In November 2002, Televirtual (an offshoot of Broadsword) announced plans to recreate
Knightmare as a live TV event, using full VR instead of chromakey. It was envisioned that the game would be played in two 10-12 minute segments within a children's programming strand (perhaps a weekend magazine show à la
What's Up Doc?), incorporating a viewer poll to influence the obstacles and affect the narrative. The company secured a £40,000 National Lottery funded grant in July 2003, enabling them to build a Virtual Reality
dungeon simulator and demonstrate the revised programme to potential broadcasters. The system was play-tested by pupils from two
London schools in May 2004, with
Hugo Myatt attending in person to offer hints and tips. Despite initial optimism about the project, no UK channels expressed an interest and the show's relaunch was abandoned in May 2005.
Although Knightmare VR was never picked up as a TV series, the
watchers were allowed a glimpse of the proposed new format when a 13 minute pilot was distributed in August 2004. It featured several new rooms and characters, and the welcome
return of some familiar faces.
The pilot was introduced by an
Orc, codenamed Beveryafraid and voiced by
Tim Child. BVA (who would later adopt the name Garstang) stated that the dungeon dimensions were now ruled by his master,
Lord Fear.
KMVR used 3D cloning technology to create a virtual avatar of the
dungeoneer, who wasn't blindfolded. The challenger filmed for the pilot was 11-year-old
Arthur Wells.
Only one advisor was used (in this case, Arthur's cousin Vasha). She had a "god's eye" view of the dungeon rooms, allowing her to describe the puzzles and warn Arthur of any dangers he couldn't see from his position.
All the rooms were connected by
dwarf tunnels, now in their fourth incarnation and looking more like a monster's innards. Time constraints prevented these from being properly explored, so they only appeared as short clips set to
music (which, combined with the avatar's mincing gait, made them unintentionally comical).
The first chamber was a clue room, where an avatar of
Treguard's face appeared to explain the rules. The items were "magic" and could be added to the dungeoneer's inventory without picking them up.
Clue objects included a wand, a
potion and a pair of
gemstones.
There was also a scroll (which Arthur took without reading) and a
seeing stone, providing the same function as a
spyglass.
Mark Knight reprised his role as Lord Fear (albeit in avatar form), but
Lissard had a whole new
look and the voice of a different actor, Nick Collett.
This scene
revealed the safe sequence for a new puzzle chamber (the first four letters of
DRASSIL), today's general
password (
FRIDAY), and - just for fun - Lord Fear's
middle name,
Maurice.
The password was needed in the next room when a blue
ogre, voiced by Tim Child, was found guarding the exit.
Slice Me Dice Me involved jumping onto the right letters and avoiding giant axes which swung between the rows. They completed the puzzle successfully.
At the end of a raised
causeway they encountered a
gargoyle named
Despair (voiced by Nick Collett), and used the
spell PICKMEUP to counteract his negativity.
A side effect of the spell was to thaw out his previous victim, the
elf-maid
Ellie (played by Louise Milford), who'd been trapped in a block of ice. She offered to help Arthur once they reached a safer place.
The pilot sequence ended with Beveryafraid expressing his distrust of elves, and warning that he'd be "waiting in the
dark" when Arthur's luck ran out.
Garstang the
goblin and Slice Me Dice Me both reappeared in the 2013 revival of Knightmare filmed for YouTube's Geek Week.