Series 4, Quest 8. Giles emerges in the forest.

Series 4 Quest 8

By Keith McDonald

Team 8: Giles, Robin, Andrew and Brett from New Forest, Hampshire.


The eighth and final quest of Series 4 for the Cup was abandoned after 40 minutes.

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Level 1

The quest begins at the Place of Choice. Giles makes a swift exit off the turntable to follow the path of the Cup.

At the castle entrance, they encounter the Weeping Door, Dooris (score: 2). Giles leaves via the open drawbridge.

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Mistress Goody is guarding a prisoner.

In a green room, the witch, Mistress Goody, is supervising a prisoner. It's Merlin, but he is disorientated and doesn't remember his own name.

Giles cannot release him, but receives instructions on how he can assist.

Merlin: "The eye is iron, and once it is found, this place and its prisoner may be called upon."

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Merlin instructs Giles on how to release him from the stocks.

Merlin directs Giles towards the Eye Shield, which is hidden under a cloth. Giles collects it as Goody returns.

At the inn, 'The Crazed Heifer', the patrons are fed up with Motley the Jester and throw vegetables at him.

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. The patrons of the Crazed Heifer throw vegetables at Motley.

He remonstrates with Giles.

Motley: "Before you stuck your face in, I was by way of being a successful professional gay wit and reparteeist. Fat chance of that now..."

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Motley chats with Giles in the tavern.

Motley gifts Giles a DASH spell, which he likes to use when his act is 'wearing a bit thin'.

Returning to the forest, Giles comes under threat from a large pack of goblins. The team spell-casts DASH to outrun them.

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Goblins chase Giles through the forest.

Into Oakley's glen, where Giles is tested by the tree troll (score: 3).

Oakley: "The bloodstone leads to bloodshed."

Giles takes a spanner and a bottle labelled Sniff, leaving behind a red gem.

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Giles finds Mellisandre in the ruins of Dungarth.

The team progresses to the remains of Dungarth.

Treguard: "The way into Level 2 can be found here. But it won't be easy to find and it's unlikely to be unguarded."

Mellisandre is sat inside the ruins. She warns Giles about assassins, before making sure he escapes one.

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Giles meets Mistress Goody.

Mistress Goody is sat by a conveyor belt. She introduces herself as 'the hostess with the leastess'. She isn't interested in anything Giles is carrying, so sends him onto the moving belt.

Treguard: "Don't panic, team. Just think. This contraption is obviously powered by some sort of machinery. And you need to stop it working."

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Giles throws down a spanner to stop a conveyor belt.

Giles throws down the spanner, and the belt stops by an exit in the side wall.

I think Giles's recollection of being pulled up by the producer related to 'throwing a spanner in the works' when he lobbed the spanner across the studio at the last minute.

Brett Milner

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Giles holds out a sniff bottle to Fatilla the Hun.

Fatilla the Hun is sat by the wellway. The Sniff bottle makes him ill, allowing Giles to slip past and down the well.

Brett: "Brilliant!!"


Level 2

Gundrara the Sword Mistress is locked in the pillory. She is hostile towards Giles until she realises he is not an assassin.

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Giles releases Gundrada from the pillory in Level 2.

He releases her just as a 'frightknight' enters. Gundrada occupies it while Giles escapes.

The team find a tipsy Brother Mace in a purple chamber. He makes Giles take off the Eye Shield, as he is concerned about spying.

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Brother Mace asks Giles to lower his Eye Shield.

Brother Mace: "I sit here in my lonely cell, and I contemplate the follies of the wider world. And I also drink a lot of ale..."

Mace means to offer Giles a joker, but initially hands over the wrong card. Only Giles's hesitation makes him notice.

Brother Mace: "If you find any ale, send it back to me."

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Brother Mace hands over a joker.

They encounter another Weeping Door, Doorkis (score: 2). Pickle is fed up with its misery.

Pickle: "Oh, shut it, for goodness sake! Oh, shut it - d'you get it?"

In a clearing in Dunkley Wood, Giles is chased by the spider, Ariadne. They flee into its lair, collecting a bar of gold.

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Motley taunts Ariadne into retreat.

As Ariadne closes in, Giles plays the card, which summons Motley. He torments the spider until it retreats.

Motley: "Look in the mirror and murder yourself!"

It leaves the way clear for Giles to exit.

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Giles approaches the boatman at the Dunswater's edge.

At the riverbank, he exchanges the gold for passage across the Dunswater.

Disembarking at the Tower of Time, Giles descends a long staircase to reach Level 3.


Level 3

In a circular room, a key is on the table. Pickle reminds them of the calling.

Giles summons Merlin (despite not learning his name earlier). The advisors are delighted when he appears!

A bargain was made, a pledge was given, and now it has been redeemed.

Merlin

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Merlin arrives in Level 3 after a summoning.

Merlin gifts Giles the spell TINY, and a further warning.

Merlin: "You approach a power which, in this place, is ever greater than mine."

Into another circular room, where two hauntings guard the entrance to a conveyor belt.

Giles sprints between them, into the Corridor of Blades.

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Giles ducks a blade in the Corridor of Blades.

At Pickle's instruction, he instantly ducks to avoid the first blade.

Giles is almost caught while moving across the floor. But once he is upright and moving from wall to wall, he survives the longest sequence of blades in the corridor's history.

He sprints through the exit, to everyone's amusement.

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Mogdred files a bolt at the bridge in Level 3.

On a narrow bridge over a large chasm, the face of Mogdred appears.

Mogdred: "Look upon Mogdred now. Look upon Mogdred and quail!"

He asks Giles to pledge allegiance, which Giles irreverently refuses.

Mogdred: "You have firm ground for taking this stance, I suppose? Somehow, I think not!"

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Giles runs across the bridge as it collapses.

He fires a bolt at the bridge before withdrawing in laughter.

The advisors urge Giles to sprint across the bridge as it crumbles away.

Still sprinting, he emerges halfway into an unstable room - the Block and Tackle - which quickly begins to dismantle.

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Giles arrives haphazardly into the Block and Tackle.

There is some element of panic to the direction, which makes Treguard laugh. But the team make it through successfully.

A let-off ensured the team survived the end of season. Brett explains.

There was no time to observe any kind of pattern and make a plan. It just seemed like the game environment was collapsing around Giles and we did what we could! We did actually fail the Block and Tackle first time around... what you saw is the second take.

Brett Milner

What happens next? See End of Series


Hear from the team

Thanks to siblings Giles and Brett Milner, we know more about the behind-the-scenes experience in Series 4.

The brothers applied to Knightmare for three consecutive years (1988, 1989 and 1990). They were selected to audition for Series 3 but failed to make the final team list.

Brett rearranged the team, bringing in Robin and Andrew, which saw them accepted for Series 4.

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Brett, an advisor.
Brett

They have offered some unique anecdotes, including breaking the helmet, causing nuisance at the hotel, and gestures that couldn't be aired on television.

Dungeoneer Giles Milner signed our Guestbook twice, in June 2000 and December 2005:

Bit of a shock to find a video clip of myself from 10 years ago on the internet! I've got some good memories of Knightmare. I broke the helmet too, it was okay though. They had a helmet double.

Giles

In October 2005, advisor Robin King emailed and signed our Guestbook:

I can't believe this is on the internet. We were rather amazing, weren't we! It was a real laugh and everything was paid for at the hotel so you can't go wrong with that!

Robin

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 8. Robin, an advisor.
Robin

Giles and Brett have posted about their experiences on the forum:

With the filming and the hotel antics (we got through five rooms) it was an amazing experience!!! Robin and I are still close friends too, which is cool. Haven't seen Andrew in years.

Read more from Giles.

It was a lot of fun. lots of things happened that you never get to hear about. Want to know why they never showed us walking away like they did with everyone else? Want to know how I nearly lost my arm?

These questions were answered in a podcast. (From 28-60 mins.)

On the controversial 'Christmas' ending

Giles: "We hated that. It was really childish and made us feel really uncomfortable. It was filmed in mid-august too."

Brett: "We recorded more than one ending; the floor manager explained this was due to selling Knightmare to other countries - including the USA and Spain - where it would not necessarily be Christmas when the series ended."

See the Series 4 End of Series

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