Date   : Sun, 11 Sep 2005 11:56:39 +0100
From   : "Ian Wolstenholme" <BBCMailingList@...>
Subject: Re: BBC Micros used for Doctor Who

There is also the sequence in the "Terror of the Vervoids" segment of
the Trial of a Time Lord with the robot aliens playing a video game
against each other which looks suspiciously like an old Acornsoft
favourite.

Every time the Peter Davison/Colin Baker TARDIS was required to do
anything involving "thinking", it was usually a long programme being
LISTed up a monitor screen on the TARDIS console.

In "The Five Doctors", when Colonel Crichton receives a message from
the staff sergeant that the Second Doctor has arrived, the sound of the
messaging system is the familiar brrrr-beep of a BBC B!

Best wishes,


Ian

----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Gellman
To:  BBC Micro Mailing List <bbc-micro@...>
Sent: Fri, 09 Sep 2005 22:34:25 +0100
Subject: [BBC-Micro] BBC Micros used for Doctor Who

Hi,

You may or may not be aware, but the BBC Micro was used quite
extensively for computer graphics during the 1980s on Doctor Who (The
Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy eras).

The attached JPG shows a BASIC program on the TARDIS's computer screen,
no doubt with "RUN" typed and ready for the RETURN key. It proceeded to
draw a 4x4 grid in what appears to be MODE 1. Sadly, whoever they got to
do this graphic sequences nearly always forgot to turn the cursor off
with VDU 23,1,0;0;0;.

If you look closely at the JPG, you can (just) make out a couple of VDU
19 statements, and few ENDPROCs here and there.

Other sequences I've come across:

Castrovalva - Peter Davison - TARDIS manual displayed used MODE 7, with
"TARDIS" written in graphics characters.
The Five Doctors - Peter Davison - Front elevation of tower drawn
(slowly) in MODE 2. Very wide asterisks in flashing colours used to show
positions of various people.
The Twin Dilemma - Colin Baker - Programming work done by twins is a
sequence of graphics characters in various colours in MODE 7.
Resurrection Of The Daleks - Peter Davison - Time Vortex is drawn using
colour cycling in MODE 2.
Time And The Rani - Sylvester McCoy - Computer writing overlayed onto
actual video. Writing is in "alien", but is clearly MODE 1 characters
reprogrammed using VDU 23 (again, forgot to turn off the cursor).
Attack Of The Cybermen - Colin Baker - See above :)

In the 1980s, no doubt this would have looked very impressive - these
days it looks a little outdated for a time machine invented by a race of
timelords who had worked out teleportation "when the universe was less
than half its present age". (Quote from Genesis Of The Daleks (Tom Baker)).

-- Richard