THE ADVENTURE GAME
Keep The Aspidistra Flying
RELEASED OUT NOW! 1980-1986 | U | DVD/ VOD Director Patrick dowling Cast Chris Leaver, Charmian Gradwell, Moira Stuart, Bill Homewood
Back in the ’80s, the Beeb regularly opened hailing frequencies with “a small planet of little consequence” on the other side of the galaxy. Across four series, a succession of celebrities and members of the public were transported to Arg, where the dragon-like residents would set devious tests for their guests.
Playing like an interstellar mix of Dungeons & Dragons, The Crystal Maze and The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, The Adventure Game’s combination of puzzles, physical challenges and early BBC Micro computer tech makes for a surprisingly challenging game show – it’s hard to imagine many contemporary celebs subjecting themselves to the cryptic teasers thrown their way by the Argonds.
While it’s occasionally repetitive and the sets can only aspire to early-’80s Doctor Who, the show’s rewatch appeal goes beyond the average Challenge TV fodder. Like BBC Four’s Top Of The Pops reruns, it provides a fun history lesson of who was famous at the time, and is packed with enough memorable iconography – the Red Salamander, the celeb-vaporising Vortex, the ruler of Arg taking the form of an angry aspidistra – to rival the best sci-fi drama of the era. It’s also utterly charming and a hell of a lot of fun.
Every series is significantly different from its predecessor, with changes to the Argond personnel, the production design, or the format of the games. Series two inexplicably ditches the classic theme music, features Blue Peter’s Lesley Judd as a mole, and breaks the fourth wall with series creator Patrick Dowling welcoming guests to a mundane TV studio. Series three, meanwhile, is the best at merging the games with the sci-fi backstory, and boasts the legendary backwards-talking Rongad – his famous “Doogy rev” catchphrase neatly sums up the show.
Extras Gnihton.
Four of the 22 episodes were lost from the BBC archives, but two have made it to DVD courtesy of old off-air recordings.