MESSAGE FROM ME.
Welcome to issue thirty-three of The Eye Shield. I’m pleased to see that my appeal for feedback last issue seems to have had a very good effect, but I’m still hungry for more, so please get writing! Tell me anything you’ve been dying to get off your chest about anything to do with Knightmare, and your comments might just crop up in the next issue of The Eye Shield.
This issue heralds the start of a new story, which I wrote in July 2000. I have considered many times putting it in TES, and I have finally decided to do so. The Lord of Dreams is a crossover between Knightmare and Mona the Vampire, which, as you may know from The Best of the Rest, is a Canadian cartoon that I enjoy quite a lot. I realise that very few - if any - of you are probably Mona fans, and may even consider it quite sad that I am, but there’s plenty in the story for Knightmare fans, as it takes place in the realm of Knightmare with Mona and her friends taking on the role of dungeoneers. I urge you, if you like Knightmare stories, to give it a go.
Also in this issue, you can take a trip through the Dungeons of series 8, pay another visit to Castle Acre Priory, also known as Dungarth, catch up with Curran and Laurel on their journey to the Tower of Time, search for some hidden dragons, and, of course, enjoy all of your regular favourites as usual. The time has also come for me to reveal my ten least favourite teams of all time. Which teams have been hapless and unimpressive enough to make it into the Hall of Shame, and do you agree with my choices?
It’s all waiting for you, readers. Don’t keep it waiting too long, will you?
CORRESPONDENCE.
Dear Eye Shield.
I started watching Knightmare rather late, about a third of the way into series 7. I remember at least once rushing to get home after taking my mum home from work. I was a bit puzzled as to what would have happened with Barry’s team had they taken the Shield instead of the troll hammer. From what I can gather, I think they would have been given strong hints if they were going to choose the Shield, or else they would have re-filmed it. I also never figured out the Play Your Cards Right puzzle. I remember thinking that there wasn’t much point to the Brollachan because it never knew the answers.
Thanks for all that, Joe – I really do appreciate your input. I couldn’t figure out the card puzzle for years, but it’s actually much easier than it looks. It’s true that Brollachan never provided a real threat to the quest, but he was certainly an impressive piece of techno-wizardry, the kind of thing for which Knightmare was renowned in its day.
The following e-mail comes from Richard W. Lowe.
Dear Eye Shield.
I tend to agree with most of your selection of favourite teams. Ben’s team from series 6 was probably my second favourite, behind Barry’s. How easy was it to find the outdoor castle locations for Knightmare Locations? I’m with you on series 4 being better than series 3. Series 4, 5 and 6, in my opinion, were the most enjoyable, with series 7 being close behind - the outdoor sections, the advancement in graphics, and better characters all contributed to this, I believe. Anyway, thanks for continuing TES, and I look forward to reading the next installment.
Thanks for sharing your opinions with me, Richard. I think the two of us are more or less alone in our esteem for series 4, but it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one. I photographed Castle Acre Priory and Castle Rising while I was on holiday in Norfolk during the summer of 2002, having seen them on a postcard I bought in Holt. They were easy enough to find using a road atlas. I’m glad you’re enjoying TES – please keep reading, and writing!
Dear Eye Shield.
I have been an avid reader of your fanzine for about 4 years, and I always enjoy reading it. You clearly have a dedicated interest towards Knightmare, and other related topics. I would like to make some suggestions for your magazine. Firstly, I’d like to see more pictures, to spice up the pages. Secondly, some more factual information about the Dungeon wouldn’t go amiss.
I’ve always been aware of the lack of pictures in TES, but the inclusion of Knightmare Locations was designed to rectify this to some extent. However, as I’ve said before, I’ll quite happily re-launch Art Desk if anyone wants to send me any Knightmare-related pictures. I’ll have a think regarding that factual information about the Dungeon…
Challenge question: Which dungeoneer shook hands with Lord Fear?
Please e-mail me at eyeshield2002@hotmail.com with anything at all for TES.