RIP Crystal Maze (Crystal Maze, The)

Member Name: luke1081

Product:	Crystal Maze, The
Date:	06/01/09 (18 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Richard O'Brian

Disadvantages: Ed Tudor Pole

This was a groundbreaking adventure quiz show from the early 1990s that featured a lot of business executives in shiny shell suits running through varied "zones". The show was simply, fantastic, knocking the slots off similar quiz shoes of the time; not least, The Krypton Factor, which paled in comparison - both in terms of perceived budget and the actual watchability factor.

This show had it all. Big-budget adventure challenges, thumping soundtrack, dumb contestants, an effervescent, slightly camp and slightly quirky presenter, as well as big prizes (usually quad-biking in Leicestershire or white-water rafting in Nort Wales).

It was engaging and awe-inspiring, with a certain cult status. A primetime quiz that occupied a 9pm slot Channel 4 on Thursdays was a brave move by the channel...but it worked. Richard O' Brian presented the show initally, though the less said about Ed Tudor Pole, the better - though, no a bad presenter per-se, he simply didnt caputure the magic eccentricity of O'Brian.

Be warned, this was no Countdown or 15-1, this was new, exciting and dangerous TV - the likes of which had not been seen on TV, since....It's A Knockout. It is a much-missed and much-imitated show which is sadly missed, and with the right presenter, could easily be brought back. It was engaging and a defining show of the 1990s.

Summary: Much missed adventure game