The Crystal Maze

[AdrenalinDragon]

I don't know if anyone else has heard of this, especially members outside Britain, but does anyone remember watching this show? It was one of my favourites shows I watched back when I was a kid, where a team of contestants had to go through four different zones: Aztec, Industrial (Ocean in second half of the series), Futuristic, and Medieval. They had to collect crystals in puzzle rooms within a specific time limit. It was kind of like playing a Chip's Challenge level in a way. If they didn't exit the room before the time hits zero, they would get locked in and it would cost an earned crystal to get them out. There were also games that had automatic lock-ins which would screw you over pretty easily.

Here's one of my favourite moments from the show, showing how stupid some of the contestants were at solving really easy puzzles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIWzdWaPAi4

EDIT - Found another hilarious moment on the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4GgXzoZ3mo

[jblewis]

Why didn't they have shows like this when I was growing up?!

[AdrenalinDragon]

Shows like these in the UK had no health and safety regulations back in the 90s, so game shows could be more ambitious and risk-taking back then.

Anyway, this is by far the best Crystal Maze episode. Watch the whole thing. It's a season 4 episode, but that's good because it's the best season of the entire six.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LgOPl4the4

[random 8]

Doesn't seem that much more ambitious than ABC's Wipeout. I think they can bring the show back if they simply add some safety provisions.

[jbdude55]

Damn I loved this show when I was growing up. I would always shout at the contestants through the tv telling them what to do, because they could obviously hear me. I much preferred Richard O'Brien as a host in the first four seasons to Ed Tudor-Pole though.

I watched an episode on Challenge! a few weeks ago (pretty sure it was the one mentioned in your second post Tom) and remembered just what an awesome show it was. That, and how awful hairstyles were back then.

[AdrenalinDragon]

Damn I loved this show when I was growing up. I would always shout at the contestants through the tv telling them what to do, because they could obviously hear me. I much preferred Richard O'Brien as a host in the first four seasons to Ed Tudor-Pole though.

I watched an episode on Challenge! a few weeks ago (pretty sure it was the one mentioned in your second post Tom) and remembered just what an awesome show it was. That, and how awful hairstyles were back then.

Yeah, the bald guy (Richard O' Brien) was much better at presenting. He was quirky, and used to make up interesting stories on the go while in the Crystal Maze. I remember his fictional mum being part of the Medieval Zone and he used to go and see her while the games were running. He was also really sarcastic and funny like when the team are performing bad he always says you're doing great and loved locking people in the games, plus he annoyed everyone by playing his Harmonica randomly when the team were trying to focus on a puzzle. In my second post the video I posted was the worst ever team on The Crystal Maze, only having 1 Crystal by the end but the Crystal Dome finale was hilarious because of it.

Ed Tudor-Pole was more serious but felt more forced at presenting than Richard. However, the games in his era were still good enough for me to watch his episodes. I'm surprised its never been released on DVD actually. For now, I guess I'll have to watch it on TV as at least as its on everyday pretty much and I can record and relive the good memories of it.

[mobius]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIWzdWaPAi4

was Richard just being dense or...?

although, stress can really make you make stupid mistakes like that, so I sympathize.

It looks like fun! I wish they had some more puzzle solving shows like this