Knightmare - how I loved fridays...

[WhiteFloatingSkull]

{Floats over beamrider, and reducing his life force to red}

Hey, a newbie - welcome to the Dungeons of nostalgic TV, and the ever-popular tribute to the BEST ever Action TV series that was...Knightmare.  ;D

{Hands him a pie} You MAY need to stick that in ya nap-sack, because we don't want our dungeoneers dyin' of starvation right after I, uhh, 'Welcome' them now, do we?  ;)

As for KM!, When I first saw it was back on TV via Challenge, I EXPLODED in a fit of HappyhappyJOY-ness.

It was like - "OH MY {Censored} GOD!!! KNIIIIIGHTMARE'S ON AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!!!"

I promptly saluted the TV to the theme tune when it ended that day, and swore NEVER to catch it mid-show EVER again. However, that only lasted a few weeks...

I eagerly anticipate the new series, and trust that it can capture the imaginations and hearts of all of us all over again, like the classic originals did way back when.

{Good luck there, Timmy boy - Kids these days need a kick up the arse with their imaginations!  ::)}

I'm done floating and rambling on - enjoy!!!

[Malefact]

Well said!  ;)

Reboot was the first ever show of its type and very ahead of its time. There were lots of very clever touches here and there - like when a program loaded a huge cube would come in and block off a large chunk of the city (implying that the city was the computer's memory). The reason they stopped making it was because it was too good, and they don't believe in longevity.  :P

[Velda]

Hi beamrider!

I loved it when Fridays came round, but as I lived only 10 minutes away from school (both primary and secondary!), I would arrive home at 3.40pm and have to wait 1 hour and 5 minutes before it started.  I always had a video to hand, because Knightmare had to be recorded (although a few years later I foolishly went over Knightmare with something else - WHY?), as soon as Tommy Boyd (or any previous CITV presenter) announced it.  I absolutely hated it whenever I heard that fateful 'dong' noise which announced the end of an episode (it was even worse in the later series when the hourglass appeared at the top of the screen).  A week was far too long to wait!

I was sad when Knightmare finished and they put that c**p Virtually Impossible thing on in it's place.  I know it was made by Anglia too, but it was rubbish in my opinion - well, it was compared to Knightmare!

And yes, I watched Bad Influence too!  And Reboot.  And The Tomorrow People.  And Woof!  And all those brilliant shows that they just don't make anymore, which are replaced by mostly rubbishy programmes nowadays (even Blue Peter has gone downhill since I watched it).  Kids today don't know what they're missing.

Quick question: Is Challenge TV on Freeview Digital?  I'm getting a new TV system (complete with DVD and Digital) soon and I'm wondering whether I should get that Freeview top-set box or choose Sky Digital instead.

[Malefact]

I'm afraid Challenge is subscription only.  :(

There is a Freeview channel called FTN, owned by the same company that owns Challenge. There's a link to their programme request forum on the front page of this web site (thanks, Illusion!)

Mind you, I would imagine that the chances of FTN getting a series of Km are far less than the chances of Challenge getting one - Challenge are currently negotiating anyway!

[Velda]

Thanks for letting me know, I suppose I'll just have to wait until my videos arrive before I can watch any Knightmare, whenever that is.

I'd been hoping that Challenge was included with Freeview, because I also like The Crystal Maze and it's on it too.  Pity you have to subscribe though...  :(

[Scott_Wilkinson]

I remember Astro Farm, I always watched Astro Farm, then looked forward to seeing Knightmare afterwards. It was an intense and exciting moment for me. I also remember Reboot, and yes it was on Thursdays. I used to love watching that programme as well. Try this one. Who remembers Spooks of Bottle Bay?  8)

[beamrider2600]

Well said!  ;)

Reboot was the first ever show of its type and very ahead of its time. There were lots of very clever touches here and there - like when a program loaded a huge cube would come in and block off a large chunk of the city (implying that the city was the computer's memory). The reason they stopped making it was because it was too good, and they don't believe in longevity.  :P

I think a lot of it (reboot) was very representative - a lot of things have double-meanings for instance, I didn't think of the game-brick representing the game taking up an amount of the computers memory for instance. I think it should've been made as an adult series - because chlidren don't understand that sort of thing; I didn't.


"I'd been hoping that Challenge was included with Freeview, because I also like The Crystal Maze and it's on it too.  Pity you have to subscribe though..."
Yer, crystal maze is good but next to knightmare its nothing!

[MPK]

Beamrider Quote: "And Reboot was good but I never totally understood it - and then in the later series it got really strange, didn't it; when "mainframe" was destroyed or something. I think the writers forgot that it was just a children's program; I'd like to see it again though."

Yeah something happened to Bob, he was kidnapped or something, and then Reboot changed to the kids being all grown up travelling through the games looking for Bob! Reboot, Knightmare, Astro Farm- examples of what the next generations are missing out on!

[beamrider2600]

Reboot, Knightmare, Astro Farm- examples of what the next generations are missing out on!

Well, have you checked the line-up for CITV now? I haven't; maybe children these days are getting better than what we had - I doubt it though.

I've thought of a couple more shows that you might remember from the early 90s...

Remember "it'll never work" over on BBC, where they talked about all kinds of future inventions, and they also constructed "useless inventions" - like the inflatable dartboard (they actually made one) and interestingly the bagless vacuum cleaner, a "useless" invention where all the dust came out back onto the carpet (obviously before the duel cyclone)! They were also the first people to show "robot wars".

Remember How 2? Thats still on, I tuned in the other day just to see what it was like and amazingly its still in the same format with the same presenters.

[MPK]

Kids of nowdays have Digimon, Pokemon and other words ending in -mon, etc

We had Transformers, Thundercats, Ghostbusters, He-Man, Bravestar, the list is endless of quality shows! Not forgetting Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles!

These are true classics and should not be forgotten! Long live 80s childrens shows!

[GrimaldineGrimwold]

Remember "it'll never work" over on BBC, where they talked about all kinds of future inventions, and they also constructed "useless inventions" - like the inflatable dartboard (they actually made one) and interestingly the bagless vacuum cleaner, a "useless" invention where all the dust came out back onto the carpet (obviously before the duel cyclone)! They were also the first people to show "robot wars".

Remember How 2? Thats still on, I tuned in the other day just to see what it was like and amazingly its still in the same format with the same presenters.

I remember It'll Never Work. I didn't think it was very old. I thought it was from the period when I should probably have given up watching Children's TV, but still caught the occasional program.

Was Carol Vorderman once on How 2? Or have my images of Richard Whiteley and Fred Dineage gotten all scrambled together causing me to get confused?

[GrimaldineGrimwold]

Kids of nowdays have Digimon, Pokemon and other words ending in -mon, etc

We had Transformers, Thundercats, Ghostbusters, He-Man, Bravestar, the list is endless of quality shows! Not forgetting Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles!

These are true classics and should not be forgotten! Long live 80s childrens shows!

I loved Thundercats and He-Man, although the latter looks very dated to me in retrospect and I dare anyone to try to watch the Thundercats' opening titles without laughing when Mumm-Ra undergoes his transformation. Transformers has been redone fairly recently, I think. (Well, Sky One seem to be showing something by that name.)

[Malefact]

Yup. How 2 was hosted by Carol Vorderman, Fred Dineage and Gareth 'Gaz Top' Jones - although Carol left and was replaced a couple of years ago.

I remember How 2 starting back in 1990. It was shown before series 4 of Km, on Friday afternoons.

[GrimaldineGrimwold]

Yup. How 2 was hosted by Carol Vorderman, Fred Dineage and Gareth 'Gaz Top' Jones

I suppose it was a TV show, and thus by logical necessity either Carol, Carol Smillie or Davina McCall had to be involved somewhere along the line.

[MPK]

I shudder at the thought of all of them in one program!
I think that program would be called "Hell".

Thundercats really did rock, and there is a brand new comic book series out now.

He-man has also been redone in US into a brand new series, and the same with Turtles. They may come over here soon.