From TES issue 26 (March 2004)

Series 3/4/6/7. Level 1/2.
OGRES

What is an ogre? Is it human, or does it have green skin and horns? Or is it simply a rather savage man who lives in a cave? This is the description that seems best to fit the Knightmare ogres, who were undoubtedly extras dressed up in scruffy clothes, who were given a club and told to lumber about like a primitive beast.

In series 3, there was one ogre in the Dungeon - Mr. Grimwold. He used to lumber around the dwarf tunnels, Dungeon valleys and the [Great Corridor of the Catacomb] in pursuit of dungeoneers. Even though he has never been classed as a character, Mr. Grimwold had a whole story behind him. He was married to Mrs. Grimwold, the witch, and apparently shared a very fulfilling marriage with her, even though he never said a word to her. You have to wonder how he proposed, don’t you? Mr. Grimwold was also responsible for biting off one of Festus’s three heads, an action that Mrs. Grimwold never did find an explanation for. Grimwold also had a soft spot for Mellisandre according to the maid herself, but I suppose he was only human (or maybe not). In his capacity as a Dungeon danger, Grimwold was far from ineffective. He managed to claim one victim during the series – Kelly I, who became trapped in level one after rejecting a certain important crayon. Later in the series, Chris II had to use a SPEED spell from Hordriss to escape from Mr. Grimwold in the dwarf tunnels.

There was also an ogre who made two appearances in series 4, although they were both very brief. This new bearded ogre accosted Vicky at Dungarth, but was easily bribed with a necklace. He returned briefly to chase Dickon and Motley out of a chamber in level two, and that was it. If you were to class this ogre as a replacement for Mr. Grimwold, he would be poor to say the least.

Interestingly, the Grimwold family was briefly brought back into Knightmare at the very end of series 6. When Sofia met Julius Scaramonger in level one, he was being assisted with his wares by an ogre he called Young Grimwold. As Tim Child mentioned in an issue of The Quest newsletter that Mr. and Mrs. Grimwold had a son, it might be fair to assume that Julius’s assistant was it. This was the only ogre appearance in series 6 and was fairly ineffectual in itself, although Sofia’s team did have to remember that Julius had kept calling the ogre Grimwold because they were told that the password was the name of Scaramonger’s servant.

There was one final ogre appearance in series 7, when Nicola II had to wait behind one in a queue for Rothberry’s stall. This particular ogre was apparently worried about how ugly he was, but Rothberry had nothing to help him. This ogre appearance really was incidental, but I thought I’d mention it anyway. I think it would be fair to say that the major time of the ogre on Knightmare was series 3, with a few appearances in subsequent series.

Fear Factor: 4 Nothing too daunting.
Killer Instinct: 7 Grimwold’s one victim is not to be sneezed at.
Gore Factor: 3 Just a bit dirty and scruffy, really.
Humanity: 9 Very close to if not actually human.

login to vote

In the worlds of fantasy, there are few creatures more feared than the ogre. Although not possessed of any great intelligence ("What is more stupid than an ogre?" - Brollachan), ogres are huge, hulking humanoid beasts, bronzed in colour, plus taller and in possession of more girth than your average human. Ergo, they are (more often than not) brawnier, too.

Knightmare, pleasingly, placed values on the fear factor of ogres to make for some very effective characters and interactions.
The first appearance of an ogre was in Series 3, where Grimwold became an established character in the Level 1 cast. Although hulking and fierce, Grimwold appeared to have some pacific qualities; he could be calmed down by Mellisandre quite easily ("he adores me!"), and he obviously felt love enough to have settled down with Mrs. Grimwold and Festus!
However, for all this, Grimwold was still not one to be messed with. He often chased dungeoneers through dwarf tunnels, and showed his inherently violent side as he killed Kelly of Team 7.
By the time Series 4 came around, both the Grimwolds had vanished from the Dungeon, but a new, unnamed Ogre (presumably not Grimwold, they looked nothing alike!) had taken up residence and became an infrequently-seen Level One guard. He was easy to bribe, however, as one team simply gave him a necklace and he walked away, satisfied. Still, the way he came in and roared often startled the watchers and the team, even if he posed little genuine threat.

Unfortunately, Knightmare paid little attention to ogres after that, although the Grimwolds were mentioned in Series 6 by Lord Fear, and Tim Child referred to them in The Quest, so it can be assumed that the Dungeon still had a family of Ogres! In fact, Series 6 included a brief apparance by Young Grimwold - presumably Mr and Mrs Grimwold's son - who had found employ with Julius Scaramonger. How cute!

Since Knightmare's demise, ogres have made occasional appearances in the world of KM fandom: Young Grimwold is an active character at Surrounds, played by David, and RPG Season 7 features Ergo Grimwold, played by Darryll. KMVR also features an ogre as a guard, but this ogre is blue... which is by far the wrong colour for an ogre!

login to vote