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The Crystal Maze

Format

Originally, Chatsworth Television intended to make a British version of the French show Fort Boyard, but when it became clear that the fort would not be available at the time of the pilot show, Fort Boyard's creator Jacques Antoine was consulted about developing an alternative format that could be shot elsewhere. As a result, the show ended up using a similar concept to Fort Boyard, but was substantially different in presentation and style. It was filmed on a very large set, originally at H Stage in Shepperton Studios, but in later series at an adapted aircraft hangar named Aces High Studios, at North Weald Airfield in Essex. A UK version of Fort Boyard was eventually made by Five, long after Channel 4 ended The Crystal Maze.

The set was divided into four 'Zones' (originally Aztec, Futuristic, Medieval and Industrial; Industrial was replaced by Ocean from series four onwards), as well as the Crystal Dome, a giant geometric acrylic glass 'crystal' (see the title card at the right) at the centre of the maze, where the teams play their final challenge after playing games in each of the four Zones.

In each episode, a team consisting of three men and three women (including a team captain and vice-captain) would enter the 'maze,' starting from a pre-determined Zone, and play three or four games of various types in each Zone before entering the Crystal Dome. The teams were put together by Chatsworth from individual applicants, only meeting each other for the first time on the day before filming their episode, unlike the UK version of Fort Boyard which was eventually made some years later, in which teams applied and played as teams.

The objective of the show was to amass as many 'time crystals' as possible (these were golf ball-sized Swarovski glass crystals) by playing the games in each Zone; each game successfully played would win one 'time crystal.' When the team reached the Crystal Dome, they had to collect as many gold 'tokens' as possible in order to win a prize. Each crystal that the team won earlier would allow them five seconds of time in the Dome to collect tokens, so the more crystals the team won in the Zones, the more time and thus the better chance they had of getting a high gold token count.

Before each game in a Zone, the team captain(or vice captain should the team captain be locked in) would choose which contestant would play and which type of challenge the game would involve. Games were classed as Physical, Mental, Skill or Mystery. These were typically puzzle games, often involving dexterity (especially the Skill games). The chosen team member would be sent into a chamber to play a game, and their team-mates could advise them from outside (except in specific mental games where the team would be instructed not to confer, although general encouragement could still be shouted in). Successfully solving the puzzle would release a crystal. In the early series, the captain's choice of game and contestant was genuine; in later series, it was not a free choice and was 'imposed' on the team by the production team.

Each game had a time limit of two, two-and-a-half, or three minutes. If the contestant failed to exit the chamber in time, they would be 'locked in.' In some games, known as 'automatic lock-in' games, the contestant could also be locked in by committing a foul, for example by touching the floor if this was forbidden for that game, or by setting off an 'alarm' three times. A small number of games didn't allow contestants to exit without winning the crystal, usually achieved by having the crystal freely accessible but requiring a puzzle to be solved to get out. Contestants who were 'locked in' were unable to play more gamesor enter the Crystal Domenless the team captain chose to buy a contestant's freedom at the cost of a previously-earned crystal; this could be done at any time after the lock-in.

Buying out a 'locked-in' contestant required another team member to physically take a crystal to the chamber where the contestant was locked in, leaving the crystal there in exchange for their bought-out colleague. As this was sometimes a lengthy trip, it effectively took a second contestant out of action for several games, so the timing was important. If the contestants did not rejoin the team in time, they would both be excluded from the Crystal Dome finale: a danger that was stated in several episodes, though this never actually happened. If the captain was locked in, the vice-captain took over until he or she elected to buy the captain's freedom. In the very rare cases that both the captain and vice-captain were locked in a new captain would be elected on the spot.

After competing in all four Zones, the remaining contestants entered the Crystal Dome, a 16-foot high replica of the 'time crystals' surrounded by a seven-foot circular moat and entered by a three-foot wide 'drawbridge' which was hydraulically retracted once the team were inside. Similarly, one of the Dome's triangular panels was hydraulically opened and closed to let the team enter, then lock them inside. Inside the Dome, gold and silver banknote-sized 'tokens' made of foil were blown around from beneath the wire mesh floor by six huge fans mounted on a slowly rotating giant turntable, leading to O'Brien's catchphrase, delivered in a cod American accent: "Will you start the fans, please!". or Tudor Pole's various elaborate intros, for example "Let the mighty winds blow!"

After much experimentation with samples of dozens of different foils, the production team found only one which worked properly in the Dome without either falling to the floor and staying there, blowing straight to the top of the Dome and staying there, or 'sticking' to the wall panels. Unfortunately, this foil-like material was only manufactured in silver, so the gold tokens were actually silver ones which were sprayed with gold paint by the production crew.

In the Dome, and after the fans and turntable were up to speed with all the tokens swirling around, the team's aim was to grab the tokens from the air and post them into a roughly house brick sized clear plastic container mounted at waist height on the outside of one of the dome's panels. Tudor-Pole called it The Cosmic Pyramid, while O'Brien simply called it The Letterbox. The container had a pneumatically-operated door on the inside, marked with a red saltire-shaped cross, which opened when the collection time started and closed when time was up. The team had to collect 100 or more gold tokens to win, but each silver token gathered would cancel out a gold token. Hence, the team actually had to collect 100 more gold tokens than silver ones. In series two, a gold and silver gauge would appear on-screen whilst the team played in the Dome so viewers could watch how many gold and silver tokens the contestants had collected. This was scrapped from series three onward.

The ratio of silver to gold tokens within the Dome was five to four, and the gold tokens were very difficult to tell from silver ones when blowing around inside the Dome, especially since the paint on the 'gold' tokens tended to flake off, although neither of these details were obvious to the viewer. The shape and size of the Dome meant that every sound within it (including a contestant's own voice!) appeared to come from a single point roughly ten feet above the Dome's mesh floor, and directly above its centre. This could be disorientating to the contestants.

In the first series, a final balance of 50-99 gold tokens entitled team members to a 'runner-up' prize, but this was dropped in later series. Originally, it was also planned to offer a 'double-or-nothing' Gamble Game to teams winning 50-99 gold tokens. This consisted of a small 'wire-frame' model of the Crystal Dome with some pieces removed, which the team (if they accepted the Gamble) would have to re-assemble within a time limit. However, the Gamble Game idea was dropped shortly before the first series was filmed.

Originally, prizes consisted individual adventure days out, such as a flight in a Tiger Moth or a day spent mud-plugging, and contestants chose their own gold and silver grade prizes off set, just in advance of filming the Crystal Dome part of the show. From series four onwards, the contestants would choose a single prize (usually once-in-a-lifetime adventure holidays) shared by the whole team. Winning teams were few and far between; a testament to how much of a challenge the show actually was, or, as many observers would say, a reflection on the types of contestants that were selected for the show. All players that participated won a commemorative crystal saying "I Cracked the Crystal Maze, 1990-5," despite the fact that the vast majority failed.

The Zones

The four Zones featured in the maze varied in terms of both games and setting  Aztec and Medieval were set in the distant past, Industrial was modern and Futuristic in the future. The Ocean Zone replaced the Industrial Zone from series four onwards. Teams began their game in one of the Zones and progressed either clockwise or anti-clockwise around the maze; this meant that a team would alternate between the past and modern Zones.

Crystal Maze map

A computerised diagram of the Crystal Maze was produced and displayed as the team travelled around the maze. The diagram was a copy of the actual production design and floor plan of the set. Two versions were created, one for series 1-3 and one for series 4-6: the change being required for the new Ocean Zone. In both cases, the map zoomed in for each Zone.

Map used during series 1-3

Series 1-3: The diagram consisted of a black background with Zones formed from coloured lines:

Industrial was purple

Aztec was yellow

Futuristic was blue

Medieval was green

The Crystal Dome was white

The current location of the team in the maze was shown by a single red dot, which could be positioned in numerous places on the map, including different areas in the Zones, the obstacles between the Zones or even outside the map once or twice in the case of the Aztec Zone. Occasionally, no dot at all was shown for the Aztec Zone. The Crystal Dome had no dot and just zoomed in after a few seconds. Also, the map could sometimes be shown twice for the same Zone, the first showing the obstacle and the second the Zone. The map could zoom in at any time however.

Map used during series 4-6

Series 4-6: The Diagram consisted of a multi-coloured background with Zones formed from filled coloured areas:

Ocean was blue

Aztec was yellow

Futuristic was grey

Medieval was green

The Crystal Dome was white with blue water

The location of the team around the maze was shown by a radar-like positioning system. Unlike the series 1-3 map, the locator had fixed positions in the Zones and did not venture into the obstacles. The Crystal Dome also had this type of locator.

In both cases, the map zoomed in on each individual Zone and the Dome. The angle used to zoom in on each Zone was different: some just panned down, others did a full 180 degree angled sweep to show the Zone from the back. Whenever the map zoomed in, all other Zones and the Dome drifted away so that the individual cells and obstacles could be seen more clearly. The Dome was different. Its zoom showed it from the very front, a very steep pan down being required for this.

In series 6 and the 1992 Kids Christmas Special, the zoom in on Zones included a sound effect. In addition, the 1992 Special used the second map for the first time, so different zooming angles were used, and the Ocean Zone was also seen for the first time.

Entering the maze

When a team started The Crystal Maze, they had to overcome an obstacle to enter their first Zone. These were:

Aztec: Row across a river in canoes

Medieval: Open or climb over a portcullis

Futuristic: Answer a question set by the computer

Industrial (series 1-3): Climb over oil barrels and wire mesh into a gap above a door, and/or open the gates or door with a key

Ocean (replacing Industrial from series 4-6): Remove a metal grille and climb down a net ladder

Each episode of series 1-4 started with Richard O'Brien blowing his whistle. In series 5-6, Ed Tudor Pole used a different whistle, but the episode would sometimes start with a distinct sound; he would ring a bell in Medieval, blow a conch in Aztec, set off an alarm in Futuristic (after the question was answered), and sound a foghorn in Ocean.

Moving from Zone to Zone

When a team finished their games in a Zone, they had to overcome an obstacle to travel to their next Zone. The transition was only shown in full during the second Zone change in each episode, with a commercial break being taken during other Zone changes. During Zone transitions, the underscore mix of the main theme music was heard to make the transitions more lively. The transitions were:

Aztec to/from Industrial:

Crawl through a long and winding Z shaped tunnel.

Note: Contestants often took a long time getting from one end to the other. Also, the tunnel forked into two at one point, with the other fork leading to a dead end, which occasionally caught the contestants out.

Aztec to Ocean: :

Walk across Stepping Stones, make way through SS Atlantis equipment, crawl through a tunnel then push out grille.

Industrial to Medieval:

Climb up a ladder or ascend stairs then

Series 1:- Walk across a chasm

Series 2-3:- Swing across a chasm

then descend stairs.

Ocean to Medieval:

Climb a ladder, crawl through a small hatch then through a tunnel, then descend stairs

Medieval to/from Futuristic:

Series 1:- Cross a bubbling swamp

Series 2:- Walk across a spider web type bridge

Series 3-4:- Walk along a balance beam

Series 5-6:- Walk along a rope(cable) while balancing by holding on to a second parallel cable above head height

Futuristic to Aztec:

Go up in a scissor lift, then

Series 1:- Climb down a stepped wall

Series 2-6:- Climb down a stepped wall using vines

Contestants could only move clockwise or anti-clockwise to one of the two Zones either side of their current location. They could not venture diagonally across the map because the Crystal Dome was in the centre (see map).

Moving from the final Zone to the Dome

Although the team's transition from the final Zone to the Crystal Dome was never shown in full on screen, the team would always leave a given Zone by a specific route, despite these routes having little or no geographical proximity to the Dome (in most cases, they actually led off the edge of the map!). In earlier series of the show, the exit to the dome wasnt specific and varied depending on what zone the team were in. However in later series, the exit usually remained the same.

Aztec: The team would exit by running past the column and towards the river which was used to enter the Crystal Maze from the Aztec Zone.

Medieval: During Series 1 - 4, the team would exit in most cases by the Medieval Zone entrance and only on some occasions would they leave by the door near to the Futuristic Zone, behind which was fog and bright lights. In Series 5 & 6, the team would always exit through the door.

Industrial: In Series 1, the team would exit by going up the stairs towards the Medieval Zone. In Series 2 & 3, the team would exit past the tunnel portal leading to the Aztec Zone and out. This is the only time the night sky (in reality, a painted cyclorama backdrop on the wall of the stage) could be seen from the Industrial Zone.

Ocean: In Series 4 & 5, the route the team exited to the dome varied. Sometimes it was by using the stairs in the boiler room and at other times it was by going up the stairs in the main salon. In Series 6, the team would exit via a panel in the boiler room, near the cylindrical cell. Again, this door had bright light and fog coming from behind it. This route was one of the two which could in theory have geographically led to anywhere near the Dome.

Futuristic: In series 1-3, the team would leave through the door which teams enter the zone. In Series 4 - 6, when a corridor was built from an unused door off the main control room, leading to the other side of the lift to the Aztec Zone, the exit to the Dome was another door, just through this new door and in the left-hand wall of this new corridor to the lift. The team exited into bright light and fog.

Popularity

The show's heyday was around 1991-93, when word of mouth had spread. It was regularly Channel 4's highest watched programme, mainly seen by children and young adults, reaching a peak of 7 million viewers for the 1993 Christmas special. The Christmas specials were to cater for a younger audience, and often featured teams of children, playing adapted versions of some of the more difficult puzzles (to make them easier), or easy puzzles devised and made specifically for those shows (which were not used in the main series).

At the beginning of the 1993 Christmas special (Series 5), a short 1min 30sec minute film was shown which featured O'Brien and his 'mother,' addressed as "Mumsie" (played by Sandra Caron, the younger sister of Fifties singing star Alma Cogan), leaving the maze for a new life with her boyfriend Dwayne (a new-age biker apparently, though he was never seen). Mumsie was the Fortune Teller in the Medieval Zone during series 1-4, fulfilling a similar purpose to Tom Baker's 'Captain' in the UK version of Fort Boyard by asking contestants riddles or puzzles in exchange for a crystal if answered correctly. Ed Tudor-Pole from the rock band Tenpole Tudor was then introduced and became the host for the final two series. Coincidentally, Ed once played Riff-Raff in The Rocky Horror Show, which O'Brien wrote. O'Brien himself had also played this role on stage and in the movie adaptation The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Ed often referred to some companions in the maze, such as Bert the horse and Starbuck the cat, and he flirted with the computer in the Futuristic Zone, which he called Barbara.

When Channel 4's contract with producers Chatsworth TV expired, they didn't renew it and the show ended in late 1995. The large set remained up in Aces High hangar until 1999, when it was dismantled. The games got trashed, but many had bits recycled into new games.

Eventually, Challenge (a digital channel owned by Virgin Media Television, then known as Challenge TV) bought the rights for all six series and frequently shows series 1-6 throughout the year. The two series presented by Tudor-Pole started again on Challenge on 12 February 2007, The kids' specials started on 5 February 2007, in which there were five in total, screened the Christmas before the adult episodes (from Christmas 1990 to Christmas 1994). This may be to do with Ftn, another Virgin channel and available on Freeview, showing the programme from January 2007. From January, it could be seen on Ftn weekdays at 6pm (moved to 7pm as of 12 February, and replaced by Gladiators from 20 March). On 4 June 2007, the show returned to Ftn at 6pm.

The Crystal Maze was named Greatest UK Game Show of All Time! in a 2006 poll by the UKGameshows.com website . Due to its popularity it was featured in the Channel 4 at 25 celebration season which showed popular shows from Channel 4's 25 year history. It has developed a cult following over the years and many dedicated fans still campaign for its return.

Theme tune

The theme tune for The Crystal Maze was composed by Zack Lawrence and is entitled Force Field.

Cultural references

In December 1992, video game publishers Codemasters released "Crystal Kingdom Dizzy", one of the last installments in their successful "Dizzy" series. In the final level of the game, Dizzy had to return the lost treasure to its rightful place, but before he could do that he had to take on an obstacle course of moving platforms beneath water, and collect a crystal and make his way out, in a parody of the programme itself. During this course a Richard O'Brien lookalike says in a caption Quick!, quick!, get the crystal!. One of his most well-known phrases on the TV show.

The Crystal Maze was parodied in 1994 in an episode of Maid Marian and her Merry Men (series 4, episode 1 - Tunnel Vision), where the Robin Hood character acting the part of O'Brien . It was also referenced in the 2000 movie Dungeons & Dragons, which featured a maze with similar puzzles, with its owner played by O'Brien. The show was lampooned on The Mary Whitehouse Experience when a group of "contestants" completely failed to complete the Making a Cup of Tea game.

On 18 February 2006, a parody of The Crystal Maze (called The Crystal Muck) appeared on Dick and Dom in da Bungalow, featuring a character called Richard O'Muck. The character played the harmonica at moments where the contestants needed to concentrate the most, a parody of O'Brien's antics.

The online multiplayer game RuneScape features a maze of puzzles known as the Rogue's Den, operated by a character called "Brian O'Richard". When spoken to, Brian O'Richard claims the maze belongs to "mummsie."

Comedy duo Adam and Joe also parodied The Crystal Maze on Channel 4's The Adam and Joe Show using their well known style of using toys. This time, the Crystal Maze was hosted by Yoda. The team was lead by Emperor Palpatine and consisted of Jabba the Hutt, Princess Leia, C-3P0 and a drunken Obi-Wan Kenobi. The game culminated in the team only collecting 1 crystal, and the Emperor being so frustrated with his team's terrible performance, destroyed the Crystal Dome with his Force powers and declared "The pony trekking holiday in Ullswater will be mine!".

In 'Sex', an episode of the third series of Absolutely Fabulous first broadcast in April 1995, the character Christopher, Edina Monsoon's hairdresser, calls out enthusiastically, 'This is just like The Crystal Maze!' as he and others run through university hallways looking for a videotape.

Spin-offs

Chatsworth Television licensed a number of popular SWP gambling machines based on the TV series, originally produced by Barcrest, but now made by JPM. A computer game based on The Crystal Maze was released in 1993 by Sherston Software for RISC OS on the Acorn Archimedes, and subsequently for the PC. A quiz machine based on the show was also produced. A board game was also produced based upon the show, but based on the concept of players competing against each other as opposed to the co-operative style of the TV show.

There was also a hand-held version that contained 12 simple levels, each the same but a bit faster and with added killer statues. It was a platform based game that mainly involved jumping on to different levels (out of 4) as they passed by. On the end of each level the player has to jump across three moving platforms and over a wall to obtain the crystal.

A Choose Your Own Adventure style gamebook based around The Crystal Maze was also produced by Mammoth in 1991, in association with Channel 4 and Chatsworth Television. The Crystal Maze - Choose Your Own Adventure Book.

The Cyberdrome Crystal Maze was an attraction usually found in larger bowling alleys and video arcades in the UK. It allowed fans an opportunity to "play" the Crystal Maze for themselves in a computerised format. There were a few differences from the show itself, e.g. there is no player choice of game category, and there is no locking in (instead, failing to quit a game would immediately cost the team a crystal). Five of the first six locations were in Britain, while the sixth was in Japan. Most of the Cyberdrome Crystal Mazes have since closed, but one is still running near Oakwood Theme Park in Pembrokeshire, Wales[dated info].

Encounter Zone, a small, in-door theme park found at Wafi Mall in Dubai, has an attraction called "The Crystal Maze", which was inspired by the original television series. Opened with the rest of the theme park, the attraction was built due to the popularity of the television series in the U.A.E. after having been run and re-run several times on the now-defunct, local television Channel 33. Encounter Zone's version of The Crystal Maze has a similar format to the Cyberdrome Crystal Mazes. Encounter Zone's Crystal Maze is a permanent attraction though.

The makers of the children's TV show Jungle Run openly acknowledge The Crystal Maze as an influence, particularly the current host, Michael Underwood, who was a captain in one of the Christmas specials.[citation needed]

The show was made into a game for Mobile Phones in 2008 by BAFTA award-winning developer Dynamo Games. The mobile games stays true to the original show and contains over 20 mini games all based on real games which were played in seasons 1-4. The game scored well in reviews from PocketGamer amongst others. In 2009, a video game with 3D graphics called "Crystal Maze SWP" was released by Cool Games.

Transmissions

Original series

Series

Start date

End date

Episodes

Recorded

Presenter

1

15 February 1990

10 May 1990

13

November - December 1989

Richard O'Brien

2

21 March 1991

13 June 1991

13

November - December 1990

Richard O'Brien

3

23 April 1992

16 July 1992

13

November - December 1991

Richard O'Brien

4

1 April 1993

24 June 1993

13

November - December 1992

Richard O'Brien

5

12 May 1994

4 August 1994

13

November - December 1993

Ed Tudor-Pole

6

18 May 1995

10 August 1995

13

November - December 1994

Ed Tudor-Pole

Christmas specials

Date

Recorded

Presenter

1 January 1991

September 1990

Richard O'Brien

24 December 1991

September 1991

Richard O'Brien

27 December 1992

September 1992

Richard O'Brien

24 December 1993

September 1993

Ed Tudor-Pole

24 December 1994

September 1994

Ed Tudor-Pole

References

^ April 29, 2009 (2009-04-29). "The Crystal Maze Series 5 Christmas Special (Part 1 of 5)". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JswCu_ut320. Retrieved 2009-07-24. 

^ "All-time Poll". UKGameshows. 2006-08-27. http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Good_Game_Guide_6_All-time_Poll. Retrieved 2009-07-24. 

^ "Maid Marian: Tunnel Vision". Bothersbar.co.uk. http://www.bothersbar.co.uk/weekendspecials/marian.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-24. 

^ "Dick & Dom In Da Bungalow - Series 5 - 18 February 2006". Users.telenet.be. 2006-02-18. http://users.telenet.be/bartvanneste/series5/archive/videos/18feb_muck.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-24. 

^ http://www.playerx.com/games/gameshows/Crystal-Maze

^ "Nominations & Winners". Bafta Scotland. http://www.baftascotland.co.uk/archive/scotland-awards-2007/nominations-winners. Retrieved 2009-07-24. 

External links

UK Gameshows Page: The Crystal Maze

The Crystal Maze at the Internet Movie Database

The Crystal Maze at TV.com

Episode Guide

A contestant's story

Challenge TV - Show support page

Gameplay footage from the Mobile Game

The Mobile Game Site

Categories: Channel 4 television programmes | British game shows | 1990s British television series | 1990 in British television | 1990 television series debuts | 1995 television series endings | Acorn Archimedes games | DOS gamesHidden categories: Wikipedia articles in need of updating | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from October 2007
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