The Big Knights

Did You Know?

• In 2000, 6 episodes were released on VHS by BBC Video as The Big Knights: The Big Adventures.
• The show was described by OK! as 'a cartoon cross between Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Blackadder'.

Setting

The Big Knights reside in Castle Big, on the edge of Forest Big, in the land of Borovia, which appears to be situated somewhere in Europe. According to the title sequence, the knights are 'the height of two men, the weight of four, the strength of sixteen'. Borovia is populated by dragons, witches, trolls, ogres and a race of tiny people. The only notable civilisation besides Castle Big and King Otto's run-down palace is Börödzo (also called Village Börödzo), a small rural town whose square once held a large gold clock that King Otto accidentally spent an unreasonable amount on, only for the Big Knights to destroy it before he could see it. The population is negligible, the economy poor, and the army consists mainly of Sir Boris, Sir Morris and their pets, with lesser knights who prefer courtly manners to combat. Despite a medieval aesthetic, Borovia has a fledgling black-and-white television system, at least one car owned by the king, an ill-fated hydroelectric dam, and a failed proton power plant running on pig manure, indicating the setting is the present day but dedicated to preserving a medieval look. The country borders the richer, more prosperous land of Möridia, whose people are more intelligent, and also borders a land of vampires, which the Big Knights help rid of more by accident than design, reviving its tourism industry.

Main characters

Sir Boris, clad in silver armour, is the finest swordsman in the world, noble and brave but not terribly bright. He is voiced by David Rintoul. Sir Morris, in bronze armour and wearing glasses, is the most enthusiastic swordsman, incredibly dim-witted and childish, once believing breakfast was magically made by the plates; he is illiterate and voiced by Brian Blessed. Sir Horace is Sir Boris' loyal, armour-clad hound and a fine tracker. Sir Doris is Sir Morris' pet hamster, also in plate armour, with an insatiable appetite for anything regardless of size or edibility. Mrs. Ethel Minion is the knights' housekeeper and de facto nanny, without whom they struggle to survive. King Otto, the insipid and dull-headed king of Borovia and a single parent, attempts modernisation that often fails due to the Big Knights and his cost-cutting. His twin daughters, Princess Lucy and Princess Loretta, are enthusiastic, naive, and adore adventure and the knights. Wizard Zabobon, old and unhygienic, is an incompetent advisor to the king whose good advice is ignored. Professor von Proton, the insane brain behind modernisation, once covered the country in pig manure. Queen Melissa of Möridia is incredibly wealthy and rumoured to have been married to King Otto, though this is not mentioned in the show. Sorceress Abigail is a cleaner, brighter female wizard employed by Queen Melissa.

Remastered version

In 2009, Neville Astley and Mark Baker bought back the rights from BBC Worldwide. The series was remastered in 16:9 high definition from original project files and released in 2010 by Entertainment One as a combined DVD and Blu-ray titled The Big Knights: Run For Your Lives!. A theatrical compilation film from seven remastered episodes was released in 2015. In 2020, all 13 episodes were remastered again and uploaded to YouTube.