Knightmare - A Retrospective | Documentary

Premiering in September 1987, Knightmare is one of the most influential and revolutionary children's game shows of all time. In this retrospective, we take a look back at the origins and development of this iconic show, relive each of its eight series, and how the show has been kept alive by a dedicated group of fans ever since.

If you enjoy this video, I would love it if you could subscribe to the channel. The support I have received so far has been incredible and I would love for you all to come along on the journey with me!

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:11 Origins and Development
09:40 Format
12:54 Series 1
15:46 Series 2
22:34 Series 3
25:47 Series 4
31:50 Series 5
35:29 Series 6
38:11 Series 7
40:28 Series 8
47:47 Cancellation
50:48 Revivals and Recent Events
52:45 Conclusion
53:58 Outro

Don't forget to check out some of the other retrospectives on the channel, including a full-length feature documenting the history of Robot Wars, and my look back at the classic Japanese game show Takeshi's Castle!

A huge thank you to Chris Doerksen for the use of some of his tracks in this video. If you aren't familiar with his work, definitely check out his Bandcamp!

Songs Used In This Video:
Patrick Patrikios - Know Myself
The Mini Vandals - Anomalous Hedges
Chris Doerksen - Plucked
Chris Doerksen - Murder Mystery
Chris Doerksen - Projection
Underbelly - Curb Stomp
Chris Doerksen - Simultaneous
Nathan Moore - Ginormous Robots
Public Memory - Tropic
TrackTribe - Community
Telecasted - Beckoning
Corbyn Kites - Shadowing

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#knightmare #gameshow #80s #90s #nostalgia #nostalgic #tv #documentary #history #retrospective

[officialbackintheday]

First of all, I would like to credit the website www.knightmare.com. The team over there have complied an incredible amount of information and resources about Knightmare and their website was invaluable to me in creating this video. Check them out when you get a chance!

The longest video on the channel yet. Really enjoyed making this one and rewatching the entire series from start to end during the process. Please subscribe to the channel if you haven't already and let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Enjoy everyone! 😃

[AliKoksal]

I would literally LEG IT HOME from primary school back in the 90's to bagsy the TV before my siblings even had a sniff of doing so themselves just to watch this show.

[sparxies]

Lol - at 23:32 - that's my team as we guided him off the edge (not me, someone else). We managed to span 2 episodes, but died just at the start of our second appearance (which is shown here). I still have the scroll and a signed photo with Dungeon Master Treguard. An amazing time for me, such great memories of being on the show and staying in Norwich. We were all "celebrities" in our school for a couple of weeks, it was fun while it lasted. Thanks for the memories!

[MrRayLockton]

I was part of the team that beat the dungeon in series 5 (31:50).

It was an amazing experience. It took a lot longer than it seemed on the TV. We would film each room and then go back to the.green room for 20 mins whilst the next room was set up. The whole thing took 4 days.

[DiRtYLaWs]

The horn sound when goblins were nearby used to scare the crap out of me. What a show ❤

[unclefred]

"Simon, sidestep to your left"
-Kid who lost all his mates that day

[vincent]

I was 8 years old when I first started watching Knightmare. I’m 43 now and if I ever open a door to somewhere new, or somewhere different I always say “Enter, Stranger” to my children before they walk in. I’ve been doing this for 13 years now, and my youngest one says it to me now.
Great memories and thanks for the re-visit.

[weetable]

We had a TV at home in our Living Room. It was a rental, had no remote control, and had to be tuned manually. At the time, Knightmare and Grange Hill slightly overlapped, and my older sister would always walk into the room and demand I change channel. An argument would ensue (we had no VCR either), and that usually meant I missed the end of Knightmare, and she missed the beginning of Grange Hill. Until that was, the day I secretly tuned all eight channels to ITV. When my sister strode into the Living Room, ready for the usual clash, I stayed on the sofa, perfectly happy. It took no time at all for her to realise what I'd done, and soon went running to tell our Mom on me. 100% worth it though, what a great show it was for a kid my age at that time to watch!

[matthewpayton]

The best children's game show ever.

[pyjamacritic]

I saw Knightmare Live at the Leicester comedy festival. Lord Fear was delightfully camp, and with every new location when the dungeoneer asked "where am I?" The whole theater answered "you're in a room."

[JamesScholes]

Knightmare was literally a real world RPG and I don't think there's been anything like it since.

[danielmay]

This Crystal Maze and GamesMaster were absolutely my favourite programs as a kid. It needs too come back

[antfrancis]

47 years old now, this was my show back in the day.👍

[Dnml]

This and Round the Bend were the highlights of my day as a kid

[historian]

Use to love watching this show after school. This show, T-Bag, trapdoor, Grange Hill, he-man, bananamam, Emu & grottbags, dungeon and dragons, thunder cats, Fun house, Dogtanion & friends, crystal maze, list goes on and on, man I miss the 80’s and early 90’s shows. Great memories.

[starwave]

We had a blind lady at the end of the street and her back garden was all square slabs & If she was in her garden we'd often see her from the field where we played and we would all go up to the back fence & give her directions around the slabs to help her pick up the dog mess from her guide dog, we treat it like a game of Knightmare & she enjoyed the conversation.

[UKProgRock]

I bloody loved Knightmare when i was a kid.

[danielwilliamson]

Knightmare was truly ahead of it's time and was ground-breaking. A good show to watch on a Friday afternoon.

[kn]

I spelt nightmare, knightmare until I was 18 because of this show. Watching this program as a child, it truly felt magical and thrilling. A very happy childhood memory.

[thetraitorguardsmen.]

Lord of the rings Cartoon. Star wars. Knightmare. Heroquest. Space crusade. Warhammer 40k. These are some of the things that makes me the person i am today. And I'm grateful for this Adventure in life.