What's new for Series 5 of Knightmare? A summary of the main differences.
Start of Series
Treguard strides into the antechamber, looking for his assistant, Pickle.
- Treguard: "Dragon's breath! But someone's let the fire burn low, and if it should burn out, you wouldn't believe what would crawl in here and make itself comfortable."
In the previous series, we saw previews of incoming dungeoneers on the viewing screen. Now, they enter the antechamber via a spiral staircase.
- Treguard: "This is a strange land and getting stranger than you can ever imagine."
Teams now choose the object of their quest before they begin. They are also given the Eye Shield alongside the helmet and knapsack. Treguard offers the dungeoneer a chance to reconsider.
- Treguard: "Step forward now, and into your adventure."
Similarities and Differences
The dungeon continues the outdoor theme introduced in Series 4, with new locations. The introduction of a dragon, Smirkenorff, allowed for aerial footage between locations.
Pickle continues to assist Treguard in the antechamber, though some changes to the pre-quest formalities and the removal of the Weeping Doors reduce his influence.
A new principal opponent replaced Mogdred and his various surrogates. Lord Fear became a mainstay until the programme ended.
In-game
For the first time, there was no standard opening room. Teams could begin their quest with a flight, a trip in the descender, or Eye Shield footage.
The regular knowledge testing was reduced to speed up gameplay. Instead, teams had to decipher clue scrolls to choose the correct objects.
Teams also gained hints from spyglasses - another new introduction. These allowed teams to eavesdrop on the Opposition for a short time.
To exit Levels 1 and 2, teams needed a password to bypass a 'blocker'. The dragon and descender replaced wellways as the transfer route between levels.
Other new dangers included causeways of hexagonal tiles. These were based on a theme, such as elements (earth, fire, water). Teams had to learn or work out the code to cross safely.
New characters brought greater interaction and more creative storylines. These included the testy elf, Elita, and the slippery merchant, Julius Scaramonger.
Start of Episode
Pickle remains the keeper of the Book of Quests. He read out the teams' progress at the start of each episode.
Like Series 4, these updates only reveal the status of the team in progress, not a recap of the previous episode.
End of Episode
The bell tolls to signal 'time out', freezing both the gameplay and the advisors.
- Pickle: "What about the Opposition, master? Are all his forces frozen in time?"
- Treguard: "I'm afraid not, Pickle. They're not allowed to attack, of course - the rules. But there are some things down there that never sleep..."
There was extended theme music for the ending credits. Visuals included flights on Smirkenorff, unused rooms, and a new Broadsword animation for 1991.
In an eventful year for broadcasters, Knightmare was delayed twice by ITV's rugby coverage and also cut short at the beginning and end during the 1991 series.
