Series 2 Appreciation Week

Post Reply
User avatar
Pooka
Fright Knight
Fright Knight
Posts: 1064
Joined: 17 Nov 2002, 22:55
Location: London
Contact:

Series 2 Appreciation Week

Post by Pooka »

I've taken a break from doing these over the Christmas period, but don't see why not try one of these again.

This week it's Series 2 Appreciation Week.

As with the first one, this is a Knightmare Chat endeavour, but since not everyone goes to chat, I'll start the discussion here too.

I'm aware that Series 2 is a fan favourite and I've even seen a lot of people say it's one of the best series (or their absolute favourite), but I don't really see it. To me, like all series in the "Mogdred era", it seems very slow and that can be incredibly painful to watch, as all the main action tends to happen in the later stages of Level 2 and Level 3 - and we rarely saw anything of that, considering. Some quests even seem to grind to a halt when making decisions, and that's painful, too.

On the positive side, there's a lot more variety in terms of characters - Gibbet and the Giant are gone, but we have Gretel, Olaf, Bumptious, Mildread, and the Troll. There are also more threats to the Dungeoneers such as Igneous and the (frankly terrifying the first time you saw it) Automatum. Of course, this is the first time we encounter Mogdred (even though I'm pretty sure we would've in Series 1, had any team gotten that far), leading to the first few scenes that I found genuinely scary and tense.

We also get a lot of teams, so there's some variety, and two of them win, being rewarded with very odd trophies and a rather atonal version of the theme tune on what sounds like a Casio keyboard: it's a nice touch, in an odd way.

And I quite like Combat Chess - it was never really a threat, but it's a nice touch, with good commentary from Treguard, and nice sounds too.

However, overall I just feel as if Series 2 is Series 1 with some of the kinks ironed out, and I'm not really a fan as such. I don't hate it, and it's not my least favourite series - but I just find some bits really grating about it, mostly its slow pace, which can render perhaps the most exciting TV of all time a little boring!
Pooka - teacher, writer, comedian, musician, geek, and full-time Knightmarian.
pjmlfc05
Knight
Knight
Posts: 607
Joined: 23 Aug 2012, 20:58
Location: Hampshire

Re: Series 2 Appreciation Week

Post by pjmlfc05 »

One major highlight of series 2? One word, Akash!! ;D

I did like Mildred and she deserved more than 1 series.

Combat Chess was boring and time consuming.

Some of the deaths were cool. The one with Mogdred especially was scary!

The scene when Treguard says 'the letter o' several times had me laughing.

I thought overall series 2 was solid. Some decent teams. Sorry to say but Julian and his team did not deserve to win. Mark and his team did in my opinion.
The only way is onward, there is no turning back.
Canadanne
Fright Knight
Fright Knight
Posts: 1996
Joined: 12 Oct 2010, 18:53
Location: Poole, Dorset
Contact:

Re: Series 2 Appreciation Week

Post by Canadanne »

Series 2 was definitely one of my favourites when I first rewatched Knightmare as an adult. It was just so funny, from Treguard's giggly, unhinged persona to the famous incidents like SHRUD and Akash's quest. It's also the earliest series I can definitely remember watching (when I was 5!), so there's the nostalgia factor. I do prefer rewatching the later series with storylines and more varied locations, though, as the early ones can be a tad slow and repetitive.

Other favourite things about Series 2 include the terrifying Automatum and spooky cavernwraiths (plus the Oracle which I found scary as a kid), Cedric getting a name and a range of stuff to do, and Karen's team whom I love. :) The winning dungeoneers are likeable too.

Don't like the way (almost) every quest starts with the Wheel of Fate, and a couple of the teams were quite dull.
User avatar
wombstar
Level 3 Dungeoneer
Level 3 Dungeoneer
Posts: 494
Joined: 12 May 2013, 22:25

Re: Series 2 Appreciation Week

Post by wombstar »

Series 2 over all was very solid.. getting to see Mogdread was a treat, and it had some of the most unusual deaths, lots of atmosphere but the Mildread stuff could have been much better, the only time we ever see Treguard in the dungeon.

I however didn't like the winning quests, both teams were pretty much handed a win on a plate but at least we finally get to see a win.

I loved Combat Chess, it added variety, I have the patience to sit through a puzzle (it was the dragon flights that came later that frustrated me)

Series 2 is pretty much an extended version of series 1.
It's always the cracked ones that let the light in
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests