Knights and Warriors

Host
Joe Fowler
Hostess
Lisa Canning
Announcer (Lord of the Rules and Discipline (L.O.R.D))
Bernard Earhard
Broadcast
Syndication (Weekly): 9/19/1992 – 2/27/1993 (reruns aired until 9/11/1993)
Packager
Welk Entertainment Group
Distributor
Western International Syndication

"It is written in the book of Good and Evil that in a time long ago all was peace and harmony. Paradise on Earth. Then one fateful day the universe shifted, all was dark and for those born on that day their evil destiny would be sealed. Now they have united to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world and forevermore would be known as warriors! Led by the walking talking tower of destruction: Plague! A true physical specimen, an iron beauty: Steel Maiden! He's too hot to handle, he's Pyro! The biggest chip off the rock of Gibraltar: Lady Battleaxe! The duke of doom, he's your worst Knightmare! The royal good girl gone bad: Princess Malice! The utter state of confusion, he's Chaos! And a truly dangerous snake in the grass, Venom! And I, the Lord of Rules and Discipline have recruited the most skillful teams of modern-day knights to do battle against the despicable warriors. Representing the gold team from (insert town and capital) the (insert occupation and contestant's name) and his/her teammate (insert contestant's name) a (insert occupation) from (insert town and capital) (insert comment here). For the purple team from (insert town and capital), (insert occupation and contestant's name) and his/her teammate (insert town and name) (insert comment here). These teams shall vie for knighthood in a whirling battle where but one couple shall meet the riches of sweet victory. There is no turning back, the time has come for Knights and Warriors!"

Knights and Warriors was a short-lived medieval challenge game show similar to American Gladiators.

Gameplay[]

The game matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the group of "Warriors". The "knights" were two teams of one man and one woman. The teams were colored purple & gold. The knights had to go through eight challenges set forth by the Warriors to win the game. The L.O.R.D. handed out punishment to the Warriors for any cheating, but he could also punish the knights if they cheated during competition, which was very rare in this show's all-too-short history.

The Warriors[]

The Warriors were the show's antagonists. In reality, they were hired actors almost similar to the Gladiators.

PLAGUE: The leader of the Warriors and considerably the strongest. He was portrayed by Jim Maniaci.
STEEL MAIDEN: A female Warrior, beautiful and powerful. She was portrayed by Nancy Georges.
PYRO: The Warriors' hotheaded firestarter, some say the most popular of the Warriors. He was portrayed by Douglas Rogel.
LADY BATTLEAXE: A large female Warrior with unparalleled strength. She was portrayed by real-life armwrestling champion Dot Jones.
KNIGHTMARE: A tough Warrior known as the Duke of Doom. He was portrayed by Rodney Mitchell.
PRINCESS MALICE: A so-called princess who turned to the dark side. She was portrayed by fitness model and Cory Everson's sister Cameo Kneuer.
CHAOS: The most unstable and unpredictable of the Warriors, hence his name. He was portrayed by Benny Graham.
VENOM: A devious, dangerous female Warrior. She was portrayed by Jessica Long.

RAVEN: Replaced Steel Maiden in Season 2. The performer is unknown.
SLASH: A male "alternate" Warrior. The performer is unknown.
VANDAL: Another male "alternate" Warrior. The performer is unknown.
EMPRESS VIXXEN: A female "alternate" Warrior. The performer is unknown.

Challenges[]

The start and end of each event were marked by the sound of a gong and trumpet fanfare to begin the event, and only a gong sound to end the event.

Catapult[]

The knights had to catch red dodgeballs being launched by a catapult while trying to evade yellow dodgeballs being fired by the Warriors using giant slingshots. Once the red balls were caught, the knights had to throw them into the ring of fire to score. Points were scored based on which section of the playing mat the knight threw the red ball from. In early episodes, the mat was divided into three sections worth 5, 10 and 15 points, with 15 being the furthest away. In later episodes, only the front two sections of the mat were used, with the middle section scoring 25 points, and the front section scoring 50 (as the knight would have to brave harder hits from the dodgeballs). After 60 seconds, the challenge was over. Both the male and female knights took a turn competing in this event.

Pyro was always the Warrior whose tricks would ignite the ring of fire to start the match.

Battle Swords[]

The knight and Warrior would run across treadmills on an elevated platform trying to knock each other down with foam bats. The challenge lasted for 30 seconds. A win or a Warrior disqualification earned the knight 50 points while a draw was worth 25 points. Grabbing an opponent's weapon or crossing over the small barrier between the treadmills automatically disqualified the offender. Only one gender competed in this event.

Sorcerer's Wheel[]

The knight had 45 seconds to run across a spinning track with two hurdles. Every completed lap on the wheel was worth 10 points each. However, a lap didn't count if both of the knight's feet touched the inside of the wheel. The Warriors stood on the outside of the wheel swinging a 75-pound spiked ball on a chain to knock the knight off the wheel and out of the game. Whichever gender did not participate in Battle Swords competed in this event.

Volcano[]

Two knights had 45 seconds (60 for the women) to climb up a giant 30-foot volcano-shaped net. Inside the net were four Warriors. One Warrior was strapped to a harness while the other three Warriors controlled the height and angle. The harnessed Warrior had pads to knock the knight down trying to prevent them from scoring. Scoring ranged from 3 sections of the net, each separated by a metal ring connected to the net. The bottom of the net was worth 25 points while the next section was worth 50 points and the top section was worth 75 points. If the knight managed to climb to the top of the Volcano and grab their team flag, he/she would earn 100 points. Both genders competed in this event.

Roller Joust[]

Each knight had 45 seconds to skate around the jousting arena, while trying to dodge two Warriors trying to bring the knight down. The knight carried a foam lance which was used to capture rings on poles scattered around the arena. Red rings were worth 10 points while the gold rings were worth 25 points. For the first 15 seconds, the knight could take one of the paths forming an X inside the arena to escape the Warriors. Once inside the X area, the Warriors couldn't enter or interfere. After 15 seconds, the Warrior-Free Zone was lifted and play would resume as normal. One gender competed in this event in early episodes, and both genders each took a turn in later episodes.

Tug O' Warriors[]

The knight and the Warrior each stood on rotating platforms while each of them pulled on a rope. The knight had 30 seconds to pull the Warrior of their platform. If the knight won, he or she earned 100 points. If 30 seconds expired or both would over, 50 points were awarded for a draw. Only one gender competed in this event. (In early episodes, the gender that did not participate in Roller Joust competed.)

The Pit[]

In this challenge, the knights were pitted against each other inside a bowl-like arena. The Warriors outside the bowl would rock it back and forth with the knights inside it. The object in this game was for one knight to pin the other using a pad. Depending on where the pin was, the bowl had four scoring sections: two 25 point sections, one 50 point section, and one 75 point section. After 45 seconds, the total number of points were added up. Pins without using the pads didn't count. Both genders took a turn competing in this event.

A notable moment in one of the show's early Round 1 episodes occurred when Knight Robert Pavell of the purple team suffered a head injury while inside the Pit; he and his opponent, Michael West of the gold team, scored no points in the Pit. He was replaced by Jeff Joccum, who later went on to score in the finale and ensure a win of the purple team.

Target Onslaught[]

Similar to the American Gladiators final event, the Eliminator, this was the show's final event. It was a two-part challenge.

One knight became the shooter, aiming a crossbow-like cannon and firing foam arrows at six targets from afar as the other knight loaded the crossbow. The targets included a dragon, spinning flags, the Sun, the Moon, and two shields. The first knight had 30 seconds to shoot the targets. He/She couldn't move to the next target until the last one was shot down. Instead of points, the knight earned 5 additional seconds for his/her partner for every successful hit.

After 30 seconds expired, the second half of Target Onslaught would begin. The second knight now became the shooter and the first knight loaded the crossbow as they attempted to shoot the Warriors who traveled back and forth across the top of the arena on three rails using handrail slides. The closest rail was worth 50 points, the next rail was worth 100 points, and the furthest rail was worth 150 points. After 30–60 seconds, the final scores were totaled.

Final Results[]

The team with the most points at the end of the show won the match and received medals awarded to them by the L.O.R.D. and the servant girls beside him also Prize Package of Gifts. In a "Knights and Warriors Tournament", which was ultimately the series finale, the champions of the Tournament were crowned "Sir" and "Madam" and received gold trophies awarded by the show plus this Grand Prizes.