A few weeks ago I told you about a fictional black knight driving a Toyota Yaris with half a dozen long decking boards on the roof rack, but sadly I didn't know anything more about him.
A couple of text messages revealed (inspired) a lot of information.
My Brother texted me the two words "Black Knight" with no context. I didn't know if he was talking about the Deep Purple song, the cocktail, or my fictional character. A few hours later a friend texted me to tell me that her phone had combined two diary events and she'd got the reminder "Peony and Rat Trap".
Peony and Rat Trap are clearly a puppet double act on children's TV. Like Zig and Zag for the 2020s. I'm sure that they'll introduce episodes a long-running cartoon series. Like Roland Rat introduced Transformers every week, or Sarah Green with Defenders of the Earth, or Philip Schofield and Gordon the Gopher with Cities of Gold. I don't see any children's TV, but I imagine that the "just innocent men" dog introduces a cartoon series too.
So Peony and Rat Trap are going to introduce the cartoon series "Black Knight". We know it's about a black knight who drives a Toyota Yaris with half a dozen decking boards on the roof rack. We also know the theme tune "Black Knight" by Deep Purple and we know it'll finish on the line "Black Knight is a long way from home". I expect that it'll be an anthology series with different locations and characters each week, tied together by the Black Knight on his long journey home. In 22 minutes plus commercials they'll speedrun the hero's journey with a new character each week. I imagine that the Yaris and the planks will be recurring plot devices. Either building temporary structures, bridges, and diving boards, or using them to joust non-threatening foes (puncture a bouncy castle, ring a bell loudly, frighten bats out of a tunnel etc.)
Moreover we know that Black Knight has a signature drink. On a kids cartoon it's unlikely to be a cocktail made with Irish stout and over-proof Bermuda rum. It would probably be blackcurrant juice, or depend on the sponsorship deal "Ribena".
As it's a cartoon aimed at children I see no need for an explanation of why he's wearing a suit of armour or why he's a long way from home.
Richard "The Littlest Hobo" B