From
TES issue 29 (September 2004)
Series 1/2.
Level 1/2.
GUMBOIL
Edmund Dehn played the
Dungeon guard with the large spot on one cheek. Gumboil could commonly be found guarding doors,
wellways or bridges, and he was never prepared to let anyone pass readily. Like most Dungeon guards, however, he could often be won over by a bar of gold, tricked or incapacitated with magic, or satiated with a
password. However, failing any of these options, Gumboil was always prepared to use his large two-handed sword to dispatch any intruders. Luckily for the
dungeoneers, however, he never managed to
bag himself a victim.
Gumboil suffered from a serious
alcohol problem, the result of which was that the knight made his last two appearances on
Knightmare whilst drunk. These scenes include the now famous incident involving
Folly's Sorcerer's Stone
trick during Julian's quest, and a later altercation with
Casper the
key and dungeoneer Steven. The scene with Julian, Folly and Gumboil is undoubtedly Gumboil's longest ever appearance on the show, and the one for which he is perhaps best remembered. As we all know, Folly managed to convince Gumboil that he had been given a valuable magic object that was completely invisible to all but the cleverest people. Well, the old ones are always the best, aren't they?
Other memorable Gumboil scenes include his very unsuccessful battle with
Cedric in level two during Mark's series 2 quest, and the knight's outrage when dungeoneer Danny used magic against him twice within three rooms during series 1. Having used a
spell from
Lillith to make Gumboil
itch uncontrollably, Danny soon used another spell from Cedric to knock him out. Scenes such as these really did set Gumboil up as something of a
joke character; he was not a very effective guard, anyway. However, he would certainly have killed if the
team had not been equipped to deal with him.
Fear Factor: 3 He was mostly too much of a joke to be scary.
Killer Instinct: 2 He would have killed under the right circumstances.
Humour Rating: 5 Up for a laugh when intoxicated.
Oscar Standard: 7 Hammed up very nicely.
