Bad to the Bone

Archaeology chat with the Bonekickers team from Wessex University

Soft We're Not

PART ONE

In 1984, two years after the launch of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum home computer, the BBC's commercial arm BBC Enterprises decided to capitalise on the British software boom by creating their own label; BBC Software.

The idea was simple. The BBC would release games based on its most popular programmes; Bergerac, All Creatures Great and Small, 'Allo 'Allo!, Doctor Who, Match of the Day and many more but the company was not a success. After poor sales and much controversy BBC Software was wound up in 1986.

The first wave of releases consisted of three games; The Borgias, an uninspiring platform game; Match of the Day; and The World at War.


The World at War was an acclaimed documentary series originally made in 1973 for Thames television but now owned by the BBC. The game placed the player in the role of Winston Churchill with a long and dangerous journey ahead of him to victory in Berlin (Click the screenshot above for a larger view).

Priced at £9.99, at a time when most games retailed for £5.95, sales of all three titles were poor. The range had not got off to a good start.

Boom Bang-a-Bang

One unanswered question from Journey's End ,the last episode of Doctor Who series four, is where did all the fireworks come from to celebrate the Earth's return? This secret memo cracked using Unit Security Code Green reveals all.


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"TOP SECRET... EYES ONLY... OSTERHAGEN KEY OPERATION MANUAL

The following check must be carried out every sixty minutes by Duty Officer Osterhagen Station One (DOOS1)

PHASE ONE:
IS THE EARTH DOOMED?
YES (PROCEED TO PHASE TWO)
NO (PROCEED TO PHASE THREE)

PHASE TWO:
A:INSERT OSTERHAGEN KEY INTO CONTROL PANEL
B:SET SWITCH TO 'DOOMED' POSITION
C:PRESS GO BUTTON

A chain of twenty five (25) nuclear warheads placed in strategic locations beneath the Earth's crust will detonate destroying the planet

PHASE THREE:
IS THE EARTH SAVED?
YES (PROCEED TO PHASE FOUR)
NO (PROCEED TO PHASE FIVE)

PHASE FOUR:
A:INSERT OSTERHAGEN KEY INTO CONTROL PANEL
B:SET SWITCH TO 'SAVED' POSITION
C:PRESS GO BUTTON

A chain of fireworks installed in strategic national landmarks will detonate allowing instant celebrations

PHASE FIVE:
RESUME MONITORING
WAIT ONE HOUR
ASSESS EARTH'S RELATIVE DOOMED/SAVED STATUS
RETURN TO PHASE ONE

MESSAGE ENDS

PS: Watch out for Krynoids in the cabbage patch.

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