Spectrums on the TV and/or in movies?

Hi,

I've seen a number of threads on these forums about Spectrum sound being used on TV, but does anyone know of any films or TV programmes that actually had a Spectrum visible on screen?

Other home computers of the time appear here and there (mostly BBC micros, perhaps because of BBC bias?).

Thanks.
Post edited by jamesfcarter on
«1

Comments

  • LCDLCD
    edited November 2008
    I saw two of them:
    "Terminus", a rare french SF Movie where the Spectrum is used in one scene as wireless communication terminal (I like the soundtrack from this movie)
    "Peng! du bist tot", a german crime/hacker TV movie, there the Spectrum was put on a Robot, which was very intelligent by the way.
    I wonder if BBC used Spectrum (or Acorns) in Doctor Who episodes. Haven't see any...
  • edited November 2008
    LCD wrote: »
    I saw two of them:
    "Terminus", a rare french SF Movie where the Spectrum is used in one scene as wireless communication terminal (I like the soundtrack from this movie)
    "Peng! du bist tot", a german crime/hacker TV movie, there the Spectrum was put on a Robot, which was very intelligent by the way.

    Wow! They're pretty obscure - well done for spotting those!
    LCD wrote: »
    I wonder if BBC used Spectrum (or Acorns) in Doctor Who episodes. Haven't see any...

    I believe they used Acorns - the Tardis used a BBC micro keyboard for a while I think, although this is from memory - I've not watched any eighties vintage Dr Who since, well, the eighties!
  • edited November 2008
    LCD wrote: »
    I wonder if BBC used Spectrum (or Acorns) in Doctor Who episodes. Haven't see any...

    Acorns all the way. In The Five Doctors the TARDIS console has various BBC-Micro-drawn computer graphics, and in The Caves of Androzani the chief baddie runs his entire operation from a Beeb.
  • edited November 2008
    Acorns all the way. In The Five Doctors the TARDIS console has various BBC-Micro-drawn computer graphics, and in The Caves of Androzani the chief baddie runs his entire operation from a Beeb.

    Yes, I saw those stories a while back. I remember seeing the Beeb.

    Also remember seing the Beeb a lot in "The Adventure Game".

    As for the speccy, this probably isn't what the original question meant, but of course we have "Micro Live" and similar programmes.

    It's probably already been posted on WoS, but how funky is this?

  • edited November 2008
    There's a foreign 80s comedy film I remember and I'm sure it was called "The Sex Project". I remember distinctly it having speccy graphics for computer images.

    I just can't find any reference to the film on IMDB though :(
  • edited November 2008
    rai, italian national tv, used spectrums for the graphics on the "giro d'italia" commentary in 1985 or so.
  • edited November 2008
    Hi,
    I've seen a number of threads on these forums about Spectrum sound being used on TV, but does anyone know of any films or TV programmes that actually had a Spectrum visible on screen?
    Thanks.

    Some effect from ZX Spectrum were taken, in "Seksmisja" SF comedy in 80s.
    Also effects from ZX appeared (like I wrote some time ago) in videclips of electronic music artist - Marek Bilinski (known for ZX fans from many AY covers of his song, in demos), also in 80s.
    Spectrum itself seems to appear in one of mentioned videoclips, but it's in "developer case" with huge keyboard.

    Links on YouTube available if anyone's interested.
    ZX Spectrum 48K BEEPER Music:
    http://mister_beep.republika.pl/
  • edited November 2008
    Some effect from ZX Spectrum were taken, in "Seksmisja" SF comedy in 80s.
    There's a foreign 80s comedy film I remember and I'm sure it was called "The Sex Project".

    I wonder if these are not one and the same: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088083/

    I'll check out the Youtube videos, thanks!
  • edited November 2008
    Nathan Barley episode 5 - 4:07 in

    Technically a Polanski.
  • edited November 2008
    There's a splendid shortfilm called "La Puerta de Sinclair" ('The Sinclair Gate'), by Akton Films. Just watch it...
  • edited November 2008
    Here is the screenshot from "Seksmisja" film showing Zx Spectrum in action

    http://sergei-d.livejournal.com/126162.html

    But is it really Zx Spectrum??? These color pallette doesn't look like Spectrum for me
  • edited November 2008
    I wonder if these are not one and the same: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088083/

    I'll check out the Youtube videos, thanks!

    Holy fuck! That's the one! WOOHOO!!!
  • edited November 2008
    Ralf wrote: »
    Here is the screenshot from "Seksmisja" film showing Zx Spectrum in action

    http://sergei-d.livejournal.com/126162.html

    But is it really Zx Spectrum??? These color pallette doesn't look like Spectrum for me

    Looks fine to me. It's probably because of background lighting, the TV screen's settings and also how well the camera picked up the image from the TV screen.
  • edited November 2008
    I wonder if these are not one and the same: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088083/
    I'll check out the Youtube videos, thanks!

    Yes, yes - exactly the same.

    I found it.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERfUNVVoFjE

    ZX effect starts on time 8:49. And they're rather short, heh. ;)

    Before & later there are effects from some old PC XT, I suspect.

    Today the movie is classic of comedy in our country.
    ZX Spectrum 48K BEEPER Music:
    http://mister_beep.republika.pl/
  • edited November 2008
    Ralf wrote: »
    Here is the screenshot from "Seksmisja" film showing Zx Spectrum in action
    http://sergei-d.livejournal.com/126162.html
    But is it really Zx Spectrum??? These color pallette doesn't look like Spectrum for me

    Yes, it's Spectrum.
    It's not really palette - it's filmed from monitor so it makes changes in vision. Light from movie crew and stuff... Also there were weird inventions in that time, some green monitors and other colors...
    Also the screen can be displayed from some our ZX Spectrum (sometimes colors were not exactly the same like original ones) like Junior or Unipolbrit.

    But for me it's simply taking shot from glass of monitor. Also you can get this effect by shoting your tv screen with your camera, you know.

    Greetings!
    ZX Spectrum 48K BEEPER Music:
    http://mister_beep.republika.pl/
  • edited November 2008
    ZX effect starts on time 8:49. And they're rather short, heh. ;)


    It's a shame that the Spectrum itself isn't actually visible. That's what I'm after! :smile:
  • edited November 2008
    In the electronic music video-clip I mentioned before ( http://patrz.pl/filmy/id/357661 ) there are mostly visible Commodore 16 and Commodore VIC-20, however:

    - on time 0:41 there is visible a printout from ZX-Printer.

    - on 1:31 there is a monitor visible and seems like they shown C=16 but screen comes from ZX Spectrum (somewhere under f*cking table or what??)

    - on 1:50 some ZX game

    - 1:54 - also ZX game

    - 2:20 - as above

    - 2:30 - as above

    - 2:40 - as above

    - 2:51 (you can guess ;) )

    - 3:03

    That's all. So it's still not the required thing.......
    So the ZX itself must be in the second one videoclip. Hm.
    ZX Spectrum 48K BEEPER Music:
    http://mister_beep.republika.pl/
  • edited November 2008
    So - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yObk06-EeUg
    Marek Bilinski - "Ucieczka z tropiku"

    Among visible ZX Spectrum games and programs, there is some...... machine.
    Time 0:42.
    It could be mentioned before ZX Spectrum put in case for developers, with stronger keyboard and so on. Maybe anybody can recognize it and confirm or deny.

    Well, that's all from me on this subject.
    Regards.
    ZX Spectrum 48K BEEPER Music:
    http://mister_beep.republika.pl/
  • edited November 2008
  • edited November 2008
    Lord Muck wrote: »

    Nice one! And I notice this in the comments, from 'rupertgo':
    Oh blimey - that's me in the orange jumpsuit behind the Spectrum! You haven't got the whole segment, have you?

    Rupert Goodwins, by any chance? I think it is. Another one for Geoff's "it's a small world" files...
  • LCDLCD
    edited November 2008
    I Found it!
    "Peng! Du bist tot!": Germany, 1986:
    http://en.sevenload.com/videos/h7zCh9p-Peng-Du-bist-tot-1-3
    It won the prize as best german movie in 1987 (reference: http://wapedia.mobi/de/Peng!_Du_bist_tot)
    Time index:
    29:45
    A Rubber-key Sinclair ZX Spectrum!!!
    This was AFAIK never aired outside germany, so it is very exclusive material (Oh yes, and the Roboter like naked woman, as you will see later... This is the ultimate evidence that Spectrum is not gay, even with the rainbow on its side).
  • edited April 2009
    I've stumbled across a web site specialising in pinball machines and video games in movies, but it does cover some computer as well. They mention an appearance of a Spectrum in Spanish film called "El orfanato" (http://www.tepg.se/showtitle.php?id=385).

    There's also a ZX81, if anyone's interested, in an episode of the TV show "Whiz Kids" (http://www.tepg.se/showtitle.php?id=216).
  • edited April 2009
    Wasn't there a Speccy display featured in an episode of Blake's 7? Or am I thinking of a BBC Micro, maybe?

    (The famous speed-chess sequence from "Gambit")
  • edited June 2009
    How To Lose Friends And Alienate People - on the floor as the boy watches TV at the beginning of the film.
  • edited June 2009
    "The Likes and Loves of a She-Devil" (I think that was the title) - on one of the early episodes, the son is playing Chequered Flag on a Spectrum.
  • edited June 2009
    There's a Spectrum in 2D's room on the Gorillaz "Celebrity Take Down" DVD.

    There are Spectrum keys floating through outer space in the trailers for the Kiddy Grade sci-fi anime series - although I've not noticed any Speccy link in the episodes themselves.
  • edited June 2009
    Hopefully someone (Greencard?) will come up with a nice YouTube clip with a compilation of all these things. :grin:
  • edited December 2010
    There's also a ZX81, if anyone's interested, in an episode of the TV show "Whiz Kids"
    A ZX81 is the control computer for the timeship in Another Flip for Dominick (sequel to The Flipside of Dominick Hide). 8:52 into http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t6i_gofmO0
    LCD wrote: »
    "Peng! Du bist tot!": Germany, 1986:
    http://en.sevenload.com/videos/h7zCh9p-Peng-Du-bist-tot-1-3
    ...
    This was AFAIK never aired outside germany
    Same procedure as last year, madam?
  • edited December 2010
    Not the speccy but I know there was a scene in 'Brookside' when Gordon got a ZX81 and him and his dad were unpacking it excitedly. I remember it particularly because I'd just got ZX81 around the same time it was on. Tried to find it on youtube but it's not there.
  • edited December 2010
    Ahem, Vic 20 at 53 and 1.09...etc

Sign In or Register to comment.