King Arthur & the Knights of Justice

"King Arthur & the Knights of Justice" was a Sunday morning, syndicated cartoon series which lasted for 2 seasons (totaling 26 episodes) and was produced by Golden Films, C&D Entertainment and Bohbot Entertainment. The first episode aired on September 13, 1992 and the last episode was on December 12, 1993.

Plot

The show's premise had King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table trapped in the Cave of Glass by an enchantress named Morgan le Fay. The wizard Merlin, unable to free King Arthur and the Knights himself, searches the timeline for replacement Knights. Merlin finds the quarterback of the New York Knights football team, Arthur King, as a suitable replacement. Merlin transports Arthur King and his teammates to Camelot after one of their football games and appoints Arthur King as their leader, with his teammates as the new Knights of the Round Table. He assigns them the task of defeating Morgana and freeing the true King and Knights. The Knights are armed with special armor and are able to summon their respective creatures at any time when in battle armor. These animals, such as King Arthur's dragon, are emblazoned on their shields.

Retail items

In addition Jean Chalopin (co-founder of DiC Entertainment) Diane Eskenazi Golden Films and Avi Arad (Toy Biz CEO) were executive producers of the series. Mattel released a handful of 5 1/2" action figures and vehicles/accessories based on the show. In addition, a video game produced by Enix was also created for the Super Nintendo platform. Marvel Comics released a three part miniseries about the show.

Characters

Knights

*King Arthur - The quarterback of his football team, "The Knights", in his own time, Arthur uses his natural leadership skill in battle against the Warlords. While seeking Merlin's council at times, Arthur usually comes up with clever strategies and battle plans when needed. His full name is Arthur King.
*Sir Lancelot (Lance) - Lance is the second in command of the knights and Arthur's best friend. Fearless and brave, Lance is usually the most serious of the knights.
*Sir Trunk - The knight's strongman; he's featured heavily in the first two episodes, but after that he becomes more of a background player.
*Sir Breeze - Breeze was the big trash talker in the group. He also used a lot of slang of his time. He is a bit of an egotist but knows where his priorities lie.
*Sir Tone - Tone was the team's inventor and blacksmith. He invented many machines based on ones he's seen in his own time. This does not take away from his battling ability however. Tone's real name is Anthony.
*Sir Wally - A running back for "The Knights" football team, as a true knight his job is now to protect Arthur during attacks. Good natured, but takes it hard when he makes mistakes. Sir Brick is his best friend.
*Sir Gallop - The ladies man, Gallop constantly thinks of women.
*Sir Darren - The only one of the knights with a crossbow, Darren is the team's pretty boy. Now he has found a steady girlfriend in Lady Elaine. He is usually cool and confident on and off the battlefield.
*Sir Lug - Though originally the team's equipment manager, in Medieval times, Lug is in charge of Camelot’s squires. Lug has a low self-esteem and is usually picked on by some of the other knights.
*Sir Zeke - A certified brainiac, Zeke the least seen of the knights. His voice sounds like that of Woody Allen.
*Sir Brick - Like Wally, Brick is usually used as Arthur's bodyguard. He has unwavering loyalty to his friends, including his best friend, Wally.
*Sir Phil - One of the stronger knights of the twelve. Is very adamant of returning "to the land of cheeseburgers and fries".

Camelot characters

*Merlin – The great wizard responsible for bringing Arthur and his teammates into the past to fight the Warlords. Merlin is a great asset to the knights and uses his various spells, potions and advice to assist them when needed. He is also the only person from his time period to know Arthur and the others true identities.
*Queen Guinevere – Camelot’s queen and the real King Arthur’s wife. She was initially captured by Morgana at the show’s beginning, but rescued by Arthur King (posing as her husband), Lance and Trunk. She often wonders about the change in Arthur’s demeanor and manner of acting, unaware of the whole truth.
*Lady Elaine - Guinevere's attendant and Darren's girlfriend.
*Squire Tyronne – A squire who looks up to Sir Lug and has a strong desire to be a knight.
*Squire Everett – Like Tyrone, Everett is very passionate about being a knight.
*Lady of the Table – The protector of the knights, her spirit can be seen as the knights are being equipped with their armor and weapons.
*Lady of the Lake - The keeper of Excalibur, gives the mighty sword to Arthur King after the imprisonment of the original King Arthur in the Cave of Glass.

Warlords

*Queen Morgana – The evil sorceress responsible for sealing King Arthur and his knights into the Cave of Glass. While she is unsure where they came from, she knows the new Arthur and his set of knights are frauds. She despises Merlin and has just as much, if not more, magical prowess than him. Among other things, Morgana constructed the vicious Warlords out of stone. If the Warlords are broken or destroyed in battle, Morgana can reassemble them using her magic.
*Lord Viper – The second in command and overall field commander of the Warlords. He seems to be the only human in Morgana's army. Viper has a constant hatred for Arthur King and they have had several sword fights throughout the series. Viper's main weapon is a jagged-edge sword, but he also has a snake emblem on his armor which can attack Viper's opponent. He rides in a cart that doubles as a catapult.
*Warlord Blackwing – The third in command and Viper’s right hand man, Blackwing possesses pterodactyl-like wings and can fly allowing him to attack his enemies with the mid-air dart attacks from his talons. He is also is equipped with a pike.
*Warlord Hammer – A super strong behemoth with two hammers as weapons considered to be one of the strongest among them.
*Warlord Axe – A warlord who is not too bright, Axe has a plethora of ax weapons and an ax cart. ( also is the only warlord able to defeat King Arthur on two separate occasions).
*Warlord Bash – A primitive warlord who wields a bone club and skull shaped shield.
*Warlord Lucan – A savage wolf-like berserker warlord with sharp claws, missile attacks and a wolf-head cart that breathes fire.
*Warlord Spike – A warlord with a Kwan-Dao style weapon that can shoot projectiles and a spear cart, he also seems to be one of the smartest as he leads many missions and applies battle strategies.
*Warlord Slasher – A warlord with many sharp weapons including spears, a serrated–spiked cape and a spear cart. Also his armor could be configured into a pair of deadly gauntlets.
*Warlord Blinder – A warlord who is able to blind his opponents by striking together his two dirks. He can also throw them with perfect aim; also he is the only warlord never to speak a word in the entire series.
*Warlord Troopers - Similar looking Warlords with swords/spears and shields and spear carts.
*Lord Chang - Known as the Purple Warrior because of his armor, he leads an army of samurai-like warriors, known as the Purple Horde, who also menace the Knights in the second season. However, they are more neutral as sometimes they see the Warlords as both ally and enemy. They also hold a strict moral code of honour; such as one on one duels and repaying debt. Chang is also impressed with Arthur's taming of his dragon; as Chang's warriors are based on Asian factions, dragons are considered sacred to them.

Knights' weapons, items and vehicles

Knight's Oath

"I am King Arthur...and we are the Knights of Justice. We pledge fairness to all, to protect the weak and vanquish the evil!!!"

Each knight has at least one weapon in which Merlin can communicate with the knights with. Some knight weapons appear out of the chest plates of their armor. Other knight weapons have weapons separate from the armor and have either items or more (rarely used) weapons that appear from their armor. Each knight also has a shield with an animal pictured on them; these animals can materialize out of the shields and aid the knights. Some of the knights also ride in horse drawn carts with giant weapons, as opposed to just riding a horse.

Theme song lyrics

(Merlin speaking) And then, from the field of the future, a new king will come to save the world of the past...

:Ride through the storm, see the knights fighting evil and crime.:A modern day team of heroes in medieval times.:Arthur and the Knights of Justice putting evil down.:Ride through the storm with the knights of the Table Round.:Come on...come on!:King Arthur ride!

Episode guide

eason 1

*Opening Kick-Off
*The Search for Guinevere
*The Unbeliever
*Even Knights Have to Eat
*Assault on Castle Morgana
*Quest for Courage
*The Warlord Knight
*The Challenge
*To Save a Squire
*The Surrender
*Darren's Key
*Viper's Phantom
*The Way Back

eason 2

*A Matter of Honor
*What the Key Unlocked
*Tyronne and Everett Alone
*The Dark Side
*The Quitter
*Camelot Park
*The High Ground
*The Island
*Quest for the Book
*Enter Morgana
*The Cure
*Winter Campaign
*Tone's Triumph

External links

*imdb title|0292411
* [http://www.bknkids.com/kingarthur.shtml "King Arthur and the Knights of Justice" page] at BKN International
* [http://epguides.com/KingArthurandKnightsofJustice/ "King Arthur and the Knights of Justice: A Title & Air Dates Guide" by George Fergus] at Epguides.com
* [http://www.tv.com/king-arthur-and-the-knights-of-justice/show/10209/summary.html?q=knights%20of%20justice "King Arthur and the Knights of Justice"] at TV.com
* [http://www.flyingomelette.com/koj/kojindex.html "King Arthur and the Knights of Justice" SNES game shrine] at Flying Omelette