The adventure game bbc2

Ad — content continues below. The Adventure Game began life in May and ran for a mere 22 episodes until the lights went down on Arg for the final time in February It was one of those rare TV phenomena that not only attracted a healthy audience of kids but also won a huge adult following. Dowling needed an educational programme for kids to replace Vision On , a show which he had been working on for the previous ten years.

The birth of The Adventure Game was the result of a mix of popular cultural elements that were prominent during the late 70s and early 80s. In the computer game players progressed through different areas by solving tasks and deciphering clues. This was to be a huge influence to the dynamics and seemingly the name of The Adventure Game. So much so that he even approached Adams with the basic idea for The Adventure Game in the hope that he would write it. Dowling decided to write it himself, combining all the elements described.

The concept for the show was simple; drop three celebrity contestants into a surreal set of situations with mind-boggling puzzles to solve, and let them figure their way out. Helping and often hindering them on their way was a series of regular Argon characters, each with their own larger than life quirks and mannerisms.

And, as quick witted viewers soon pointed out, with a name that was an anagram of Dragon. Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!

There was Gandor the Butler, who played Chris Leaver in the show the dragons were credited as playing humans in the end scroll. You may remember he used an ear trumpet to help him see, and wore glasses to help him hear. Gandor would referee many of the games, as well as give the contestant helpful little prods in the right direction when flummoxed celebs were eating into valuable filming time. In the first series Darong was played by actress Moira Stuart, who, of course, later became a BBC newsreader being a transmorphic alien probably explains why she never seemed to age.

Then there was Rongad who played Bill Homewood. He could only communicate by talking backwards and could only understand contestants when they did the same. Lesley Judd, who was a contestant in the first series returned in series two onwards as The Mole. But to find the crystal they must Read all Three people are stranded on a planet on the far side of the galaxy.

But to find the crystal they must navigate their way through a series of practical and mental problems, devised by a fiendi But to find the crystal they must navigate their way through a series of practical and mental problems, devised by a fiendish alien intelligence.

Creator Patrick Dowling. Top credits Creator Patrick Dowling. See more at IMDbPro. Episodes Browse episodes. Top Top-rated. Photos Add photo. Top cast Edit. Christopher Leaver Gandor as Gandor. Charmian Gradwell Gnoard as Gnoard.

Bill Homewood Rongad as Rongad …. Sarah Lam Dorgan as Dorgan. Moira Stuart Darong as Darong. Johnny Ball Self as Self. Barbara Lott Self as Self. Liz Hobbs Self as Self. James Burke Self as Self. Pat Cater Self as Self. Denise Coffey Self as Self. Patrick Dowling. Said vortex would never walk into the contestant, but the contestant was always at risk of walking into the vortex.

Only by logic, guesswork, and the occasional use of green cheese rolls which could be used to identify where the vortex was could the team get across safely to the waiting shuttle.

Otherwise they had to walk home, and it's a long way from Arg to Earth. Nail-biting stuff. By the way, in latter series, said cheese rolls could be obtained by means of getting the Rangdo a present that he liked - he had very specific tastes, such as liking sweets, but not chocolates and teddy bears only if they were Winnie The Pooh, not Rupert.

Contestants who got him gifts he liked would get the cheese rolls, but those who didn't would get evaporated there and then. On one occasion, Ray Virr earned himself two rolls through getting the Rangdo his favourite sweets, Noel Edmonds got him something inappropriate, but was not evaporated at that point since it was the Rangdo's birthday and Fern Britton sang him a lullaby, which he did like, but she was only allowed one roll on the grounds that she had missed some words out.

However, although all three contestants made it as far as the vortex game, only Virr made it across safely and was able to attend the Rangdo's birthday party - Edmonds and Britton were both evaporated. One other feature worth mentioning is the "phone links" in later series where one of the hosts would ask children at home what they should do. Didn't really add much to the game, truth be told, except perhaps for finding out what the Rangdo liked the contestants to give him as gifts - and his tastes were very specific, as mentioned above.

Much celebration when a contestant managed to get across the Vortex grid, even though it meant Rangdo the Aspidistra got very angry indeed. The Adventure Game came about because producer Ian Oliver and devisor Patrick Dowling, both having previously worked together on an educational mathematics programme, had an interest in Dungeons and Dragons and wished to televise it. For some reason, series 2 used Grieg's Norwegian Dance Opus 35, performed by a brass band.

The credits listed the actors and characters the "wrong" way around, so e. Series 1 This series featured Darong as Moira Stewart, the Argond who introduced the show. The Rangdo of Arg had a human form in the shape of Ian Messiter. A pilot episode was made, but never transmitted. Series 2 This series featured Lesley Judd as the resident mole.

Series 3