tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591229843590982581.post8530445854882192295..comments2024-03-22T06:21:16.897-07:00Comments on JJ's Wargames: Time Commanders, BBC Four - "It's Wargames Jim, but not as we know it!"carojonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11826580638291659193noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591229843590982581.post-78051269722887954272017-01-23T13:41:49.015-08:002017-01-23T13:41:49.015-08:00This show was not for me. In this age of advanced ...This show was not for me. In this age of advanced graphics, it was a poor offering and missed the opportunity to bring history to life.<br />Forty year old Battleground (all on Youtube) would knock it into a cocked hat and it even made Game of War look good.<br />I wonder how many people the show managed to put off looking at wargames again. Hopefully it will not make the cut for a second series.<br /><br />VinceVincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03691369848035290908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591229843590982581.post-35209889463562492442017-01-23T07:14:59.617-08:002017-01-23T07:14:59.617-08:00Bugged me as well, especially the Waterloo episode...Bugged me as well, especially the Waterloo episode, Michael Bentine's Potty Time version was much more educational in my opinion, well apart from Blucher arriving in tanks if I remember correctly.<br />Annoyed me that they announced the French cuirassiers with a picture of a carabinier but hey ho.<br />Thought the brit commander was doing ok at one stage using her cavalry to push the french cavalry onto her infantry squares but then as JJ says it just developed into a mass scrum with everybody lobbed in.<br />All in all a bit of a mess of a series aimed at I'm not sure what audience.Tony Mileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03046365128769273868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591229843590982581.post-77637441759352057312017-01-21T13:41:34.724-08:002017-01-21T13:41:34.724-08:00I ended up just watching the programmes as enterta...I ended up just watching the programmes as entertainment and gave up on the third show. Unless we missed a lot of the per-programme briefing to the teams they were pathetically uninformed (probably deliberately) and the actual 'action shots' of the games were patchy and confusing. Not the best advert for the hobby.<br />If I were the commissioning editor I'd go for teams that had a better idea of history (perhaps professionals against wargamers) and show the battle using actual figures and scenery with stop motion filming, explaining what the teams intentions were supposed to be. Probably more expensive, but would it work? <br />joppyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06334867727613848852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591229843590982581.post-17191347305482914232017-01-21T06:39:55.769-08:002017-01-21T06:39:55.769-08:00You rightly highlight the central issue - it's...You rightly highlight the central issue - it's just a "show" rather than any genuine attempt at historical interpretation or education. That was apparent from the outset by the choice of presenters and "experts" - presumably the BBC's extensive stable of "real" historians either turned it down or weren't considered bizarre/extreme enough for the producers' "vision". I've no experience of computer-based wargaming so the graphics looked very artificial and didn't impress me in the slightest - given the BBC's budget limitations, well-painted figures and realistic terrain (as in Battleground) would have been a better option but that is too old-fashioned and simplistic to ever happen. I agree the weapons demonstrations were the most interesting bits (faint praise!) but they are commonplace in so many other programmes. Not sure what the point was - not much to do with history or gaming - although it might have sold a few more copies of Total War? Jeremy Ramseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12250118143994161913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591229843590982581.post-18976891076930984702017-01-21T06:39:18.651-08:002017-01-21T06:39:18.651-08:00I've picked away at this scab a couple of time...I've picked away at this scab a couple of times on my blog. It comes to something when the best thing about the 'show' was Greg Wallace! who attempted to inject some life into the event by his enthusiastic capering and shouting. One couldn't even call it fun, because frankly it was a complete wasted effort. Waterloo for me was the worst of the three programmes. Did the French team ever deploy their artillery during the battle by the way. If they did I must have missed that, but to be fair I was viewing it from behind a cushion, I was that embarrassed. It would maybe have made a better programme if they had actually explained in some detail how the commanders and their men actually fought, thereby allowing the teams to at least have some understanding, and maybe have imparted some knowledge on the viewing public at the same time. All ten of them by the end of the series I suspect. Independentwargamesgrouphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07019172667119107650noreply@blogger.com