Monday 1 May 2023

Knights of God: Episode 1

 "You've got to live. For all of us."

I have only the vaguest of memories of seeing bits of this in 1987 when I was young, and it's been unavailable since, so I know not what to expect. What's that, you ask? How am I seeing this? Oh look. A squirrel.

Anyway, this first episode is an outstanding piece of worldbuilding, a very 80s cross between Arthurian legend and a V for Vendetta type vaguely dystopian, Fascist future. John Woodnutt is dictator of the South and Midlands, he has recently conquered a defiant Wales, but the North remains free and lawless, called a "wasteland". The Knights of God rule a land called "Anglia" from Winchester, as London is ruined. There are direct parallels here with Anglo-Saxon England where the same was true.

This fits Arthurian myth perfectly: Arthur defeated the Saxons at Badon; presumably young Gervase, seemingly fated by legend, will pull some sort of sword from some sort of stone within these thirteen episodes.

Even more intriguingly, Gervase is watched over by an older, Welsh accented Gareth Thomas as Owen, and he is seen talking to a white-bearded Patrick Troughton, whose character seems to be called "Arthur". I'm loving this so far.

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