Knightmare
Encyclopedia
Knightmare is an English
television program for child
ren, produced by Broadsword Productions for Anglia Television
and was broadcast on ITV
from 7 September 1987 to 11 November 1994. The show is most noted for its use of blue screen
chroma key
(the idea borrowed by Tim Child from its then-new usage in weather forecasts) and use of 'virtual reality
' interactive gameplay on television.
The show features teams of four children (around 11–16 years old). On the call of "Enter, Stranger", the first member of the team (the "dungeoneer") enters Knightmare Castle via an antechamber belonging to Treguard of Dunshelm (played by Hugo Myatt
). After giving his or her name, the dungeoneer is asked by Treguard to call their three advisors, who magically appear next to the viewing apparatus beside them (though, in Series 8, all members of the team appeared at once). Before entering the dungeon, the dungeoneer is given a knapsack to wear, in which they are to place food found along the way, in order to replenish Life Force (see below). In addition, the "Helmet of Justice" is put on the dungeoneer's head, blocking their vision except for the area immediately around them. The story is that this is to protect the dungeoneer from seeing the real danger ahead.
The dungeoneer then enters Treguard's partly computer-generated
, partly hand-drawn fantasy
dungeon
which was accomplished through bluescreen chromakey—hence the need for the helmet, as the dungeoneer otherwise just sees a large blue room. The team watches the dungeoneer from a screen in the antechamber, and guides the player using hurried descriptions and shouts instructions, overcoming a variety of puzzles and traps in the dungeon. The instructions might be "Sidestep left, walk forward, take a small step to your right, pick up the key", much like many text-based computer games (for example the appropriately named "multi-user dungeons") that relies on description and commands rather than any visuals.
Spells can also be cast, which enables the dungeoneer to attack, open doors, restore one's life force, reveal clues and perform other special abilities. This is accomplished by spelling out the name of the spell the team wishes to cast. For example, to cast a WELL spell that reveals a wellway to the next level, an advisor calls out: "Spellcasting: W-E-L-L". It is also possible to reverse or stop a previously casted spell by dispelling, which can be done by calling out "Dispel", followed by the letters of the spell in an incorrect order, but not necessarily in reverse order. One team (Team 7 of Series 2) is confounded by bad spelling, continually missing out the letter O of a SHROUD spell that is put on their dungeoneer while the antagonist Mogdred laughs evilly, while Treguard, apparently constrains by magic, tries to tell them ("Let...ter...O!"). Later on, that same team are killed off, again due to bad spelling (in this case, misinterpreting a SHOVEL spell that they were given prior as SPADE).
There are three levels in the dungeon. The object of the game is to collect various items, meeting a selection of the many inhabitants of the dungeon along the way, and get out 'alive'. There are different ways of travelling between the levels, including well
ways, mine cart rides, lift
s ('descenders') and even airborne rides on Smirkenorff, a dragon
. The dungeon's inhabitants includes jester
s, maid
s, and wizards, who helps the dungeoneer along the way, and guards
, witch
es, and sorcerer
s, who either demand password
s, spells, useful objects they need or simply try to kill the dungeoneer. Mary Whitehouse
was initially critical of this latter aspect of the programme (i.e. the simulated fatal demise of the dungeoneers) after having been given a macabre description of Knightmare by the press. However, she apologised after she saw Knightmare for herself, noting that there was no gore and Treguard always made it clear that the dungeoneers still survived in "their own time".
If the team manages to complete all three levels and master the dungeon, they are awarded with a prize, which changed over the years from the "Silver Spurs of Squiredom", to medallions (Series 4), to "Frightknight" trophies
(a design of a Knight
holding a sword). Unlike most other children's shows, Knightmare had no qualms over having a very high difficulty level. In its eight-year history, only eight teams managed to successfully conquer the dungeon: two in Series 2, team 4 and 10, one in Series 4, team 6, one in series 5, team 4, one in series 6, team 5, two in Series 7, team 6 and 7, and a final one in Series 8, team 6. The last team to play in each series would often face an impossible quest, as the dungeon would inevitably collapse (indicating the end of the series) before they had time to reach the conclusion.
While the essence of Knightmare remained the same, there was also much change and development throughout its series. In Series 2 (1988), a quest object system was introduced, so that dungeoneers now had a specific item to reclaim at the end. There were four main quest items: The Sword
of Freedom (originally The Sword of Justice, retrieved once), The Shield
of Justice (originally The Shield of Liberty, retrieved twice), The Cup
that Heals (never retrieved), and The Crown
ing Glory (retrieved three times). There were occasionally others, such as "Free the Maid" (used twice, freed once) or "Find the Talisman" (used once, retrieved once).
In its early series, Knightmare lacked a single major antagonist or 'baddie'. Indeed, originally Treguard was specifically a neutral character, neither on the side of good nor evil. The closest there was to a main villain was Mogdred (portrayed by John Woodnutt
), but his main duty was, according to Merlin (a wizard, and Mogdred's 'alter ego' in the first series) to "scare you into making a mistake", though he did kill two dungeoneers, one in Series 2 and another early in Series 4. In Series 5 (1991), however, changes were made. The majority of the characters were split into two sides: the righteous "Powers that Be", and the villainous "Opposition", the leader of which was Lord Fear played by Mark Knight. By this time, Treguard's stance had now fully evolved into that of a strictly good character.
in 1985, inspired by the two ZX Spectrum
games Atic Atac
and Dragontorc. Figuring that if a Spectrum could do these types of adventure games, then a television programme could revolutionise the genre, he enlisted the help of artist David Rowe to design realistic looking backgrounds with an airbrush
. Borrowing the technique used in weather forecasts, Child devised a large blue room, which would be set up in Studio A of Anglia Studios. The advanced computer graphic environments were created by the Travelling Matte Company using a Spaceward SuperNova computer.
Eventually, in early 1986, a 15 minute pilot
under the name of Dungeon Doom was recorded. Even at this stage it featured Hugo Myatt, the husband of Christine Webber who was a presenter of Anglia's regional news programme About Anglia
. A second 20 minute pilot was filmed on 27 and 28 January 1987, with the name changed from Dungeon Doom to Knightmare, and 'life force' added, an idea borrowed from the computer game Atic Atac, which also influenced the show in other ways. For this he recruited Robert Harris, who used a Spaceward Computer to design an animation of a knight's head that could indicate varying degrees of damage. Child sent this second pilot to the ITV Children's Committee in February, who commissioned a series of 8 half-hour-long episodes.
The show was an instant hit with viewers, so much so that a second series twice as long as the last was commissioned the next year, closely followed by a third the year after that. By the time this third series finished, Child felt the dungeon format was getting too restrictive, and he needed something new. Because of this, the fourth series saw the introduction of many 'outdoor' scenes, filmed around places such as medieval
castle
s across the UK, and composited into the blue room using the usual chromakey technique. This series also saw the introduction of the "Eye Shield", which acted as an 'eye' for the dungeoneer. Using pre-recorded footage filmed on location, it would follow the progress of the dungeoneer as they explored the dungeon. A new onscreen status bar was also introduced, generated by a Commodore
Amiga 2000
computer.
At its peak in 1991/1992, Knightmare attracted approximately 4-5 million viewers an episode (at that time a very high figure for a children's TV series). By 1993, the year which saw the programme's seventh series, it was the most popular non-animated show on CITV
. However, changes had recently occurred. Late the previous year, the ITV Children's Committee was replaced by a single Controller of CITV, Dawn Airey
. Although she thought well of Knightmare, the average audience age of CITV was now 6-10, down from 6-15 in 1985. It was believed the older audience were moving to satellite television
and video games, and that programmes for a younger audience were needed. After two meetings, it was agreed that an 8th series of Knightmare would go ahead in 1994, but it would be a shorter run (10 episodes instead of 15/16 episodes), and the remainder of the season's timeslot would be taken over by Virtually Impossible, a new virtual reality show from Broadsword, the same production company as Knightmare, and aimed at this younger audience. Shortly after this decision was made, Airey left for Channel 4
, and was replaced as Controller by Vanessa Chapman.
Despite the diminishing older audience, Knightmares eighth series performed well, and gained a higher audience than Virtually Impossible did later that autumn. Changes introduced in this series saw a return to the dungeon format of Series 1-3, albeit now completely computer generated, and a new piece of dungeoneering equipment was added, the wand
called "Reach". This allowed dungeoneers to push, touch, and open things from a distance. At this point, there was still hope that Knightmare was to return for a ninth series in 1995, as a postal address for future contestants was displayed on screen after the end of the final episode. The chances of the eighth series being the last were also strong, however, and so the series ended on an ambiguous note.
In the event, Knightmare was 'rested' for the foreseeable future, partly due to the declining older audience, and partly because Tim Child felt that, while Knightmare should employ high-quality virtual reality in order to remain a cutting-edge show, such technology was not affordable at that time.
In August 2009, a campaign was started by the official Knightmare fan site to get a release of the series on DVD after other failed attempts and lack of interest from ITV Entertainment.
On 17 March 2008, Tim Child announced that it was "very early days", but that fans "will have something to talk about in 2008, and perhaps something to beguile you in 2009". Although as of 2011 there has been no further official news on the project's development, the bankruptcy and closure of Broadsword Productions's parent company Intermedialab Limited (formerly known as Televirtual) now means that a new series is very unlikely.
The life force was a combined clock and progress meter used to track the energy status of the dungeoneer (the main contestant). It could be reduced by the dungeoneer taking too long (Treguard would often tell the team "You're wasting Life Force"), being attacked by monsters, taking the wrong route or making bad decisions. However, it could be refuelled by placing food in the knapsack.
In the first five series, the life force was a computer animated image of an adventurer wearing a helmet. When healthy the image was complete, it would be shown against a green background. As life force was lost the background would turn Amber and parts of the helmet would break off into pieces. Once the helmet was gone completely, pieces of skin would break off to reveal a skull underneath (though no blood was seen), now with a red background. If life force diminished further the skull would start to crumble away, ending with the eyes rolling away past the camera as a bell tolled,.
In series six and seven, the life force was a picture of a knight losing armour to gradually reveal the skeleton which eventually crumbled to bits.
In the final series, the life force was a picture of an animated pie
, its slices slowly dissolving. This particular life force only appeared whenever the dungeoneer picked up food.
The Dungeoneer's "death" was indicated by the life force sequence ending, either by the second eye rolling off-screen or the skeleton
collapsing. Unlike the first two sequences, the "pie" life force was never used to indicate a death.
At first, Treguard directed the contestants on his own. However from Series 4, Treguard had an assistant; Pickle the elf
, played by David Learner and, from Series 7 after Pickle had "gone back to the forest", Majida, a princess and genie
of Arabian descent played by Jackie Sawiris. (Majida originally claimed her name was "Daughter of the Setting Moon Whose Eyes are Like Daggers in the Hearts of Men Who Ride the Great Caravan of the Sultan".)
During the early series Treguard was portrayed as a neutral character, most notably between Series 1 and 3. During the start of Episode 14 of Series 3 (when no team had yet completed that series' dungeon) he went as far as to say "we're celebrating an unbeaten record", apparently siding against the dungeoneers. However, from Series 5 onwards there was a clear distinction made between 'The Powers that Be' and 'The Opposition', against which Treguard became less neutral and more inclined to actively aid and assist the dungeoneer to complete their quest.
Over the course of the series Treguard became well known for his catchphrase "Ooh, nasty!", regularly used just after a dungeoneer had died. Intended only as a passing remark, this was originally an ad lib by Myatt.
s written by Dave Morris
:
The first of these, Knightmare, told the story of how Treguard came to inhabit Knightmare Castle, revealed once to have been Dunshelm Castle, which Treguard owned by birthright. The next four books were intended for older readers, and took the format of half-fiction, half-interactive story. In these, the first half of the book was a novellette about one of Treguard's adventures, serving as a lead-in to the second half, composed of numbered sections where the reader directed the narrative, similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure
books. The next two books retained the interactive story format, but were aimed at a younger audience. Throughout the interactive portions of the books the reader had to keep track of their Life Force and objects collected, and some books had additional statistics or special skills to keep track of. Finally, Lord Fear's Domain was a puzzle book.
There were also two Knightmare computer games released. The first was in 1987, released on the Spectrum, Amstrad CPC
, Atari ST
, and Commodore 64
, and the second Knightmare game
in 1991, released on the Amiga
and Atari ST. A PC
version was proposed for 1995, but the programme finishing put an end to these plans. The latter game was an RPG similar to the Dungeon Master and Eye Of The Beholder games which, whilst well received at the time, had very little to do with the TV series besides the fantasy setting.
A Knightmare board game
was also released in 1992, by MB
Games.
, which broadcast all eight series starting from the channel's launch in November 1995. However, ratings were low, perhaps exacerbated by the satellite sharing that meant UK fans were unable to receive the Sci Fi Channel at the times when the show was being broadcast. (Cable television was also relatively uncommon in the UK at this time, and completely unavailable in some areas, further limiting the show's existing fanbase.) Sci-Fi's contract ran out on 31 October 1998, midway through Series 5. Knightmares only appearances on television after that were as clips in "40 Years of Anglia" in 1999, and Channel 4's 100 Greatest Kids' TV shows in 2001, where it came 16th, the highest position on the list for a game show.
In the United States
, Series 5 and 6 were shown for a short time on local Long Island, New York independent station
WLNY.
In December 2002, the UK satellite channel Challenge held a group of programmes called the "Christmas Cult Selection", featuring a group of classic game shows from the 1960s (The Golden Shot
) right through to the 1980s. Knightmare was included in this, and the repeats started on 23 December 2002, with Series 3, Episode 1 preceded by a short 2.5 minute documentary featuring Tim Child and Hugo Myatt. Just over a week later, Knightmare went on to reach first place in an Internet poll held by Challenge, asking viewers to decide the best show out of the Cult Selection.
Reasonable ratings, combined with the high fanbase, ensured that the other seven series went on to be bought and shown over the next two years. It took until 8 July 2004 for all the episodes to be shown, when Episode 16 of Series 2 was broadcast 563 days after the repeats started. Knightmare continued to run on Challenge until 31 March 2007, when the rights to the series expired. By this time only five of the eight series were still being repeated, as the rights to Series 3 expired at the end of 2004, Series 4 on 31 May 2006, and Series 5 on 30 September 2006, the latter two following a final showing of those series.
On 25 November 2002, only 6 days after the Challenge repeats were confirmed, it was announced that a reformat of Knightmare was to be undertaken by Televirtual, founded by Tim Child. Known as Knightmare VR, this would use avatar
technology to place the dungeoneer in a full 3D
computer generated world. A £40,000 National Lottery
grant for the programme was awarded in July 2003.
In 2004 test images and clips continued to appear on the Televirtual website and finally on 17 August 2004, the full 13 minute pilot was posted on the Internet.
A brand new theme tune was created for Knightmare VR and for the very first time it had lyrics, Which consisted of the words "Knightmare, it's a Knightmare" being vocoded
to the music. The new theme tune and all of the incidental music for it was provided by Madmanmoon, founder of Norwich
-based company "Madmanmusic".
The VR pilot kept a lot of the original elements that appeared in the original show such as Wall Monsters, Clue Rooms and the dark and grimy dungeon setting. Original Knightmare actors Hugo Myatt
and Mark Knight
reprised their roles as Treguard and Lord Fear respectively, while several additional actors (including Tim Child
himself) were introduced, playing new additions to the cast.
The pilot introduced some new elements, including a new main host named Garstang, who was an orc
. Treguard was now relegated to an avatar head who would occasionally appear to give the dungeoneer advice. The dungeoneer and all of the in-dungeon characters were now fully computer generated, along with the rooms themselves, which meant that the dungeoneer could now explore much larger and grander surroundings than previously seen. All of the rooms could now be seen more thoroughly from different camera angles, an element which the original programme could not do easily due to the limits of its technology.
The Helmet of Justice was no longer used, enabling the dungeoneer to now clearly see his surroundings. As a result of this, only one advisor was now needed, instead of three.
Reactions to the pilot were mixed, with some saying that the lack of a Helmet of Justice and the associated "guiding" element meant a lot of the essence of the original show was lost. The new theme tune was dismissed by some as being overly "cheesy" and unrelated to the dark sense of the programme. On 10 May 2005, it was announced that the project was to be shelved, with Child saying that he had decided that Knightmare would work best under a mixture of virtual reality and the original format.
(Le Chevalier Du Labyrinthe
), which ran from 19 September 1990 to 31 August 1991, and the other in Spain
(El Rescate Del Talisman
) which ran from 29 May 1991 to 1994.
Both versions were sponsored by Sega
.
Possible versions for Germany
(in 1991) and the United States (in 1993, called Lords of the Game) were also considered, with a pilot for the US version recorded. This pilot was a full-length episode featuring the original UK cast and young American actors that played the contestants. The lead contestant role was played by Chad Price from Raleigh, North Carolina. The pilot was filmed in Ipswich, UK in 1993. However, full series for these were not commissioned; for the US version, it was due to production companies not liking the idea of a complex chromakey-based show.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television program for child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren, produced by Broadsword Productions for Anglia Television
Anglia Television
Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
and was broadcast on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
from 7 September 1987 to 11 November 1994. The show is most noted for its use of blue screen
Blue screen
Blue screen may refer to:*Blue Screen of Death, a fatal system error screen in Microsoft Windows*Blue white screen is an assay useful in biotechnology*Blue screen compositing, a technique for combining two still images or video frames...
chroma key
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
(the idea borrowed by Tim Child from its then-new usage in weather forecasts) and use of 'virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
' interactive gameplay on television.
Overview
Hugo Myatt
Hugo Myatt is a British actor, best known for his role as dungeon master Treguard of Dunshelm in the children's game show Knightmare. He has often commented that he did not mind working with children on Knightmare as his first job was as an actor in children's theatre.In addition to numerous...
). After giving his or her name, the dungeoneer is asked by Treguard to call their three advisors, who magically appear next to the viewing apparatus beside them (though, in Series 8, all members of the team appeared at once). Before entering the dungeon, the dungeoneer is given a knapsack to wear, in which they are to place food found along the way, in order to replenish Life Force (see below). In addition, the "Helmet of Justice" is put on the dungeoneer's head, blocking their vision except for the area immediately around them. The story is that this is to protect the dungeoneer from seeing the real danger ahead.
The dungeoneer then enters Treguard's partly computer-generated
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
, partly hand-drawn fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
dungeon
Dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period...
which was accomplished through bluescreen chromakey—hence the need for the helmet, as the dungeoneer otherwise just sees a large blue room. The team watches the dungeoneer from a screen in the antechamber, and guides the player using hurried descriptions and shouts instructions, overcoming a variety of puzzles and traps in the dungeon. The instructions might be "Sidestep left, walk forward, take a small step to your right, pick up the key", much like many text-based computer games (for example the appropriately named "multi-user dungeons") that relies on description and commands rather than any visuals.
Spells can also be cast, which enables the dungeoneer to attack, open doors, restore one's life force, reveal clues and perform other special abilities. This is accomplished by spelling out the name of the spell the team wishes to cast. For example, to cast a WELL spell that reveals a wellway to the next level, an advisor calls out: "Spellcasting: W-E-L-L". It is also possible to reverse or stop a previously casted spell by dispelling, which can be done by calling out "Dispel", followed by the letters of the spell in an incorrect order, but not necessarily in reverse order. One team (Team 7 of Series 2) is confounded by bad spelling, continually missing out the letter O of a SHROUD spell that is put on their dungeoneer while the antagonist Mogdred laughs evilly, while Treguard, apparently constrains by magic, tries to tell them ("Let...ter...O!"). Later on, that same team are killed off, again due to bad spelling (in this case, misinterpreting a SHOVEL spell that they were given prior as SPADE).
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
ways, mine cart rides, lift
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
s ('descenders') and even airborne rides on Smirkenorff, a dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
. The dungeon's inhabitants includes jester
Court jester
A jester, joker, jokester, fool, wit-cracker, prankster, or buffoon was a person employed to tell jokes and provide general entertainment, typically for a European monarch. Jesters are stereotypically thought to have worn brightly colored clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern...
s, maid
Maid
A maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
s, and wizards, who helps the dungeoneer along the way, and guards
Security guard
A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
, witch
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
es, and sorcerer
Magician (fantasy)
A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources...
s, who either demand password
Password
A password is a secret word or string of characters that is used for authentication, to prove identity or gain access to a resource . The password should be kept secret from those not allowed access....
s, spells, useful objects they need or simply try to kill the dungeoneer. Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse, CBE was a British campaigner against the permissive society particularly as the media portrayed and reflected it...
was initially critical of this latter aspect of the programme (i.e. the simulated fatal demise of the dungeoneers) after having been given a macabre description of Knightmare by the press. However, she apologised after she saw Knightmare for herself, noting that there was no gore and Treguard always made it clear that the dungeoneers still survived in "their own time".
Trophy
A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...
(a design of a Knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
holding a sword). Unlike most other children's shows, Knightmare had no qualms over having a very high difficulty level. In its eight-year history, only eight teams managed to successfully conquer the dungeon: two in Series 2, team 4 and 10, one in Series 4, team 6, one in series 5, team 4, one in series 6, team 5, two in Series 7, team 6 and 7, and a final one in Series 8, team 6. The last team to play in each series would often face an impossible quest, as the dungeon would inevitably collapse (indicating the end of the series) before they had time to reach the conclusion.
While the essence of Knightmare remained the same, there was also much change and development throughout its series. In Series 2 (1988), a quest object system was introduced, so that dungeoneers now had a specific item to reclaim at the end. There were four main quest items: The Sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
of Freedom (originally The Sword of Justice, retrieved once), The Shield
Shield
A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....
of Justice (originally The Shield of Liberty, retrieved twice), The Cup
Chalice (cup)
A chalice is a goblet or footed cup intended to hold a drink. In general religious terms, it is intended for drinking during a ceremony.-Christian:...
that Heals (never retrieved), and The Crown
Crown (headgear)
A crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art, the crown may be shown being offered to...
ing Glory (retrieved three times). There were occasionally others, such as "Free the Maid" (used twice, freed once) or "Find the Talisman" (used once, retrieved once).
In its early series, Knightmare lacked a single major antagonist or 'baddie'. Indeed, originally Treguard was specifically a neutral character, neither on the side of good nor evil. The closest there was to a main villain was Mogdred (portrayed by John Woodnutt
John Woodnutt
John Woodnutt was a British actor.He was born in London, and at the age of 18 made his acting debut at the Oxford Playhouse....
), but his main duty was, according to Merlin (a wizard, and Mogdred's 'alter ego' in the first series) to "scare you into making a mistake", though he did kill two dungeoneers, one in Series 2 and another early in Series 4. In Series 5 (1991), however, changes were made. The majority of the characters were split into two sides: the righteous "Powers that Be", and the villainous "Opposition", the leader of which was Lord Fear played by Mark Knight. By this time, Treguard's stance had now fully evolved into that of a strictly good character.
History
Knightmare was conceived by Tim ChildTim Child
Tim Child is a British television producer. He is most famous for creating and producing the cult children's television program Knightmare, a fantasy role-playing adventure game which pioneered virtual studio or blue-screen production....
in 1985, inspired by the two ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
games Atic Atac
Atic Atac
Atic Atac is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1983. It takes place within a flip-screen castle in which the player must seek out the "Golden Key of ACG"...
and Dragontorc. Figuring that if a Spectrum could do these types of adventure games, then a television programme could revolutionise the genre, he enlisted the help of artist David Rowe to design realistic looking backgrounds with an airbrush
Airbrush
An airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that sprays various media including ink and dye, but most often paint by a process of nebulization. Spray guns developed from the airbrush and are still considered a type of airbrush.-History:...
. Borrowing the technique used in weather forecasts, Child devised a large blue room, which would be set up in Studio A of Anglia Studios. The advanced computer graphic environments were created by the Travelling Matte Company using a Spaceward SuperNova computer.
Eventually, in early 1986, a 15 minute pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
under the name of Dungeon Doom was recorded. Even at this stage it featured Hugo Myatt, the husband of Christine Webber who was a presenter of Anglia's regional news programme About Anglia
About Anglia
About Anglia, first broadcast in 1960, is the flagship television news magazine for Anglia Television. Its original presenter was Dick Joice....
. A second 20 minute pilot was filmed on 27 and 28 January 1987, with the name changed from Dungeon Doom to Knightmare, and 'life force' added, an idea borrowed from the computer game Atic Atac, which also influenced the show in other ways. For this he recruited Robert Harris, who used a Spaceward Computer to design an animation of a knight's head that could indicate varying degrees of damage. Child sent this second pilot to the ITV Children's Committee in February, who commissioned a series of 8 half-hour-long episodes.
The show was an instant hit with viewers, so much so that a second series twice as long as the last was commissioned the next year, closely followed by a third the year after that. By the time this third series finished, Child felt the dungeon format was getting too restrictive, and he needed something new. Because of this, the fourth series saw the introduction of many 'outdoor' scenes, filmed around places such as medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
s across the UK, and composited into the blue room using the usual chromakey technique. This series also saw the introduction of the "Eye Shield", which acted as an 'eye' for the dungeoneer. Using pre-recorded footage filmed on location, it would follow the progress of the dungeoneer as they explored the dungeon. A new onscreen status bar was also introduced, generated by a Commodore
Commodore International
Commodore is the commonly used name for Commodore Business Machines , the U.S.-based home computer manufacturer and electronics manufacturer headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which also housed Commodore's corporate parent company, Commodore International Limited...
Amiga 2000
Amiga 2000
The Amiga 2000, or A2000, is a personal computer released by Commodore in 1986. It is the successor to the Amiga 1000.-Features:Aimed at the high-end market, the original Europe-only model adds a Zorro II backplane, implemented in programmable logic, to the custom Amiga chipset used in the Amiga 1000...
computer.
At its peak in 1991/1992, Knightmare attracted approximately 4-5 million viewers an episode (at that time a very high figure for a children's TV series). By 1993, the year which saw the programme's seventh series, it was the most popular non-animated show on CITV
CITV
CITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...
. However, changes had recently occurred. Late the previous year, the ITV Children's Committee was replaced by a single Controller of CITV, Dawn Airey
Dawn Airey
Dawn Elizabeth Airey, is a British commercial television executive. She was chairman and chief executive of Channel 5, the UK television station now owned by Richard Desmond's Northern and Shell...
. Although she thought well of Knightmare, the average audience age of CITV was now 6-10, down from 6-15 in 1985. It was believed the older audience were moving to satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
and video games, and that programmes for a younger audience were needed. After two meetings, it was agreed that an 8th series of Knightmare would go ahead in 1994, but it would be a shorter run (10 episodes instead of 15/16 episodes), and the remainder of the season's timeslot would be taken over by Virtually Impossible, a new virtual reality show from Broadsword, the same production company as Knightmare, and aimed at this younger audience. Shortly after this decision was made, Airey left for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, and was replaced as Controller by Vanessa Chapman.
Despite the diminishing older audience, Knightmares eighth series performed well, and gained a higher audience than Virtually Impossible did later that autumn. Changes introduced in this series saw a return to the dungeon format of Series 1-3, albeit now completely computer generated, and a new piece of dungeoneering equipment was added, the wand
Wand
A wand is a thin, straight, hand-held stick of wood, stone, ivory, or metal. Generally, in modern language, wands are ceremonial and/or have associations with magic but there have been other uses, all stemming from the original meaning as a synonym of rod and virge, both of which had a similar...
called "Reach". This allowed dungeoneers to push, touch, and open things from a distance. At this point, there was still hope that Knightmare was to return for a ninth series in 1995, as a postal address for future contestants was displayed on screen after the end of the final episode. The chances of the eighth series being the last were also strong, however, and so the series ended on an ambiguous note.
In the event, Knightmare was 'rested' for the foreseeable future, partly due to the declining older audience, and partly because Tim Child felt that, while Knightmare should employ high-quality virtual reality in order to remain a cutting-edge show, such technology was not affordable at that time.
In August 2009, a campaign was started by the official Knightmare fan site to get a release of the series on DVD after other failed attempts and lack of interest from ITV Entertainment.
On 17 March 2008, Tim Child announced that it was "very early days", but that fans "will have something to talk about in 2008, and perhaps something to beguile you in 2009". Although as of 2011 there has been no further official news on the project's development, the bankruptcy and closure of Broadsword Productions's parent company Intermedialab Limited (formerly known as Televirtual) now means that a new series is very unlikely.
Life Force
In the first five series, the life force was a computer animated image of an adventurer wearing a helmet. When healthy the image was complete, it would be shown against a green background. As life force was lost the background would turn Amber and parts of the helmet would break off into pieces. Once the helmet was gone completely, pieces of skin would break off to reveal a skull underneath (though no blood was seen), now with a red background. If life force diminished further the skull would start to crumble away, ending with the eyes rolling away past the camera as a bell tolled,.
In series six and seven, the life force was a picture of a knight losing armour to gradually reveal the skeleton which eventually crumbled to bits.
In the final series, the life force was a picture of an animated pie
Pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients....
, its slices slowly dissolving. This particular life force only appeared whenever the dungeoneer picked up food.
The Dungeoneer's "death" was indicated by the life force sequence ending, either by the second eye rolling off-screen or the skeleton
Skeleton
The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
collapsing. Unlike the first two sequences, the "pie" life force was never used to indicate a death.
Treguard
A Saxon Knight named Treguard, or Treguard of Dunshelm, was the dungeon master and was played by Hugo Myatt for the entire length of the show's eight series. Information about his supposed background can be found in the related literature (see merchandise section). During the show, it was Treguard's job to assist the dungeoneer and his/her team of helpers wherever possible.At first, Treguard directed the contestants on his own. However from Series 4, Treguard had an assistant; Pickle the elf
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
, played by David Learner and, from Series 7 after Pickle had "gone back to the forest", Majida, a princess and genie
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
of Arabian descent played by Jackie Sawiris. (Majida originally claimed her name was "Daughter of the Setting Moon Whose Eyes are Like Daggers in the Hearts of Men Who Ride the Great Caravan of the Sultan".)
During the early series Treguard was portrayed as a neutral character, most notably between Series 1 and 3. During the start of Episode 14 of Series 3 (when no team had yet completed that series' dungeon) he went as far as to say "we're celebrating an unbeaten record", apparently siding against the dungeoneers. However, from Series 5 onwards there was a clear distinction made between 'The Powers that Be' and 'The Opposition', against which Treguard became less neutral and more inclined to actively aid and assist the dungeoneer to complete their quest.
Over the course of the series Treguard became well known for his catchphrase "Ooh, nasty!", regularly used just after a dungeoneer had died. Intended only as a passing remark, this was originally an ad lib by Myatt.
Merchandise
A number of items of Knightmare merchandise were produced over the show's run, including seven bookBook
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s written by Dave Morris
Dave Morris
Dave Morris is a British author of gamebooks, novels and comics and a designer of computer games and role-playing games.-Biography:Dave Morris is a graduate of Magdalen College, Oxford where he read Physics from 1976-79....
:
- Knightmare: Can you beat the challenge? (ISBN 0-552-52540-5, 1988)
- The Labyrinths of Fear (ISBN 0-552-52608-8, 1989)
- Fortress of Assassins (ISBN 0-552-52638-X, 1990)
- The Sorcerer's Isle (ISBN 0-552-52714-9, 1991)
- The Forbidden Gate (ISBN 0-440-86317-1, 1992)
- The Dragon's Lair (ISBN 0-440-86328-7, 1993)
- Lord Fear's Domain (ISBN 0-440-86336-8, 1994)
The first of these, Knightmare, told the story of how Treguard came to inhabit Knightmare Castle, revealed once to have been Dunshelm Castle, which Treguard owned by birthright. The next four books were intended for older readers, and took the format of half-fiction, half-interactive story. In these, the first half of the book was a novellette about one of Treguard's adventures, serving as a lead-in to the second half, composed of numbered sections where the reader directed the narrative, similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions and the plot's outcome. The series was based on a...
books. The next two books retained the interactive story format, but were aimed at a younger audience. Throughout the interactive portions of the books the reader had to keep track of their Life Force and objects collected, and some books had additional statistics or special skills to keep track of. Finally, Lord Fear's Domain was a puzzle book.
There were also two Knightmare computer games released. The first was in 1987, released on the Spectrum, Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, and the second Knightmare game
Knightmare (1991 video game)
Knightmare is a computer game on the Amiga and Atari ST computer systems. It was released in 1991 by Mindscape International Ltd.. The game was written by Tony Crowther. It is based on the Anglia Television Ltd. TV show Knightmare.-Development:...
in 1991, released on the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and Atari ST. A PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
version was proposed for 1995, but the programme finishing put an end to these plans. The latter game was an RPG similar to the Dungeon Master and Eye Of The Beholder games which, whilst well received at the time, had very little to do with the TV series besides the fantasy setting.
A Knightmare board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
was also released in 1992, by MB
Milton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
Games.
Repeats
After Knightmare ended on ITV, it was quickly picked up by The Sci-Fi ChannelSci Fi channel (United Kingdom)
Syfy is a television channel service specialising in science fiction, fantasy and horror shows and movies. It is available via digital cable, IPTV, satellite television and Top Up TV platforms. The channel launched in 1995 in the UK a sister channel to the US Sci Fi Channel , with a similar...
, which broadcast all eight series starting from the channel's launch in November 1995. However, ratings were low, perhaps exacerbated by the satellite sharing that meant UK fans were unable to receive the Sci Fi Channel at the times when the show was being broadcast. (Cable television was also relatively uncommon in the UK at this time, and completely unavailable in some areas, further limiting the show's existing fanbase.) Sci-Fi's contract ran out on 31 October 1998, midway through Series 5. Knightmares only appearances on television after that were as clips in "40 Years of Anglia" in 1999, and Channel 4's 100 Greatest Kids' TV shows in 2001, where it came 16th, the highest position on the list for a game show.
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Series 5 and 6 were shown for a short time on local Long Island, New York independent station
Independent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
WLNY.
In December 2002, the UK satellite channel Challenge held a group of programmes called the "Christmas Cult Selection", featuring a group of classic game shows from the 1960s (The Golden Shot
The Golden Shot
The Golden Shot is a British television game show produced by ATV for ITV between 1 July 1967 and 13 April 1975, based on the German TV show Der goldene Schuss. It is most commonly associated with host Bob Monkhouse, though, three other presenters also hosted the show during its lifetime...
) right through to the 1980s. Knightmare was included in this, and the repeats started on 23 December 2002, with Series 3, Episode 1 preceded by a short 2.5 minute documentary featuring Tim Child and Hugo Myatt. Just over a week later, Knightmare went on to reach first place in an Internet poll held by Challenge, asking viewers to decide the best show out of the Cult Selection.
Reasonable ratings, combined with the high fanbase, ensured that the other seven series went on to be bought and shown over the next two years. It took until 8 July 2004 for all the episodes to be shown, when Episode 16 of Series 2 was broadcast 563 days after the repeats started. Knightmare continued to run on Challenge until 31 March 2007, when the rights to the series expired. By this time only five of the eight series were still being repeated, as the rights to Series 3 expired at the end of 2004, Series 4 on 31 May 2006, and Series 5 on 30 September 2006, the latter two following a final showing of those series.
Knightmare VR
Avatar (virtual reality)
In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
technology to place the dungeoneer in a full 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
computer generated world. A £40,000 National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
grant for the programme was awarded in July 2003.
In 2004 test images and clips continued to appear on the Televirtual website and finally on 17 August 2004, the full 13 minute pilot was posted on the Internet.
A brand new theme tune was created for Knightmare VR and for the very first time it had lyrics, Which consisted of the words "Knightmare, it's a Knightmare" being vocoded
Vocoder
A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
to the music. The new theme tune and all of the incidental music for it was provided by Madmanmoon, founder of Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
-based company "Madmanmusic".
The VR pilot kept a lot of the original elements that appeared in the original show such as Wall Monsters, Clue Rooms and the dark and grimy dungeon setting. Original Knightmare actors Hugo Myatt
Hugo Myatt
Hugo Myatt is a British actor, best known for his role as dungeon master Treguard of Dunshelm in the children's game show Knightmare. He has often commented that he did not mind working with children on Knightmare as his first job was as an actor in children's theatre.In addition to numerous...
and Mark Knight
Mark Knight
Mark Knight, also known as madfiddler, "TDK" is a well-known Amiga demoscene musician, video game composer/sound designer and electric violinist....
reprised their roles as Treguard and Lord Fear respectively, while several additional actors (including Tim Child
Tim Child
Tim Child is a British television producer. He is most famous for creating and producing the cult children's television program Knightmare, a fantasy role-playing adventure game which pioneered virtual studio or blue-screen production....
himself) were introduced, playing new additions to the cast.
The pilot introduced some new elements, including a new main host named Garstang, who was an orc
Orc
An orc is one of a race of mythical human-like creatures, generally described as fierce and combative, with grotesque features and often black, grey or greenish skin. This mythology has its origins in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien....
. Treguard was now relegated to an avatar head who would occasionally appear to give the dungeoneer advice. The dungeoneer and all of the in-dungeon characters were now fully computer generated, along with the rooms themselves, which meant that the dungeoneer could now explore much larger and grander surroundings than previously seen. All of the rooms could now be seen more thoroughly from different camera angles, an element which the original programme could not do easily due to the limits of its technology.
The Helmet of Justice was no longer used, enabling the dungeoneer to now clearly see his surroundings. As a result of this, only one advisor was now needed, instead of three.
Reactions to the pilot were mixed, with some saying that the lack of a Helmet of Justice and the associated "guiding" element meant a lot of the essence of the original show was lost. The new theme tune was dismissed by some as being overly "cheesy" and unrelated to the dark sense of the programme. On 10 May 2005, it was announced that the project was to be shelved, with Child saying that he had decided that Knightmare would work best under a mixture of virtual reality and the original format.
Other versions
Two other versions of Knightmare were also made: one in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(Le Chevalier Du Labyrinthe
Le Chevalier Du Labyrinthe
Le Chevalier du labyrinthe was a French gameshow that aired for 104 episodes from 1990-1991 on Antenne 2. It was based on the British TV show Knightmare.-Gameplay:...
), which ran from 19 September 1990 to 31 August 1991, and the other in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(El Rescate Del Talisman
El Rescate Del Talisman
El Rescate Del Talismán was a Spanish gameshow for children that ran for 78 episodes from 1991-1994 on TVE, notably sponsored by Sega. It was adapted from the British tv show Knightmare.-The plot:...
) which ran from 29 May 1991 to 1994.
Both versions were sponsored by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
.
Possible versions for Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(in 1991) and the United States (in 1993, called Lords of the Game) were also considered, with a pilot for the US version recorded. This pilot was a full-length episode featuring the original UK cast and young American actors that played the contestants. The lead contestant role was played by Chad Price from Raleigh, North Carolina. The pilot was filmed in Ipswich, UK in 1993. However, full series for these were not commissioned; for the US version, it was due to production companies not liking the idea of a complex chromakey-based show.
Cast
The following tables show all of Knightmare's main characters, each followed by the actor and the series the character appeared in.
|
|
Transmissions
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 September 1987 | 26 October 1987 | 8 |
| 2 | 5 September 1988 | 19 December 1988 | 16 |
| 3 | 8 September 1989 | 22 December 1989 | 16 |
| 4 | 7 September 1990 | 21 December 1990 | 16 |
| 5 | 6 September 1991 | 20 December 1991 | 16 |
| 6 | 11 September 1992 | 18 December 1992 | 15 |
| 7 | 10 September 1993 | 17 December 1993 | 15 |
| 8 | 9 September 1994 | 11 November 1994 | 10 |