Late-80s Internet thing on the BBC?
December 1, 2011 9:27 AM
What was this thing I played on BBC(?) television in the late 80s?
88-89 timeframe, my siblings and I were enthralled by this somewhat interactive... application, I guess that we got through the TV while living in England. I remember poor blocky graphics on a black background and for whatever reason a badger comes to mind when I think about it. It was menu-driven and controlled by the remote. I'm sure google knows what it is but I'm just not framing my search properly. I can't remember much else except I think it was updated weekly with stories and quizzes?
88-89 timeframe, my siblings and I were enthralled by this somewhat interactive... application, I guess that we got through the TV while living in England. I remember poor blocky graphics on a black background and for whatever reason a badger comes to mind when I think about it. It was menu-driven and controlled by the remote. I'm sure google knows what it is but I'm just not framing my search properly. I can't remember much else except I think it was updated weekly with stories and quizzes?
Also positive that it's Ceefax/Teletext.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 9:43 AM on December 1, 2011
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 9:43 AM on December 1, 2011
Oh, thank you! That's absolutely it, can't wait to dive into more reading on this.
posted by Perthuz at 9:47 AM on December 1, 2011
posted by Perthuz at 9:47 AM on December 1, 2011
Pardon the intrusion, but if this rings a bell and looks VERY familiar to anyone from their childhood but can't figure out why because you lived in the USA (and never left), you're probably thinking of Electra (which used the same protocol), especially if you (or, in my case, your grandparents) had a Zenith TV.
(I freaking LOVED this, but had completely forgotten about it.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:05 AM on December 1, 2011
(I freaking LOVED this, but had completely forgotten about it.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:05 AM on December 1, 2011
Given the 1988–1989 timeframe, you would have used Ceefax on BBC1 and BBC2 and Oracle on ITV and Channel 4. If you had satellite or cable, they had teletext services too.
I’m pretty sure the badger was featured in ‘Barney’s Bunch’ (he may have even been the eponymous Barney), a comic strip that was part of the Oracle Kids section, which ran from pages 550 to 559 on Channel 4 when I used to read it in the early 90s. The stories and quizzes you recall were probably part of the Kids section too (the quizzes made extensive use of the reveal button on the remote to display hidden content on the page). From what I can recall, page 551 was ‘Barney’s Bunch’, page 552 was a page called ‘It’s… Thursday!’ (or whatever day it was) with news etc. of interest to children, page 555 was called ‘555’ and I think had viewer letters and the like.
Oracle was replaced by the confusingly-named Teletext in 1993, which shut down in 2009. Ceefax is still available in areas with analogue terrestrial TV reception (basically London, some parts of southern England, north-east England and Northern Ireland — everywhere else digital-only now).
posted by kyten at 11:33 AM on December 1, 2011
I’m pretty sure the badger was featured in ‘Barney’s Bunch’ (he may have even been the eponymous Barney), a comic strip that was part of the Oracle Kids section, which ran from pages 550 to 559 on Channel 4 when I used to read it in the early 90s. The stories and quizzes you recall were probably part of the Kids section too (the quizzes made extensive use of the reveal button on the remote to display hidden content on the page). From what I can recall, page 551 was ‘Barney’s Bunch’, page 552 was a page called ‘It’s… Thursday!’ (or whatever day it was) with news etc. of interest to children, page 555 was called ‘555’ and I think had viewer letters and the like.
Oracle was replaced by the confusingly-named Teletext in 1993, which shut down in 2009. Ceefax is still available in areas with analogue terrestrial TV reception (basically London, some parts of southern England, north-east England and Northern Ireland — everywhere else digital-only now).
posted by kyten at 11:33 AM on December 1, 2011
I immediately thought of something similar to kyten. Certainly sounds like teletext. Another interactive part of it was Bamboozle on channel 4. But there was also newsround etc. pages on BBC Ceefax.
posted by kg at 4:05 AM on December 2, 2011
posted by kg at 4:05 AM on December 2, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Disco Moo at 9:30 AM on December 1, 2011