Knightmare on BritBox
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Never heard of Britbox before now. Did some research and doesn't really appeal. For one thing you have to subscribe to view, not available on terrestrial television and most importantly I'd only be buying to see Knightmare on it, most others shows they have available wouldn't really be of interest or you could just as easily catch them on a regular service. Add to that people mention only Series 4 is available right now, in an ideal world I'd like to start from the very beginning and take it from there. I know any DVD release is as yet not available but to just subscribe and start watching one series after jumping forward largely unaware of the previous three is something of a no no. If they were to broadcast regularly from the shows beginning in 1987 (?) to the end of series I'd most likely jump at the chance to check it out, however for the reasons stated don't think I'll be taking this particular opportunity up. Sorry
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It's a shame that even with the free trial, this doesn't appeal to you.
You call it an opportunity. I'd go further and call it a privilege: for Knightmare to be among the programmes on BritBox; for us to be able to watch it there. Knightmare's never really been free, when you consider TV licences and advertising, so I'm happy to subscribe and pay. And there's much more on BritBox than I had realised.
I wonder what percentage of Knightmare fans actually started watching from Series 1 Episode 1, and how many of those who didn't start from S1 E1 felt they were having an inferior experience. My memory is of starting to watch Knightmare partway through an episode of S2 and being instantly engrossed. For me, that was Knightmare S1 E1. It's a similar story with many other TV series that became favourites.
Prior to catch-up and on-demand services, watching a series from the first episode would have been far less common than it is now. Long-running series like soap operas and sitcoms owe their popularity to new viewers' willingness to go with the flow.
I get a thrill when I think about Knightmare being on BritBox. At the end of an episode, out of habit I brace myself for a continuity announcer talking over the credits. It doesn't come.
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This is great news!
I do hope that word gets spread rather quickly around old time fans and that new/young fans discover Knightmare too.
In some ways, while Series 4 is perhaps a strange one to start with, I've been re-watching it again fairly recently and while most people say that series 3 is the series, 4 was great too.
To be honest though, I have no desire to get BritBox yet, though I am tempted to do the free trial just to watch Knightmare and show my support!
As for the question above, I am indeed one of the series 1, episode 1 originals
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Long-running series like soap operas and sitcoms owe their popularity to new viewers' willingness to go with the flow.
Exactly, and those shows have a continuing plot, which Knightmare doesn't even have! (Within individual quests, yes. But you don't need to watch quest 1 of series 1 to understand quest 3 of series 4).
I certainly didn't watch from the beginning back in the CITV days, as I was too young. I have vague memories of my older sister watching (what I have since deduced to be) series 2 or 3. But it wasn't until Series 4 where I started watching the show myself.
People are entitled to watch what they want of course, and are entitled to their reasons. But likewise I'm entitled to my opinion on their reasons. I just can't understand how "I only want to watch it from the start" can be a valid reason for a gameshow. One which is so rare, and so hard to come by.
Hilarious that they still mention hope of DVDs as a possibility. At the peak of the DVD era, lots of classic shows got released. That era is long over. DVD production declined long ago. Nobody is looking to fund the release of ambiguous old cult shows with a tiny audience on dvds these days. The chance for that has passed. Just funny that they mention this still might happen some day, yet are completely ignoring the fact it's on a streaming service right now (which is the new thing, and the reason DVDs are out).
This is akin to Series 4 coming out on DVD and me saying "I'm not going to watch Series 4 on dvd. I'm waiting for Series 1 to come out on VHS".
The airing of Knightmare on Britbox is here, it's happening, it's now.
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(what I have since deduced to be) series 2 or 3.
I think that phrase gets to the heart of it. I may have joined Knightmare during Series 2, but I didn't know it was Series 2 until over a decade later when I first read the series guides on this website. I had assumed that my first Knightmare series was the first Knightmare series, perhaps because I couldn't believe that I would miss an entire year of a programme that hooked me the moment I first saw it.
Even now, there will be plenty of watchers for whom knowing that they're watching 'Series 4 from 1990' has no effect on their enjoyment: it's all just Knightmare; it's got Treguard, the helmet and sidestepping; it brings back happy childhood memories. Not only is there nothing wrong with that, but it's that kind of undiscerning reception that makes BritBox commercially viable.
Hilarious that they still mention hope of DVDs as a possibility.
If people want Knightmare to have an official DVD release, they're welcome to say so. As long as they appreciate the low likelihood (see https://www.knightmare.com/q-and-a.html) and, as you say, the greater value of supporting Knightmare here and now via BritBox.
The social media enthusiasm and gratitude for Knightmare on BritBox has been a pleasure to see. It is hard to ignore some of the less positive comments however. For example, this lovely tweet...
'My daughter couldn't sleep last night, so we spent a relaxing time watching Knightmare on Britbox. Only one series on there, sadly, but really pleased it's available at all.'
...had, among its replies:
'And for those us who don’t have Britbox?'
It's hard to know what would motivate a reply like that.
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It was great while it lasted, but it appears that Knightmare is no longer on BritBox.
Thank you to BritBox and to all the watchers, especially those who told other people about the opportunity. Knightmare deserves to be available to watch legally, in good quality, in full. Here's hoping it will happen again soon, on BritBox or elsewhere.
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Whilst it is disappointing that Series 4 is no longer on BritBox, it's encouraging to think that a popular streaming service still regards Knightmare as being worthy of transmission, even if only for a limited time. Let's hope it will make a return in the near future. You never know!
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It would be interesting to know who at Britbox decided Series 4 was the one to go for, and why. Even though I have personal affection for Series 4, objectively I think it was the WORST series they could have chosen. I can't imagine most casual Britbox viewers making it past one or two episodes, let alone the full series.
IMO they should have chosen Series 6. Not only does it have a faster pace, it has more slick "plotlines" through the quests and the introduction of the atmospheric incidental music really adds tension. This would have probably had a better reaction.
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Why do you have personal affection for series 4, anyway? Just curious!
Despite it being too quiet, rather slow and very repetative, I like the characters that series. Grundrada was a personal favourite. She was great at improv! I like Ariadne and this was probably her most featured series. I also like the teams that series too. And I've always been fascinated by castle ruins so I like the aesthetic too.
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