Series 7 - Episode 15

[HStorm]

I think he means he's watched all eight seasons recently, but in a jumbled order - season 7 would be the one he watched last.

The quest directly before his lasted 50 minutes, wherea's barry's spanned four episodes and was up there at almost 72.

Couple of things about this. Firstly, I've always made it to be about 64 minutes. (Mind you, with all the footage that was apparently cut out, it could well have been above eighty!)

Secondly, the timespan of a quest doesn't necessarily govern how difficult it is. For example, team 3 in season 5 had a quest that lasted almost an hour, but was not noticeably awkward.

Thirdly, the length of this quest was increased to a great extent by Barry himself mouthing off so much. A lot of the scenes were supposedly more difficult for the cast than for the team, because it was tricky for them to try and 'ad-lib' proceedings in the direction that plot was meant to go in. (See how irritated Iona Kennedy was getting while rowing Barry through the sewers.)

[Mystara]

The timespan of a quest is largely irrelevant.
It's just an indicator of how much material was not cut. Presumably because Barry was entertaining.

[Helvellyn]

(See how irritated Iona Kennedy was getting while rowing Barry through the sewers.)

That was a bit of a missed opportunity. I was looking forward to seeing Barry puncture a bit of Graystagg's pomposity.

[hindleyite]

Thirdly, the length of this quest was increased to a great extent by Barry himself mouthing off so much. A lot of the scenes were supposedly more difficult for the cast than for the team, because it was tricky for them to try and 'ad-lib' proceedings in the direction that plot was meant to go in. (See how irritated Iona Kennedy was getting while rowing Barry through the sewers.)

Yeah, dunno about 'Queen of the Witches', she was more like 'Queen of the Bitches' in this episode.

"Stop your wittering!" or something to that effect... though I thought the actors ad-libbed very well in general for this quest, certainly ended the series earning their crust. Oh, and I, like many in this thread, swear Barry was decapitated at the Blades, but he was such good entertainment we'll let that one slide.

Good series finale, things certainly picked up from the earlier episodes.

[Pooka]

It was, "please don't bother me - the stench of this place!"

Not that it matters. It wouldn't have helped Barry if he had had more of a go at talking to Greystagg. It was clear that they needed her help and, had they irritated her, she could have easily refused to help them in the end. That's probably why Barry was quiet.

[Bumptious]

Thirdly, the length of this quest was increased to a great extent by Barry himself mouthing off so much. A lot of the scenes were supposedly more difficult for the cast than for the team, because it was tricky for them to try and 'ad-lib' proceedings in the direction that plot was meant to go in. (See how irritated Iona Kennedy was getting while rowing Barry through the sewers.)

Yeah, dunno about 'Queen of the Witches', she was more like 'Queen of the Bitches' in this episode.

"Stop your wittering!" or something to that effect... though I thought the actors ad-libbed very well in general for this quest, certainly ended the series earning their crust. Oh, and I, like many in this thread, swear Barry was decapitated at the Blades, but he was such good entertainment we'll let that one slide.

Good series finale, things certainly picked up from the earlier episodes.

The Barry/Greystagg exchange was one of my favourite moments in the entire series. I remember it well.

Barry (entering boat): It's a very nice boat.
Derek: Is it now?
Barry: Yes, it's lovely.
Greystagg: Stop your wittering, or i'll dismiss you!
Barry: I beg your pardon.

Barry reminded me of Sergeant Wilson from Dad's Army during that little exchange. To be fair, I think the actors probably enjoyed participating in a quest where they didn't have to "lead" the dungeoneer. It was something different to the norm, and any actor worth his or her salt would have enjoyed the extra challenge of having to think on their feet. It was a pity Brother Mace was no longer part of the dungeon, it would have been great to see Michael Cule matching Barry in a good bit of banter.

[Canadanne]

Also on Play Your Cards Right the last card he choose was the joker yet the previous team choose the other card. Does it mean that any team could pick either of the two last cards and get across, or was he allowed to live?

Personal theory - Barry does pick the wrong card at the end of PYCR, but is allowed to get away with it because they're obviously a great team and they stated a valid reason for choosing it (the joker often being used as a wildcard). I think they were really supposed to choose the 10 of Clubs like Julie's team did. It would seem a bit pointless including a choice that didn't matter, and the joker is upside-down, perhaps symbolising that a fool can expect a fall! I'm not sure that a less entertaining team would have survived touching that card.

Treguard is audibly surprised that Barry remembers Brother Strange's name, haha.

[Morghanna]

A frenetic series finale!
Team 7 made solid progress of the chaos of cards. Quickly worked out the critical choice on the penultimate row. Either both cards were an acceptable choice on the final row (which makes no sense) or they got yet another reprieve, coz Julie's team chose the other card and survived. Hilarious moment when they dumped the goblin into the abyss, just in time.
Confronted by the brollachan again and handled it much more easily this time.
Novel use of the dripping water to restore life-force. Corny use of the "shell-phone" to replace a spyglass for info.
Risked the left-hand exit marked "short-cut", which led them into a faster corridor of blades. Fortunately it wasn't a particularly long sequence and Barry didn't actually have to move too many times, as their directions were less than convincing. That penultimate blade quite clearly went thru his legs! (You could hear an "ooooh!" which i think was actually from Treguard. ) Another reprieve....
Encountered Brother Strange again, who offered them useful info.
Next-up was Romahna in the stocks (it was obviously her turn this week) captured by Sly Hands. (Great improvising by Paul Valentine with too many things going-on at once!) They tricked him into drinking the "freeze" potion so they could release Romahna. She led him thru to a chamber where there were two objects in force fields: the Shield and a troll hammer. Summoned Queen Greystagg, who instructed them that she could only release one. They made the noble decision to sacrifice their quest to save Knightmare Castle and released the troll-hammer.
Used the "fast-backward" potion which rewound his quest to the ante-room. Treguard used the troll-hammer to destroy the troll just in time. Yay!
The eye-shield had been mysteriously replaced with the quest Shield, meaning victory for team 7 after all.

Team 7 were a likeable team. Barry was the most proactive dungeoneer ever and his advisors were a good group. Even so, i reckon team 6 were a more competent team overall, whereas team 7 had several very blatant reprieves during their quest.

[Drassil]

Series 7 doesn't actually end with Barry's celebrated victory and Lord Fear's literally crushing defeat. Before the credits roll, we're treated to what I'll call the Treghead:

Yes, for Treguard's end of series speech, we don't get him breaking the fourth wall from the antechamber, because he seems averse to doing that in Series 7. Instead he gets taken out of the antechamber... correction: his head gets taken out of the antechamber and placed in a bizarre corrugated blandscape that moves for a bit then stops.

Treguard's fourth wall breakage at its most intense could give me butterflies. Here I find it much less effective, not least because Hugo breaks eye contact more than once, as shown above. I would guess he does this to check his lines.

Presumably Hugo Myatt was filmed in one of the bluescreen voids, wrapped in a blue sheet. Picturing this doesn't lend much dignity to the proceedings. I've offset that by imagining that Treguard had got so fed up of Majida that he has magically detached his own head and fled to an interdimensional hiding place.

I wish I could say that the Treghead nostalgically evokes the Dungeon Master's head-only appearances from the earlier series. Instead it feels like yet another unwelcome gimmick in a series that was too heavy with them (the prime example being the sight spells & potions).

Just before the doors close on the Treghead (why a different set of doors from the ones that open at the start of each Series 7 episode?), he ends by saying, "I'll be waiting. Just don't disappoint me." Perhaps some watchers, looking ahead to Series 8, felt like saying the same to him.

[Beltane]

I just watched this final episode. Barry was a fantastic dungeoneer, and I wish we'd had more with his initiative! Not to be negative about other teams, but does anyone remember that episode several series earlier where Folly lost his laugh and the dungeoneer of the day had to hunt for it as his initial quest? Alec - Folly's actor - was carrying that dungeoneer through that whole conversation, but I think Barry would have run with it beautifully.

But onto this episode! Lots of great drama in this one. I always love the Corridor of Blades! The near-starvation was an amazingly tense scene, and I feel that the only thing missing here was Treguard's disgust at Barry being reduced to drinking dungeon run-off to survive. Treguard's shown himself to have fairly delicate sensibilities in earlier series (e.g., his raction to the maggot 'worms' in one of the first three series) so I was surprised he took it for granted that the dripping water could be used as sustenance - especially as the fact that the Life Force seems to imply how close a dungeoneer is to starvation, not thirst.

The other thing that I felt could have been tweaked with this episode was the story with the Shield / Eyeshield. It seemed appropriate and fitting that Barry and co. sacrified their quest to save the castle, and there's really no way he could have snatched the Shield, since it was locked away behind that magic barrier. Someone else on this thread pointed out that the swap means that the Eyeshield went AWOL and was returned by the start of series 8, so that's a whole story in itself that we never got to see. Surely it would be tidier and a more wholesome choice to have Barry fail to get the object of his quest but for the very best of reasons?

But anyway - Barry mate, and your advisors, if you happen to read this, you put on an excellent show!

[Drassil]

The near-starvation was an amazingly tense scene, and I feel that the only thing missing here was Treguard's disgust at Barry being reduced to drinking dungeon run-off to survive. Treguard's shown himself to have fairly delicate sensibilities in earlier series (e.g., his raction to the maggot 'worms' in one of the first three series) so I was surprised he took it for granted that the dripping water could be used as sustenance - especially as the fact that the Life Force seems to imply how close a dungeoneer is to starvation, not thirst.

Welcome back!

It was Treguard who urged Dickon's team in Series IV to "eat or drink something" to restore energy at a crucial point in their quest, so he has shown he's open to dungeoneers having liquid aid.

...And he'd have to be in Series VII, which went potion crazy. 17 potions (18 if you count intoxicants) across 7 quests, of which 12 were intended for dungeoneers to drink. Series VI had 4 potions across 7 quests.

More generally, it's not easy to maintain standards in Series VII. When quest after quest had one or more sight spells/potions/powders fundamentally devaluing the Helmet of Justice, there's not much to lose by getting mysterious noisy water on it.

20 years later came a possible explanation: "leaks from the Level One Fountain of Energy", as referred to and seen in the YouTube Geek Week extended special.

A full edit of and including all the material shot and played in Norwich ... includes the Fountain of energy - described by Theodora Snitch (but deleted), allowing leaks from the Fountain in Level One to fall into Levels two and three, providing emergency energy renewal.
Its a feature you are all going to like, but as a gamestmaster, its partricularly useful for one can place it in perilous positions, forcing the players to take the risk, or not. Look on the end credit screen of the Youtube version and you will see it previewed.

If that is what Barry and his band encountered, Treguard could well have recognised and trusted it.

[Beltane]

Good call - that may well have been what it was, then. Although as far as the dungeoneer drinking to survive, there are a few liquids that are full enough of nutrients that they could serve as food. Milk, stouts, stocks and broths, fruit or leaf juices (think of those wheatgrass shots you can get), and maybe drinks with nut butters and/or tiny seeds mixed in. There are lots of drinks that could be essentially a liquid food, so you're right that Treguard would surely be open to a dungeoneer drinking those, although I daresay some of those would be more likely to turn up in a dungeon than others (she said, completely ignoring the pineapples that keep showing up in Knightmare Dungeon).

And you're right, some series really were more potion-hungry than others, weren't they?

[Mashibinbin]

Pineapples are at least naturally occurring, chickens that are roast and replete with cutlery however...

[Drassil]

As far as the dungeoneer drinking to survive, there are a few liquids that are full enough of nutrients that they could serve as food. Milk, stouts, stocks and broths, fruit or leaf juices (think of those wheatgrass shots you can get), and maybe drinks with nut butters and/or tiny seeds mixed in.

That reminded me that milk did serve as food: Julian (Series 2 Team 10) put some in his knapsack, bottle and all. The team weren't from Accrington.

[Beltane]

That reminded me that milk did serve as food: Julian (Series 2 Team 10) put some in his knapsack, bottle and all. The team weren't from Accrington.

Accrington? As in Accrington Stanley? Who are they?