The Programme of our Dreams (Knightmare)

Member Name: Keith.McDonald

Product:	Knightmare
Date:	11/08/02 (684 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Innovative, creative, wonderful idea., Great cast: actors, artist, directors., Never disappointed

Disadvantages: Scarce

Knightmare, the best children’s game show ever to date? Well, not officially so, (in fact, according to the Channel 4 poll, it came in as 16th) but as one of the shows biggest fans, I’d hope I can clarify exactly why it would and should earn such a title!

To introduce the brilliance that was Knightmare: it was a breakthrough fantasy game show which involved a team of four, aged 11-16. However, unlike the age classification for the participants, and the show’s inclusion in ‘Children’s ITV (CiTV), it catered for a huge audience, loved by younger children, adolescents and adults alike. It ran for 8 series over consecutive years, between 1987 and 1994, with a slightly differing number of episodes in each. And, although many fans will disagree with me here, a feature that also made the show so appealing was how it was shown; once weekly, on a Friday evening, over the Autumn months leading up to Christmas. Because of the limited period, the show maintained and grew in popularity, and never burnt itself out with over-exposure, whilst also building up huge anticipation over each summer for what was ahead in the upcoming series.

The game was played as one member of the team of four acted as the ‘dungeoneer’, and entered a largely computer generated virtual maze, packed with puzzles and difficulties. To protect from the graphics and to make the game plausible, the dungeoneer was almost completely blindfolded by a unique helmet, ‘The Helmet of Justice’. He or she was guided by the other three of the team, acting as advisors, who, unlike the dungeoneers, had full view of proceedings, through a cauldron/mirror or pool back in Knightmare Castle, the headquarters of the field of good, known as ‘the powers that be’. The quests set for the teams differed over the years, and whilst normally involving the collection of one of the magical, prestigious artefacts (sword, shield, crown or cup) belonging t
o and stolen from the ‘powers that be’, through choice or assignment, in earlier years quests also included the ‘freeing of the maid’ and ‘obtaining the talisman’. These advisors had to cast spells, take important notes, and, most importantly, direct the blindfolded dungeoneer through the trials and tribulations of the virtual dungeon. This was by no means easy, with several challenges over the years testing the effectiveness of this, none more so than the perilous corridor of blades (a front view forward moving conveyor belt within a corridor on which the dungeoneer stood and was required to avoid approaching blades along the narrow corridor walls). The team collectively were advised selectively by the Dungeon Master, Treguard (Hugo Myatt), the presenter of the show, and in later shows, his compatriots Pickle the elf, and later Majida the genie. Yet he tended to provide info on characters, basic details on some puzzles, and ensured basically, that the game ran smoothly and fairly.

The game was given a truly dimensional feel to it by the structure of the game and of its setting. The dungeon was split into three ‘levels’, with the dungeoneer entering at level 1. With the use of a well, descender or trap-door, further stages of the game were perceived to be lower and lower in the dungeon’s dimensions, and this was captured wonderfully in some of the graphical work, particularly in later series, the enemy territory of Goth, a grisly stone set castle of mires and portcullis mined corridors. However, the fantasy element was thrown in, with a green dragon, Smirkenorff, sometimes used to transport the dungeoneer between levels 1 and 2 by air, which added some artificial scale to the magnitude of the virtual world. The use of magic was also telling within the game, and the advisors could note and cast spells given as a gift or learnt through another method, a precious commodity. The object of the quest was stat
ioned at the end of level 3, and, with a considerable rise in difficulty for the teams during their quests as they advanced through the levels, I, and I’m sure many others also, feel it was unusually satisfying to see a show that truly earned teams (and, indeed, where teams truly earned) the right to feel great about success, as it was, genuinely, so rare.

Like the show’s schedule, there was a quality of scarcity about victory that kept viewers hooked. Nobody wants to see a game that is even 50-50 success, because like ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’, once a milestone is reached, it immediately penalises and submits a lot of its attraction value. Although not on the same scale, Knightmare, I’m sure, maintained its worth as a challenging game show by only producing a limited number of winners, and was a game that really needed skill, knowledge and excellent communication to win. The show averaged, I believe, less than one winner per series, with even the splendid (and longest) series 3 producing no winners.

The game was a breakthrough in technology of the eighties, and really convinced in the realms of virtual reality, with the use of blue-screen ‘cromakey’, allowing graphical flexibility to the dungeoneers’ surroundings, and this helped for variety and progression as the show progressed into the 90s. It ran in apparent real time, and a large part of the game relied on the involvement of characters found within the dungeon, played by solid performing actors. Of course, to prevent the teams from walking away with victory, there was a cast of opposition: in earlier series it was a collection of more free-lance baddies, named Malice, Morghanna and Mogred; but later, a more organised team were established under the control of a more long term principal, Lord Fear (Mark Knight). He acquired a team of henchmen, Scarkill, Raptor, and the unforgettable, scaly Lissard (Clifford Barry) over his reign from 1991
, and with them came mini-armies of trolls, goblins and mire-men as well as other nasties inclined to either hurry a slow team into action or to reduce the dungeoneer’s life-force. We also got to see computer generated evils in the wall monster Brollochan and the mechanical level guardian robot, the Dreadnort. Yet, along with Treguard in Knightmare Castle, the ‘powers that be’ had allegiances within the dungeon: over the years - the wizard Merlin, jesters Folly and Motley, the green dragon Smirkenorff, Brothers Mace and Strange and the brilliant Clifford Norgate as Hordriss the Confusor. It was all so convincing in my opinion, and the animosity created was frightening. There was always the sense of a real battle of wills going on between the two sides, and, after Mark Knight’s appointment as ‘Lord Fear’, the increasing jubilation of defeat and victory for each side was exhilarating.

However, one thing I consider particularly strongly when I look back over the years at Knightmare, was that this was a game that was not only wonderfully created, but even when not wholly successful, it was a game that always tried to move on. As great as the game was, I feel certain that the original dungeon, for instance, could hardly be used throughout the whole 8 years (or the final one)! Change was definitely needed, and it’s something that was always provided each year in some degree. In fact, that’s one of the main factors in anticipation of each new series – exploring the new dungeon (which, for instance in series 3 and 8, might take a while for a team to reach the latter stages), and learning of the new characters. Series 3 may have had the best dungeon in most fans’ opinions, and, indeed, in my own, with some rooms lifted and modified from the year before, and medieval style graphics that just suited the format of the game perfectly, yet, series 4 and 5 included more that appeared to be outside, in the castle
grounds. Then, with the new enemy palaces of Goth, an awesome and terrible level 3 proposition, which scared me the year after to find that this created level 2, and a level of further difficulty still awaited, and finally the beautifully designed Linghorm and Marblehead, it was clear to see how changes in technology over the period of the show were being crafted in, with fantastic work by illustrator David Rowe. It certainly felt like the game had advanced somehow, and I respected the production team for taking bold steps when it might have been felt they were not needed.

I don’t want to give any kind of opinion here that Knightmare resembled in any way a soap or drama serial, but another thing about it that game originality to the game show, was this change within it, and that either something hung over from the previous year, or something was built upon it. Some of the longer running characters within the show changed and developed as the show progressed. Hordriss the Confusor began in Series 3 as a powerful mage of level 1, and seemed to be an independent rather than an allegiance to the powers of good, but gradually seemed to weaken in power, and become more vulnerable over the years, becoming more in league with the ‘powers that be’, and his daughter Sidress became a pawn for Lord Fear’s minions, often requiring a dungeoneer to intervene and rescue to receive rewards from her father. Likewise, as feuds invigorated the show, Captain Nemanour and the witch-queen, Graystagg, both became useful after appearing independents, and even anti-dungeoneer.

How, overall, how effective was Knightmare, and does it deserve to be ranked the best? Well, the format of the game, I contest, is never bettered. The breakthrough of the blue screen technology into such a game that incorporated knowledge, quick-thinking and good communication in such an exciting and innovative fashion was remarkable, and I’d imagine the show only gaine
d in popularity over the years, never wavered. It was a very scarce programme in the literal sense, with very few episodes overall, but I think that that helped to keep its popularity high and make sure the audience for each year was intense, knowing that the show would only run for approximately 12 weeks average. Like I mentioned before, I feel that the constant change was effective. It was never a stagnant game show, always looking for the new, cutting edge to match the show. Although it didn’t always have the same wowing effect each time, when you compare it to other children’s quiz shows of the time, such as ‘Fun House’, ‘Finders Keepers’ etc, one could easily class this wondershow above its competition not only on its content and format, but also on its capacity and will for change. Both the shows listed four years on would have seen exactly the same game and features, but four years in Knightmare would represent a whole new challenge.

It also, in my opinion, served what it tried to be. It tried to be realistically scary, and achieved that. I do remember being terrified in places watching this as a child, and the sound effects/music and superb graphics/scenery (e.g., the dark dwarf tunnels in later series) complimented this aim. It wasn’t afraid to shock right from the start, with one dungeoneer early in the very first series torn apart by a bomb, penalised for his advisors choosing to guide him through the wrong door, and later, quests coming to an end in the perilous corridor of blades. The quality of the acting was always surprisingly good, and the animosity created could, at times, be very intimidating. Therefore, on its face appearance as a medieval, fantasy game, its ‘fear factor’ certainly lived up to the challenge.

To make a final cutting edge of this opinion – comparing Knightmare to other shows of its genre: the replacement, ‘Virtually Impossible’, which
replaced Knightmare as the fantasy, computerised game show of CiTV, was decidedly poor, not catering for the broad range of audience that Knightmare accommodated, and (so I believe,) left Knightmare lovers deserting CiTV altogether, and lowering viewing figures (perhaps an excuse to be used falsely by CiTV as to why Knightmare was ended). In fairness, it would appear that matching a show like Knightmare would always prove an impossible task, and the show has as solid a fan base today, 8 years after its demise, as most current ‘popular’ shows today. For all fans unaware of what remains of Knightmare, it has a wonderful tribute site at www.knightmare.clara.net , and, we’re endlessly campaigning for its return in some capacity (likely VHS/DVD –even though my efforts to Granada got nowhere, so many more great fans tirelessly strive for a positive result). If you’re a fan and could spare a few seconds to do your bit to try and bolster the return of the greatest children’s game show to date, then you can do so at www.bringbackknightmare.co.uk .

So, to conclude, I would have to place Knightmare as the number 1 children’s game show to date in my books. The structure, format and execution of the show were exemplary, and, where some changes did not pull off the same level of enthusiasm with fans of the show than others, it never at any time threatened to deter watchers, and I believe top commendation is in order for the bottle to do it, and to want to advance further. It is a major tragedy that this show had to be terminated, but keep eyes firmly peeled on Broadsword director Tim Child’s new subsidiary, Televirtual’s new project, ‘Timegate’, which looks to resemble something similar to Knightmare with all the quirks of 21st century computerised graphic potential, and should go down a storm. However, while looking ahead, it is only right to celebrate this masterpiece of the past, that which was the in
credible and unforgettable Knightmare.

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