USA pilots
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i think the same production team for Knightmare (Broadsword / Televirtual) produced the American Knightmare, it was preety much the same but didnt get past pilot stage... Americans wouldnt know a good idea if i jumped into bed with them ;D
I think Challenge have also looked into getting the French Knightmare, but it wasnt feasible to make it a bit like Takeshi's Castle, which is a pity because it seems really good
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Here's what creator Tim Child said about the American pilot:
*"In 1993 we kept all the staff and cast on for two days at the end of series production and made a 30 minute pilot for the US market, entitled Lords of the Game.
All the cast were used except Hugo who was replaced by an American actor. Players were provided by the US Air base at Mildenhall in Suffolk. The pilot was not successful, US production companies being terrified of Cromakey-based shows, because of the technical complexity. A German production of Knightmare was agreed with RTL in Cologne in 91 but was then cancelled.
We were to make the first series (50 shows) in the UK, flying in German players and actors, and then export the production to Cologne for series 2."*
I think he also said at one stage that none of us had seen it. That was in the context of discussing possible DVD extras, so if that happens (and you can go and sign the petition to try and make it happen!) then we might well see it. Dependent on copyright issues and space, it might also be possible to include an episode of at least one of the foreign series to compare and contrast.
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Grand ideas.
I think it's a great shame that the Us didn't take up KM, because with the sheer mass and size of the media market over there, surely somebody should have seized the opportunity and taken the risk of getting to grips with cromakey based material. Still, in a way, I'm always reservedly pleased that it didn't make it through to the US, because I just feel that the whole concept of the ideas and creation being British and the lengendary cast swopped for American wannabes would - just lose part of what's so special about the show for me.
As far as the extra material releases going, I maintain that an educated route to go by, where possibly both VHS and DVD are concerned, is that the first and last series, being the shortest, would have the potential extra capacity on the media to house the various extras that GM might like to release on there. That is actually rather convenient, because with S1, there's potential for extras such as the pilots, the testing and info on the construction of the show and its creation. S8 could house possibly more pilots, interviews (possibly fan interviews) and info on the new projects, should that be relevant at the time of release.
This doesn't mean I'd hope to neglect all the other series from extras too, but if they were released chronologically, S1 would sell countless more copies for the additions, and that would only prove beneficial to further releases, if GM wanted to play it that way. Also, S8, a disappointment to many people, could also see a huge increase in sales when that emerged because of the additional bits and pieces. I'm not saying here that KM fans wouldn't purchase S8 without it - not in the slightest - but borderline fans and general interest folk would certainly be convinced!
I just think we all need to stay focused, keep cracking down on the dreaded unwanted topic posts, give no ambiguity to why there shouldn't be a release - and keep believing ~ KaM
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Very good point indeed.
Series 1 is sufficiently short enough to fit onto a single disc. This would another disc solely for extras such as the Chromakey experiment, the two pilot episodes, deleted scenes and outtakes.
Such a huge hoard of goodies would make it as attractive as possible to potential buyers - and thus snare as big a sale as possible, justifying the release of all the other series.
If Granada really want to push to boat out, they could even make a short documentary to accompany the DVD release - possibly in eight small parts, one for each series. They could contain clips of the foreign formats.
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Hey all, thanks for the information. Its a shame the USA pilot was only 30 mins, they would be lucky to get to level 3 even if it was only one team. I'll go sign the DVD petition now and see what comes of age.
Laters
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As far as the American version was concerned, no wonder it didnt get past the pilot without Hugo Myatt! He was what made the show so good. Apparently the dvds can be bought direct from the maker, but as its a single order its rather expensive. Maybe if a group of people got together, they would drop the price?
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DVD's and VHS brought direct is very expensive and i doubt the price would be greatly dropped for bulk orders unless they reached HUGE amounts...at which point it becomes more cost efficient for them to release the dvd/video commercially. its got somthing to do with actors getting payed for recordings as it wasnt included in their original contract. not sure completely but at £80+ quid PER EPISODE on DVD i'm certainly praying for a commercial release.
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Having said that one wonders what a Knightmare series one episode one would make on somwhere like Ebay. I can see the mails now .... What do you mean, origianl?
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Man ..... I never had the investment money.
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...until September!
I'm off to the USA tomorrow for three months...I wonder how many series ahead challenge will be by then? I will attempt to get on here, and check the board, I especailly can't wait for Skip's game, which sounds wonderful!
Anyway, bye for now I guess!
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Your mission it to get everyone in the USA interested in Knightmare.
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How can I get hold of the pilot version of the American Knightmare?
If we knew that we'd all have copies!
Seriously, it's been suggested that if there's ever a DVD release of KM, the Lords Of The Game pilot would be included in it. But don't hold your breath, there's little sign of a DVD release any time soon...
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How can I get hold of the pilot version of the American Knightmare?
If we knew that we'd all have copies!
Seriously, it's been suggested that if there's ever a DVD release of KM, the Lords Of The Game pilot would be included in it. But don't hold your breath, there's little sign of a DVD release any time soon...
Weeeeelllll....
Not so long ago, people were looking dejected because getting repeats shown ANYWHERE looked far off.....
We can live, learn and hope.
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There is always a chance, the fact that KM has come back to TV and a new series is on the horrizon goes to show that anything is possible.
Back in the early days of this website nobody really thought KM had a chance in hell of getting repeats, let alone a new series. We just kept hoping and hoping, and BBK-ing and BBK-Ing!
A DVD is not too far fetched after all that
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