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 new games which served as a preview of new games for the next series (the Christmas specials were recorded shortly before the main series started recording), 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 "Mumsey" (played by Sandra Caron, the younger sister of the 1950s 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). Mumsey 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 ("Mumsey" was temporarily replaced in Series 3 by "Auntie Sabrina" (also played by Sandra Caron), but "Mumsey" returned the following series). 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. He and Barbara had been together for 45 years in 2250. Barbara had been a scientist, and as part of her work, her soul was inputted into the computer, hence her presence in it.
When Channel 4's contract with producers Chatsworth TV expired, they did not renew it and the show ended in 1995. The large set remained up in Aces High hangar until 1999, when it was dismantled. The games were discarded, but many had bits recycled into new games.
Eventually, Challenge (a digital satellite channel, then known as Challenge TV) bought the rights for all six series in 1998 and frequently shown all the episodes throughout the year. As of 2012 The Crystal Maze continues to air on Challenge.
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 the first Christmas special.
The Crystal Maze was named "Greatest UK Game Show of All Time!" in a 2006 poll by the UKGameshows.com website and again in 2010. 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.
Read more about this topic: The Crystal Maze
Famous quotes containing the word popularity:
“A more problematic example is the parallel between the increasingly abstract and insubstantial picture of the physical universe which modern physics has given us and the popularity of abstract and non-representational forms of art and poetry. In each case the representation of reality is increasingly removed from the picture which is immediately presented to us by our senses.”
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“There are few cases in which mere popularity should be considered a proper test of merit; but the case of song-writing is, I think, one of the few.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1845)