone to 2/3 with loads of standing around chatting. They blamed longer adverts for the change, but adverts aren't that much longer (a TV hour was 49 minutes then, and is 42 minutes now) They could have kept 3 games per zone (possibly with more 2 min games).
The teleport. The old set felt real. Yes it had polystyrene rocks etc, but if you bought a locked in player out, someone had to go round the maze to get them. The new series scrapped that, with a teleport to leave the future zone and a teleport to get a locked in person out... Except teleports aren't real, so when someone was bought out, for them to appear the moment they're bought out, they clearly weren't in the cell. Yes I know it's just a TV show, but it doesn't follow it's own logic.
Continuity and timekeeping. The old series hid continuity errors well. When someone fell in the water they went somewhere to dry off during the next game. When the remote control buggy got its magnet stuck to the wall and couldn't move at all (in multiple episodes) they'd cut to the teammates outside the game and a few seconds later the buggy was off again (probably after one of the crew got it free)... New series, they can't be bothered, with contestants miraculously gaining elbow/knee pads as they walk through a door... And they even cut down the games so you don't see all of a 3 minute game! (More time for standing around chatting)... And since the lack of time was the justification for less games why did they introduce games without a timelimit?!?
You're absolutely right on every level here. If they'd have cut the chatter out, they could well have played another 2 or 3 games per episode. One teams introduction took 7 minutes...2 games lost there already.
I didn't like Ayoade taking the Mickey out of the sets either (yes....we all know it's a studio set)...but the fantasy element should have remained imo.
Although there were quite a few good games, some were a bit basic. The majority of which either had balls, buttons or colours in their build. I just wish there'd been more variety & originality in the selection.
One other thing that let the reboot down was.....'celebrities'. They should not have used them (if anything, for the Christmas Specials only). Is it cheaper to get celebs than members of the public ?? ie insurance, travel, accommodation - will that all be covered if they use celebs instead ???
I remember on one episode of series 1 this one girl fell in the moat bridge from futuristic to medieval and was sent to Mumsey to dry off then richard made it a cute story that was like “Mumsey didn’t have to do that and give up her one and only towel but she did”
CM really did spark my imagination as a child. Thanks for the look back.
These documentaries are brilliant. I'm glad the channel is gaining some traction and I can see the subscriber number jumping up as I go from video to video. Great work!
Glad you like them!
@@officialbackintheday 2 weeks later and your sub count has pretty much tripled! I've just seen an old 80's game show called The Adventure Game. Looks to me like a bit of a precursor to shows like Crystal Maze and Knightmare. I'm sure you've got a list of ideas but if you're taking requests it could be one to look into.
@@_BoojieBen Yea the support for the channel recently has been incredible! The Adventure Game is definitely on the list for the coming months!
Amazing Video, loved the show growing up.
Also gotta say was a welcomed surprised to hear The Interceptor mentioned~
This is the first film of yours I've watched and it's really great! Especially as it was your first uploaded! You are good at this
Thanks so much for uploading this! I’m probably one of the BIGGEST fans of The Crystal Maze (no need to switch on the fans yet and ask Richard / Ed to blow their whistle so the tokens start whizzing around The Crystal Dome!) and so this was a delight to watch!
I was gutted when the original run ended and as I was only a kid at the time, I remember haplessly looking in the TV Guides wandering why it wasn’t coming back. I was too young to wonder why programmes were axed, or what that meant exactly. Richard O’Brien WAS The Crystal Maze for me. I still liked it when Ed took over and yes, it wasn’t “quite” the same show, but given the choice of two more series with Ed or no programme at all, I was quite happy to enjoy Series 5 and 6.
I wish there was more behind the scenes of the show. There have been some outtakes posted on an old RUclips Clip and what’s so delightful to see, is the producers and director reacting, JUST how we were at home when the contestants didn’t quite grasp the game or what they needed to do! Hope your video gets many more views, as this is great to watch. Thank you! ☺️ 🔮
Thanks so much! This was the very first video I uploaded, and the voice quality was not that great haha! Maybe I'll remake this someday and make it a much longer full retrospective :)
@@officialbackintheday I saw the clip was uploaded about 2 years ago now, but I’d have never have known that was the first one of these you did, it was brilliant and spot on. Great to see the British Fort Boyard clip that Richard did the pilot for, before TCM was then born.
I saw one or two of the other shows you have looked back on, that hold such memories for me. Fort Boyard and Knightmare being amongst them - so need to check those out sometime.
Rightly, Richard Ayoade’s tenure was mentioned, but he’s someone I’ve tried hard to “get into”, but just haven’t been able to and as such just couldn’t warm to him. I therefore only watched it when he was host as and when, even under the same great banner of “The Crystal Maze”. Richard o’Brien and Ed’s episodes for me!
Great vid, very well made. Love the channel. I'm 34 years old so bringing lots of nostalgia of days gone by, happy days. Great backing music too. 👍🏼
I still miss it. Such a huge part of my childhood. Definitely event viewing for my whole family
I’ll always remember the episode of Maid Marion where they spoofed Crystal Maze. Hysterical. Loved this show, always got bummed out when I missed it. S4C were determined to move all the English language programming around on a whim!
I remember that! Maid Marian and her Merry Men was amazing!
@@AlisonBryen That scene is on RUclips. Looked it up right after watching this vid
@@TheBeird I'm going to watch that right now!
You can tell how goated a show is when even a kid from the early 2010s enjoyed it on its rerun on Challenge. I was so pumped to see the modern return in 2017. We need more shows like this tbh.
Couldn't agree more. Hopefully one day we'll get another reboot that perhaps more closely resembles the original!
Brilliant documentary! It’s incredible how many of our game shows came from France!
My earliest memory of this was watching it in the mid 90s on channel 4 in the mornings. It may have been summer time around 96 or 97
Hi. Many thanks for this well-made, adequately researched and downright amazing documentary. My wife and I enjoyed watching this. We are impressed. Very best wishes to you.
Thanks so much for the kind comment :)
Great video thanks, we will get this on the Crystal Maze Fan Blog.
Nice one, Neil! Thanks a lot!
Hey Neil. Just saw the post up on the fan blog - thanks a lot. One small thing - I'm British not American haha! (even though my accent sounds slightly more American!) Cheers!
These are good docs, ive subscribed, well spoke no messing around :)
Great video - I remember Cyrstal Maze being on TV in the 90's but I never really watched it that often. Some good nostalgia though.
This is a very well presented documentary. Fantastic narration and well thought through facts. I loved Crystal Maze and never missed an episode. Its theme tune is my ringtone on my phone. I tried to be excited by Ed but for me, he just couldn’t bring that energy that Richard O’ Brien brought to the show.
When the show was aired I was just a bit too young to be able to apply. I was gutted but loved watching anyway.
Thanks for bringing this to us 👏🏻
Another precursor that is often forgotten, is the early 1980s BBC TV series called The Adventure Game. Set in a fantasy world, a group of contestants had to solve puzzles in order to escape and get back to earth.
Yeah, I remember the contestants had to give gifts at the end of the level. There was a talking plant pot, if you gave it water as a gift, you failed and was blasted out to space .....lol epic😊
Gronda, Gronda! 😂
@@souldestroyers and talking backwards 🤓
A yellow balloon
The end game freaked out a lot of kids as they thought the contestants had actually been vaporised.
Like everyone else I have incredibly fond memories of the original show. It was the only night of the week I could stay up extra late to watch it recorded earlier (ironically we'd be out at a quiz night). Richard O'Brien really made the show and even years later when I first watched Rocky Horror, all I could see was him from the crystal maze.
A huge thank you to everyone who was involved in the show for making alot of us happy on bleek Thursday nights in the 90s.
Great nostalgia video, thanks, I really enjoyed the revived series with Richard Ayoade, especially with the celebrity guests if they were the kinds of people he low-down hated, mostly loud diva ones, of which reality TV has furnished us with many. Darned shame it got cancelled again, it was a highlight of the week, for me.
Loved the show, the music, the challenges, the crystals, trying to catch the gold tokens at the end! ❤ just brilliant 👏 big part of my childhood.
Just found your channel, great stuff 👍🏻 Do you remember the kids show 'Fun House' with Pat Sharp? Twas almost like Gladiators & Crystal Maze rolled into one for kids. You should do a retrospective for that.
Thank you for reminding us this fantastic game show. The CrystalMaze was such a revolutionary show to watch in that yes its for prizes but what you had do to win it was new and exciting. Richard too was a cool witty funny presenter who would have you in giggles with his mad innuendos directed at players. I was at high school in UK and people would say oh did you see CM last night it was WICKED too watch as a teen....
Sometimes, tv shows for example, just have a good short run. Many shows that I consider some of the best TV made, have been six seasons or less. I think that the ratings drop after Richard went was considerable, hence it didn’t run for very long with Tudor pole as his replacement. I remember everyone being pissed off that Richard had gone, and had been replaced. That and that cost per episode. They wanted to keep it fresh also and not drive it into the ground, so c4 cancelled it.
On another note, OP, loving your videos where you breakdown some of my favourite shows as a child. Including this classic! I would rush home wherever I was, just so I could be in front of the TV for the crystal maze with Richard.
I'm not even from the 90s but still loved this show, used to watch tons of reruns with my family when I was a kid
The underwater zone was always my fav! Always reminded me of the second tomb raider, where you had to explore a sunken wreck!
I remember very well those days. When I was seven years old, I used to watch with my late grandfather the day I remember, I remember my grandfather. Thank you.💔🥹
Glad you enjoyed the video :)
thanks for the video, i was born in 87 and grew up loving this through the 90s original airings and reruns. One of the best tv shows ever, i liked the Tudor Pole episodes as much. I think i was about 5 when i used to come home from school to watch Knightmare then this [im sure they used to put it on after knightmare] from 92 on.
Knightmare was ITV, Crystal Maze on Channel 4
ahh cool i wouldn't remember that i was only a young kid at the time, i might be wrong but in my head i used to watch Crystal Maze after this (must of changed channel). But i'm aware there could of been a couple of programmes in between the 2 that i'm forgetting.@@DanceySteveYNWA
@@shaunlodwig yeah, I think maybe HollyOaks(?) was before Crystal Maze,but I could be wrong. I used to love Knightmare and Crystal Maze too, quite different to the usual crap we had with just the 5 channels
HollyOaks wan't out at that time as it goes bro.@@DanceySteveYNWA
@@shaunlodwig oh it was probably Treasure Hunt or something. 😂 My memory is not what it used to be
I might've said the other day after watching your video on Takeshi's Castle that it was the best TV show ever but that was clearly hyperbole because THIS IS the best TV show ever made! 😁
Absolutely love Crystal Maze
I always loved watching this. I was introduced to it by my dad, who grew up with it
This show was a reboot of a much earlier show from the 70's on the BBC called "The Adventure Game",
I loved this show as a kid. It was an escape from, well, everything really.
I haven't watched any telly in years and had no idea there was a newer series! It's the first time I've missed tv for yonks. Ayoade's a total boss too. I'll be watching an episode a week every Sunday starting this weekend, no binging.
this show helped me learn how to spell medieval
Medivale is easy to spell!
Wicked doctor
What a great video. Seems strange seeing you get some buses that I grew up with where I lived. The 235 used to run from Chigwell Station to Chingford Hatch, and the 254 was used to do the route that you did ad your last one, the 549
Amazing video, very glad it's been put in my recommended. I'm going to now goo watch all your other vids!
Thanks!!
I was at school when this was on.. I used to faithfully watch this after school back in the day. My goodness.
Very good documentary. Richard O’Brian was so charismatic in this. Him, the dome and the Aztec Zone spring to mind whenever this is mentioned. That and the Crystal Maze fruit machine. Anyone ever play that?
Yep - fun fact about the fruit machine; O'Brien never actually voiced the lines on the game as Barcrest couldn't get the license for some reason - either because he didn't want to, or they were asking to much in fees. There's also an almost identical machine called The Crystal Dome - which I suspect they used after the license ran out!
Good stuff, look forward to more.
Thanks! More videos coming soon!
The way they designed and built the zones still holds up today. It doesnt look dated. I think Richard was just too good though. None of the replacements could match him. Re creating shows like that usually proves too hard.
What amazes me was that between series 1 and 2 they moved soundstages and had to rebuild the whole set from scratch and it doesn’t even look that different
I love the environment and vibes the maze gave sm and richard playing a character that lives in the maze and guides people through it could make so many stories
Awesome vid. Don't forget the American series with Adam Conover, too. 👍🏼👍🏼❤️💎
I'm thinking about making a short video about that soon :) Working on a couple of other videos just now!
@@officialbackintheday Awesome. Looking forward to seeing what else you will be producing. 👍🏼👍🏼
Great video.. Happy to have been a fan through the original run with Richard O'Brien. As good as other hosts were I don't think any of them captured that original magic that Richard did. Sure it would be nice to have it back again regularly, but I think making it now as it was then.. would probably be much harder to do, cost a lot more and take a lot longer to film. So I don't see it returning regularly for some time if ever again.
Also ed tutor pole is my favourite.
And as Ed said Keep on rocking
Ed was/is my favourite MazeMaster too.
Crikey, 12th May 1994, i was 10 and excited that the new series was starting! Still remember it as i told my friends i wasnt going out to play, as The Crystal Maze a coming on and there was a new presenter lol. 😂 better days! Wierd the things you remember.
I honestly love the “Reckless Rick” character Richard plays. A guy living in a fake world with his mumsey leading new people through the maze but they always eventually make it out and get to go home and he has to stay behind and somehow make his life and job fun in some ways by always cracking jokes and telling stories.
The ones with Mumsey and Ralph are the best especially “Ralph was helping mumsey with her aerobics. At least that was what I think they were doing.” Sadly today lots of jokes and innuendos Richard made won’t fly nowadays 😔 another of my faves was “If you want to get physical you got to come upstairs with me”
You could make a ton of stories of Rick and the crystal maze without it being a gameshow and just focus on the environment and the maze itself. It is a really interesting concept and he built up an interesting character probably without knowing it. He is really great at improv. More hosts nowadays need that spark Richard had where he felt like he could connect with the contestants and push boundaries and still have fun.
Sad that medieval later got replaced by eastern it felt like the last of richard and his character was gone from the maze. He and Mumsey made their way out and took medieval with them
Loved this show. Ed was actually ny favourite as a kid!
Me too. As much as I loved O'Brien...I always preferred Ed.
The bloopers and behind the scenes videos from The Crystal Maze are hilarious, particularly when you can hear the director in the gallery laughing at the baffling actions of some of the contestants. Personally I preferred the Industrial Zone over the Ocean Zone, it was a shame it was dropped by C4, the same could be said for Treasure Hunt although that was more down to Chatsworth wanting to do something else (Interceptor) rather than C4 pulling the plug.
The celebrity ones were the worse, that goes for all game shows with celebs. I just turn off,all full of themselves. Love Richard o'brien, can't believe he is in his 80's. Thank you for refreshing my memory.
I loved this show as a kid, still do at 41 😂, I never knew it was originally a fort boyard spin off, I always assumed it was the other way around but that’s really cool.
I have to say though, Richard was the best host and I was surprised that Ed managed to do so well after him and I liked Ed too. After those two left I don’t really think it’ll ever be able to bring back that old magic, everyone else seems to be trying to hard when those two were just naturals.
At least we grew up during the good stuff haha
Thank you for the info and education
As a kid at the time it was an incredible show. Great name, great music, great presenter, great games.
after school during tea or dinner, with the usual classics, was real shows with education and learning, not like these days where social media fries the brain however if they can bring back crystal maze i doubt it would ever be the same honestly
I'm a game show afficionado but this is one I'd never heard of, presumably because it's never made its way across the pond to the U.S. as a remake. But for some odd reason, the new Crystal Maze appeared in my RUclips recommended feed yesterday, and as a lover of game shows who had never seen this one, I had to watch it. It looked like a lot of fun. I could never really get into The IT Crowd (I watched a few episodes), but I enjoyed Richard Ayuwade as host. He has a cynicism and a dry, sarcastic sense of humor that really speaks to me.
🔥🔥🔥
_greatvideoman_
Great documentary, but I wish you could have mentioned the Crystal Maze Experience, which was the main driving force for the show to come back in the first place.
Yep that definitely would have been good to add in. Wanted to keep it focused more on the actual show itself but thanks for the feedback! :)
@@officialbackintheday I wish you did. And no problem. 🙂 I was one of the very first people to have entered the Crystal Maze Experience when it first opened in London during 2016. Got the tickets from being an official backer when they were raising money for their Indiegogo campaign.
@@adamwalkervfx Ah that's awesome! Would love to do the Crystal Maze Experience. Maybe for my next trip to London!
@@officialbackintheday I highly recommend it. Did you see my Crystal Maze titles remake by any chance? I used promo footage from the experience to make it. This was back before the show eventually came back.
I did! And I really wanted to use it for my video but thought it might not have been possible! Looks great!
Crystal maze was broadcast and had reruns in Kuwait during the 90s. I really love this game and all the zones are amazing. The show must return but as the original show just like in 1990.
Ah wow I didn't realize that!
@Back In The Day I remember I saw the first time was in 1993 in Kuwait.
This was No. 1 viewing in my tv schedule. I was 6 when it first aired.
One of my all time favorite game show. It made my childhood very fun and exciting, me and my siblings used to make some of the games at home with whatever we had and compete just for the laughs and entertainment. I'm glad I grew up in the 90's ❤
Love the Crystal Maze and one of the best tv shows ever made!
I RECALL meeting Richard OBrien he was one of niceist most kind and humane person I have even met, this came on on tv and people loved watching the show because of his personality. He is missed my many who knew him.
As of this comment he's still alive! 😂
Really interesting. Cheers.
Thanks! Hard at work on the next video!
Oh my goddddd the memories! I can’t believe how much of this I had stored in my memory 😮✨
I loved this show, I also remember something similar that the BBC did called "The Adventure Game" which was really bizarre but fun to watch and had rooms with challenges and puzzles in it.
I used to love this show as a kid one of the TV shows that made my weekends so fun
I always thought that Richard O' Brian should have played the Doctor. He had the right look for the character
I always wanted to go on The Crystal Maze and The Krypton Factor!
Definitely a huge part of my childhood tv watching….. CBBC, Neighbours, Fresh Prince and Crystal Maze
I used to watch this show as a little kid, the nostalgia...
I had to make a comment on this video, as I felt it has been put together very well. This game show was a big part of my life and will always be a part of me. it was a ritual for myself and my family to sit down and watch this every week. Richard O’Brien was a fantastic host, I always look forward to the harmonica playing, sadly, I believe there was some kind of controversy of his departure and believe it was allegedly to do with alcohol or drugs related, but do not quote me on this as it was many years ago. it’s such a shame not to see this on our TV screens as a regular show. I thank you for making this documentary. It was a nice piece.
I was born 1990 and grew up watching this with my sister. I found Richard to kinda scary despite how actully light hearted and comedic the show was.
A lot of fond memories with this show
Richard made that show. So much nostalgia watching this. I miss the 90s
i love watching this show when i was a kid