Knights of God (1987)

Knights of God (1987)

13 episodes, approx 26 minutes each.

Dirs. Andrew Morgan (7 eps) and Michael Kerrigan (6 eps)

The fists and crossed swords symbol used by the Knights is a simple but striking and highly evocative design, wordlessly communicating to a viewer that the guiding credo of the order isn't benevolent preservation or protection, it's one of militaristic strength and aggression nestled within the colours that are historically associated with fascism.

In post-civil war Britain (the year 2020 AD) the self-proclaimed Knights rule with force, guns and border patrols, killing any who dare resist their control. It's a children's TV show but the killing doesn't happen off-screen. There's more hard-hitting acts of violence shown than you'd expect to see in a production with such a classification.

In today's culturally sensitive climate it would probably be either heavily cut or labelled as YA.

The Welsh resistance, onetime fishermen who in place of nets and rods now hold automatic pistols and machine guns as their tools of the trade, refuse to accept the fascist regime. They're the biggest thorn in the Knights' broad side. The resistance group put their very lives on the line in the fight for liberty and freedom.

Prior Mordrin (John Woodvine), the Knights' leader, is obsessed with crushing the fishermen's cause; in desperation he formulates a dangerous plan to make it happen.

Problematic civilians who aren't killed are sent to "Education Retraining Centres;" i.e. internment camps. It's therein that the story begins to have a more direct focus, having had the foundation for such laid previously. The young protagonist Gervase Edwards (George Winter) is tested both emotionally and physically by his captors, ironically preparing him for what's to come.

It's abundantly clear that a lot is at stake, more than just personal freedoms, but it doesn't reveal the full extent of what it is exactly until later, deep into the final third. But the episodic conflict may well lose a large part of a modern audience before that happens because it's heavy going at times, the conflict is often fought through a dialogue-heavy battle of wills, which is a dramatic change of pace from the armed war of attrition undertaken in the borderlands.

The complexity is extended to the inner-workings of the Knights. Prior Mordrin's second in command, Brother Hugo (Julian Fellowes), is a sadistic, power-hungry and ambitious individual with a telltale comb-over, all of which mark him as the sort of officer that's not to be trusted. He'll carry out orders when it suits him to do so, but not always to the letter.

If you find that the series holds your attention even in its quieter moments, then there's much to be gained from sticking it out to the end. There's a hasty wrap-up that really ought to have been given more time to take hold, it's at odds with the well-established nature of what came before, but overall it's quality programming that puts emphasis on depth of character and the importance of maintaining strength of conviction, unlike the genre's many other viewer-pleasing cop outs.