Start the fans please! (Crystal Maze, The)

Member Name: TheWriter

Product:	Crystal Maze, The
Date:	17/04/09 (77 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Entertaining, every episode is different

Disadvantages: It's not made any more

The Crystal Maze is a programme that used to be shown on Channel 4 and is no longer made, with repeats shown on Challenge TV.

The programme is the Krypton Factor meets Indiana Jones with a team of six people going through a "maze" and completing various tasks. One person is appointed captain and chooses who will play each game.

The maze is divided into four different time zones; ancient, medieval, futuristic and a water zone that looks set on the Titanic. The team were able to choose the type of challenge they wanted for each game selecting from a mental, skill, physical or mystery game.

The team are led through the maze by the keeper of the maze who gives them time deadlines, usually no more than a few minutes, to complete each task. Originally this maze keeper was Richard O'Brian and then Ed Tudor-Pole. Richard O'Brian was hilarious and would entertain the camera during the challenges if they became a bit boring. He would play a harmonica and tell us stories of his "mumsy" who was also incorporated into a game herself. (She was a palm reader and after crossing her palm with silver she would ask the challenger three questions. Only one correct answer was needed and then she would give them the crystal from under her crystal ball). O'Brien was also bald and wore tight riding-style trousers and leopard-print jackets. He was really entertaining on his own.

He was later replaced by Ed Tudor-Pole who was quite posh but tried hard to be wacky like O'Brien- but he was unsuccessful and looked fake. Poor guy though; you have to feel sorry for him, he had some big boots to fill!

The aim of each game is to obtain a crystal. These fit in the palm of your hand and were multi-faceted little beauties. These are usually either located in a difficult place and effort is required to reach it or it is locked in a small cage which will only open once the task has been completed.

If they failed to complete the task in time and didn't get out of the room quickly enough they would be locked in. This would mean they were out for the rest of the game unless a team used a crystal to "buy" them out.
The team did have the option of carrying on without the locked in person and buying them out later, or leaving them in there, which I always thought was a bit mean because it meant they missed out the finale. Some games also had conditions that could result in an automatic lock-in.

The finale involved entering the Crystal Dome itself. Each crystal the team collected from the four zones were worth five seconds of time inside this huge dome. The team members (minus any lock-ins) would cross a draw bridge suspended over water and hold on to the rail inside the dome. O'Brien and Tudor-Pole would shout "will you start the fans please!" Fans would start inside the dome causing hundreds of gold and silver tickets to fly around. The aim was to catch as many gold tickets as possible, winning the game by getting over 100 golden tickets. But as the gold and silver tickets were mixed in together silver tickets would often end up in the collection too. For each silver ticket they accidentally collected one golden ticket would be deducted from their total.

Once all of the tickets were collected they would be counted and usually the teams would manage to get 100 gold tickets at least- but then over 100 silver resulting in minus figures! I've rarely seen anyone win a prize, which would vary from sky diving to days out.

Each person, whether they won or lost, would receive a crystal with 'I cracked the crystal maze' on it. It would be exactly like the ones the team had to collect during the game and I always wanted one!

***My Opinion***
This was a brilliant programme. The maze was full of never-ending fun. Some of the games looked so interesting I wanted to play them myself! The way everyone works together as a team is great and all of their skills were put to the test. I still watch it watch it now and again when it comes on challenge and I recently saw an episode where children formed the team traversing the maze.

I am rating this show 5/5 as it's fun, watchable and great for the whole family. I just wish they were still making it and I wonder what ever happened to the "Maze" and the hosts? I also wish I could have a go!

One of the best games I remember is one where you had three half-pipes resting on wooden beams. At the end of the pipes (which could be moved left and right) were three stone Incas whose mouths would open and close. The aim of the game was to roll balls down the pipe and into the mouths of the three Incas. As their mouths were opening and then closing and the pipes were long, the timing of releasing each ball had to be perfect. Sounds harder than you think and I want to have a go myself!

Watch this if you never have it's excellent.

Summary: The crystal maze could have been a theme park and made loads of money!