The Crystal Maze returns to C4

I think it was a good episode, however my main problem is to do with the continuity, most viewers probably wouldn't notice these but as Aztec, Industrial and Medieval have stayed (almost) the same, I didn't expect the team to go up the stairs to Medieval and end up out of the tunnel in Aztec. I also feel an updated map was needed as while it didn't really matter for the "one-off" special, the fact the map contains the old Futuristic annoys me a little too.

I have mixed opinions on the new Futuristic, I agree that the zone should be updated, however I would have preferred it if they kept the old layout and updated the design, especially as I the think new space looks really small and claustrophobic. I would also associate the transition from Futuristic to Medieval with the 90's not now.

But overall, everything else was very faithful to the original.

It probably had to be smaller due to limitations of the space, in my view it's one zone where the size doesn't really matter though because it was always very compared and narrow compared to the original. I quite liked the point of difference that the team weren't stood outside the door and instead stayed at the viewing station.

There was a very obvious edit with the first game in Futuristic, Richard's comment about the airlock (deliberately) giving it away. Pretty sure that that game didn't take place behind that door.

But saying that, continuity errors and blindingly obvious cutaways were a feature of the original, even before Challenge started butchering the episodes for time.

Channel 4 have been doing that for a few years with quite a few of their shows on O2, normally the younger skewing ones like Made In Chelsea.

He said the same thing ahead of the first game - the difference there was that the contestant had a hard hat on when he appeared the other side of the door, the same with the first game in the Future zone.

I expect that's partly down to current health and safety too - I expect knee pads etc are put on under their jumpsuits for some games too...

I loved it. Richard is a great host - just the right amount of sarcasm and references to it being a TV show without losing respect for the experience.

I hated Louie Walsh though. It was a relief that he was locked in, and the show was much better - more like Classic Maze - when he was off screen.

The one shame was the new Dome area. It felt like a polished TV set. The old one used to have an echo and felt grand. This one looks good, but wouldn't feel out of place in a Saturday night big budget game show.

Agree about Louie Spence - this episode is evidence he can ruin a brilliant TV show - and this was a brilliant TV show. Only thing I'll fault is it being a couple of games light and the transitions weren't really shown.

I really enjoyed it and thought it was a perfectly watchable hour of television, helped by the fact that 4OD on my phone skipped all the ad breaks.

Richard

Decent host. Got funnier as the episode went on. Did think some bits were a bit awkward as everyone kept talking over one another but I suspect that's because it was a celebrity special and I think the public will follow his direction more. Thought he gave some of his new catchphrases a very hard sell for the first episode. Grab the hand was said too many times, but didn't mind Mins and Alis.

Set

Beautiful. They've really thrown money at this and I love the new future zone too. I suspect they'll be making international versions, otherwise I can't see that set being affordable for a one off test series. I didn't mind seeing less of the transitions as they never added a huge amount in my opinion.

The dome I agree lacked a bit of pizazz. I like the new dome itself but miss the echo of the old one.

Music

Not a huge fan of the remixed theme. It sounds a lot more tinny, MIDI and budget than the original theme tune sadly. I do like some of the reorchestration on the zone changeover music though.

Nods to the original

There were a lot of nice nods to the original. The timer font. The light up table with the crystals on. All nice touches.

In fact the only thing I really, really didn't like were the obvious jump cuts when contestants entered rooms wearing safety gear. I think in the old ones the host would say "you'll need this helmet" and there would be a cutaway shot to cover the join, and I prefer that style of editing as it doesn't take you out of the moment.

But a faithful relaunch overall. I didn't hate it.

Spence. Louie Walsh is much less annoying. Louie Spence always comes across as so desparate for attention that he might shrivel up and die if someone doesn't notice him doing the splits every five seconds.

They might do as really the teleporting only works leaving futuristic. Wouldn't make sense to teleport from medieval

BBC piece on the new set

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40354288?utm_content=buffer3da76&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Why does the timer have 4 digits when the time will only ever consist of 3? The 0 is superfluous. Also, having it in a condensed version of the original font & colour really bugs me. It would have looked lovely if they took the extra 0 out and had it appear in a regular version.

Also, Louis Spence... oh, I'd love to slap him. Such an attention whore and he ruins everything he is in. Honestly, how does anyone in his personal life stand him? Him getting locked in and his voice and flailing being off screen for a while was a practical godsend.

Richard seems like a decent host, I suspect he will grow on us more over time. I'm not a big fan on the self-referential jokes to cover the editing, and some changes like the clock not always being shown and the rooms not having timers outside them are noticeable. These things didn't add huge amounts of running time to the original and it all nicely fitted into an hour with ads, so if they took the pointless guff out of the beginning with getting to know the contestants and inane chat before games, we could have a tighter and more exciting show here. If this gets another series I hope these things are noticed by the production company or given to them in feedback and changes are made somewhere. Also, in an automatic lock-in game, you were committed once you entered, there was no leaving early if you had used 2 lives and didn't want to risk it. Letting Ore leave his game was very strange, and that certainly wouldn't have happened in the old era.

Overall though, I have to say, as a huge fan of the original, I quite liked it and am glad to see it back. Just no more celeb specials please. Or at least get actual interesting celebs.