Echoes from Bits gone before

Was talking with my gamer friend at work, as we do. He'd been watching a series on BBC called Virtual Revolution, presented by Dr Aleks Krotoski. Gotta admit, I didn't watch this one apart from catching the lovely Aleks on screen on mute (iTunes had taken over) as the program after the Olympics coverage finished.

It made us remember though ... We'd seen this bright spark before somewhere ...

There's been a succession of programmes that have attempted to bring computer games to the telly. The most successful over here is probably Gamesmaster. It had the budget, it had the early evening slot but it ... I dunno ... had something missing. I think it missed out the most important thing about gaming and that's "HAVE FUN!". Maybe it was the presenter giving the impression that he was a pretender who knew nothing, gamers are a savvy lot with spotting an interloper. Gamesmaster isn't the only one and I probably only remember it because it was pushed so hard. There was another, on the late night ITV reel, which had a computerised voice on top of game footage. Can't even remember the name of that one.

Yep, I think they forgot the most important aspect of gaming and instead just focused on trying to sell stuff. Bit like Gadget Show suffers now, the presenters on there feel like doorstep salespeople. That's a bit unfair on Suzi Perry maybe but I think it applies to the others. New Gadget out ? Buy it now ! Do you need it ? No - buy it anyway !

Heh heh heh - that's enough about the people who have gotten it wrong. How about those that got it so incredibly right ?

1999 to 2002 saw the run of a program called Bits. It was on late night on a Friday and was all about gaming. Any gaming, whether it be on console or PC. The stars of the show were the games, shown off admirably by 3 lovely ladies who my friend and I will always know as the Bits Girls.

There was Dr Aleks Krotoski, mentioned above. There was the sexy psycho Emily Booth who replaced Claudia Trimde. And finally we had the absolutely stunning Emily Newton-Dunn. Sexy, scary and downright naughty. The normal set resembled a student type flat (like my place!), placing them in the world of the typical gamer. They showed how games should be, harmless fun with your mates. They also broke one gamer mould, by showing that Girls Play Games Too.

(And most girls will kick your arse in games too)

This was a case of a fantastic show sneaking in under the radar, showing what could be done by intelligent, fun, creative people let off the leash. Because it was buried in late night, watershed wasn't an issue so they could talk plainly about all games including the blood and gore sector. The brief must have been : Go out there, talk intelligently about games, make them sexy but most of all, make it FUN. I think that's another reason this show was so good. Despite all efforts to the contrary from other shows, they proved that it is actually possible to talk intelligently about games.

Did it work ? Most of the games they reviewed were console, so they were outside what I'd be interested in. However, their review of Jagged Alliance 2 made me aware of one of the best strategy games for the PC that I've had the privilege of playing.

They definitely succeeded with including the audience with the fun and it's a testament that us Gamer Geeks still remember them 10 years on. Where are they now ? Dr Aleks is still very involved in the media, Emily B is going for Horror acting, not sure about Emily Newton-Dunn. Ah ha ! A little hunt later, here's Emily Newton-Dunn in a Gamespy interview talking Burnout Revenge. That video will show why we went nuts for Bits, the girls combined Huge Fun with professionalism and most important of all, intelligence. Lol - it also helped that they look great :-)

Bits - for gamers by gamers. We'll never see its like on our screens again, which will be a massive shame.

Woo hoo ! Maybe not - here's a link to an early Bits episode from Youtube.

Closing out, whenever I think Bits there is always one scene that comes to mind. Games are fun : "that is the way of theeengs" (followed by fade-out and laughter!)
Thank you Emily, Emily, Claudia and Aleks !