Knightmare

I would venture to suggest that there has never been a kids game show made that tops this. From the inventive - and highly advanced for its year - concept, to its generous contribution to the morale of out-of-work actors who didn't mind dressing up in ridiculous outfits, the format was a winner on all levels. It became something I looked forward to without fail to kickstart my weekend. The puzzles actually took some thought, and the idea that three players guided the one who couldn't see past the end of his nose meant it must have been fun to play whether you were experiencing or controlling. The bloke who presented it was always a bit sinister as well, must've been the beard...

A kind of live-action "Dungeons & Dragons" then, only infinitely more entertaining than sitting in front of a computer. It's one of my fondest favourites from childhood, and will hopefully be remembered long after Virtual Reality has become a commonplace element in all our lives. This program was very 'funky' indeed.

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!!!

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...

Knightmare (1987-1994) A team of three contestants have to guide a fourth contestant (who's vision is impaired by a helmet) through a dungeon on a quest. Usually their goal was to recover a special object such as a crown or sword but they were rarely successful. During their adventure the group would have to solve riddles, avoid traps, and would encounter a wide range of characters and monsters (including goblins, wizards, dragons, witches, jesters, ogres, maidens and potion sellers). Some of these would be very pantomime-esquire such as the charismatic Hordris, the immortal Lord Fear, and of course the captivating Tregar.

The dungeon is generated using painted backgrounds and the same blue screen technique used by weathermen (Chroma Key). Despite its innovative format and huge following it never quite got the attention or praise it deserved (probably because it was on ITV rather than BBC).

It was recently repeated on Challenge TV during the mornings. There are apparently no plans to start a new series.

For more information see: http://www.knightmare.com/

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.