The producers wouldn't have foreseen or prepped for the advisors' amusingly bizarre decision to turn out the light. But couldn't they have got Gibbet to improvise a line or two in the dark, to the effect he was still going to kill the dungeoneer anyway, with a snippet of threatening music, before cutting to the "life force zero" sequence and bongs?

They had the spell needed to get them past Gibbet, but as the advisor began spell casting, his team-mate interrupted and told him to dispel LANTERN instead. Why? How would this save him from Gibbet and how would they find the well in the dark? (Especially as there is a large obstacle in the centre of the room.)

He initially said, "Spell-casting: A.. " rather than, "Dispel: A..", so he was clearly gonna do the correct thing and cast ANVIL. What a pity.

Team 4 have started well, got thru level 1 comfortably and their directional instruction is better than most.

Just as well he didn't put all that salt in the knapsack tho....

1 TNA IMPACT (SUN 2101) 184,000

2 CLASSIC WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE S1 (FRI 2100) 166,000

3 CLASSIC WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE S1 (TUE 2101) 145,000

4 CLASSIC WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE S1 (WED 2100) 135,000

5 FUN HOUSE (FRI 2200) 130,000

6 FAMILY FORTUNES (FRI 2000) 94,000

7 BULLSEYE (WED 2200) 93,000

8 KNIGHTMARE (FRI 2230) 88,000

9 BULLSEYE (WED 2230) 85,000

10 BULLSEYE (SUN 2030) 85,000

When Jonathan first says "Spellcasting: A, N" it's hard to know whether he was responding to the suggestion to cast ANVIL or to the suggestion to "turn the light off", since he begins the 'successful' dispelling of LANTERN with "A, N". Had Alec Westwood been more prepared to ad lib, I wonder if it would have affected the advisors' decision.

I know 1 of the lads said 'cast Anvil' but then someone said dis spell. So this probably confused the spellcaster! Still a good death though!

Was Treguard's opening spiel exactly the same recording as last week?
Yes, both the opening & closing words are the same recording every week in Series 1.

Surprised they didn't take the key, if they had im sure there would have been no 'serpent stomach' room.
The wall monster gave them a clue not to take the key.

What was the point of the chalice in the corridor?
It's a symbol to indicate the correct door, like the talisman in previous quests.

For all we know this team might have been filmed last and had seen the other quests. Just because the viewer sees them as the 4th team doesn't mean they were.

The produces are going to air them in the order they think is best for the viewer, which is why team 3 got to level 3, by then they needed to show off the dungeon a bit more.

I was surprised to hear Nigel say, "Danny, you're in a bomb room" as if it were a familiar term. It makes me wonder whether they'd encountered one in rehearsals, or whether the smaller bomb room had featured earlier in the quest but had been edited out.

Had Danny not been stopped from rushing out of the cavern by Lillith - something that, two series later, McGrew didn't succeed in doing with Cliff - and been given the ITCH spell, we might have had two scenes in one episode of a wellway guard killing a dungeoneer on his first appearance.

Does the very fact that Lillith made them so nervous suggest that they'd already seen evidence of her murderous inclinations? The more I think about this, the more I think that Treguard's line about previous quests was because of some exposure Danny's team had to previous adventures prior to starting their own.

Perhaps by this stage of the recording the first couple of quests had been edited together and, seeing how the first couple of teams had struggled, the producers showed later teams some footage to give them an idea of what the show was all about...?

It's somewhat wonderful to watch this series having no idea about the fate of any of the quests - it's been so long since I watched the show, and particularly this series that it's like I'm seeing them for the first time. So much so that Team 3's death genuinely came as a shock

That surprises me, given that you once wrote a Lexicon entry on Gibbet!

As previously mentioned in a earlier post, the spellcaster was about to do the correct spell until he got over ruled.

When Jonathan first says "Spellcasting: A, N" it's hard to know whether he was responding to the suggestion to cast ANVIL or to the suggestion to "turn the light off", since he begins the 'successful' dispelling of LANTERN with "A, N". Had Alec Westwood been more prepared to ad lib, I wonder if it would have affected the advisors' decision.

So far this series, every team number has been reflected in the episode number. I don't know how often this happened in later years, though obviously it would have been at least once per series.

That all said, this new team does seem a little more turned on - both re. directions (lots of side-stepping!) and an almost complete lack of panic (easiest ever passage through a bomb room?). Could they have seen some of the previous team's quest?

I was surprised to hear Nigel say, "Danny, you're in a bomb room" as if it were a familiar term. It makes me wonder whether they'd encountered one in rehearsals, or whether the smaller bomb room had featured earlier in the quest but had been edited out.

Had Danny not been stopped from rushing out of the cavern by Lillith - something that, two series later, McGrew didn't succeed in doing with Cliff - and been given the ITCH spell, we might have had two scenes in one episode of a wellway guard killing a dungeoneer on his first appearance. As it was, this was possibly the only episode in which we saw both wellways. It was also the first episode in which a password was asked for.

It's somewhat wonderful to watch this series having no idea about the fate of any of the quests - it's been so long since I watched the show, and particularly this series that it's like I'm seeing them for the first time. So much so that Team 3's death genuinely came as a shock, and a huge shame - they'd done so well and they end up bloody dispelling LANTERN instead of the obvious ANVIL spell! Saying that, had they done it right and gone on to win the thing, having only the third team in the history of the show beat the dungeon might make it look a bit easy...

It was good to see Folly, but I have to admit after a while his laugh did get annoying. I did prefer Motley as he was funnier and interacted more with the dungeoneers. Folly still some good moments though.

Next team seem much more aware, even if their dungeoneer looks and sounds terrified. Surprised they didn't take the key, if they had im sure there would have been no 'serpent stomach' room.

What was the point of the chalice in the corridor?

And YES... Folly!!!! best jester they ever had, that other chap was truly awful. We should make the most of him as he didn't last past season 2.

Was Treguard's opening spiel exactly the same recording as last week?

Bet there were a few arguments about that spell debacle in the car on the way home! The producers got better at editing deaths as the show went on - this one required a little explanation!

And am I being cynical or was Treguard's line about knowledge of previous quests being little use aimed mostly at the viewers - keep watching, it'll be different!?

Repetition is series one's real weakness but the bizarre wall monster burping is an attempt to mix things up which falls a little flat IMO.

That all said, this new team does seem a little more turned on - both re. directions (lots of side-stepping!) and an almost complete lack of panic (easiest ever passage through a bomb room?). Could they have seen some of the previous team's quest?

What was it exactly that killed Simon; the Darkness or Gibbet?

It was making the wrong decision. They should've spellcast ANVIL (which indeed the spellcaster started to do, but was overruled) but instead dis-spelled LANTERN, which wouldn't have stopped Gibbet clonking him on the head.

But Gibbet is a tough guard and he might of gave them a second helping

i suppose thats coz the dungon is small so they have to fill the time some how hmmmmooooo the mystories

If they needed to fill the time up they'd just have brought in another team at the end of the season. They weren't filling the time up, they just needed to let the audience (and the teams for that matter) know what was going on because back in '87 nobody had ever seen it before.

First time we heard a 'gong' of sorts for a death, I think, although it wasn't the usual sound...

Actually, the gong made its debut in the second episode when team two lost. It was also in the familiar pitch. The pitch of the team three gong was lower. (Hmm, highly significant, eh? )

I think the characters are being especially nice to the current Dungeoneer because he looked rather nervous. The series has most definitely now found its feet and settled into a groove, imo.

I have always wondered what Treguard has done to make Lilith so cross....Some sort of a background story would be interesting between these two.

I think they're feuding brothers and sisters.

Either that or Treguard once had a relationship with Lilith, but Lilith ended the relationship. That could expain why "she rejects me".

I think the only character we haven't seen this series so far is Merlin's alto-ego Mogdred, will we ever see him? I suspect as he is only in level 3 it explains his lack of appearances. Which is probably why next season he also appears in level 2 in order to be used more.