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.

Who didn't want to be on Knightmare???? Everyone I know who was a kid in the 80's wanted to be on it. Although not many applied as no one ever wanted to wear the helmet. The classic lines of "where am I?" that followed the entry into every room by the contestant's. "Temporal disruption imminent!" That preceded the end of the show. "Enter stranger" which invited the new contestants in. For the time it was really advanced and had everything a kid needed in a TV program it made you think (with it's riddles) it made you shout at the people involved "No not there! there's a spider" and last but not least the feeling of adventure!!! It looks a little tired now with dodgy CGI but it's still my favourite show from when i was a kid.

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!

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 never heard of this show in my childhood until recently, when I stumbled upon Watchmojo's top 10 Kid Game Shows list when I heard of it. I was captivated by what I saw, four kids (one of them the dungeoneer) traversing 3 levels of rooms full of traps, eccentric characters, evil monsters, and imagination. I am into Dungeons and Dragons type board games, so this show won me over big time courtesy of Youtube. I have nearly seen all the episodes that were aired and watching just one episode was enough to make me watch another and then another until I found a winning team (only 8 teams succeeded in the history of the show). The characters will stick with you forever such as Folly the Jester, Mordred the Wizard, Oakley the Tree Troll, Gundrada the warrior woman, Brother Mace, Smirkenorff the Dragon, Sylvester Hands, Ah Wok, and Lord Fear himself. The monsters the dungeoneer encountered were kind of scary a few of them bordering on frightening, such as the Catacombite and the Brollochan, despite dated special effects. Of the 8 seasons of this show, my favorites are seasons 2 and 7 since they have the most amount of winning teams. Now if only BBC America could air this wonderful show....