The UK used to have some crazy TV shows featuring video games. One of those was Time Commanders, a program that basically got two teams of three to play historical battles in Rome: Total War.
It aired for a couple of seasons in 2003 and 2005. But it’s coming back, according to a casting call on the BBC website.
If you never saw Time Commanders before, it was basically nerds playing battles in Rome: Total War while historians talked about the actual history of the battle. It’s all a little bit silly, as video games on television often are.
The idea, however, was pretty neat. And according to this BBC Four casting page, it’s coming back. “Are you an armchair general who could lead a team to victory,” the page says. “Do you have the tactics to outwit the strategic advances of the opposition to command an empire?”
The format will be similar to before, with two teams of three facing off against each other. Australians probably won’t be able to take part, probably because no network in Australia would ever greenlight this sort of show. Hell, Australian TV doesn’t even have the sense to bring A*MAZING back.
But the landing page doesn’t expressly say that an Australian or two couldn’t be flown over for the series. The closing date is September 1, and you can call, email or even send a snail mail to find out more.
Random question: what video game-themed shows would you like to see brought back to TV? Or do you just rely on Twitch for that sort of coverage now?
Leave a Reply