A channel available on digital satellite and cable television, showing gameshows and gaming based programmes, including Knightmare from 2002 to 2007.

The origins of the channel go back to the 1st September 1993, when The Family Channel launched on Sky Television. After a few years it was realised that the gameshows were outrating all the other programmes, so the channel was rebranded to Challenge TV on the 3rd February 1997.

In 1999, with the online Knightmare community blossoming and the Sci-Fi Channel having recently stopped showing the programme, fans began emailing the channel asking about the possibility of repeats. Although things seemed positive at first, the response was that they didn't feel the programme was suitable for the channel, due to it being a childrens show. However, they were the most enthusiastic of all the channels tried, and one Viewer Relations reply even included the sender's memories of the show ("I was also an avid fan (although I thought it was better before they introduced the "Pickles" character, played by David Learner who is also famous for being the bloke in the Marvin the Paranoid Android suit in the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, did you know that?!")). On the whole, though, things didn't look good.

Until 2002. In August Challenge? (as they were now called) revealed their plans to show cult gameshows at Christmas, and asked the Challenge Forum for ideas on which ones to show (link expired). Knightmare was one of them. On the 15th October, official member tash_ba2 asked "We are hoping to acquire this programme and I was wondering if there are any particular episodes that you enjoyed, can you remember what years of Knightmare were the best?" (link expired). Although responses were varied, one member (Debz G) suggested Series 3 because "its a brilliant example of Tim Child's creativity". On the 21st October it was posted that "the negotiations to get the rights are still in progress, but it's looking likely that we'll be showing it, and not just for Christmas..." It was confirmed on the 19th November, in a month which also saw KMVR announced. Several fans stated at the time that, in regards to Knightmare Knews, it had been the best month in history.

At 2.55pm on the 23rd December, Series 3 Episode 1 was shown, the first Knightmare repeat in four years. Like the other 'Christmas Cult Selection' shows it was prefaced with a specially filmed two-and-a-half-minute documentary, in this case featuring interviews with Tim Child and Hugo Myatt. This was repeated several times in 2002 and 2003, though the full version, featuring other interviewees such as Debz G herself, was never shown. For more information see the dedicated Knightmare.com page here.
Over the next two years, the other 7 series were also bought; here's a guide of the first Challenge airdates of each series.

Series 3: 23rd December 2002 - 23rd February 2003
Series 4: 2nd June - 17th June 2003
Series 5: 20th October - 24th November 2003
Series 6: 13th April - 30th April 2004
Series 7: 3rd May - 21st May 2004
Series 8: 24th May - 4th June 2004
Series 1: 7th June - 16th June 2004
Series 2: 17th June - 8th July 2004

Episodes were on the whole generally unedited, save the insertion of an advert break midway through each episode as the show was never aired with adbreaks during its CITV run. Fourteen seconds at the end of episode 14 of Series 6 were also removed, to cut out a CITV reference, but the full clip can be seen on Knightmare.com.

A number of adverts were also made to promote the show:

*For Series 4's premiere showing an advert was made featuring a group of workmates re-enacting Knightmare in their office, making another workmate with a bucket on his head repeatedly bump into a wall. This can be seen at Knightmare.com here, though there was also a longer cut with the workmates re-enacting several other Challenge shows.

*That August, for a repeat run of Series 4, a joint advert promoting both Knightmare and The Crystal Maze was shown, featuring clips from both shows. This referenced the extremely hot summer of that year (2003), starting with a clip of Treguard saying "Looking for adventure, are you? Well you've certainly come to the right place" followed by a Jamaican voiceover saying "You heard the beardy man!", going on to say to avoid the heat by staying in and watching KM and TCM on Challenge, as part of the 'Action & Adventure' block. This can also be viewed at Knightmare.com on the same page.

*Another joint advert was made for Series 5's premiere. Arguably the most surreal of the lot, this featured Treguard talking with The GamesMaster, star of the 1990s video game show which was being shown after KM at the time. Animated by manipulating still pictures, both Treguard and The GamesMaster's voices were done by impersonators, and had them discuss each other's shows, ending with Treguard asking The GamesMaster for help on a video game.

*Series 6's premiere in 2004 had an advert featuring clips from that series, with an announcer stating several things that Knightmare pre-dated, such as games consoles and mobile phones (both were incorrect - Atari had been making consoles since the 70s, and the first mobile came out in the UK in 1985).

*Finally, Series 1's premiere also had an advert featuring clips, the announcer stating that this is 'where it all began'.

The repeats introduced fans to episodes they haven't seen since their original transmission, or never before, as well as gaining lots of new fans ranging from those aged about 10, to those in their 60s (and beyond, possibly). They also gave people a legal way of owning episodes by taping them off TV, and made the Knightmare Forum a very busy place, with a whole new 'Episode Discussion' sub-forum being created in 2004 due to the many individual episode threads being created. An astonishing 157 threads and 2,805 posts were made during the Series 7-8 repeats in May 2004...compare that to May 2007, when just 7 threads and 85 posts were made.

Likewise, there was also criticism. Not all fans have satellite or cable TV, and the channel was not available on Freeview - attempts to persuade Flextech to put the show on former channel FTN, a Freeview channel which broadcast a mixture of shows on channels owned by Flextech (including Challenge) proved fruitless. The fact that the episodes became readily available has also encouraged people to sell illegal DVD copies for a profit on eBay, which remains a hot topic on the forum. There were also complaints about the announcers who talk over the end credits to advertise the next programme; the announcements were often very sarky in tone, talking about Treguard's 'fake tan' and joking that all the actors are now out of work. This ceased in September 2004 after the show moved to an early morning slot, when there are no announcers.

As the rights to the series expired they gradually disappeared from Challenge. Series 3 was the first to go, last shown during the 9th - 30th July 2004 with the rights running out at the end of that year. In March 2006 the show was put on a break for several months, causing concern from fans as the Series 4 rights were soon to expire, and this meant there would be no final opportunity of getting them on tape. Therefore Series 4 was given a final showing from the 2nd - 23rd May, shortly before the rights expired on the 31st. It then returned again for a final showing of Series 5 from 4th - 25th September 2006, and repeats of the remaining five series continued intermittently into the New Year.

The last ever episode of Knightmare shown on Challenge to date was episode 5 of Series 7, shown at 3am in the early hours of Saturday, 31st March 2007, the last KM line heard on Challenge to date being "However, harm will come to you if you don't step back!". The rights to the rest of the series then expired and they have no plans to renew them, bringing to an end over four years of Knightmare repeats on the channel. Broadcast for longer than the three years of the Sci-Fi Channel's repeat run, it means that once again, Knightmare is off television. Who knows when the dungeon will be seen again?

(Originally posted in 2006)

login to vote