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Anyone older than 20 will remember Knightmare. After reading the Crystal Maze post I realised that there was a show that was far superior - the legendary Knightmare. Back in the days of RPG Fighting Fantasy books and Warhammer shops and general fantasy idiots with their Orc models and cretinous dice games, there emerged from the depths a show of such originality and heroic grandeur that everyone wanted to be on it. Yes, Knightmare was here and our (well, mine anyway) lives were changed forever. Your team consisted of four persons of which you nominated one to be the "dungeoneer" who would wear an oversized helmet which restricted his view to one direction - just below his nose! Teams were aged from 11-16 and only the best got through the auditions. Knightmare was the first TV show to use "blusescreen" technology whereupon the "dungeoneer" was walking around different computer generated rooms/dungeons and his teammates had to help him navigate the pitfalls of the the respective dungeon. The three team members sat down with the Dungeon Master (who didn't resemble the Dungeon Master out of the cartoon Dungeons & Dragons in any way or form - rather that being a small balding white haired wise man, he was a fairly tall bloke with typical full-on beard who was known as Treeguard, I think) who usually imparted a few handy hints and tips if you were stuck at a particularly hard part in your "quest".
Ah, yes. The quest. It involved you either escaping the dungeon or retrieving an object of significance. Puzzles, enigmas and the like had to be solved at various points en route to fulfilling your "quest" and achieving notoriety by completing it. In actual fact, the "dungeoneer" didn't really walk around different fantasy settings, but rather walked around one massive room with superimposed computer images constantly changing and updating to give us an appearance of a massive, sprawling fantasy domain. You could also use magic to get you through tough parts in your "quest".
Knightmare first began circa 1987 and set off a revolution. It was the most talked about programme on T.V. for the majority of gamers/RPG lovers and even some girls were swayed by the allure of such a mystical world. Indeed, after the first series, girls could and would eagerly audition in their own teams as well and routinely made the final cut although they did seem to suffer in the "quest" more than the male orientated teams (sorry girls, but it's true). I even auditioned with some friends but we didn't make the show. It was the worst day of my youthful exuburant life. I even remember the "code of chivalry":
"Be courageous, dutiful and just, protect the weak, and show honour even in adversity." Heroic ideals for impressionable children.
Knightmare had so many great touches; the way your helmet, skull and finally your eyeballs (this was a computer rendered image - it didn't actually happen!) started to fall apart and disappear when you hadn't eaten. The manner in which you had to battle monsters, the rapid issuing of instructions to your "dungeoneer" lest he fall prey to the to some of the more unwholesome denizens of the dungeons were all classic moments. I used to sit at home laughing when a character started acting the fool, empathising with the teams when their "dungeoneer" takes one "sidestep to the left" too many and plummets to his demise, screaming in rage when I knew the answer to a puzzle and the teams were baffled by it and so on and so forth. I make no bones about this - I LOVED Knightmare.
Knightmare was a great show and, with the advances in technology, surely we could have a new version for the 21st century? What do you think and in what ways should/could the show be updated to bring it to the forefront of modern television while still retaining the essential ingredients that made it such compulsive viewing?
Ah, yes. The quest. It involved you either escaping the dungeon or retrieving an object of significance. Puzzles, enigmas and the like had to be solved at various points en route to fulfilling your "quest" and achieving notoriety by completing it. In actual fact, the "dungeoneer" didn't really walk around different fantasy settings, but rather walked around one massive room with superimposed computer images constantly changing and updating to give us an appearance of a massive, sprawling fantasy domain. You could also use magic to get you through tough parts in your "quest".
Knightmare first began circa 1987 and set off a revolution. It was the most talked about programme on T.V. for the majority of gamers/RPG lovers and even some girls were swayed by the allure of such a mystical world. Indeed, after the first series, girls could and would eagerly audition in their own teams as well and routinely made the final cut although they did seem to suffer in the "quest" more than the male orientated teams (sorry girls, but it's true). I even auditioned with some friends but we didn't make the show. It was the worst day of my youthful exuburant life. I even remember the "code of chivalry":
"Be courageous, dutiful and just, protect the weak, and show honour even in adversity." Heroic ideals for impressionable children.
Knightmare had so many great touches; the way your helmet, skull and finally your eyeballs (this was a computer rendered image - it didn't actually happen!) started to fall apart and disappear when you hadn't eaten. The manner in which you had to battle monsters, the rapid issuing of instructions to your "dungeoneer" lest he fall prey to the to some of the more unwholesome denizens of the dungeons were all classic moments. I used to sit at home laughing when a character started acting the fool, empathising with the teams when their "dungeoneer" takes one "sidestep to the left" too many and plummets to his demise, screaming in rage when I knew the answer to a puzzle and the teams were baffled by it and so on and so forth. I make no bones about this - I LOVED Knightmare.
Knightmare was a great show and, with the advances in technology, surely we could have a new version for the 21st century? What do you think and in what ways should/could the show be updated to bring it to the forefront of modern television while still retaining the essential ingredients that made it such compulsive viewing?
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This is the longest post I've EVER written. Phew!
:P
:P
Anyone older than 20 will remember Knightmare. After reading the Crystal Maze post I realised that there was a show that was far superior - the legendary Knightmare. Back in the days of RPG Fighting Fantasy books and Warhammer shops and general fantasy idiots with their Orc models and cretinous dice games, there emerged from the depths a show of such originality and heroic grandeur that everyone wanted to be on it. Yes, Knightmare was here and our (well, mine anyway) lives were changed forever. Your team consisted of four persons of which you nominated one to be the "dungeoneer" who would wear an oversized helmet which restricted his view to one direction - just below his nose! Teams were aged from 11-16 and only the best got through the auditions. Knightmare was the first TV show to use "blusescreen" technology whereupon the "dungeoneer" was walking around different computer generated rooms/dungeons and his teammates had to help him navigate the pitfalls of the the respective dungeon. The three team members sat down with the Dungeon Master (who didn't resemble the Dungeon Master out of the cartoon Dungeons & Dragons in any way or form - rather that being a small balding white haired wise man, he was a fairly tall bloke with typical full-on beard who was known as Treeguard, I think) who usually imparted a few handy hints and tips if you were stuck at a particularly hard part in your "quest".
Ah, yes. The quest. It involved you either escaping the dungeon or retrieving an object of significance. Puzzles, enigmas and the like had to be solved at various points en route to fulfilling your "quest" and achieving notoriety by completing it. In actual fact, the "dungeoneer" didn't really walk around different fantasy settings, but rather walked around one massive room with superimposed computer images constantly changing and updating to give us an appearance of a massive, sprawling fantasy domain. You could also use magic to get you through tough parts in your "quest".
Knightmare first began circa 1987 and set off a revolution. It was the most talked about programme on T.V. for the majority of gamers/RPG lovers and even some girls were swayed by the allure of such a mystical world. Indeed, after the first series, girls could and would eagerly audition in their own teams as well and routinely made the final cut although they did seem to suffer in the "quest" more than the male orientated teams (sorry girls, but it's true). I even auditioned with some friends but we didn't make the show. It was the worst day of my youthful exuburant life. I even remember the "code of chivalry":
"Be courageous, dutiful and just, protect the weak, and show honour even in adversity." Heroic ideals for impressionable children.
Knightmare had so many great touches; the way your helmet, skull and finally your eyeballs (this was a computer rendered image - it didn't actually happen!) started to fall apart and disappear when you hadn't eaten. The manner in which you had to battle monsters, the rapid issuing of instructions to your "dungeoneer" lest he fall prey to the to some of the more unwholesome denizens of the dungeons were all classic moments. I used to sit at home laughing when a character started acting the fool, empathising with the teams when their "dungeoneer" takes one "sidestep to the left" too many and plummets to his demise, screaming in rage when I knew the answer to a puzzle and the teams were baffled by it and so on and so forth. I make no bones about this - I LOVED Knightmare.
Knightmare was a great show and, with the advances in technology, surely we could have a new version for the 21st century? What do you think and in what ways should/could the show be updated to bring it to the forefront of modern television while still retaining the essential ingredients that made it such compulsive viewing?
Ah, yes. The quest. It involved you either escaping the dungeon or retrieving an object of significance. Puzzles, enigmas and the like had to be solved at various points en route to fulfilling your "quest" and achieving notoriety by completing it. In actual fact, the "dungeoneer" didn't really walk around different fantasy settings, but rather walked around one massive room with superimposed computer images constantly changing and updating to give us an appearance of a massive, sprawling fantasy domain. You could also use magic to get you through tough parts in your "quest".
Knightmare first began circa 1987 and set off a revolution. It was the most talked about programme on T.V. for the majority of gamers/RPG lovers and even some girls were swayed by the allure of such a mystical world. Indeed, after the first series, girls could and would eagerly audition in their own teams as well and routinely made the final cut although they did seem to suffer in the "quest" more than the male orientated teams (sorry girls, but it's true). I even auditioned with some friends but we didn't make the show. It was the worst day of my youthful exuburant life. I even remember the "code of chivalry":
"Be courageous, dutiful and just, protect the weak, and show honour even in adversity." Heroic ideals for impressionable children.
Knightmare had so many great touches; the way your helmet, skull and finally your eyeballs (this was a computer rendered image - it didn't actually happen!) started to fall apart and disappear when you hadn't eaten. The manner in which you had to battle monsters, the rapid issuing of instructions to your "dungeoneer" lest he fall prey to the to some of the more unwholesome denizens of the dungeons were all classic moments. I used to sit at home laughing when a character started acting the fool, empathising with the teams when their "dungeoneer" takes one "sidestep to the left" too many and plummets to his demise, screaming in rage when I knew the answer to a puzzle and the teams were baffled by it and so on and so forth. I make no bones about this - I LOVED Knightmare.
Knightmare was a great show and, with the advances in technology, surely we could have a new version for the 21st century? What do you think and in what ways should/could the show be updated to bring it to the forefront of modern television while still retaining the essential ingredients that made it such compulsive viewing?
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