Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.
For the first time in over 30 years, a cult BBC classic – that many see as the main influence on Channel 4’s The Crystal Maze – has been released digitally.
The Adventure Game, first broadcast in 1980, is now available for the first time to own through the BBC Store.
The show ran until 1986, featured many well-known celebrities of the day (and some we still know) and took the idea of the popular Dungeons and Dragons game to the small screen.
Like The Crystal Maze, which started just four years after The Adventure Game ended, the show featured a number of logic puzzles, mental tasks and lovably eccentric hosts. The show was so popular it moved from Saturday mornings to early evening weekdays.
But just why are so many TV fans excited for the return of this lost classic?
‘Many light years away on the far side of the galaxy in a region often visited by time-travellers lies Arg, a small planet of little consequence.’
Its very Douglas Adams-esque opening (a tone which continues throughout the show) set the light mood and futuristic style.
We are also informed that the Argons are polite (hence why they change from their dragon-like natural forms into human form, to make us comfortable) though also have a ‘regrettable sense of humour’, which results in them stealing a crystal from the celebs’ spaceship each week (yes, an actual crystal – we’re looking at you Channel 4!).
The celebs must try to get their crystal back so they can return home, and are pitted against a series of mind games set by their hi-jinks loving hosts.
National treasure Moira Stuart played the alien presenter
A year before she became THE face of BBC News for so many years, Stuart played Darong, one of the mischievous aliens.
Oddly, when in human form, she introduced herself as ‘Moira Stuart’ to the Earthling game players. We think you’ll agree, Moira had quite the 80s fashion game going on…
Stuart is still presenting the news and can be heard every weekday on Chris Evan’s BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show.
80s celeb-fest
Oddly, the celebs involved are also time-travellers, which, we can assure you, was not the norm for stars in that particular decade. In fact, and we think we’re pretty sure in this statement, no celebs have ever time-traveled. Ever.
Regardless, it was the 80s – anything was possible. The roster of talent, all playing themselves, included such luminaries as Keith Chegwin, John Craven, Noel Edmonds, Sarah Greene, Bonnie Langford, Johnny Ball, Fern Britton and Graeme Garden, to name but a few.
Check out a clip from the very first episode below featuring the big names of the day – Elizabeth Estensen (fresh off hit sitcom The Liver Birds and now known for playing Diane Sugden in Emmerdale since 1999) and Fred Harris (presenter of classic kids’ show, Play School).
You see, real celebs. Not like the fake ones you get today.
R2-D2 played a plant pot
A character known as ‘Uncle’ transformed into an aspidistra. An angry one at that – who wasn’t too keen on humans.
This creation was controlled by actor Kenny Baker (who sadly passed away earlier this year), famous for being the lovable Star Wars droid Artoo Detoo.
Doctor Who knock-knock joke
In ep 5 of the first series, you can hear the infamous Doctor Who ‘Knock-Knock’ gag – probably its first outing on television. Probably.
The Vortex
Arg! The thing of nightmares! For kids in the 80s, The Vortex sent shivers down your spine.
This was the final task in the show, from series two onwards, and could see contestants ‘evaporated’ by the invisible Vortex on the grid. All you had to do was avoid it – see just why it was so chilling below.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
