The Crystal Maze

Did challenge (now with no question mark after it; dont know why!) actually create any new episodes of 100%? I was always under the impression that they just shownt the channel 5 repeats!

When was 100% time of day wise? I know towards the end it was on before open house with gloria (another good show that would have made their daytime line up complete!), but when had it moved around; was it on at 6 before family affairs ever? Channel 5 always axe things prematurely too. THE MOLE was one of the best channel 5 programmes in their history yet they dropped it after two series! FORT BOYARD, ive only realised how great this is since watching it on CHALLENGE!

As to how well flextech (bare in mind they're looking for a major company to work on it CHANNEL 4 or five) may produce the crystal maze; the only way we can view is to wait for their version of fort boyard; if it is ever in production and see how that turns out!

Could flextech not use the place that u were on about earlier with the mock zones? If it is closed to the public for a few days, and new games are added, wouldnt this save some of the cost of producing it?

Yes, I've noticed that Challenge have dropped their question mark now too. Anyway, the mainstay of 100% is channel 5 repeats, but at Christmas they were trailing 'the new series' of 100% (they even got Robin Houston in to V/O the trailer). So, unless these were episodes made for C5 but never aired, I can only assume that they were Flextech comissions? Or were they just being over-ambitious with their marketing and trailing new to Challenge episodes as being brand new?


It moved about a bit, but I can't remember any specific times. There was a 'gold' edition for older people (although some of the people didn't look older than 30) in the afternoons, and there was an early morning repeat too. Why did C5 axe it? I thought it was very succesful for them? Also, when did they axe it? The last time I watched it on C5 was around April 2001, but I didn't realise it had been axed by C5 until late last year. ISTR however that at the time I still watched it, the gold edition and the early morning repeat was still in place. Was it quite a sudden thing then?


That would be a good idea, but are they constructed to a high enough standard? And do they have Industrial or Ocean?

I cant remember when it went; the only reason i can think is that with 5 news at 5:30, family affairs at 6:30 and their afternoon film; that they dropped it in favour of home & away. Although i think by this time it was on in the afternooon anyway!

As for challenge, im sure the episodes they trailed as new were new to challenge as this is when they used the last of five's run with the ski chromakey backing. They did this last month also when they trailed everything as being brand new but it was old ep's of knightmare and you bet that were new to challenge; the only thing that was brand new was takishi's castle; i still think the original was better as i feel they used all the best takishi clips in the first series!

And also, when a player is bought out at a later stage of the game, was that actually real since it was only a 2 camera setup?

What I'd imagine would happen was that if a person was locked in then their fate would have to be decided on the spot, but sometimes they would drag it out and carry out the buy out later on in the game for dramatic effect. All that would need to be done then is a few seconds of footage of them sitting alone in the game room looking depressed, then a shot of them being 'rescued' by their team mate, then they'd move on (if they wanted to show the rescuer travelling to/rescuer and teammate travelling back to a different zone, then when shooting the 'moving zones' footage, they'd just shoot some additional footage with only the players concerned) and just keep the 'locked in' contestant out of shot until they were 'released', just shooting the 'contestant and rescuer coming back' and 'decision to buy out' scenes at the appropriate time. Alternatively, if they were out of the game, then they'd shoot the same footage of them alone, but just keep them out of shot for the entire rest of the game. I can't believe that anyone was actually made to sit in a game room by themselves for the rest of the day's shoot.

Well a friends mum got locked in the aztec zone when she went on there! And apparently what happens is, they keep the contestant in the cell and film the "depressed" footage, that they played back in the game later. Then they take them back stage and offered her refreshments and coffee etc. When she was bought back later in the game they just filmed her being extricated and then they returned to the rest of the game. So No, they dont have to stay in the cells for the whole time - in case you wondered.

Challenge were always on about "brand new episodes of this, that and the other" - new Night Fever, new Knightmare and new Takashi's Castle, none of which are "brand new", especially not Knightmare.

I dare say the new 100% episodes will be from the new look with the clouds and things - that is, "new" to show on Challenge (minus the ?).

LOL did you see last night's episode on challenge where that contestant fell straight in the water trying to cross over to Medievil?

God some people are so cynical! I think that they may be prepared to spend a bit of money on such a well-loved show - it won't *just* be Flextech funding it. Presumably Chatsworth, who produced the originals, will still have something to do with it, and I can imagine five wanting to get involved. I don't think Channel 4 would be interested to be honest.

If they were to build a big new set, then presumably they could open it up for use by the public or whatever, that would make shedloads of money for them.

Exactly. Come on lets all dip in our pockets and build a fab maze with hidden cameras at high angles, and background people - really huge. I don't see why all the companies that are producing it need to scrimp & save money - if they invest a lot more, its bound to be more successful. So lets not have a cheap version with plastic crystals - lets have a Crystal Maze spectacular!

It needs to to be epic. if it is not as epic as the first version that i will be bound to fail.

Sale of the Century was quite good wasn't it? and what about Endurance UK, in the early days there were also Winner Takes All and loads of funny little quizzes with Andy Crane and stuff

What was that show with a funny bloke with white hair where the prizes were poor to the extreme?

Anyway I agree with what you are saying about a remake, if it isn't better than the original it would always be worse and I can't see Challenge TV and even Five getting to the standards of the original. Maybe they should do the Krypton Factor instead or something a bit easier!

I don't know, I hated Challenge's remake of Winner Takes All (although I hated the later editions of the original Winner Takes All - once it changed to being produced by Hewson Consultants instead directly by YTV it never felt as good). Sale of the Century was passable, but I still don't think it topped Anglia's version.

But when it comes to The Crystal Maze, the thing that worries me is that the original version cost so much. I honestly can't see how Flextech have the resources. I'd hope that Chatsworth get back into it, but with Challenge apparantly being the primary output for the programme (I'm not expecting to see it on Channel 4 until a few months later), I doubt they'd come up with a serious amount of money. And without C4 comissioning it, they are unlikely to put much money into it themselves either. I'm really not imagining this as looking anything like the original. I'm imagining cheap CSO and cheap CGI galore, and it doesn't fill me with confidence.

As I said last night, I get a feeling the new crystal maze might end up looking more like Knightmare than The Crystal Maze.