I still maintain Series 4 was a unique series and each quest, taken on its own (or even week-by-week as originally broadcast!) provided lots of fun, atmosphere, interest and adventure.

I agree that it was unique. The wooded areas had so much atmosphere to them, and no other series had scenes quite like these. It was a bit purple and a bit slow at times, but it was definitely a game changer.

Did anyone spot Ayoade’s reference to “the dungeon master” in Medieval Zone in New The Crystal Maze this week?

I think I will do a lot better on the wall monster who asks software engineering questions.

That the_mart guy was a bit useless!

Ah, I see. Yes, it would be harsh to penalise you for that. I suspect there have been many scenes in the history of KM which have been edited for similar reasons.

It was a great quest by the way. Very entertaining, particularly level 3!

I think Giles' recollection of being pulled up by the producer related to 'throwing a spanner in the works' when he lobbed the spanner across the studio at the last minute, as we were looking for the 'works' into which to throw the spanner. That's when the producer said they always allow one 'Level one boo-boo'.

Why was that considered a mistake? I can’t think of anything else you could have reasonably done with the spanner.

For me, the real series 2 is a big improvement over series 1. The Futuristic Zone no longer looks cheap and tacky, and they’ve made some visual enhancements to the other zones too. I’m liking the new games too. One was taken from the original show, and there were four or five other games which were heavily influenced by it. Good to see Jarhead works well in Medieval Zone too, but man was that last riddle ****ing tricky! It’s not ****ing surprising there was so much ****ing swearing!

I visited the museum last year and it was an amazing day out! I even saw a local bus with a picture of Wolfenden on the side, which was quite surreal.

Would it mean dressing up as Stiletta? Um, I mean yeah, sounds good.

The Block and Tackle and falling bridge were the ones I was thinking of, as those were one of the few rooms with hand drawings. The background of the falling bridge looks a bit S1 to S3ish, but I think it is slightly different.

The Block and Tackle does look a lot like the original Level 1 Clue Room now you mention it. Perhaps a bit like the twist room from series 3 too.

Sounds false on the face of it, since S4 and S5 had totally different graphics from S1 to S3. However, many sound effects from early series got used in later series, so I wonder if some less obvious graphic was reused. I’ll have to think about this some more!

But Wikipedia says it’s series 2! It must be true!

Fingers crossed that we get to see the pathway completed then. They should make it like The Cube, where you get to see an expert play the game and see what happens when the crystal is won.

I see that series two starts on Sunday 15th April (one week away!). It’s at 2000, so the same time as KM chat.

I wonder if any existing games will be kept, or whether they will all be new. I was a little disappointed that we never saw “Create a Pathway to Release the Crystal” completed, because that was one of my favourites. I also liked the game in Industrial Zone with the stepping on spinning discs and the Medieval Zone game with the clue solving behind the rotating wall. Those had a feel of Classic TCM to them.

Thanks for sharing Canadanne!

There’s a few there where I know the programs, but not well enough to have worked out the answer. The ones I’m shocked I didn’t get are Neighbours, Wacaday, and Pigeon Street. They are three programs I watched a lot when I was little, but I still don’t recognise them as lyrics from the theme tunes!

I love the look on Alex’ face. She’s either really good at acting or genuinely slightly uncomfortable with Traybake!

Nope, I don't think that's true. Pookas did pop up at the end of series 7, but not in Eye Shield sequences.

Yes, it wasn’t in an Eye Shield sequence, I think it was in a clue room. But I think that was the only time we saw a pooka in series 7.

2. "The heat is on, the time is right"

I’m not sure, but it sounds like it should be from Gladiators.

3. "They're the world's most fearsome fighting team"

Teenage Mutant Ninja/Hero Turtles

5. "I'm at the corner just in time to see the bus fly by"

Saved by the Bell (original and The New Class)

6. "Nab him, jab him, tab him, grab him!"

Dastardly and Muttley

10. "Looked at my kingdom, I was finally there"

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

13. "The gang will reign supreme, and no-one can deny"

Sounds very familiar but just can’t think what it might be!

19. "They crash him, and his body may burn"

Captain Scarlet

21. "It's been a while but we're back in style"

Another one which sounds very familiar

23. "When I'm alone with only dreams of you, that won't come true"

Birds of a Feather

25. "Why can't you whisper the words that my heart is longing to hear?"

Stingray

26. "Shipwrecked and comatose, drinking fresh mango juice"

Red Dwarf

33. "Goodbye grey sky, hello blue"

Happy Days

36. "There's no case too big, no case too small, when you need help just call"

I can’t quite place it, but I’m thinking Sharky and George

37. "With drums a-thumpin', bass player pumpin', keyboards and me on my guitar"

Pugwall

41. "Is she really everywhere, or a reflection?"

I feel like I should know this one.

Yes, in Series 5. It just popped up for a moment and disappeared again, and nobody commented on it.

It seemed a bit pointless as I think it was on the screen for less than a second.

It's also the only time we see a pooka in Series 5, if I remember that correctly!

Likewise with the Gordon Ramsay pookas in series 7. It’s a shame pookas were underused on the whole, as they looked very impressive.

I had noticed he changed from blue to green, but put it down to the usual colour changes between series (series 4 being purple, series 6 being orange, and series 7 being natural colours).