The Crystal Maze was a popular British game show that aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from February 15 to August 10 of 1995. Richard O'Brien hosted the first four series, with Ed Tudor-Pole taking over for the latter two. Each year, a single season aired. Ads were included in each show's running time. The drama was originally conceived as a British adaptation of the French television series Fort Boyard, which was created by Jacques Antoine and starred Jean-Louis Trintignant. British producer Malcolm Heyworth had to reimagine the event since the French show's set was unavailable, so he decided to use themed zones to keep the show visually interesting. The show takes place in "The Crystal Maze," which is divided into four distinct "zones," each representing a different point in time and space. To win "time crystals," six people compete in a series of challenges. Five seconds are allotted to each team at "The Crystal Dome," the maze's centerpiece where the last challenge awaits. There was a two-football pitch-sized maze that cost $250,000 to build. During its peak, the show drew 4 to 6 million people per episode, making it the most watched show on Channel 4. Readers of UKGameshows.com named the show "the greatest UK game show of all time" in 2006 and 2010. It was "a very ambitious, high-risk show that paid off handsomely," according to this website.
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The Crystal Maze was a popular British game show that aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from February 15 to August 10 of 1995. Richard O'Brien hosted the first four series, with Ed Tudor-Pole taking over for the latter two. Each year, a single season aired. Ads were included in each show's running time. The drama was originally conceived as a British adaptation of the French television series Fort Boyard, which was created by Jacques Antoine and starred Jean-Louis Trintignant. British producer Malcolm Heyworth had to reimagine the event since the French show's set was unavailable, so he decided to use themed zones to keep the show visually interesting. The show takes place in "The Crystal Maze," which is divided into four distinct "zones," each representing a different point in time and space. To win "time crystals," six people compete in a series of challenges. Five seconds are allotted to each team at "The Crystal Dome," the maze's centerpiece where the last challenge awaits. There was a two-football pitch-sized maze that cost $250,000 to build. During its peak, the show drew 4 to 6 million people per episode, making it the most watched show on Channel 4. Readers of UKGameshows.com named the show "the greatest UK game show of all time" in 2006 and 2010. It was "a very ambitious, high-risk show that paid off handsomely," according to this website.
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