Anyone see Electric Dreams on BBC4

[Rocket88]

Was ok, although "dad" was a right wimp......deathtrap my arse, they should have given him a Wartburg Knight....and if you can't find second in the best gearbox Ford ever built, you should't have a licence..."mum" was obviously made of sterner stuff. On the whole, interesting I liked the nickname given to early colour TV's........cutain burners...........

[Guest]

Car to span the 80s, eh? I reckon a MK2 Cavalier or a T11 Stanza - both of them came out in 1981 though I think, just use a bit of artistic licence.

[r.welfare]

The quick "next time" update at the end of last night's show (a sort-of montage showing all the tech stuff they will be using) had a picture of a Mk2 Escort, so my money's on that.

[trigger]

I looks like it's going to be a Mk 2 Escort L Estate in terracotta from the snap i saw of it.I do agree that the man was a bit of a winey old git though and made no effort at all to drive the Cortina.And i had to laugh when the son buggered of up to town on the Chopper dressed in his 70's gear, I would of been to embarrassed to be seen in it let alone going up town with your mates dressed like it.

[Richard]

The Ford gearbox of the era is generally considered to have the best gearchange ever isn't it? I suspect he had pushed the lever into the reverse plane. People are used to much clunkier gearchanges nowadays so I can see how it would be difficult to adapt to a gearbox that does what it's told.

 

Taking the Discovery to work was obviously premeditated because it was a) there and covered in snow. I don't blame them, if he'd tried to take the Cortina out in the snow it would have got bent.

 

My son claims he saw the Binatone games console in the sitting room before they were shown taking delivery.

 

I quite enjoyed it and it was a lot better made than I expected. Usually I shout at the TV a lot during these things because they are full of clichés and urban myths but this seemed to be quite well researched. It will be interesting to see what version of the 80s they come up with, because I certainly don't remember yuppies and loads of money flying around.

[Mash]

For me the 80s programme will be pure 24 carat gold nostalgia; I have such fond memories of being a child growing up in the early 80s still with the freedom kids should still have today but don't seem to.It surprises me how lazy people my age (mid 30s) and older have become. Maybe it's because they have a thirst for the new all the time and I'm happy to make do. My parents were never all that well off when I was a kid so we never had the latest gadgets or even a car of our own. Nowadays, though I live in a modern house, I still don't have all the latest stuff. I still live quite simply really. Microwaves and DVD recorders are nice but you could probably do without them. I must admit a dishwasher is probably useful if you have a big family I suppose.Same goes for cars. The only thing I miss on my '85 Sunny is a revcounter, it has everything else it need s really. Actually on that note, someone I know has a BMW 1-series diesel and it returns exactly the same average mpg as my car. How is this progress?

[Pete-M]

Someone I know has a BMW 1-series diesel and it returns exactly the same average mpg as my car. How is this progress?

The BMW probably produces an extra 70 bhp or summat. That'll be where the progress is

[Mash]

Someone I know has a BMW 1-series diesel and it returns exactly the same average mpg as my car. How is this progress?

The BMW probably produces an extra 70 bhp or summat. That'll be where the progress is

Dunno, still feels flat as a fart to me And the suspension is rock hard too

[warren t claim]

The quick "next time" update at the end of last night's show (a sort-of montage showing all the tech stuff they will be using) had a picture of a Mk2 Escort, so my money's on that.

They should of found him a gold Alpine S with a rusty tailgate.

[warren t claim]

To give the programme genuine realism they should of rigged his TV to break down and sent a man out from Granada TV rentals to fix it. Who would turn up in a period Granada TV Viva estate.

[Richard]

It did break down but one of their white coat guys came out.We had Radio Rentals an they used to come out in an Escort Estate with green panels in the back windows.

[Richard]

We got our first colour TV in 1986.

[Mash]

"Aye, but we were 'appier back then...."

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MtKNLfh ... re=related

[AnthonyG]

The quick "next time" update at the end of last night's show (a sort-of montage showing all the tech stuff they will be using) had a picture of a Mk2 Escort, so my money's on that.

That will piss him off , same gearbox isn't it ?Maybe they will give him an nice three speed auto this time . His Discovery will definitely be giffermatic equipped - if he finds the gears in a rear wheel drive Ford hard to use.

[AnthonyG]

Vic has a Grundig "Concert Boy", presumably that's one step above.

Indeed, Grundig radios were all 'something' Boy in the late 60s / 70s - the top of the range multiband chrome and fake wood beast was named 'Yacht Boy' - actually a very good set if you find a well cared for one.Don't think there is a 'Play Boy' one though, presumably to avoid Hef's lawyers.

[mk1_4dr]

The quick "next time" update at the end of last night's show (a sort-of montage showing all the tech stuff they will be using) had a picture of a Mk2 Escort, so my money's on that.

That will piss him off , same gearbox isn't it ?Maybe they will give him an nice three speed auto this time . His Discovery will definitely be giffermatic equipped - if he finds the gears in a rear wheel drive Ford hard to use.

Nah, the 1600E should have had a 2000E rocket box (IIRC), although the type2 4speeder in RWD escorts has a cracking positive action, even if its a little brittle.

[retrogeezer]

Bumping this coz it's on again tonight....

[trigger]

Looking forwards to tonight 80's extravaganza!

[mattblack]

Saw part of the repeat of the 70's one... I thought it strange that they updated the houshold stuff year-by-year, but they still had the 1600E in '1979' when it would have been a ratty council estate snotter...

[trigger]

Another good episode night, Bought back some memory's i had forgotten about like the speak and spell and the BBC computers with the program book which you could write your own programs for.He was still moaning about the gearbox again but this time in the Escort, How can it be hard getting into 3rd?!.

[RedSparrow]

Maa! Missed it. One to watch on iplayer via stolen wireless broadband methinks.When is that 'Micro men' thing on BTW?

[retrogeezer]

it's on again tonight at 1.00am on bbc4 and the micro men thing is on Thursday...

[RedSparrow]

it's on again tonight at 1.00am on bbc4 and the micro men thing is on Thursday...

Ta!

[Guest]

Watched both of them tonight, not a bad little show.Can't believe they picked the BBC Micro over the Spectrum though, boring sods! Then again if they had done, the young lad would spend half the day using his dad's pricey stereo to pirate games for it.

[vicsmith]

That is indeed a boring choice, the only place you`d find a BBC model B would be a school classroom, I don`t remember anyone having one at home, one or two acorn electrons which I think were compatible, if some kid had drawn a particularily short straw or really liked educational software.How good is it that there are all these different Grundig "boys" out there?

[retrogeezer]

Thought it was odd that they didn't change the car all the way through either. 1980 was the very last of the Mk2 Escorts so they would at least have had a Mk3 or more than likely a Mk5 Cortina being the type of family they were.And why would you go from a 1600E Cortina to an Escort Popular (or L)I could only think that they went for the BBC Micro as it was the most similar thing to what they are used too. But the only rivalry when I was at school was Spectrum Vs Commodore 64 (or Vic 20 if funds were limited)The other massive disappointment was no BMX bikes - they were a bigger thing than computers in 82/83.It was interesting to see the social impact of the tech though and pretty much mirrored my childhood.

[seth]

That is indeed a boring choice, the only place you`d find a BBC model B would be a school classroom, I don`t remember anyone having one at home,

We had a BBC B+! The "+" bit meant that a load of games for the B wouldn't work on it. Had Revs and Elite though. My bro (whose computer it was) also got some music software and programmed in a load of Howard Jones and Jean Michelle Jarre. He has since travelled the world as a DJ so we can probably blame the Beeb for that.

[r.welfare]

I didn't know anyone who had a Model B - we had 'em at school (Granny's Garden is the game I remember most) but us kids all had Spectrums or, in my case alone it seemed, a Commodore 64. My dad was a big fan of the Epyx games though (Summer Games 1 & 2, Winter Games, World Games, California Games, you name it) so we had a few of those. Plus International Soccer, which is still the best football computer game ever.Then, of course, the 90s arrived and we all pestered our parents for Amigas...I did ROFL at the "video shop" that had under-the-counter VHS tapes. Weekend At Bernie's FTW!

[ChinaTom]

Conforming to the Shite genre, I had a Dragon 32. In fact I tried the fire the old girl up after the show for a game of Jetset Willy, maybe followed by an hour or two of Tubeway Army. But I no longer have a tape recorder.

[Louise2cv]

Anyone else think they should have used period vans to deliver the stuff? Would have been a nice touch.