From TES issue 62 (March 2010)

Series 1/2. Level 1/2.
FOLLY
During the period in my life when series 1 and 2 were nothing more than vague, awe-inspiring memories, I always remembered that there had been a jester in these two series, and that he had worn red and green as opposed to Motley’s red and yellow. When I finally got my hands on the early Knightmare books, I learned that his name was Folly. In this role, Alec Westwood performed many memorable scenes in the first two series, and I can see why the character stuck in my memory.

As has been discussed in TES many times before, Folly was a prime example of a traditional court fool, while Motley was very much a general entertainer whose jokes and quips didn’t really hold any deeper meaning. In other words, although both characters can be accurately classified as jesters, only Folly is really a professional fool. I was forced to study Shakespeare's King Lear as part of my English A-level, and the character of the Fool reminded me a lot of Folly – he used his seemingly glib prattle to convey serious and important observations, exactly as Folly did in the Dungeon.

Yes, behind all the dodgy jokes and bad rhymes, Folly’s words usually held vital information for the teams, in the form of both clues and spells. Think of Richard’s team in series 1, who had to work out that Folly had given them a WELL spell amongst all his tricky riddling, and of Jamie’s team in series 2, who had to pick out a clue about stepping on the Jack of Spades when the time came to Pick a Card. Folly always helped the teams through his professional prattle, and they had to listen carefully to pick up on what he was really telling them: ”There’s more wisdom in foolish wit than ever you can imagine.” – Folly.

I think Folly’s fun yet confusing nature makes him an interesting character whose appearances are always very satisfying to watch. He fitted nicely into the atmosphere of the first two series, and perhaps would have felt slightly out of place as the show developed if he had been allowed to stick around – possibly he would have gone through something of a personality transplant, like Hordriss. Perhaps it is better, then, that Folly remains in the first two series, where he did a really good job!

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From TES issue 2 (March 1996)

FOLLY THE JESTER : SERIES 1/2 : LEVEL 1/2

Folly, played by Alec Westwood, performed a typical jester's role in many quests. Friendly, funny and full of good intentions, there was no doubting whose side Folly was on. Yet the dungeoneer always had to take care when Folly was around - life force won't last forever !

In fact, Folly was not the crazy clutterbrain that he often appeared to be. Behind the jokes and japes lay a seemingly endless supply of cryptic riddles to test even the most witty of dungeoneers. Many quests in the first two series' would depend greatly on a spell or clue from the dungeon jester.

The first Knightmare book in the ever growing range tells more of the history and legend surrounding Folly. Treguard first encountered the jester on his travels, and soon realised he had chanced upon a loyal companion. So it transpired that Folly took residence in the upper levels of Knightmare castle, ever faithful to Treguard.

Folly, with his green and red jester's outfit, led dungeoneers into many memorable scenes. Perhaps his crowning glory took place in series two, involving a humiliating prank on Gumboil, the gruesome level two guard. Threatened with a nasty looking drop over the side of a bridge, Folly soon saved his bacon, as well as that of the dungeoneer ! Within minutes Gumboil was convinced he had been kindly given a precious, albeit invisible sorcerors stone ! Typical Folly - 'tis only a shame he disappeared after the second series. Imagine him and Motley in tandem - the fun would never stop !

It is almost impossible to decide whether Folly or Motley was the best Knightmare jester. Motley did manage to stick around much longer, but as they say with Coca-Cola - original is best. Write in and tell me what you think ! We could also compare Mogdred and Lord Fear, Pickle and Majida, or even Merlin and Hordriss ! Find out my own jester opinions in the marks out of ten, below.

FEAR FACTOR : 2 Once beat Cedric in a battle of insults !!
HUMOUR RATING : 10 It is his job !!
KILLER INSTINCT: 3 Don't fail his riddles, or your fate is in his hands.
OSCAR STANDARD: 6 Dare I say Motley was slightly better?

Written by and submitted with the kind permission of Paul McIntosh.

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Folly is the username of a member of the Knightmare.com Forum who joined in July 2003 and posted sparingly thereafter. Knightmare's other jester, Motley, used to share his name with a rather more prolific user of the forum.

In March 2014, another username paid homage to the Dungeon of Deceit's first jester when WheresFolly (real name Jake) joined the Knightmare.com Forum.

[Previous versions: 2007-04-17 17:34:14, 2005-11-22 18:00:37]

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Folly was the original dungeon fool. He appeared in series 1 and 2, before being replaced by Motley.

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