If you enjoyed BBC's "Micro Men", see this!

[Asmo]

Someone has uploaded their ancient VHS/Betamax recordings of BBC's "The Computer Programme" (1982) to Archive.org:


http://archive.org/s...ort=-publicdate


This is the series that was seen in "Micro Men" as the backdrop to the competition between Sinclair and Acorn to be the official BBC computer. It later became "Micro Live" but this set of 10 episodes is awesome, it's ground zero for the home computer explosion that followed (at least for those of a certain age in the UK and Ireland anyway!).


As I remember it, it was shown (or repeated) on Sunday mornings alongside "The adventure game" which was the forerunner of the "Crystal Maze" shows - also featuring computers as puzzle elements, with text adventures and later 3D mazes for the contestants.


Some surprising nostalgia in these - the sounds of those old keyboards (chunky clunks and clacks) and the solid noises of disc drive locks. The contempt for games! The really spot on predictions. The really way out predictions. Magic.


BTW - go for the larger 'cinepack' (XviD) versions, the .h264 ones have been incorrectly encoded and are jerky. The XviD ones have interlacing artefacts that could have been sorted in encoding, but your media player should have a 'de-interlace' option that fixes this on playback.

 

[craigix]

I love watching these, there were some on youtube a while ago, they not only presented highly complex (and at the time what must have seemed totally alien) things in an understandable way, but they also got really in depth in some areas, things you would never see in the MTV style presenting of these days.


The presenters just seem genuinely nice without any 'zany character', again something which is rare now.

 

[Asmo]

There's some amazing tangential stuff in them too - these were the days before budget airlines. They demonstrate an 'online' ticket booking service (looks like r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w teletext) that can't take payment but reduces the cost of getting your ticket from London to Paris to UNDER £1000!

 

[Mr_Loon]

Can't thank you enough for the heads up on this one Asmo, me & my dad are going to love watching these.


My god that was 30 years ago, how time flies...


@ Craig, couldn't agree more re the style of presentation, still get a fair bit of that sort of thing on Radio 4 but it's pretty damn rare on modern TV.

 

[moxie]

I am extremely thankful for that link - Wonderful stuff! I'm teaching, amongst other stuff, the history of computing to my students right now. This link will go straight to them

 

[the_marshal]

Thanks for the sharing the links... looks interesting. I am sure a number of people have seen the Computer chronicles (http://archive.org/details/computerchronicles). I wasn't even born in 1982, but I still find it interesting to learn about computing back in the day.


I am wandering though, the content on archieve.org is supposed to be legal. How come someone can just upload their rip of a BBC2 program. I didn't see any mention that that they had permission.


I hope (hopefully) that BBC2 probably has some better thinks to do that chasing about this kind of copyright infringement but still.

 

[Asmo]

Glad this is going to get a few views!


Don't forget to tell anyone you send there to go for the 'Cinepack' versions (actually XviDs) - the alternatives are really annoying to watch with their visual glitches.


Re: it being BBC material, sometimes stuff gets withdrawn from there alright, although there is a lot of other BBC content that has been there for some time without any problem. I'd say bag all 10 while you can!

 

[Gruntfuggly]

Great find - I'm only 10 mins in, but the nostalgia is hitting me in waves!


The computer graphics in The Adventure Game were all generated with a BBC Micro...


Oh wow! C&VG!


Finished episode 1 - can you imagine sending a self addressed envelope to get more information these days?!

 

[Tensuke]

Oh cool, I loved Micro Men, I'll be sure to check these out! Thanks Asmo!

 

[Null]

Nice find. B)

 

[Asmo]

If you want to partner these with some episodes of "The Adventure Game" to recreate one of those oddly cerebral Sunday morning/afternoons in 1982, here's a handful of preserved episodes from Youtube. Maybe you could use them to roadtest the new Youtube downloader..


(if just curious to see televised text adventure playing, see the notes for the first parts of the second two)

Spoiler

The adventure game


(delete the -- before each, added so they don't all appear as actual videos)


s01e01 (3 parts)


--

https://www.youtube.com/embed/YHycEhnweC8?feature=oembed

s01e05 (5 parts)


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt3GrUEz9_c


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRbepBKmhEk


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htiWyRc85hM


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehirkQ5r3_k


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJQ1iDzsSwY


s02e02 (5 parts)


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNf3FlP_dtk


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-xI-ibKZ4M


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBOVVYLyABA


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBPyIjinr9U


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSOLkJKfKBI


s02e03 (5 parts)


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Knh6SPuksY


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhciYUkWvds


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As6JzBfsJzQ


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blw3YV8XLno


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN1_hzv2C88


s03e03 (5 parts)


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGfzN730p8w


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOd0THRrBGk


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX-cNDr9RLs


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlM2ypNteGo


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKdjUxqKatM


s03e05 (5 parts)


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0mbbJpPc3E


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Xj1zpd_AA


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgfg7L2gkEQ


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54STat08JgQ


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKNv7KVdpVc


s04e04 (2 parts)


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bVBbzLURCY


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jxQshe_b7s


s04e01 (4 parts)


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEX9GQBTxy4


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q88PfRoWBRg


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LSuzdY03Jk


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL-Ol3QSFuc


s04e02 (4 parts)


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3Pt5AA2Ejg


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKsqED92nA4


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCBy_hyBF-U


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biANwmL8Hbs


s04e03 (4 parts)


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVilbSerklQ


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kkmu7d0LFU


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpXMtFERklQ


--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCiiUXflKns

It was quite a strange concept - the idea being literally a live action text adventure - at a time when only a handful of viewers would have ever encountered an actual computer adventure. Anyone familiar with text adventures now can see the DNA in these. At times they can bring to mind a really low budget live action Myst or Riven!


A series of logic & lateral thinking puzzles to overcome for the participants (who could 'die') so they could reach the escape point. They started in 1980 - by the time they were running alongside "The Computer Programme" in 1982 (series 3 or 4 I'd guess) they'd adopted the BBC micro as chief FX provider (!) and added a few more visual puzzles, such as pools of 'acid' to cross with limited tools, and blue-screened "mined-out" style grid bridges to freedom.


The contestants were all minor celebrities of the time, and always had one or two boffins on board so they didn't become embarassingly stuck.


EDIT: Just noticed, looks like The Computer Programme's co-presenter Chris Serle was double jobbing one weekend. Check out S03E03 Part 1 in the links above, he's one of the contestants in that episode! Dressed in casual attire and playing a selection of arcade game clones on a BBC B in the opening titles too!


Must have given Ian McNaught-Davis palpitations to see such a shocking use of silicon.


EDIT 2: Ah ha! Wouldn't you know it. S04E01, Ian McNaught-Davis turns up as a contestant himself, also dressed almost unrecognisably in his civvies too. No arcade games for him, he plays a 3D maze thing (not a game, you understand, more a 'simulation'!).

 

[Fzero]

I'm d/l all these TCP progs now just in case they are removed, just see bit of first ep and want to watch them all, I'll enjoy these on my phone when the telly is claimed for Corrie or Enders.


See there's a load of old GamesMaster progs on there too which will be fun to rerun.. Used to enjoy that show back in the day, just looking at the guests they had, such legends as John Fashanu, Eric Bristow, Pat Sharp, Tony Slattery.. Great stuff.


Just posting this one other link as also on the archive site, a program called Vitual Reality, which I know some have an interest in.


Originally broadcast in 92, demonstrating the Talking Glove, Cyberspace Project, WalkThrough..


I'm going to d/l that too


Archive.org/details/virtualreali


Plenty good viewing for that long train ride to [re]play expo

 

[sswam]

shameless plug: I hope all you BBC Micro fans will try BeebEm on Pandora...

(and let me know of any issues - or if you love it.)

I didn't exactly "port" this, just messed with the GP2X code and put it in a PND.

It could use a bit more work.

a list of some recommended games

I watched Micro Men with interest, not sure about 10 episodes but I'll have a look some time.

The Acorn User magazine was a really great magazine, I learned a lot from it!

 

[Asmo]

I just clocked that the 1983 follow-up to "The Computer Programme", called "Making the most of the Micro" has now also been added to archive.org, for your 8 bit nostalgia needs:

http://archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Amakingthemostofthemicro&sort=-publicdate

 

[Fzero]

Nice one, I'll d/l those. I watched The Computer Program eps on there and enjoyed them

Asmo I think the code behind your link there is a bit baft... Links me to top of this thread


I'll copy pasta it anyway

 

[Asmo]

Link fixed!

 

[Fzero]

I've just watched a few episodes, great stuff.

I really need to know what this tune is which is used in episode 7 "Sounds Interesting", I can't find it searching the lyrics, nothing on the episodes end credits, perhaps just a little few bars done ad-lib for this episode?

Music by David Ellis.

This is the lyrics:

He locks the door; and turns to face; his new machine.

With trembling hands; he types instructions; on the screen.

All by himself; he seems to shape; the undefined.

Man and machine; explore the future; side by side.

Anyone know this, please let it be a full tune I can d/l somewhere

Starts at 0:30 in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF53Ykr1z6c

 

[Asmo]

Can't seem to find anything about the man (David Ellis), either he was part of a group or music was only a sideline or something.. There's a few David Ellis out there, I'm guessing this one would have been in his 20s there, in 1983 - so we're looking for a year of birth around late 50s to early 60s. Don't recognise the singer, maybe these guys were BBC staff (nothing comes up in the right timeframe for the Radiophonic Workshop though..).

His hair is appropriate, it looks like a Microphone wind baffle!

 

[Asmo]

I'm drawing a blank on whether this music is a one-off for the show or if these guys actually released anything similar - I know (and have) some old soundtrack library Vinyl with a similar style, and there have a been a few artists with similar stylings more recently - try "Melody and memories" by Vector Lovers for instance, or much of Boards Of Canada's stuff.

If anyone ever does figure out who these musicians were and whether they released anything, do dig up this thread and let us know!

 

[Fzero]

Cheers Asmo, I'll check those others out.

It seems a bit too good to have just been made solely for that article introduction. Hopefully a full version will be mentioned here soon then