The team played a number of games in each zone, usually three or four but on rare occasions only two, in an attempt to win as many game crystals as possible. It was here that the teams played their final challenge in an attempt to win the prizes that they had set out to obtain.Įach episode followed a team (always consisting of three men and three women) around the interior of the Crystal Maze, starting from a "random" pre-determined zone and then working their way anti-clockwise through the other three zones. The set was divided into four very specific zones (originally Aztec, Industrial, Future, and Medieval: the Industrial zone was replaced by the Ocean zone from series four onwards), as well as the Crystal Dome itself, a giant geometric glass representation of a crystal at the centre of the maze.
Filming began two months after construction had ended, in preparation for the release of the first series due in early 1990. The set itself cost somewhere in the region of £250,000 to build and was finished in 1989. A UK version of Fort Boyard was eventually made by Five, long after Channel 4 ended The Crystal Maze. 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. As a result, the show ended up using a similar concept to Fort Boyard, but was substantially different in presentation and style.
The show's creator, Jacques Antoine, was consulted about the prospect of developing an alternative format. Though Chatsworth Television had planned to construct a British version of the Fort, it became clear that the set would not be ready in time for the pilot show. The Crystal Maze was born out of a desire to recreate the popular French show Fort Boyard. Each show was just under 1 hour long, including combined 20 minute commercial breaks. The Crystal Maze has garnered a cult following, despite the last series ending over a decade ago, partially due to the wit and improvisation of the hosts ( Richard'O'Brien series 1-4 and Ed Tudor-Pole series 5-6), and has gained enough popularity to be shown regularly on the satellite television channel Challenge. It was shown on Channel 4 from 15 February 1990 to 10 August 1995 in the United Kingdom, and consisted of six series one series per year. The Crystal Maze is a television game show produced by Chatsworth Television.
The first logo for The Crystal Maze, used in Series 1-2