From TES issue 8 (September 1997)

SERIES 4-6 : PICKLE

I have always been a big fan of Pickle, ever since his mysterious introduction back in 1990...

To refresh the more forgetful among you, Pickle simply appeared in Treguards throne room at the beginning of series 4, welcoming the first dungeoneer of the series. Other than that, we were given few clues as to how Pickle came to reside with Treguard in Knightmare Castle. However, as series four 'branched' out (ho ho) into the forests around Knightmare Castle, Pickle served an invaluable purpose as a source of information regarding elf paths, secret passages, and the various pitfalls of the greenwood.

David Learner provided a brilliant portrayal of Elvish cunning, as Pickle constantly attempted to aid every quest, much to Treguards annoyance. This assistance took many forms, including advice on which quest to take, sneaking food into the knapsack, and - possibly Pickles finest hour - actually dashing through the dungeon portal and joining a quest !

The rather hapless Simon was the lucky recipient of Pickle's help, after he was ambushed by Fatilla. Leaving Treguard fuming, Pickle convinced Fatilla that Simon was actually the leader of a huge army, all of whom weren't far behind ! Fortunately, this scheme worked, although Pickle wasn't quite so fortunate, earning a severe ticking off from Treguard !

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of Pickle's time on Knightmare, was that he was an extremely inflexible character. Apart from the brief excursion mentioned above, Pickle was forced to remain in the dungeon antechamber with Treguard. Clearly this restricted Pickle to being almost entirely scripted - unlike most Knightmare characters. This was particularly apparent in series 4, when both Treguard and Pickle seemed to say almost exactly the same lines at the same point in each and every quest!

Therefore, I feel credit must be given to David Learner for overcoming this, and still making Pickle an interesting character in spite of rather poor material. In fairness, Pickle and Treguard were able to inject a degree of variety at the beginning and end of each episode. A classic example being Pickle's closing line, when he politely asked viewers to "Bog Off" !

The role of assistant to Treguard was, of course, totally uncharted territory prior to series 4. This is clearly another plus point for Pickle, as I feel he was never too intrusive, which would have become merely irritating to Knightmare die-hards. Instead, Pickle became a worthy addition to the whole format. To nervous young teams, the presence of someone clearly trying to help, would undoubtedly aid them in settling their nerves and fears. Yet, during the more scary moments, the tension for the viewer at home could only be enhanced by gasps of fear, or Pickle's urgent voice as hurried the team to safety.

Glowing praise, I'm sure you will agree ! I did try to think of bad points, but Pickle has always been amongst my favourite characters ! I must admit, when series 4 began, and it became clear that Treguard would always have an assistant from that point, I had great doubts. What was wrong with Knightmare before ? Will Pickle make the quest too easy for the teams ? Knightmare fans everywhere may have had similar reservations...

The fact that those doubts were unfounded is a testament to Tim Child, for being brave enough to change the format in that way, by ensuring that Pickle never interfered to an annoying extent.

Fear Factor : 0 Tended to be frightened, rather than frightening!
Humour Rating : 8 Always ready to amuse the team, and to annoy Treguard!
Killer Instinct : 0 Wouldn't hurt a fly!
Oscar Standard : 10 Perfectly Elvish, David Learner - we salute you!

Written by and submitted with the kind permission of Paul McIntosh.

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More than one Knightmare Discussion Forum user has taken Pickle as the basis for his or her username. The first of these was Pickle_the_Elf, who joined on the first day of 2003 and whose first post (on the prospective Knightmare VR theme) was also their last.

In March 2003, pickle joined, and continued to post until September of that year. Real name Neil, his posts included the revelation that he had 'a secret mole within Anglia TV' who supplied him with news of Knightmare repeats on Challenge.

Pickle ^_^ (the emoticon was included in his screen name) became a member in May 2003, and posted more prolifically than either of his predecessors, making nearly 700 before the year was out. Most of his posts had a hedonistic flavour, though some might feel that a comment he made in one of his earliest, 'bet i sound like a total n00b ;D', was a zero over. As well as spearheading a petition for Knightmare to be released on DVD, Pickle ^_^ became the Administrator of Knightmare Back-Up (dropping the emoticon from his screen name in the process). His most recent appearances in the Knightmare fan community were scattered forum posts in 2004 and early 2005. There may be some who hold the opinion that he is best summed up by his Knightmare Back-Up signature: 'S**t Happens! Bored Now.'

grandmasterpickle: Prompted a backlash, chiefly from Pickle ^_^, when he made a post about how 'Knightmare isn't that good' in June 2003. Grandmaster_Pickle, who posted on the forum during that month, was apparently the same person.

Rockin_Pickle: Joined the forum on the 25th of June 2003, and to date has made just a single post.

Picklelover became a member of the forum in July 2003, and despite never posting, provided a username that was sufficient to mark out another Pickle enthusiast.

Wohpickle: A non-poster who registered in 2003 on the 15th of November.

cheese_n_pickle - Posted during 2003.

PicklesGirl - Joined in March 2007 and currently holds a Discussion Forum post count of zero.

[Previous version: 2006-01-14 03:15:10]

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Pickle the elf was Treguard's first assistant, introduced in Series 4 he was in Knightmare until the end of Series 6. Replacing him was Majida the genie. He was played by David Learner and was mainly a silly sort, often getting confused and referred to as a 'silly sprite' by Treguard. Merlin got his name wrong and called him Tickle, he also had a great dislike for Elita. Notably he told the viewers to Bog Off. Pickle can be seen (he's the one in green) below:

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