Knightmare

Well what is there to say about Knightmare? It was a kids TV programme/game show broadcast here in the UK. A team of teenagers would attempt to conquer the dungeons of doom by sending in the bravest among them into the dungeon... however there was a minor twist, the adventurer entering the dungeon had to wear a helmet which completely stops him from seeing anything except the exact spot where he was (so he could pick up and look at items he found etc) - the rest of the team had the arduous task of guiding him to safety by telling him which way to go.

Memorable aspects:

1) The "energy" of the adventurer is displayed as a helmed head, and as time progresses or danger threatens pieces of the helmet begin to strip off... then pieces of flesh and the finally pieces of the skull... the last thing to go is a pair of (by then) floating eyes and thats game over... you can replenish your energy by placing food in your knapsack.

2) spellcasting... sometimes you could answer challenges set by "nice" characters met in the dungeon and they would give you a spell... to spell you literally had to spell... "Spellcasting... S.. L.. E.. E.. P.." kinda thing...

3) big clanking gears and cogs and things and if the hapless adventurer missed his footing... well bye bye...

4) At the end of each episode a gong would sound and the team of teenagers would freeze in time until the next episode...

5) Tregard the dungeon master... a bearded rogue-ish looking fellow who would add strange cryptic comments after the team had frozen at the end of an episode.

6) Some random jester type blokey who I don't remember anything about except he was annoying...

7) Random evil-blokey (Lord Fear) who would just strut around and look menacing... usually only seen in a crystal ball..

8) Crystal balls where the foe would announce his master plan and give some sort of a hint before leering menacingly towards the adventurers at which point they would all panick and shout "drop it... drop it..."

9) The comments by the characters after you have answered one of their questions... "Truth accepted!" if it was correct... "Falsehood!" if it was wrong...

It was a very bizarre but yet strangely amusing programme (and completely non-violent... If I recall correctly the hero would die instantly if he attempted to brandish a weapon)... it was made into a computer game for several platforms at the time, and remade as a RPG for the Amiga a few years on, but none of these managed to capture the atmosphere of the programme...

I absolutely loved Knightmare when I was growing up! And I totally agree with the comments posted about it! For its time the visuals etc. were amazing and, yeah, it was the only kids tv show that had a creepiness about it. Also it was a very challenging game show and encouraged you to think. I feel so sorry for kids growing up nowadays. I don't know what children's television is like in the US but the stuff that's on in the UK is rubbish! There's nothing anywhere near to the brilliance of Knightmare, Funhouse, Dungeons and Dragons, Thundercats, He-Man and She-Ra etc.

Wonder what the guy who played Treyguard is up to now??? And the guy who was Lord Fear? I hated it when they used to look in on what he was up to through the spy glass cos you knew any minute he was going to realise what they were doing!!!! He was really scary! Remember the dragon the contender used to fly on??? My fave bit of the show was when someone lost and therefore died and you'd just see them and their mates walking down a path and waving goodbye!!!!!!

For any die hard fans I remember seeing some repeats of Knightmare on the Sci-Fi channel a few years ago, but I don't think they show them anymore. But I'll keep a look-out anyway. I'd love to be able to watch them all again! 80s and early 90s kids' shows were the best!!!

The helmet that the person wore enabled the 'dungeon' to be a complete CGI/matte creation. Usually the rooms were just CGI moving blocks that could kill the player, but in the later series, they became far more advanced. However, the prizes were really pants, usually just a metal plaque or something. I really wanted to be on Knightmare as a kid!

10. The Antechamber. This is the room where Treguard, his assistant and the advisers would spend the entire quest, watching over the dungeoneer.

9. Level 1 Clue Room. Consisted of a table with several objects on it, of which the dungeoneer could only take a maximum of 2, and usually a wall monster who would ask the dungeoneer a question or two before they were allowed to take any objects.

8. The Room of Choice. Usually the first room in the dungeon. A rotating disc with four doors with logos above them. Adventurers would have to choose which quest to go for out of the crown, the goblet, the shield and the sword.

7. Smirkenorff's flight. Not really a room as such, but as the series went on and the adventure branched out beyond the confines of the dungeon a new method of travelling between levels 1 and 2 was required (in earlier series this involved the dungeoneer climbing into a well). Smirkenorff was a large friendly dragon who would fly dungeoneers between the two levels, for a small fee.

6. The Catacombite room. A large chamber containing a gigantic monster. The Catacombite was a large skull with two massive legs made of bone. Id the dungeoneer came into contact with this terrifying (well, terrifying when you're seven years old) monster it would mean instant death.

5. Merlin's Chamber. Basically exactly how it sounds. A large-ish room with walls lined with books and a chair in the middle. Adventurers would have to work out how to summon Merlin, who would then give them magic in return for them answering a few riddles.

4. The Cogs of Doom. Timing was of major importance when crossing the cogs of doom, as the path only stayed intact for a few seconds. Advisors would have to guide the dungeoneer across two giant cogs without him/her falling into the pit below.

3. The Beast's Stomach. Perhaps the most disgusting room. Sometimes a dungeoneer would somehow end up swallowed by a snake or another monster and not die. Instead they would come here. There is only one way out of this place (well, two ways I suppose, but we won't go into that) and the adventurers would have to work out how to give the monster an "upset stomach". This usually involved throwing salt down or rubbing the stomach lining with soap.

2. Causeways. There were hexagonal blocks reaching across a large chasm. The blocks would have symbols or numbers on them to tell the adventurers which blocks were safe to step on and which would send them plummeting downwards into oblivion. Usually the dungeoneer would have been told the proper combination earlier, in exchange for giving a character an object, answering a riddle or through the use of a spyglass. The combinations often ranged from the relatively easy (earth, fire, wind, water) to the insanely hard (removing a piece of a shape in each tile to work out which way it was pointing). Needless to say, many dungeoneers failed thanks to these devilish rooms.

1. The Corridoor of Blades. Imagine this: You're standing on a conveyor belt heading down a narrow corridoor. Suddenly, a large circular buzzsaw sticks out of the wall to your left. You narrowly miss it by jumping out the way, then find you have to dive underneath another one that has suddenly appeared on the right. Now imagine you're doing this blindfolded and are relying on three panicky fools to warn you when and where the blades are coming, and you have The Corridoor of Blades.

In my opinion these are the most memorable rooms in the history of Knightmare. You may disagree, if so then why don't you post yours up here as well?

I loved this show when I was younger. It was one of the few kids' gameshows that has every been even vaguely taxing on the brain, featuring some reasonably complex puzzles and a lot of tricky (and very tense) timing exercises. It had fantastic visuals for the time, making use of a lot of bluescreen effects. And on top of all that it had a genuinely creepy atmosphere - something that I've never seen in any childrens' show. I'm nearly seventeen now, and if it was repeated on TV (or, even better, they made a new series of it) I would definitely throw style and social acceptance to the wind and make sure to tune in.