From
TES issue 35 (September 2005)
Series 1/2.
Level 2.
CASPER THE
KEY
Despite his infrequent and unvaried appearances on Knightmare, Casper (the talking key) seems to be remembered very fondly by many fans, including myself. This is quite strange, really, when you think that all there was to Casper was a clue object prop and the voice of
Lawrence Werber, sounding much higher than that of
Cedric. Casper was a very endearing character, who always wanted to help and support the
dungeoneers he encountered all he could. His high tones of encouragement and sometimes criticism really epitomise level two in series 1, and I think this is why Casper has a longer shelf-life than one might expect.
Casper was simply an old iron key that belonged to
Merlin, but he had been magically given a voice so that Merlin could keep track of where he was: Merlin made me like this because he kept losing me. Casper. Inevitably in the first series, any dungeoneer arriving in the level two clue room could expect to meet Casper, pick him up, use him to unlock a door (typically in the
Moving Keyhole challenge) and then deliver him safely back to Merlin. This was accomplished by the three dungeoneers who reached level two in series 1, Simon, Danny and Richard. They all found that, as well as picking up a key, they had picked up a friend who would try to help them out in times of trouble.
Once Casper had been returned to Merlin, he would often continue trying to help the team by giving them clues for riddle answers: Hey, Richard, think of something thats used in a game! Casper. He would always wish the dungeoneer luck before they left Merlins room as well, nicely rounding off his brief period of help and support for the quest. Merlin, of course, found Caspers chattering somewhat annoying after a while: Im beginning to regret that particular experiment; it was a lot more peaceful just losing things. Merlin.
Casper was as good an escort for the quest as any other character to follow (even though he couldnt protect the dungeoneers from
goblins or fight off
pookas) because of his cheerful, friendly, helpful disposition. Having an unconditional ally of any kind even a talking key is quite a rare occurrence in the dark depths of the
Dungeon, and should be cherished accordingly.
In series 2, Casper completely disappeared until the final two episodes, which was clearly an oversight by the production team. During his brief appearance with Steven, he landed the dungeoneer in hot water with a very drunken
Gumboil, which was a bit less helpful than his previous efforts. In addition to this, Casper did not unlock one single door in series 2! He should therefore be remembered, I feel, for his glory days in series 1, being the best friend a dungeoneer could ever have!
Fear Factor: 2 He occasionally lapsed into Cedric-like insults.
Killer Instinct: 0 No way he could even have tried, really.
Humour Rating: 8 Usually game for a laugh.
Oscar Standard: 9 As good a performance as a talking key as ever there was.
