UCP: The GamesMaster Retrospective

We have finally reached it in our timeline, as Luke and Ash revist the oft-mocked Dara O'Briain's Go 8 Bit, the TV adaptation of the successful live comedy show. Can comedians playing video games translate to TV? Let's rotate the stage and find out.

In this episode, Steve and Sam are joined by Susan Calman and David James to play Tetris, Chuckie Egg, Tekken, Star Wars Battlefront, and Bust-a-Move with Makey Makey. Plus, Ellie Gibson gives David James a t-shirt to take home which actually plays Tetris!

Check out Steve McNeil here.

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Before we dive into Dara O Briain's, Luke sits down with the original show's co-creator, Steve McNeil, to talk about the show's origins, how it developed into a TV show, and how it all fell apart.

This is a great listen if you're ever interested in the inner-workings of TV, but horrible if you're Steve McNeil and have to relive it all over again.

Check out Steve McNeil here.

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Bit of a departure this week as UCP takes a look at the lasting legacy of Jim Bo- wait, what? This isn't a repeat of Bullseye on Challenge? OH! It's from that brief period of time when they experimented with original programming!

Luke and Ash take a look at version 2.0 of Videogame Nation with an episode specifically picked to play to our strengths and interests and featuring the likes of Aoife Wilson, John Robertson, Steve Hogarty, Ellie Gibson, Jane Douglas, Dan Maher, Gav Murply and more!

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Jumping forward to 2009, and Luke and Ash walk into the living room of Charlie Brooker to enjoy his one-and-done Gameswipe special for BBC. Brooker covers - essentially - the entire video game genre and the history of the medium including its humble beginnings with Tennis For Two as well as controversial titles like Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt 2 and - of course - Night Trap.

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Sticking in Scotland for another week, Luke and Ash join Rab & Ryan as they travel from the Internet to the BBC to bring Consolevania to the small screen with videoGaiden.

These (originally) short episodes were bite-sized video game antics with reviews and sketches. These first two episodes feature reviews of Call of Cthulhu (Xbox), WWE Raw vs. SmackDown 2006 (PS2), Psychonauts (Xbox) and Suffering 2: Ties That Bind (PS2), as well as sketch appearances from Consolevania staples John Gacey and Legend, and new characters like Benny and DevCo.

It's better than a real job, eh?

Watch the episode here and here, and support Consolevania on Patreon here.

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It's time to go through the Rllmuk formus and fire up the BitTorrent, as we look to download a bit of video game history from North of the Border with Ryan Macleod and future GamesMaster host Rab Florence's Consolevania.

We jump into series 2 of the show, where the boys review Batman Begins (Xbox), Conker: Live & Reloaded (Xbox), 7 Sins (PS2) and Battlefield 2 (PC). Plus, Legend annoys people on the streets of Glasgow, Hitler does an Art Attack, John Gacy kinaps a future NXT Women's Tag Team Champion, and Reggie kills Shigsy during Nintendo's E3 conference.

Fuck off, Batman.

Watch the episode here, and support Consolevania on Patreon here.

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"People have been talking about it on the Internet saying it’s the ‘Son of GamesMaster’ but it’s a lot funnier than that" said Dominik Dimaond in a 2004 press release. "It’s so good, I’m soiling myself now just talking about it".

Dom and mates return to our TV screens for one series of When Games Attack, a comedy show about video games that is here to save viewers from the "pish" being put out by Gamezville, Bits, Thumb Bandits and Gamepad.

And in this episode, Dom counts down the top 5 video games that shouldn't be released outside of Japan, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty goes head-to-head with Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, and a Pro Evo tournament kicks off. We also get some behind the scenes on Earthworm Jim, and Dom visits a flight school in California to get shafted from behind by Johnny Ffinch.

Richard Wilcox said in that same press release, "A lot of people have very fond memories of GamesMaster and so much of that is down to [Dom]... It’s just great that the champ’s back."

Help us build future 'UCP Live!' Events here!

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We move over to the Sci-Fi channel this week, and return to former BITS gal Emily Newton Dunn for the third of the 2003 contenders to the throne. Ultimate Gamer, going by the comments left on forums from the time, was the underground best choice for video game fans on UK television.

Managing to somehow look cheaper than both Gamepad and Gamezville while at the same time having the budget to travel the world for overseas features, this end of the year wrap-up episode is a sort of 'best of' of Ultimate Gamer in 2003. There's features on XIII and NBA Jam, reviews of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and Tony Hawk's Underground, and previews of the big games of 2004 including Conker: Live and Reloaded (which eventually came out in 2005).

Help us build future 'UCP Live!' Events here!

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Theme song by Other Chris

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Whilst our focus thus far has been on those programmes vying for GamesMaster's crown and audience we would be remiss if we didn't skip back a bit to March 1993 and revisit the *other* reason gamers tuned in to Channel 4 throughout the 90s. 

Originally discussed back in series 3 and now in it's 30th year, it's time to take another look at Digitiser and talk once more with one of it's creators Paul Rose aka Mr. Biffo.

We chat about the end of Digitiser (and its rebirth), Sooty, Found Footage, Marillion and more.

Digitiser is celebrating its 30th Anniversary with a 2-day event July 28th/29th at Harrow Art Centre.

You can get tickets for night 1 here:

https://harrowarts.com/whats-on/event/an-evening-with-mr-biffo 

And night 2 here:

https://harrowarts.com/whats-on/event/digitiser-live-3-0

Help us build future 'UCP Live!' Events here!

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Theme song by Other Chris

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If gaming is in your blood, then this show is some sort of organ! I tell you what listeners, Jamie and Daz are our hosts for a show that contains not one, not two, not three but FOUR challenges... all on Group S Challenge (Xbox). 

I tell you what though, not only that but it contains 'reviews' of WRC3 (PS2), Scooby Doo Mystery Mayhem (GBA) and Prince of Persia Sands of Time (PC)! We're also reminded that in 2003: Halo is everything, Chrome (PC) used to be something other than a web browser, that people still need to back up their phones sim cards, and that someone thought playing a PS2 in a back of a car was a good idea. The Games Guru also makes multiple appearances to insult the public, throw out cheats, and give a mixture of gaming history and pure idle speculation.

Dominik Diamond once compared this show to eating your own shit, and I tell you what, this is definitely a show that needs to fill its hours runtime.

Help us build future 'UCP Live!' Events here!

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Theme song by Other Chris

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