Knightmare urban myths
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I've seen several Knightmare actors mistaken for more well-known celebrities on Twitter and other online comment sections, e.g. Hordriss being thought to be Stephen Fry, and Brother Mace thought to be Christopher Biggins - there may have been others I've forgotten. A lot of people seem genuinely convinced that Cedric was played by Wolf out of Gladiators (whose real name is Michael van Wijk, not Lawrence Werber!)
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The 'team dying in the first room' and 'falling off Smirkenoff's back' myths come from old Knightmare websites, Johnny Burkhart's old (now gone) one especially. Particularly in the early days of the internet, these things would spread to the point of people stating them as fact - harder now with the likes of youtube and Challenge repeats instantly proving said myths wrong.
The page you're referring to was written by someone allegedly named "Phil" and contains the following myths (in addition to the ones already stated):
MYTH: One team lasted 13 seconds because they sidestepped left rather than right in the first chamber (which would have been the Place of Choice).
TRUTH: No, they didn't. This has been alleged before - in the early days of the community, many people took this as gospel - and it had to be debunked by Tim Child!
MYTH: One team were killed my Mogdred in Level 2 because they had stolen "his" Eye Shield without asking.
TRUTH: No, they weren't. The Eye Shield was always the result of a bargain with Hordriss, Malice or Merlin, and I can't recall Mogdred ever mentioning it.
MYTH: Helen's team dies because Mogdred used a drainer on them.
TRUTH: It was an enchanted sword which delivered an instant kill.
MYTH: Dickon's team's food was poisoned by Malice, which they fixed with a CHANGE spell.
TRUTH: Right in essence, but wrong cause and solution. They were carrying poison, not food, and the spell was called OPPOSITE.
MYTH: In Series 5, Level 3 became known as "Winteria".
TRUTH: Winteria was certainly part of Level 3 in Series 5, but it was still known as "Level 3". The Winteria which Ben entered merely appeared to be part of Level 3 as we know it.
MYTH: Practically all rhe Dungeoneers in Series 5 and 6 died on the Causeways.
TRUTH: No, they didn't. The Causeways killed a new, but not "most", Dungeoneers.
MYTH: Series 6 saw a complete cast change, with the exception of Hordriss.
TRUTH: Apart from Treguard and Pickle, Motley and Scaramonger also appeared in Series 6, after being carried over from Series 3 and 5 respectively.
MYTH: One team got to the very last chamber, but were denied victory because they missed a riddle earlier.
TRUTH: This is clearly meant to be Sophia's team, but they died on the final floor puzzle, not in the final chamber. The page also seems to think this is a different team: "A tram (sic) got to Level 3 but were so badly organized that when they reached the Causeway, none of them could take control and the poor dungeoneer just waited to die." Surely this is also Sophia's team?
In any case, the final chamber was only ever reached by Ben.
MYTH: Ben stepped on a spyglass in the first room.
TRUTH: No, he didn't. Anyway, the first room was the Place of Choice and wouldn't have a spyglass in it.
MYTH: The Brollachan was a version of Granitas that could blink.
TRUTH: No, he wasn't even a wall monster - the interaction with him was different, the questions could be confidently guessed without a correct answer, and the technology used for him was totally different. The Brollachan, an actual monster from Celtic mythology, can travel through solid surfaces, such as walls, floors, rocks, etc., and wasn't fixed to one wall, like Granitas (or any other wall monster) was.
MYTH: The production team saved some Dungeoneers from dying by viewing a spyglass for too long.
TRUTH: I very much doubt the spyglasses were going to kill anybody.
MYTH: Everyone involved in the show knew Series 8 would be the last series.
TRUTH: Not so. It was a possibility, but Knightmare wasn't cancelled until after the Series aired.
MYTH: The Short Cut was invented at the last minute and pushed the last few teams through to Level 3.
TRUTH: I recall hearing somewhere that all teams in Series 8 were told of a potential shortcut (although that may be a urban myth too - clarify, Alan?) before play. In any case, it wasn't "the last few teams" - only Dunstan and Oliver actually used it, and they were both forced.
For all this and more hilarious mistakes, the page can be viewed here, although it's somewhat unfair to suggest that this page is either stupidity or a parody, since Phil may be recalling everything he says from his memory. I doubt he is, though; it's too detailed to be just that.
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MYTH: The Short Cut was invented at the last minute and pushed the last few teams through to Level 3.
TRUTH: I recall hearing somewhere that all teams in Series 8 were told of a potential shortcut (although that may be a urban myth too - clarify, Alan?) before play. In any case, it wasn't "the last few teams" - only Dunstan and Oliver actually used it, and they were both forced.
Ye have summoned me!
From memory (I really have to see if I can dig all this out, it'd probably be of interest to people), our adventurer's code that we received at the beginning of filming told us about a rumoured shortcut. I would assume that all teams were given the same sheet of paper containing the same information.
I should also clarify the term "forced". It was implied, if not outright stated, that we had to take the shortcut or "run for fun", i.e. have no chance of winning. However, we were asked whether we wanted to take the shortcut or not, before the relevant room appeared.
It could be that previous teams had a more realistic choice, but elected not to take the shortcut. For us, it was a no-brainer.
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MYTH: Series 6 saw a complete cast change, with the exception of Hordriss.
TRUTH: Apart from Treguard and Pickle, Motley and Scaramonger also appeared in Series 6, after being carried over from Series 3 and 5 respectively.
And Elita!
The Brollachan, an actual monster from Celtic mythology, can travel through solid surfaces, such as walls, floors, rocks, etc., and wasn't fixed to one wall, like Granitas (or any other wall monster) was.
You know, I'm not convinced that wall monsters are confined to one wall (though it's true we never saw them appear in different rooms like the Brollachan). They sometimes sign off with "we may meet again", and it seems unlikely that the dungeoneer would return to the same clue room, so perhaps they are theoretically able to manifest in different walls.
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A comment on the recent Guardian article:
"My big sister was on it. Youngest team ever, apparently.
Whisper it The boys on before them 'died' twice and the producers let them redo it as they didn't think my sister's team had a chance of getting through.
Which was pretty apt, as they couldn't remember the word for alchemy (which is of course, 'Alchemy') and therefore fell through a chasm to an untimely green-room death.
It's a classic scene where 'Pickle' (remember Treguard's elfy-looking sidekick in the later series?) looks on in utter disgust at them for at least a minute.
My sister did, however, get asked back to do the pilot for 'Virtually Impossible' where she was teamed with the lad from 'Harry's Mad'.
So in that sense probably got more post-Knightmare work than Pickle."
...am I being really thick or did this "alchemy" death, erm, not actually ever happen?
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It sounds like Sophia's team from Series 6 to me.
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A comment on the recent Guardian article:
"My big sister was on it. Youngest team ever, apparently.
Whisper it The boys on before them 'died' twice and the producers let them redo it as they didn't think my sister's team had a chance of getting through.
I'd rather have seen Sophia's team win than Ben's.
Myth: Knightmare was created by Tim Childs.
Origin: Several forum members have referred to Tim Childs. The recent Wired article refers to both Child and Childs.
Reality: Over to Glenn.
That's what two people in my class say Childs... "IT'S CHILD, C-H-I-L-D!" After about the 14th time in explaining...
Myth: Jamie Reed MP was on Knightmare and was killed by a spider in Series 2.
Origin: Jamie Reed himself, joining in a Twitter conversation about Knightmare. India Knight, who is a reputable journalist on better days, believed him and tweeted her followers about it, prompting some 80 retweets... and onward it spread. Someone tweeted a photo they'd apparently found of Jamie on Knightmare. He confirmed that it was of him.
Reality: It was Jamie Wilkinson, not Reed, who suffered the spidery demise in Series 2. The photo was of dungeoneer Mark. Jamie Reed eventually tweeted that he was never on Knightmare but I bet some still believe it.
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No advisors, after being asked "Where am I?" simply ever answered with just "You're in a room" did they? They always elaborated, but seeing how much the four-word phrase gets quoted you'd think they didn't.
"Dickon's got the horn, master!" seems to be very famous for something that never ended up in the finished episode, too (it originates from a 2002 David Learner interview and presumably got cut before transmission).
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No advisors, after being asked "Where am I?" simply ever answered with just "You're in a room" did they? They always elaborated, but seeing how much the four-word phrase gets quoted you'd think they didn't.
I think it's just funny how often that's the first thing they say, even when the dungeoneer's surroundings cannot by any stretch of the imagination be described as a room!
"Dickon's got the horn, master!" seems to be very famous for something that never ended up in the finished episode, too (it originates from a 2002 David Learner interview and presumably got cut before transmission).
Though happily they did leave in the bit where Dickon offers to give Fatilla the horn, and the priceless reaction on Michael Cule's face.
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OOH OOH OOH! I just remembered one!
SHOVEL WITH A P!!!
This was from SpoonyOne's review, where he says one of his favourite spellcasting mistakes was when the advisor spelt SHOVEL with a P. You have no idea how many hours I spent trying to find that death before I thought, "...hang on? Is he talking about the SPADE muckup?"
I'm pretty sure I believed him because he said right afterwards there was another team even dumber than that which turned out to be Neil's team in season 2 with the SHROUD spell. But it looks like he's actually talking about the same team. sigh I just believe everything I hear, don't I?
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It's becoming clear that this needs to be on the list!
MYTH: Daisy can be heard to use the F-word in the 2013 Geek Week episode.
TRUTH: Despite what most people think they hear at first, she actually said "What the heck is it?", which is clear if you listen through a decent set of headphones and watch her lips carefully. The actress Isy Suttie also confirmed on Twitter that she said "heck", the day the episode was uploaded.
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It's becoming clear that this needs to be on the list!
MYTH: Daisy can be heard to use the F-word in the 2013 Geek Week episode.
TRUTH: Despite what most people think they hear at first, she actually said "What the heck is it?", which is clear if you listen through a decent set of headphones and watch her lips carefully. The actress Isy Suttie also confirmed on Twitter that she said "heck", the day the episode was uploaded.
Ha. It's a good Myth though!
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OOH OOH OOH! I just remembered one!
SHOVEL WITH A P!!!
This was from SpoonyOne's review, where he says one of his favourite spellcasting mistakes was when the advisor spelt SHOVEL with a P. You have no idea how many hours I spent trying to find that death before I thought, "...hang on? Is he talking about the SPADE muckup?"
I'm pretty sure I believed him because he said right afterwards there was another team even dumber than that which turned out to be Neil's team in season 2 with the SHROUD spell. But it looks like he's actually talking about the same team. sigh I just believe everything I hear, don't I?
It's the same team who did both mistakes!
This team's quest begins on Friday's episode on Challenge (following team Akash of Legend), and the foul-ups start on the following week's episode
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The page also seems to think this is a different team: "A tram (sic) got to Level 3 but were so badly organized that when they reached the Causeway, none of them could take control and the poor dungeoneer just waited to die." Surely this is also Sophia's team?
That sounds like it could be Alan's team from the same series, who died in exactly the manner described just as they arrived in Level 3.
(LOL at "A tram got to Level 3"!)
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MYTH: The 'Dark Knight' in Children's BBC's 'Incredible Games' was played by Mark Knight.
Heard this at the convention - apologies if the person who said it is reading this! It was a guy called Simon Shelton, who according to Wikipedia later played Tinky Winky from the Teletubbies of all things. I assumed at first that wasn't true and it's someone having a laugh, but enough outside evidence seems to back it up.
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I am curious as to what this guy was thinking of, as it clearly wasn't Knightmare! ("Did anyone ever see the new KnightMare quite a few years back ... There were a few episodes on a GameShow channel that just had adults on it." Apparently not a reference to the Geek Week episode, which he didn't know about, and which was only a one-off and not shown on TV. It can't have been the TimeGate trailer either.)
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I just tweeted the guy, asking if he was possibly thinking of another show, I'm waiting on a responce
Another personal myth of mine, and linking to a friend who believed this too, was that Hordriss betrayed Treguard in series 6 and helped him to release the Red Dragon. Before I rediscovered Knightmare, I always remembered one of my favourite moments to be when Treguard defeats the dragon, but my memory must have been mixed up because I always remembered Hordriss talking to Lord Fear in the pool right before the dragon was released. And my friend initially thought that Hordriss was all bad so she ended up assuming she was in league with Lord Fear too.
Obviously my memory got muddled and I somehow replaced the moment where Hordriss warns Treguard with the moment when Hordriss is demanding Lord Fear to release Sidriss. But hey, I was just a kid, my memories got mixed up a lot back then XD
UPDATE: I just got a reply: "I could've sworn there was an episode where they got guys from an old episode, who are now in their mid 30s on it." Does anyone have any idea about what he's referring to?
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