Series 8: 1994
Lord Fear: "SILENCE, YOU LOT!"
"Can't you see we've got company?
"Well, come in, come in my little friends. You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to these Friday sessions."
"Did I say Friday?
"I meant FRIGHTDAY!"
"In fact, I can promise you that when the great game begins, we're all going to have a ball..."
"A FIREBALL!"
Summary
Transmission: Friday 9th September to Friday 11th November 1994 - 10 episodes
Teams: 7
Quests: Sword: 2; Cup: 1; Shield: 2; Crown: 2
Winning Quests: Team 6: Dunstan, Alex, Oliver and Alan from St Albans (Quest for the Crown)
Longest Quest: Team 2 at 49 mins
Shortest Quest: Team 7 at 14 mins (cut short for end of season)
New Characters:
- Powers That Be: Stiletta, Motley (not seen since Series 6).
- Opposition: Maldame, Snapper Jack, Bhal-Shebah, Honesty Bartram.
Old Characters:
- Powers that Be: Treguard, Majida, Hordriss, Sidriss, Brother Strange, Rothberry, Smirkenorff.
- Opposition: Lord Fear, Lissard, Raptor, Sylvester Hands.
Other Additions: Treguard's antechamber changed (new magic pool and gate). Team entrance / introduction procedure changed. Reach Wand for dungeoneer. Dungeoneer can now place clue objects in their knapsack New Life Force / energy status clock - an animated pie? (There has been much debate over whether it was a cake, pie or even a quiche(!), but it was confirmed as a pie by Tim Child in 2004).
All scenes now back in the dark gloom of the Dungeon. All scenes now computer-generated with animated eyeshield paths Animated on-screen spell book for spell casting. Trapdoors now the main way to reach the next level, with stairs sometimes used. Smirkenorff now 'grounded' in his own chamber, only flying once in this series.
The environment for Level 3 is now the Great Mire, Linghorm Palace (Maldame's stronghold) and Marblehead, a new techno-environment for Lord Fear and Lissard. Quest objects now held in Marblehead. Snapdragons, skeletrons, miremen and miretrogs now oppose dungeoneers!
Overview
After much consideration, the controller of children's programmes at ITV eventually decided to give Knightmare its eighth series, with the majority of viewers at the time totally unaware that it almost didn't happen, and that it was to be only 10 episodes instead of the usual 15 or 16. See The History of Knightmare Part 4 for more information. Nevertheless, there were a lot of changes this series as always, mostly taking advantage of improving technology.
Treguard's antechamber was updated to include a magic pool (replacing the magic mirror) in which teams watch the adventure, and a portcullis-type gate replacing the portal where dungeoneers begin their quests.
No seating either: everyone, including Treguard, stood throughout the quest.
The team entrance / introduction procedure was also changed, as described below. Most noticeable is the way the whole team enters the chamber quickly in one go, instead of the traditional calling.
Dungeoneers could also now place objects in their Knapsack rather than having to carry them, though the two objects at a time maximum remained. There was a new dungeoneering accessory: the Reach Wand, which could be used to touch or open things at a distance.
The Life Force / energy status was changed again, to a pie. When food was picked up, a semi-pie would be shown on screen animating into a full pie (with a cherry on the top!). It was never really referred to by Treguard, and never really affected the teams' quests or death sequences.
The majority of the scenes were now computer-generated, and in the darker, gloomier se