Bad Influence!: Difference between revisions
m rvv; tweaks |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 19: | Line 19: | ||
[[Image:NamRood.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Cheats expert "Nam Rood"]] |
[[Image:NamRood.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Cheats expert "Nam Rood"]] |
||
''Bad Influence!'' started during the |
''Bad Influence!'' started during the 16 bit-era, featuring reviews, the latest hardware news, and in-depth looks at gaming issues and new computer technology. The series ran long enough to feature the launch of Nintendo 64 (then called the Ultra 64) in its final series. The show was originally presented by [[Violet Berlin]] and former CBBC presenter [[Andy Crane]] in the studio, and Z Wright in the US. They were also joined by a character called [[Nam Rood]] ("Door Man" spelt backwards), a crazy cheat expert who lived in a shed outside the studio and then later in the basement (in Series 3). He would give viewers cheats for the video games occasionally (but not always) featured on the show by sticking them to his head. He would always greet viewers with the phrase "slimy furtlers" or "scrotty furtlers", the term "furtlers" equating to the term "techies".<ref>[http://www.bad-influence.co.uk/presenters.htm Bad Influence! : Violet Berlin, Andy Crane, et al.<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
||
By Series 4, the final series, Berlin presented global reports (replacing Z Wright) and was also granted her own slot, called Virtual Violet. Meanwhile, Crane was joined by new co-presenter Sonya Saul back in the studio. |
By Series 4, the final series, Berlin presented global reports (replacing Z Wright) and was also granted her own slot, called Virtual Violet. Meanwhile, Crane was joined by new co-presenter Sonya Saul back in the studio. |
||
Revision as of 11:48, 18 February 2011
| Bad Influence! | |
|---|---|
| File:BadInfluence.jpg Presenter Violet Berlin | |
| Starring | Violet Berlin Andy Crane Andy Wear (as Nam Rood, series 1-3) Z Wright (series 1-3) Sonya Saul (Series 4) |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 57 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Yorkshire Television |
| Running time | 20 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV/CITV |
| Release | 29 October 1992 – 2 January 1996 |
Bad Influence! was an early to mid-1990s British factual television programme broadcast on CITV between 1992 and 1996. It looked at video games and computer technology, and was described as a "kid’s Tomorrow's World"[1]. It was shown on Thursday afternoons and had a run of four series of between 13 and 15 shows, of twenty minutes duration. For at least two of the four series, it had the highest ratings of any CITV programme at the time. Its working title was Deep Techies.[2], a colloquial term derived from 'techies' basically meaning technology-obsessed individuals.
Format
Bad Influence! started during the 16 bit-era, featuring reviews, the latest hardware news, and in-depth looks at gaming issues and new computer technology. The series ran long enough to feature the launch of Nintendo 64 (then called the Ultra 64) in its final series. The show was originally presented by Violet Berlin and former CBBC presenter Andy Crane in the studio, and Z Wright in the US. They were also joined by a character called Nam Rood ("Door Man" spelt backwards), a crazy cheat expert who lived in a shed outside the studio and then later in the basement (in Series 3). He would give viewers cheats for the video games occasionally (but not always) featured on the show by sticking them to his head. He would always greet viewers with the phrase "slimy furtlers" or "scrotty furtlers", the term "furtlers" equating to the term "techies".[3]
By Series 4, the final series, Berlin presented global reports (replacing Z Wright) and was also granted her own slot, called Virtual Violet. Meanwhile, Crane was joined by new co-presenter Sonya Saul back in the studio.
At the end of the programme (until series 3), viewers were encouraged to record the "Datablast", a number of pages of game articles and information that were flashed rapidly onto the screen during the credits, using a Commodore Amiga. Viewers could then read the pages by replaying it in slow motion on their video player. In the third series, the Datablast only occurred in the final episode, before being discarded completely by the 4th run.
During the first series a spin-off Bad Influence! magazine was launched by Europress, but only two editions were ever published.
The production company behind the programme was the now defunct Yorkshire Television in Leeds.
As part of a report for a programme in Series 2, Berlin was included as a character in the Mega Drive game Micro Machines 2. She was also included in another video game in Series 4. In the final edition, Berlin, Crane and Saul all presented together in the studio, the only time this ever occurred.
The programme was also noted for its use of local teenagers to review the video games. Some of these teenagers appeared in one or more of the series but a small number of them appeared in all four series.
The show was revamped in Series 3 and given a new set of titles which featured mock character visuals from the mega flop video game Rise of the Robots. Essentially though, the format was the same.
Shortly after the 4th series ended, a report on the now defunct television information service Teletext reported that plans were afoot to downgrade Bad Influence in Series 5 and aim it more at younger viewers. However these plans were never implemented, and a fifth series was not commissioned. Some felt this was due to falling ratings in Series 4, but it is more likely because CITV was at the time, increasingly targeting younger viewers as teenage viewers, the target audience for Bad Influence!, were no longer watching CITV, according to recent research.
Episodes
| Series | Number of episodes |
|---|---|
| Series 1 | 13 |
| Series 2 | 15 |
| Series 3 | 15 |
| Series 4 | 14 |
See also
References
- ^ Violet Berlin Website 2008
- ^ BUZZ!, a now-defunct video games magazine on ORACLE
- ^ Bad Influence! : Violet Berlin, Andy Crane, et al.