the adventure game
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The grid was called The Vortex, if I remember rightly, and a blue pillar of light would chase you; if it touched you you were 'vapourised'. http://www.wilsondan.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/The-vortex-300x225.jpg
One of the peculiarities of the show was that all the characters had names that were anagrams of 'Dragon'. It was also noteworthy for being Moira Stuart's first big TV role. (A further curiosity relating to KM-fandom is that another actress on the cast was called Sarah Lam - a relation of Illusion maybe?)
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Having only ever seen the odd clip of The Adventure Game previously, I stumbled across Episode 1 on YouTube earlier this year. One of the contestants is future Children's ITV star Elizabeth 'T-Bag' Estensen. The programme itself was so slow that it made Knightmare Series 4 look like the Bad Influence datablast: the whole episode was occupied by just two puzzle rooms, one of which was bafflingly complex. A strange show, yet maybe Knightmare and The Crystal Maze owe it something.
Talking of Knightmare, The Crystal Maze and The Adventure Game, I came across this recently.
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Certainly, I think Knightmare built upon what The Adventure Game started. I agree that it is a bit tenuous to watch now. Like KM itself, it is quite a cool reflection on how important every passing year was for what could be achieved. I imagine that the Dark Knight challenge from Incredible Games (with its great theme) owes something to the Vortex as well.
The new Knightmare? Hmmm It's a tricky one. As the author states about being envious for the current crop of youngsters, I think the notion of 'new Knightmare' is not so much implying a replacement rather than a new fantasy TV craze for youngsters. I'd love to see it happen. It is all about being contemporary - catching the attention of youngsters away from the competition of consoles. I do believe, though, that there are too many cartoons for the primary age group. There is a clear gap in the market. All that has changed, in my mind, is how the target demographic is understood. Knightmare was seemingly targeted at teenagers, but it captivated younger minds just as much. What was imagined suitable for 11+ year olds back in the 1980s is more suited to 7/8+ now (if it wasn't already back then). It was imagined that Virtually Impossible was required to appease the younger watchers, when KM, to me, was, and still is, ideal for that age group. Such have times moved on - pace, action, excitement - that only something with the voracity of KM will do for primary age children. And yet, paradoxically, I somehow imagine that a show depicting the death of children by bombs, blades and so forth would encounter extraordinary resistance today. Not sure why.
Good though! We could use the fantasy craze back, because there's still a place for KM.
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Since discovering the cyberpunk genius that is Max Headroom - Twenty Minutes into the Future, I am quite tempted to rewatch Incredible Games. I have a feeling I will appreciate the host on an entirely new level.
You do know that the host for the first series is none other than David Walliams from Little Britain.
As for New KM, it reminded me of the 2004 Edmund Dehn interview on this site, where he said "And it may interest some to hear that, while I was on the show, there were rumours of an adult (as in grown up, not as in blue!) version of Knightmare with suitably more challenging tests & set in a futuristic spaceship-type environment rather than a mediaeval dungeon. I wonder what happened?!!". It sounds similar to this new show.
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