Knightmare On DVD?

For all discussion and ideas for bringing back classic Knightmare.
AngelicStorm
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Knightmare On DVD?

Post by AngelicStorm »

I grew up with the original broadcasts of Knightmare on Children's ITV, and it's always been a programme I've loved dearly, and held close to my heart. xD

I'm amazed that such a popular and well-loved show as Knightmare has never (to my knowledge) been released on DVD. Is it available anywhere on DVD, and if not, is there any plans in the works to release it on DVD or Blu Ray?

It'd be great to see a box set released with every episode, plus interviews and commentaries from Hugo Mayatt, and maybe other cast members too! It'd also be nice to be able to hear the credits music again, without having those annoying Challenge voiceovers spoiling them! lol
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Re: Knightmare On DVD?

Post by Pooka »

This has been asked a fair few times and it's not a new discussion - it goes back to the days of VHS, actually! There was even a thread about the slim possibility of the community funding a DVD release years back (here's a thread about it), but that didn't come to fruition (I believe because of the logistics involved - Mystara may have more details).

To answer your questions:

No, Knightmare has no official release on DVD (or Blu-ray, HD DVD, VHS or any other form of media).

No, (as far as I'm aware) there are no plans to release it on DVD, etc. Whether or not this is subject to change is different from conjecture, but I've heard no sign thereof.

There's certainly a wealth of information out there, with episodes, parodies, YouTube cutup videos and James' documentary, which might satiate some of your cravings. Knightmare.com also has a lot of clips, including uninterrupted versions of the theme songs, so go and have a look there too!

I do hope that clarifies things for you - other members of the community may well chip in with other things too!
Pooka - teacher, writer, comedian, musician, geek, and full-time Knightmarian.
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Re: Knightmare On DVD?

Post by Canadanne »

Welcome to the forum, AngelicStorm! You are certainly not alone in longing for that box set with all the groovy extras. I agree with Pooka that the anniversary documentary is well worth checking out, though, if you haven't already - it has several great interviews with cast, crew and contestants. :)
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Re: Knightmare On DVD?

Post by HobGoblin »

A browse on Amazon reveals that many 80/90s children’s programmes are available on DVD. In fact, it seems that most of the scripted drama/comedy/animation I remember well is available, the majority of which can hardly be called ‘classic’. In this context it does seem odd that KM – a critically acclaimed show which had superb ratings – cannot be bought in any format.

I suspect the problem lies in that convenient/lazy categorisation of the programme as a ‘gameshow’. Distributors don’t tend to be interested in home releases of so-called ‘unscripted’ shows that are largely ephemeral, have little artistic merit and don’t really reward repeated viewings. With a gameshow it’s all about the format and the latest contestants rather than specific episodes.

Now, we all know this doesn’t apply to KM but within the industry this gameshow label has probably stuck. KM therefore seems destined to share the fate of old episodes of Bullseye and Strike it Rich by being repeated on a nostalgia channel like Challenge. Not the worst case scenario but not really what the show deserves.
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Re: Knightmare On DVD?

Post by Mashibinbin »

For all those wanting Demon Headmaster, Queens Nose or even say Knightmare dvds here's an insight I've learnt today just on costs imposed by the BBFC who would give clearances for such a dvd:

"Their standard submission costs, according to their website, are £22 submission fee, plus £2.75 per minute fee"

makes you think eh...
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Re: Knightmare On DVD?

Post by EvelynMason »

In this day and age where you can browse through any reliable retailer and see just about everything, and anything, on DVD, it's a crying shame why the Knightmare series isn't included in any of this. Hopefully sometime in the future we can see the entire series available to purchase and would jump at the chance for such an opportunity but it's a bit of a mystery as to why this hasn't occurred as of yet. How much would an entire box-set cost ? Hard to put a figure on it but it would be a great buy it if were only possible, and a welcome addition to my viewing collection.

Of course with most DVD's you have a bonus selection with cast interviews and hidden footage for example and all other associated material, so Yes, it's a big shame (and disappointment) that the series hasn't made it on to laser disc.
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Re: Knightmare On DVD?

Post by Mystara »

The problem is the price of the rights. You're basically looking at hundreds of pounds per episode to even have the right to redistribute in the UK.

For a physical DVD, you have to add the cost of redistribution and retail, as well as manufacturing the DVD, the box, etc. For an online episode, you need to add the cost of download, hosting, and credit card processing and (realistically) applying some kind of DRM in order to satisfy the rights holders.

Absolute minimum, you're looking at £500 per episode to break even. At £1 per episode, that's 500 sales of each and every episode needed to break even. A complete episodes set would be well over £100.

The fan base would be happy enough not having to turn a profit, but just don't have the kind of funds necessary to put something like that down.

The rightsholders need to turn a profit, and they just don't see there being enough profit.
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Re: Knightmare On DVD?

Post by wombstar »

I've paid over £100 for dvd box sets in the past (Real Ghostbusters, Dark Shadows) I wonder what KM fans would be willing to pay for a complete box set?

It's the sort a thing someone like Time Life might release, even on a limited run. But I doubt Km will ever made it onto dvd, we can dream and who knows.
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Re: Knightmare On DVD?

Post by pjmlfc05 »

£100 would be very excessive. Not sure if I could justify paying that. On the other hand, maybe I could!

There seems to be a lot of politics involved and it is a shame. It will come to a point where Challenge will not show Knightmare anymore. Look at Gamesmaster. When that day comes it will be a sad one.

For me I would love to see a DVD boxset but it just ain't gonna happen. The real loser will be us, the fans. Really hope to be proved wrong.
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Re: Knightmare On DVD?

Post by Mystara »

As always, lukewarm responses to previous attempts to stimulate the community mean that future attempts simply don't happen.

For example, had there been a bigger/more popular reception to Geek Week, Anglia would be more interested in releasing the DVDs themselves.

As another example, had the convention been more popular, I might be inclined to expend time and effort trying a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to put the DVDs out there. But since we struggled to raise 10k, I don't see there being a hope at raising 60k. Hence, I'm not prepared to spend my own time and money trying until I'm more convinced that there's likely to be some success.

There are also other complexities, like the episodes being illegally distributed. To some extent, it increases awareness of the show. Unfortunately, it dramatically reduces the chances of anyone buying the episodes.
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Re: Knightmare On DVD?

Post by pjmlfc05 »

Yeah I do agree it would be expensive and I wouldn't be convinced we could reach £60k. In regards to the Geek Week episode, I'm not convinced had it been more popular, Angila would have considered releasing dvd's. If the response to the actual show, was anything to go by, it was a success. Especially the likes it had.

When Knightmare was first shown on Challenge, that would have been a better gauge for Angila to consider such a thing. Also I feel a lot more people still had an interest in Knightmare back then compared to today.
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Re: Knightmare On DVD?

Post by Mystara »

Perhaps. But then a DVD release would compete with the episodes being shown on challenge. My suspicion is that if DVDs came out, challenge wouldnt offer as much.
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Re: Knightmare On DVD?

Post by EvelynMason »

I was never really happy with what Challenge had to offer. One or two episodes a week and taking out advert breaks, there wasn't an awful lot left regards actual viewing material. I would sit down to watch as per each week, we'd get to see about four or five different rooms - adverts - then another four or five different rooms, and that would pretty much be it.

Now I'm not expecting the show to be on seven days a week, 24 hours a day, but even if that's all they were allowed, or had the rights to, (it's just) every time I would watch and the end credits rolled, I was left thinking "is that it" ?

Back to the DVD release thing, maybe one factor here is there just isn't enough interest to warrant or justify a release ? Point being, fans of Knightmare must be a very select few, or small group, that there is just isn't the interest for someone to put together a box-set or release of series for that aforementioned select group of fans to enjoy ? Mystara made the point that if a DVD selection were to become available to purchase and Challenge didn't feature their episodes as a direct result of it - then from a personal viewpoint I would see that as satisfactory.


Feel a bit selfish saying that as it's one viewers pleasure over another, but then wouldn't others (Knightmare enthusiasts) follow the same boat and simply get hold of their own copies to view whenever they like, instead of being dependant on one channels (often insufficient) viewing coverage ?
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Re: Knightmare On DVD?

Post by pjmlfc05 »

Yeah I'd much rather watch it on dvd than the tv. It is great though we can watch it on Challenge so it is better than nothing.

I do get Alan's point though. However I feel the dvd thing should have happened when Knightmare was first shown on Challenge. That for me was when the interest peaked. I feel a percentage of people who watched KM first time around are no longer interested. That doesn't help matters in relation for a dvd boxset. I sadly feel it is too late now.
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Re: Knightmare On DVD?

Post by Mashibinbin »

It's never too late to remount a campaign but there needs to be more than just embers in the fire. £100 for 8 series plus potential extras is far from unreasonable at £12.50 a series which is at the going rate for most tv series. You'd be paying that even 2 episodes of classic Doctor Who plus extras say. The thing is to be focused, committed and positive throughout to achieve a successful campaign.

Let's start things rolling with the hypothetical release and take it from there.

I therefore propose a Knightmare 'start and ends' release namely the first and last episodes of each series. This takes inspiration from the Brookside release which also had 16 episodes over 2 discs. I would venture as extras a handful of commentaries - one with Tim and Hugo on the very first episode, one later on with Mark and Cliff and a few more with selected fans or, costs permitting, with additional cast members. These could by moderated by the likes or Alan or other forum staff. As well as that a full fan made documentary with contributions from as many community members as possible - David's scripting, Matt's camera work, Forester's programming etc.

How much is this release likely to cost and what ways other than Kickstarter can we potentially realistically achieve this?
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