Can you crack the crystal maze? (Crystal Maze, The)

Member Name: katykicker

Product:	Crystal Maze, The
Date:	16/04/09 (62 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great format, good prizes, variety of challenges.

Disadvantages: Ed Tudor-Pole....

The Crystal Maze was a game show which is no longer being shown on mainstream TV (it was on Channel 4) but is regularly repeated on digital channel Challenge TV.

It was first hosted by Richard O'Brian and then by Ed Tudor-Pole. I think that Richard O'Brian was by far the best host as he was quite wacky and very entertaining where as I think that Ed Tudor-Pole really does have to try too hard to appear wacky and this just seems very over acted and fake.

The aim of the show was fairly simple. A team of 6 have to travel through four different 'time zones' and then take part in challenges which could involve using mental abilities, skill, physical abilities or even a mystery challenge. They would have a set amount of time in which to complete the specific task that that team member has been set and if they fail to complete it in time they need to get back to the door and out of the challenge room before the time expires or they will be locked in and then the team will have to use one crystal if they want to release them (they can always carry out without them and then decide near the end what they want to do). There were also some challenges where if you got it wrong three times or touched the floor three times or whatever you could get automatically locked in before your time has even expired. Some of the challenges were very imaginative indeed and this always drew me in to watching the show as I would be shouting at the screen how they should be doing it if they want to win!

Once they have played through the four zones they will then go on to the Crystal Dome itself. Each crystal is worth five seconds of time and the team members would cross the draw bridge and hold on to the rail inside the crystal and wait for the whistle to blow. The fans are started and there are gold and silver tickets flying around inside. The aim is to catch as many gold tickets as possible and win the game by getting over 100 golden tickets. The twist was that for each silver ticket they accidentally collected they would be deducted one golden ticket from their total and more often than not teams would lose because of this.

The prizes on offer were always great days out such as parachuting, skydiving, learning to play polo etc and I was always jealous as I wanted one of those prizes (even though I probably would have been too scared really!). Each participant would receive a crystal saying 'I cracked the crystal maze' and the parent of a friend of my partners actually has one and it's often talked about when we see The Crystal Maze on challenge!

I think the concept of the show is fantastic and I enjoyed the variety of challenges from week to week rather than just doing the same things over and over! The contestants always had a bit of banter too and would shout through the windows to try and help each other.

I am rating this show 4/5 as it's a great show, brilliant format and it never got boring. The only downside for me was when Ed Tudor-Pole joined and he just wasn't very wacky or very funny and these are quite often the episodes that are repeated on Challenge TV so I miss seeing Richard O'Brian!

Summary: A highly watchable gameshow with a brilliant format.