"Knights of God" is a 1987 children's' tv series, set in a future where Britain (or at least England) has fallen into civil war and been taken over by an extreme religious (though apparently non-Christian) dictatorship. It focuses on the adventures of a young man in whom both the Knights themselves and the resistance movement take an unaccountable interest,
The Knights' uniforms and the black helicopters they use recall an earlier series called "The Guardians" which also featured a Britain that had collapsed into dictatorship, while some of the resistance fighters are reminiscent of Secret Army and similar WW2 stuff. KoG, however, is permeated with overtones of Arthurian legend. The leader of the resistance (based in Wales) is actually called "Arthur", whilst the Knights' leader is named "Mordrin" - perhaps to invoke Mordred.
As always, there's room for a nitpick or two. About the most absurd bit is the claim that the whole Royal Family has been wiped out. Short of WW3 (and doubtfully even then) this would be a sheer impossibility. There must by now be hundreds, if not thousands, of people descended from Sophia of Hanover, by no means all of them living in the UK. The entire Norwegian Royal House is descended from Edward VII, and of course there are Germans galore. I will leave to others to ponder the philosophical point of whether it is better or worse to be ruled by a German than by a religious nutter.
Gervase (George Winter) is a rather passive kind of hero, the sort that has things happen to him rather than making things happen. And many viewers probably figured the outcome of his "quest" well ahead of time. But this is ok for what is basically a kids' action adventure, and is surely more than made up for by John Woodvine's brilliant performance as Prior Mordrin. For me, he steals the show with a great portrayal of the paranoid dictator going to pieces as his regime starts to crumble.
All in all, well worth a read or (if you can get it) a view. It's a scandal that no proper dvd has been issued. However, I understand that Youtube is filling the gap for now.
The Knights' uniforms and the black helicopters they use recall an earlier series called "The Guardians" which also featured a Britain that had collapsed into dictatorship, while some of the resistance fighters are reminiscent of Secret Army and similar WW2 stuff. KoG, however, is permeated with overtones of Arthurian legend. The leader of the resistance (based in Wales) is actually called "Arthur", whilst the Knights' leader is named "Mordrin" - perhaps to invoke Mordred.
As always, there's room for a nitpick or two. About the most absurd bit is the claim that the whole Royal Family has been wiped out. Short of WW3 (and doubtfully even then) this would be a sheer impossibility. There must by now be hundreds, if not thousands, of people descended from Sophia of Hanover, by no means all of them living in the UK. The entire Norwegian Royal House is descended from Edward VII, and of course there are Germans galore. I will leave to others to ponder the philosophical point of whether it is better or worse to be ruled by a German than by a religious nutter.
Gervase (George Winter) is a rather passive kind of hero, the sort that has things happen to him rather than making things happen. And many viewers probably figured the outcome of his "quest" well ahead of time. But this is ok for what is basically a kids' action adventure, and is surely more than made up for by John Woodvine's brilliant performance as Prior Mordrin. For me, he steals the show with a great portrayal of the paranoid dictator going to pieces as his regime starts to crumble.
All in all, well worth a read or (if you can get it) a view. It's a scandal that no proper dvd has been issued. However, I understand that Youtube is filling the gap for now.