From TES issue 32 (March 2005)

Series 4. Level 1/2/3.
DOOR MONSTERS

Although I have to admit that the weeping doors were a poor replacement for the wall monsters, they do epitomise series 4 for me, mainly because there was at least one door monster appearance in all but three of the sixteen episodes. The door monsters were raised drawbridges which blocked the path, and they had spellbound creatures inside them who acted as gaolers. In order for the drawbridge to open, the dungeoneer had to unlock it with truth. In practical terms, this meant answering three questions set by the door monster.

In this way, the door monsters were exactly like the wall monsters. However, all their riddles took the form of "true or false" questions, which gave the team a greater chance of answering correctly as there was always a fifty-fifty chance of getting the riddle right. The door monsters used the same expressions as the wall monsters - "truth accepted" and "falsehood" - to indicate whether an answer was right or wrong.
Dooris was the first [door] monster encountered, and only the second challenge to face the teams, after the Place of Choice. She was the most miserable of the door monsters, but only required one correct answer in order to open. Only Simon III had to make do with this dismal score to get through; everyone else got two or three correct: "Truth will out, ah yes, truth will out, and so will you." - Dooris.
Doorkis was in level two, and was apparently slightly less despondent than Dooris: "Not quite as miserable as Dooris, but not the life and soul of the party either." - Treguard. He required two correct answers to open, and of the five teams that met him, Nicky's had the most trouble achieving this feat, but some lucky guesswork got them through: "Truth will open; truth will out." - Doorkis.
Dooreen - "the last of this unholy trinity" - resided in level three, and was a very dreary piece of work: "As you can hear she's a manic depressive, so quickly deal with her before she depresses us all." - Treguard. Dooreen was the final challenge before the Quest Chamber, so only Dickon got far enough to meet her. She required a full set of correct answers in order to open: "Truth will out, and so will you." - Dooreen. Dickon's questions were all fairly easy, as Pickle pointed out: "I thought they were going to be more difficult, Master!" - Pickle.

Although they only appeared in one series, the door monsters will always be a memorable part of Knightmare for me. I don't think they're as interesting or frightening as the wall monsters, but they certainly formed a big part of series 4, almost certainly the series I have watched the most in my life.

Fear Factor: 5 A large talking face - always a bit unnerving.
Killer Instinct: 1 A pity we never saw anyone get trapped.
Humanity: 7 The "prisoners" inside the doors were probably human.
Gore Factor: 3 The mouths looked a bit unnatural, like Golgarach's and Brangwen's the year before.

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Pickle's preferred term for one of the Weeping Doors of Series 4, harking back to their predecessors from Series 1-3, the wall monsters.

[Earlier version: 2005-12-10 20:48:10]

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