The Big Knights

The Big Knights is a British animated television series. It was created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker through their studio The Big Knights Ltd., in co-production with BBC Worldwide and in association with BBC Bristol. It was first broadcast on BBC Two over the Christmas season of 1999–2000. It was the first TV series to be digitally animated using CelAction 2D, while the first release of the software was still under development.[1][2] It is mixed with cutout animation, traditional animation, and flash animation.

The Big Knights
GenreAnimated series
Created by
Written by
  • Neville Astley
  • Mark Baker
Directed by
  • Neville Astley
  • Mark Baker
Starring
Country of origin
  • United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producers
  • Ann Anderson
  • Frank Taylor
  • Joan Lofts
  • Rick Morrison
  • Theresa Plummer-Andrews
  • Andrea Tran
Producer
  • Claire Jennings
Running time10 minutes
Production companiesThe Big Knights Ltd.
BBC Worldwide
BBC Bristol
Release
Original networkBBC Two
Original release19 December 1999 (1999-12-19) –
3 January 2000 (2000-01-03)

The stories tell the adventures of the two Big Knights, Sir Boris and Sir Morris, who are incredibly strong and brave, but are also incredibly dim-witted. They solve crises, usually of their own creation, but cause great destruction and mayhem in the process.

Setting

The eponymous Big Knights live in Castle Big, on the edge of Forest Big, in the land of Borovia. Borovia seems to be situated in either Central or Eastern Europe. The knights themselves are indeed big; according to the title sequence they are "the height of two men, the weight of four, the strength of sixteen".

Borovia is rife with dragons, witches, trolls, ogres and a race of tiny people. The only real civilisation aside from Castle Big and King Otto's run-down palace is Borodzo, a tiny country town in the middle of nowhere. In the town square was a large gold clock which the incompetent King Otto accidentally spent a huge amount of money upon, only for the Big Knights to destroy it before the King arrived to view it.

The population is negligible, the economy is poor and the army consists mainly of Sir Boris, Sir Morris and their pets, as well as a host of lesser knights who, not being big, tend to take a back seat. This is mainly due to their snobbish elitism and general martial incompetence; they are much happier practising genuflection and brushing up their courtly manners. There does not seem to be much going for Borovia. The land has a fledgling television system (in black and white, consisting mainly of weather reports), at least one car (owned by the King) and an ill-fated hydroelectric dam, along with a failed proton power plant, which runs on pig manure. From this it becomes apparent that Borovia, rather than being merely medieval, is in fact in the modern age, and whether through geographical isolation or sheer indolence, very backward.

The country borders on the land of Moridia, a richer and more prosperous nation. The people there are more intelligent, and are always one step ahead of their envious neighbours. Borovia also borders a land of vampires, which the Big Knights help to get rid of more by accident than design, in the process reviving the land's tourism industry. As lovable as they are, the Big Knights always seem to make life for all Borovians that little bit harder.

Main characters
  • Sir Boris – The finest swordsman in the world. Noble, brave, honourable and chivalrous, and while not nearly as stupid as his brother Sir Morris, not terribly bright either. He is clad in silver armour. He is voiced by David Rintoul.
  • Sir Morris – Not the finest swordsman in the world, but the most enthusiastic. He is incredibly stupid, once believing that breakfast was magically made by the plates. His general method of dealing with problems is by hitting them with maximum force. He wears glasses, and bronze armour. Voiced by Brian Blessed.
  • Sir Horace – Sir Boris' loyal hound, clad in armour. He is a fine tracker dog, once tracking a flying crow that had stolen a golden key with his smell alone.
  • Sir Doris – Sir Morris' pet hamster, likewise clad in plate armour. She has an insatiable appetite and will eat just about anything irrespective of its size or edibility, including Morris' fingers, a bicycle and man-eating plants.
  • Mrs. Ethel Minion – The knights' housekeeper and de facto nanny, without whom they find survival rather difficult. She takes a matronly view toward her outsize charges. She seems to enjoy the housework.
  • King Otto – King of Borovia, and a single parent. His occasional attempts to modernise his country often fail disastrously at the well-meaning hands of the Big Knights, as well as his desire to cut costs in most situations. He is insipid and dull-headed. He has two daughters, Princess Lucy and Princess Loretta, who manipulate him mercilessly.
  • Princesses Lucy and Loretta – King Otto's twin daughters. Enthusiastic, naive and oblivious to danger and trouble. They absolutely love adventure and are keen admirers of the Big Knights.
  • Wizard Zabobon – Wizard and advisor to King Otto. He is very old and it appears that he has never once thought of personal hygiene. He is an incompetent wizard but sometimes offers good advice, which the king ignores.
  • Professor von Proton – The brain behind Borovia's drive to modernisation, he is also totally insane. He once covered the whole country in pig manure as a result of a quest for cheap renewable power.
  • Queen Melissa – Queen of Moridia and incredibly wealthy. According to the programme website, she is rumoured to have been married to King Otto at some stage,[3] but this is not mentioned in the show itself. Her fabulous wealth is a constant source of envy to King Otto.
  • Sorceress Abigail – Cleaner, brighter, female version of Zabobon employed by Queen Melissa.
  • Sir Kiftsgate – The apparent leader of a new breed of knights who know the difference between bowing to a Duke and an Earl but are totally useless at traditional knightly pastimes such as slaying dragons and ogres.

Style of humour

The Big Knights appeared over the Christmas of 1999/2000, and was lauded for its funny humour and cleverness. Jack and the Beanstalk, for example, is retold from the point of view of a tiny race of people who inhabit Sir Morris' garden. In another episode, an asteroid narrowly misses a new hydroelectric dam, only for the knights' efforts to rescue the princesses to result in the destruction of the dam by Sir Morris hurtling into it from a great height. The theme tune was provided by the Rostov Balalaika orchestra.

Cast

Episodes
No.TitleChannelOriginal air date
1"Knights in Distress"BBC Two19 December 1999 (1999-12-19)
As part of his desire to modernise the kingdom, King Otto has commissioned a hydroelectric dam. Unfortunately, he is too mean to build it to the highest safety standards. On the day the dam is inaugurated the Big Knights are out rescuing Princesses Lucy and Loretta from a locked tower. The Big Knights' heroic rescue attempts inadvertently lead to Sir Morris being blasted into outer space, with disastrous consequences.
2"Ethel and the Imp"BBC Two19 December 1999 (1999-12-19)
When the Big Knights’ loyal housekeeper, Mrs Minion, takes a hard-earned day off Sir Boris and Sir Morris fear they will starve to death. An Evil lmp magically materialises and offers to cook breakfast if Sir Morris will sign a contract dedicating his life to Evil. Sir Morris signs immediately, with disastrous consequences.
3"Knight School"BBC Two21 December 1999 (1999-12-21)
The Middle Ages have ended and Borovia is a modern country but as far as the Big Knights are concerned, the Age of Chivalry is far from dead. Disillusioned with modern ideas of knighthood, they decide to set up an old-fashioned school for knights. Unfortunately they attract the wrong sort of student, with disastrous consequences.
4"Time Protonosphere"BBC Two21 December 1999 (1999-12-21)
The exercise wheel in Sir Doris the Hamster’s cage develops an annoying squeak which Sir Boris and Sir Morris are unable to fix. So, they seek the advice of Professor von Proton, the finest mind in Borovia. The professor uses the Big Knights as guinea pigs to test his new time traveling machine, the Time Protonosphere, with disastrous consequences.
5"The Land of Vampires"BBC Two22 December 1999 (1999-12-22)
Exhausted by their recent exploits, Sir Boris and Sir Morris yearn for a nice quiet, relaxing holiday, somewhere hot and sunny, and with absolutely no chance of danger or adventure, with disastrous consequences.
6"Sir Morris and the Beanstalk"BBC Two22 December 1999 (1999-12-22)
Sir Boris reads "Jack and the Beanstalk" to his brother as a bedtime story. Unfortunately, Sir Morris takes the fairy tale a little too literally, with disastrous consequences.
7"The Village Games"BBC Two23 December 1999 (1999-12-23)
The villagers of Borodzo put in place a cunning but risky plan to keep Sir Boris and Sir Morris away from their annual village sports day, with disastrous consequences.
8"Alchemy"BBC Two25 December 1999 (1999-12-25)
Sir Boris and Sir Morris, hidden from view by their wondrous "Hats of Invisibility”, infiltrate the Court of King Otto's fabulously wealthy rival, Queen Melissa and attempt to "borrow" her spell for turning base metal into gold, with disastrous consequences.
9"Lost Doris"BBC Two28 December 1999 (1999-12-28)
Sir Morris is cast into a deep depression when Sir Doris escapes from her cage. Sir Boris proposes every amusement he can think of to cheer him up, but in vain. So The Big Knights ride out to find Sir Doris. All they need do is follow the trail of destruction left by Sir Doris as she eats her way through the Borovian countryside. No-one is more surprised than Sir Morris to discover where Sir Doris has gone to ground, with disastrous consequences.
10"Clockwork Knights"BBC Two28 December 1999 (1999-12-28)
Due to an error in the Royal Accounts, Village Borodzo acquires a wondrous new clock at King Otto's expense, with disastrous consequences.
11"The Troll Bridge"BBC Two29 December 1999 (1999-12-29)
King Otto takes the court out for a Sunday afternoon drive and unexpectedly encounters a strange little troll barring the way across an insignificant bridge. When none of his courtiers can deal with the upstart, the King summons the Big Knights, with disastrous consequences.
12"Proton Power"BBC Two31 December 1999 (1999-12-31)
Against the advice of his own scientists, King Otto invests in Professor von Proton's new power source for Borovia. Proton Power is cheap, but it’s also dirty, smelly, highly unstable and comes with the potential for mass destruction. A perfect case for The Big Knights to get stuck into, with disastrous consequences.
13"The Royal Escort"BBC Two3 January 2000 (2000-01-03)
When King Otto's fearsome sisters Lily and lris send word they wish to entertain their nieces Lucy and Loretta, Sir Boris and Sir Morris volunteer to escort the princesses to their aunts' distant castle, with disastrous consequences.

International broadcasters

The series is airing or has aired in the following other countries.

Country Channel(s) Local title
 Australia ABC The Big Knights
 Brazil TV Cultura Os Grandes Cavaleiros
 Canada YTV The Big Knights
 Finland Yle TV1, Yle TV2, Yle Fem Remakat ritarit
 France Canal+, France 3 Les Gros Chevaliers
 Germany KiKA Die Retter-Ritter
 Hong Kong TVB Pearl The Big Knights
 Netherlands Nederland 3 Heren in Blik
 Poland TVP Wielcy rycerze
 United States Disney Channel The Big Knights

Home video releases
  • In 2000, 6 episodes were released on VHS (PAL) by BBC Video as The Big Knights: The Big Adventures.[4] "Imagine a cartoon cross between Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Blackadder," suggested OK! in a review of the VHS, "and you're halfway there. Fun for all the family!"[5]
  • In 2010, all 13 episodes were remastered in high definition by Entertainment One and rereleased as a combined DVD (region 2) and Blu-ray (region B) set titled The Big Knights: Run For Your Lives!.[6]

Awards
  • 2000 Best Adult Animation Series – British Animation Awards (BAA)
  • 2000 Best Use of New Technology – British Animation Awards (BAA)
  • 2001 Best Animation Series – Annecy International Animated Film Festival
  • 2001 Grand Prize for Animated Television Programme at the SICAF International Festival in Korea
  • 2001 Best Commercial Series Animation Award – FAN International Festival of Animation UK[7]

References
  1. "bkextra6". astleybakerdavies.com. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  2. Directors' Commentary on the 2010 DVD release
  3. "bkextra4". astleybakerdavies.com.
  4. "Big Knights - The Big Adventures [VHS]". Amazon. 12 May 2000. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  5. MacDonald, Bruno (19 May 2000). "Film & Video: Video sales releases". OK! #213.
  6. "The Big Knights [Blu-ray]". Amazon. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  7. "bkextra6". astleybakerdavies.com.
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