From
TES issue 50 (March 2008)
Series 3.
Level 2.
MCGREW
Quite how this burly, bearded Scotsman came to be hanging around the second level of the
Knightmare Dungeon remains a mystery to this day.
David Verrey wore the traditional full-length kilt and put on the strong Scottish accent, which really defined the character of McGrew. Most of David Verrey’s time was taken up with playing
Golgarach; McGrew was clearly introduced as a way for the actor to show off his (not unimpressive) acting skills, in scenes that were likely to include more variety than simply asking three questions and handing out information, as was the one and only function of a
wall monster, like Golgarach. However, because McGrew only appeared in two episodes, David Verrey hardly had a chance to shine!
McGrew’s first appearance was during the third episode of series 3, in the second-to-last chamber
dungeoneer Cliff visited in level two. McGrew rushed into the room and started threatening to cleave Cliff in half with his mighty claymore, clearly establishing that he was a potentially dangerous and very violent character. Quite correctly, the team thought they were in danger, and used
Merlin’s magic – a
spell called
DANCE – against McGrew. Being forced to prance around the room like an oversized ballerina took all the fight out of the clansman, and he started begging with Cliff to undo the magic, in return for his allegiance. Here the team made their fatal mistake – instead of
dispelling DANCE, they just took Cliff straight out of the room! He arrived in the
minecart chamber, where a haunted
sword promptly finished him off. Had McGrew been there to help them, he would have fought off the haunted sword and pushed Cliff down to level three in the minecart. As
Treguard said: ”If only you’d listened to the pleas of McGrew, perhaps then you would have had the help you need here!” – Treguard.
As well as cutting short Cliff’s quest, this turn of events also denied David Verrey the chance to really show us what he could do. So it was that McGrew returned for the latter stages of level two during Ross’s quest, although magic was not required to pacify him this time. After convincing McGrew that he was not a member of the rival
Campbell clan, and then saving him from an amphibious fate at the hands of
Mogdred, Ross earned the clansman’s unerring allegiance: ”Where e’er you go on this level, Black McGrew’s your man!” – McGrew. McGrew turned out to be more than worth his
salt to Ross, as he fought off two haunted swords in the
Cavern Range, one of them while Ross was busy collecting a quest piece, and then pushed him down to level three in the minecart, just as he had been supposed to do for Cliff.
Series 3 was only halfway done after McGrew’s second appearance, but we didn’t see him again. This is undoubtedly why he is something of a forgettable character, which is a shame really, as there was the potential for some nice confrontations with this character, both for dungeoneers and characters, like Mogdred. Ah well, no point in dwelling…
Fear Factor: 7 Clearly a threat, and a formidable one.
Killer Instinct: 2 Was on the brink of finishing off both dungeoneers!
Humour Rating: 3 Loosened up a bit with Ross, but pretty serious.
Oscar Standard: 7 “Put on a Scottish accent and wave your sword around,
David.” Well, he certainly did that!
