From
TES issue 24 (November 2003)
Series 5/6.
Level 3.
FRIGHTKNIGHTS
These mechanised knights guarded
Lord Fear in series 5 and 6. They could be seen and heard floating around in the backgrounds of
spyglass sequences at
Mount Fear, and appeared to be sentient creatures made from helmets and chainmail that Lord Fear had created for his own protection. In reality, of course, they were created by one of
Knightmare's famous cutting-edge computer programmes. I suppose they looked quite impressive all that time ago, but a major criticism of frightknights is that none of them ever appeared in the Dungeon during the quest, presumably because the technology was not advanced enough to superimpose them into a chamber with a dungeoneer.
As the frightknights were effectively confined to spyglass sequences, their only role in the quest was to act as a reminder (or symbol) of Lord Fear's power. This role was continued in the
Dungeon settings, with frightknight flags sometimes painted into the background to make certain routes look menacing. The main place to see frightknight symbols was over some of the doors in the
Descender, a confusing signpost that made many
teams - particularly in series 5 - pause for thought. However, exiting under a frightknight was not actually dangerous at all, and was sometimes even necessary: "I'm afraid all the doors to
level three have frightknights,
Pickle." -
Treguard.
I must confess that I was perplexed by that symbol in the Descender for over ten years - I just could not see how it was a frightknight. One day quite recently I saw it - it's not a whole frightknight; just the helmet. I'm rather embarrassed about that. Anyway, the role of the frightknight as the symbol of Lord Fear's power was further developed by the trophies for winning in series 5-8 which were, of course, shaped like frightknights. Even though Lord Fear dispensed with his metallic guards after
series 6, they still were used to symbolise his power until Knightmare ended.
I think it's fair to say that the frightknights' primary role in Knightmare was as a symbol rather than a Dungeon monster - even when Treguard and Pickle started worrying that frightknights were going to turn up in series 5, they never did. They were clearly supposed to be frightening and intimidating - "Absolutely nothing is like frightknights!" - Treguard - and were only intended to represent and assert Lord Fear's growing power in the Dungeon.
If you judge frightknights by this criterion, they were memorable creatures that were appropriate in their role of representing Lord Fear's prowess in technomagic because they were created and animated by then cutting-edge computer technology. If you judge frightknights along the same lines as other Knightmare creatures and monsters, however, you might conclude that they were ineffective members of the Opposition and a somewhat pointless addition to the programme. Personally, I have no strong feelings either way towards frightknights, although I think that their lack of versatility makes them more forgettable than other Knightmare creatures and monsters. But you'll have to judge that for yourselves, won't you?
Fear Factor: 8 They were very unnerving and menacing.
Killer Instinct: 0 They never appeared in the Dungeon, so...
Gore Factor: 2 You have to wonder about how they're made, I suppose.
Humanity: 4 They looked human, but their true nature was undoubtedly altogether more sinister.
