The Adventure Game - The Characters

The Characters

Arg was inhabited by shapeshifting dragons known as Argonds. As a reference to this, most proper nouns in the programme, including Argond, were anagrams of the word dragon. All Argonds shifted shape within the first few minutes before the contestants arrived, most to human form to avoid scaring them.

Notable characters within the game included:

• The Rangdo, who was the ruler of planet Arg and referred to as 'Uncle' by the other Argonds. In the first series, his human form was played by Ian Messiter, who appeared as an old professor in a velvet jacket, but in later series he became one of the only Argonds not to appear as a dragon. In series 2 and 3, he became an aspidistra atop an elegant plant stand; he could move around the room and roared and shook when he was angry (the Rangdo was controlled by Kenny Baker, who was also responsible for R2-D2). Any human meeting the Rangdo had immediately to placate him with a bow or curtsey while uttering the phrase "Gronda!, Gronda!". In the last series, the Rangdo changed into a teapot instead, spouting steam when displeased.
• Darong (series 1, played by BBC newsreader Moira Stuart).
• Gnoard (series 1 - 3, played by Charmian Gradwell), whose job it was to explain the initial stages of the game to the contestants.
• Dorgan (series 4, played by Sarah Lam), who took over from Gnoard in the final season.
• Gandor (series 1 - 4, played by Chris Leaver), an ancient, half-deaf butler who took the contestants through most of the puzzles and refereed the Vortex and Drogna games. He could only hear when he was wearing his spectacles, which he continually (and conveniently) misplaced.
• Rongad (series 3 & 4, played by Bill Homewood), because he was Australian, spoke English backwards and could only understand the contestants if they did the same. His Australian accent was a mild clue to help the contestants realise he was speaking backwards. Noted for habitually singing Waltzing Matilda in reverse, and exclamations of "Doog yrev!" when the contestants did well.
• Angord (series 4, actor unknown) was an Argond who never seemed to turn into a human. He always misbehaved when Gandor and Dorgan were checking over the puzzles.
• Lesley Judd, known as the Mole (series 2), who pretended to be one of the regular contestants but was actually working against them. She had been a genuine contestant in the first series.

The look of the characters in Argond form was quite different in each of the series:

• Series 1: they looked like dragons, and each was rather distinct
• Series 2: they didn't look much like dragons, but were furry, with no tails and mask-like faces, and primarily differed in colour
• Series 3 & 4: they returned to looking like dragons, with ruffs, and were almost identical to each other

Notable contestants included Keith Chegwin, Sue Cook, astronomer Heather Couper, John Craven, Paul Darrow, Noel Edmonds, Sarah Greene, Bonnie Langford, James Burke and Richard Stilgoe.

The credits for the series listed the human characters as being played by Argonds, rather than the other way round.