Series 4 Appreciation Week
Posted: 23 Jan 2015, 22:20
Knightmare Chat is here; last Sunday, we had loads of people in and it was a lot of fun. At some points we even mentioned Knightmare.
Anyway, Series 4 appreciation. Sounds a bit like an oxymoron, since it's the worst series by a mile in my opinion (and I'm assuming many other people's opinion too), exacerbated by the fact that it could have been so much better and was just trying a little too hard not to be.
Whatever you think of Series 3, one thing it isn't is repetitive, and yet Series 4 goes exactly the other way, with the teams running exactly the same quest over and over, the only real variety coming with teams that get all the way into level 3, such as Dickon (who won, of course), Giles, and Helen. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Helen's quest is perhaps the most exciting in Series 4 by virtue of the fact that she got really far, she died in a final encounter scenario and we hadn't seen any of this stuff before, so it was fresh and exciting and new.
And then the rest of the series is really boring.
I'm frustrated by this because it could really be a genuinely nailbiting series. The characters are well-realised - I absolutely love Brother Mace; Melly and Motley are back and pleasantly flirtatious; Gundrada and Fatilla are both amusingly silly and, yes, I do actually quite like Pickle. He can be irritating, but because both Treguard and Pickle say exactly the same thing at exactly the same points in every quest during this series, he manages (somehow) to make it variable.
Good moments include Simon sidestepping left, Mace turning into a lizard, the Chamber of Opposite Extraction, the introduction of the Eye Shield (yes, I know it is hated, but the first time you see it and it works, it's absolutely fascinating), Ali charming Fatilla to let him through, the appearances of Mogdred, and Mistress Goody.
And floor puzzles. There haven't been many of those up to this point and we get the introduction of the B&T, the Transporter Pad room and the CoB - all deadly traps and an excellent sign of things to come, each one (Transporter Pad notwithstanding) bagging at least one victim, and in delightfully nasty ways too.
However, let's not overlook its bad points. I don't actually mind the outdoor sequences - it does bring a little more variety to the whole thing, and Level 3 is still set in the Dungeon itself, to a point - but the purple tint is both confusing and pointless, adding a drugged-up quality that doesn't really work. Dickon winning is a good watch, although (despite his action-packed Level 3) the actual final chamber is a bit of a disappointment - I was fully expecting another twist.
And it's really, really boring. Especially the bits with the Weeping Doors, which are terrifying and teeth-grindingly irritating. The third time I saw the Dooris scene I was ready to gnaw my own arms off.
But I think the worst thing about Series 4 is the way that Merlin appeared - trapped in stocks, selling equipment, disguised as a poor beggar - it's what happens when you don't know what to do with the MOST POWERFUL WIZARD IN ALL OF HISTORY. It's crass and disrespectful and robs him of all the magical quality he had in the first few series - you only get a taster of his past glory in Dickon's reward scene and, sadly, in the final scene ever, which is spoiled a bit by him announcing Christmas (which must have made sense in the original broadcast, but not in repeats!).
Conversely, Mogdred is possibly at his most deadly in this series: it doesn't suit him, but he's doing his best.
Overall, I really don't like this series. It's clearly a period of transition and it's got some great ideas in it, but it's lazily pulled off and so mind-numbingly repetitive that it's almost not worth watching, were it not for the very occasional original scene.
There's a lesson somewhere here, but I've no idea what it is.
Anyway, Series 4 appreciation. Sounds a bit like an oxymoron, since it's the worst series by a mile in my opinion (and I'm assuming many other people's opinion too), exacerbated by the fact that it could have been so much better and was just trying a little too hard not to be.
Whatever you think of Series 3, one thing it isn't is repetitive, and yet Series 4 goes exactly the other way, with the teams running exactly the same quest over and over, the only real variety coming with teams that get all the way into level 3, such as Dickon (who won, of course), Giles, and Helen. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Helen's quest is perhaps the most exciting in Series 4 by virtue of the fact that she got really far, she died in a final encounter scenario and we hadn't seen any of this stuff before, so it was fresh and exciting and new.
And then the rest of the series is really boring.
I'm frustrated by this because it could really be a genuinely nailbiting series. The characters are well-realised - I absolutely love Brother Mace; Melly and Motley are back and pleasantly flirtatious; Gundrada and Fatilla are both amusingly silly and, yes, I do actually quite like Pickle. He can be irritating, but because both Treguard and Pickle say exactly the same thing at exactly the same points in every quest during this series, he manages (somehow) to make it variable.
Good moments include Simon sidestepping left, Mace turning into a lizard, the Chamber of Opposite Extraction, the introduction of the Eye Shield (yes, I know it is hated, but the first time you see it and it works, it's absolutely fascinating), Ali charming Fatilla to let him through, the appearances of Mogdred, and Mistress Goody.
And floor puzzles. There haven't been many of those up to this point and we get the introduction of the B&T, the Transporter Pad room and the CoB - all deadly traps and an excellent sign of things to come, each one (Transporter Pad notwithstanding) bagging at least one victim, and in delightfully nasty ways too.
However, let's not overlook its bad points. I don't actually mind the outdoor sequences - it does bring a little more variety to the whole thing, and Level 3 is still set in the Dungeon itself, to a point - but the purple tint is both confusing and pointless, adding a drugged-up quality that doesn't really work. Dickon winning is a good watch, although (despite his action-packed Level 3) the actual final chamber is a bit of a disappointment - I was fully expecting another twist.
And it's really, really boring. Especially the bits with the Weeping Doors, which are terrifying and teeth-grindingly irritating. The third time I saw the Dooris scene I was ready to gnaw my own arms off.
But I think the worst thing about Series 4 is the way that Merlin appeared - trapped in stocks, selling equipment, disguised as a poor beggar - it's what happens when you don't know what to do with the MOST POWERFUL WIZARD IN ALL OF HISTORY. It's crass and disrespectful and robs him of all the magical quality he had in the first few series - you only get a taster of his past glory in Dickon's reward scene and, sadly, in the final scene ever, which is spoiled a bit by him announcing Christmas (which must have made sense in the original broadcast, but not in repeats!).
Conversely, Mogdred is possibly at his most deadly in this series: it doesn't suit him, but he's doing his best.
Overall, I really don't like this series. It's clearly a period of transition and it's got some great ideas in it, but it's lazily pulled off and so mind-numbingly repetitive that it's almost not worth watching, were it not for the very occasional original scene.
There's a lesson somewhere here, but I've no idea what it is.