British Comedy Guide

Castle & Knight

Hey Ho. :D

Rather ruthless re write of the knight and castle sketch myself and Bigfella did a while back.
Would really like to get your most sought opinion. thanks as always.

EXT. A CASTLE IN A FIELD. DAY.

FAMILIES ARE MILLING AROUND ENJOYING A DAY OUT. A KNIGHT IN A SUIT OF ARMOUR ( KNIGHT ) RUNS UP TO THE ADMISSION BOOTH. HE LIFTS THE VISOR OF HIS HELMET.

KNIGHT:
Hear me footman. I have come to give warning. The Black Knight is close behind me and he has ruin in his eye. The King must be warned, let me pass.

THE KNIGHT GOES TO WALK THROUGH THE TURNSTYLE. IT REFUSES TO MOVE.

ATTENDANT:
It's seven pounds fifty for an adult. But if your friend is under twelve, you can both come in for ten pounds.

KNIGHT:
The Black Knight is a friend of no man. He keeps only one companion; savagery. I must see The King.

ATTENDANT:
It's seven pounds fifty for an adult.

HE PRODUCERS A SMALL BAG AND GIVES THE ATTENDANT SOME COINS.

KNIGHT: (CONT'D)
Here, Judus, take your twelve pieces of silver, I hope you think it is worth it.

ATTENDANT:
You get a free audio tour and map of the castle

KNIGHT:
Foolish Knave. I have no time for this, I must rush to the throne.

ATTENDANT:
Can't you hold it until after the tour? It's only ten minutes, all the highlights. But if you really must It's on your way out next to the gift shop.

KNIGHT:
If I do not make haste disaster will befall these walls.

ATTENDANT:
Yeah s'pose it must take a while with all the gear on, you don't want to be called the brown knight do you? Go on, Through you go, remember, just past the gift shop. I marked it on the map for you.

THE KNIGHT GOES THROUGH THE TURNSTILE.

CUT TO:

INT. URINAL

THE KNIGHT BURSTS INTO THE TOILET AND RUNS TO THE FIRST CUBICLE. HE PULLS OPEN THE DOOR.
A MAN IN IS SITTING ON THE TOILET READING A MAGAZINE. THE KNIGHT KNEELS ON ONE KNEE.

KNIGHT:
Your Majesty. I bring grave news, The Black Knight approaches from the East. He will slay us all.

MAN:
Erm...Maybe you should you tell the security guys?

KNIGHT:
Indeed Sire. As you wisely command.

MAN:
What a helmet!

THE KNIGHT RUSHES OFF.

CUT TO.

EXT. CASTLE GROUNDS.

THE KNIGHT, A SECURITY GUARD AND THE ATTENDANT FROM THE ADMISSION BOOTH, RUN TOWARDS THE CASTLE ENTRANCE.

KNIGHT:
You will need your most sturdy defences. Only the hardiest barricade will stop him. He has war and death in his eye.

ATTENDANT:
I thought you said he had ruin in it.

KNIGHT:
The other eye you fool.

KNIGHT:
He's hell bent on terror.

SECURITY GUARD:
No one gets past this.

THE SECURITY GUARD GETS OUT TWO SMALL POSTS AND PLACES THEM EITHER SIDE OF THE ENTRANCE. HE THEN CONNECTS THEM WITH A RED ROPE.

SECURITY GUARD:
No one goes past the rope.

KNIGHT:
You jest. Oh how you jest.

SECURITY GUARD:
I haven't finished yet.

THE SECURITY GUARD PLACES A WOODEN PLAQUE WITH A NOTICE ON IT JUST BEHIND THE ROPE. IT READS:

No Visitors Beyond This Point. Thank You.

END.

Ten times better than the previous attempt and I LIKED the previous attenpt. Flows effortlessly and is funny throughout.

I thought there was going to be a play on the coins he handed over or maybe a visual?

"You don't want to be known as the brown knight do you?" I think theres room for a gag there too. Maybe he is the brown knight?

I really like this, chief.

Structurally there is perhaps something missing for me. It may be a multi-location thing whereby it feels too long for a sketch, yet it feels like it ends too suddenly.

If it were mine, I'd be tempted to split it into three and use it as a runner - certainly if I were doing my own show.

However, assuming you leave it as it is, it's still effing ace.

Thanks Craig and Rick. I do like it more than the previous incarnation, so I'm glad you both like it. Rick, I do quite like the idea for breaking it up into three runners, the changing location did bother me, so that's quite a smart and simple solution. :)

Laughing out loud
Excellent. I think the 2010 sketch competition has a winner, already.

Good juxtaposition, I liked it. Sorry, I haven't read the earlier version but this good. Agree with others that it could be split into sections.

Really funny & technically very well written.
Great stuff.

Scratchyr - I like this, it's pretty funny with some clever gags. In the negative column it could be tighter and what the hell is it about? How did the knight get there?

Quote: Godot Taxis @ April 14 2010, 11:28 PM BST

what the hell is it about? How did the knight get there?

You've caught me red handed. I have no idea what this is about, or how the knight got there. It just made me laugh when I thought of it. Does yourself and others think this is a problem? For myself I would pretty much accept any scenario as long as it made me laugh.

It doesn't affect my enjoyment of it - I think I just immediately made the assumption that he was a nutter who thought he was a knight

Quote: Rick Allden @ April 16 2010, 1:40 PM BST

It doesn't affect my enjoyment of it - I think I just immediately made the assumption that he was a nutter who thought he was a knight

Hi Rick. Thanks for the words, Although I had it in mind that he was an actual knight, the fact that you still got into thinking differently I find encouraging.
I shall not worry about it unless I change my mind and worry about it. :)

It shouldn't be a problem.
It's just a Fish out of Water type sketch. We don't need to know how he got there, just that he's there.

This was less a re-write more a new sketch for me, I take it the inspiration for this was the Knight Estate Agent sketch?

I did feel this could do with a bit of context, like Godot alluded to. It's never really established who he is trying to shore up defences against, maybe it could turn out it is just the caretaker? then there is some confrontation between them. I also wasn't that keen on the scene where they are running to the front of the castle, why would they listen to a man dressed in a knight's outfit and running around like a mad man?

I did think maybe you could have a little scene, at the beginning, where he is static amidst a medieval display then people walk up to him, noting how real he looks then he breaks from it swinging his sword at them and starts running to the castle. Just an idea.

But overall it did flow quite nicely but I would have liked more of a reason behind it all, that's why for me the Knight Estate Agent sketch had potential.

:)

Yeah the previous one explained the Knight's presence more but this one seems to have got a better reaction, so not sure what to so really. At the start the knight does mention the enemy in question ( the black knight ) but maybe this is not so easy to pick up on as I thought.

Quote: scratchyr @ April 19 2010, 1:41 PM BST

Yeah the previous one explained the Knight's presence more but this one seems to have got a better reaction, so not sure what to so really. At the start the knight does mention the enemy in question ( the black knight ) but maybe this is not so easy to pick up on as I thought.

I think it's clear enough that the black knight is after him, but maybe, for me, it needs to be closed off with a confrontation between him and his arch enemy, with the black knight actually being the big, burly, black security guard, maybe?

:)

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