Last Commanders

Revision as of 10:53, 25 February 2018

Host

Zoe Barker (as Skye)

Gemma Stroyan (as voice of Sciron)

Broadcast

Panda Television (part of Objective Productions) for CBBC, 30 January 2018 to present

Synopsis

We've had a message from the CBBC press office:

A massively powerful Artificial Intelligence, Sciron, has created a virus to take over the Ykarus Biotech space station.

2% of Kaladians are immune and they're fighting back. Can four teams of Commanders successfully direct their avatars to complete their mission and help Skye resist Sciron?

Contestants play in groups with their friends, and appear remotely from their homes.

Zoe Barker as Skye.

Effectively, Last Commanders is a point-and-click video game, where your avatar has natural intelligence and can hold a conversation with you. The players get to see what their avatar sees, though we television viewers also get establishing shots.

Vennvo shows his team some useful information.

Each episode has a particular plot: follow a trail to get something, then get out alive. The trail includes some modest puzzles, made much more difficult by the remote communication. You might be able to see the way each coloured pipe fits into the next, but you've also got to explain it to your avatar in the game.

While promoting their show, the producers made comparisons with Knightmare, the Resident Evil games, Red Dwarf, and The Demon Headmaster. This might have raised expectations too high. The drama is the weakest part of Last Commanders, it's a show to demonstrate the tech. While the teams being chased by Cybers is scary, we didn't find tension was sustained for more than a few moments.

Avoid Cybers. Stay alive.

Last Commanders is a technological marvel, all done by laptop kits and self-assembly instructions. The editing is superb: they synchronise four stories, and cut from one to another to tell the story in different voices.

We often forget that the greatest fantasy shows - Knightmare, Raven, Red Dwarf, The Crystal Maze - all took a few series to bed in. From its first series, Last Commanders shows much promise, and we hope to see more work in coming years.

Theme music

HyperDuck Soundworks wrote a full score for the show.

Trivia

Graphics realised by Jump.

"Fear Falls" was the working title for the show and/or production company.

Web links

Kinetic Pixel describe how they got the technology to work.

Den of Geek article

Feedback

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[File:Last commanders title.jpg|300px]]
 <div class="box">
 == Host ==
-Zoe Barker (as Sky Zero)
+Zoe Barker (as Skye)
+Gemma Stroyan (as voice of Sciron)
 == Broadcast ==
-Fear Falls Productions (part of Objective Productions) for CBBC, 30 January 2018 to present
+Panda Television (part of Objective Productions) for CBBC, 30 January 2018 to present
 </div>
@@ Line 16: / Line 20: @@
 : 2% of Kaladians are immune and they're fighting back. Can four teams of Commanders successfully direct their avatars to complete their mission and help Skye resist Sciron?
-Described by the producers as "a cocktail of [[The Crystal Maze]] and [[Knightmare]], with a twist of Lara Croft and a ''Star Wars'' umbrella".
+Contestants play in groups with their friends, and appear remotely from their homes.
-''Last Commanders'' has invested in characters. Catara, Tal, and Dexx work alongside the Good Guys, while Sciron's sidekicks include Morka and Doctor Kline, and an army of ruthless Cybers.
+<div class=image>
+[[File:Last commanders skye.jpg|400px]]
+''Zoe Barker as Skye.''
+</div>
-Contestants play in groups with their friends, and appear remotely from their homes.
+Effectively, ''Last Commanders'' is a point-and-click video game, where your avatar has natural intelligence and can hold a conversation with you. The players get to see what their avatar sees, though we television viewers also get establishing shots.
+<div class=image>
+[[File:Last commanders cell number.jpg|400px]]
+''Vennvo shows his team some useful information.''
+</div>
+Each episode has a particular plot: follow a trail to get something, then get out alive. The trail includes some modest puzzles, made much more difficult by the remote communication. You might be able to see the way each coloured pipe fits into the next, but you've also got to explain it to your avatar in the game.
+While promoting their show, the producers made comparisons with [[Knightmare]], the ''Resident Evil'' games, ''Red Dwarf'', and ''The Demon Headmaster''. This might have raised expectations too high. The drama is the weakest part of ''Last Commanders'', it's a show to demonstrate the tech. While the teams being chased by Cybers is scary, we didn't find tension was sustained for more than a few moments.
+<div class=image>
+[[File:Last commanders cybers.jpg|400px]]
+''Avoid Cybers. Stay alive.''
+</div>
+''Last Commanders'' is a technological marvel, all done by laptop kits and self-assembly instructions. The editing is superb: they synchronise four stories, and cut from one to another to tell the story in different voices.
+We often forget that the greatest fantasy shows - [[Knightmare]], [[Raven]], ''Red Dwarf'', [[The Crystal Maze]] - all took a few series to bed in. From its first series, ''Last Commanders'' shows much promise, and we hope to see more work in coming years.
+== Theme music ==
+HyperDuck Soundworks wrote a full score for the show.
+== Trivia ==
+Graphics realised by Jump.
+"Fear Falls" was the working title for the show and/or production company.
+== Web links ==
+[http://www.kineticpixel.tv/projects/last-commanders/ Kinetic Pixel describe how they got the technology to work.]
+[http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/tv/cbbc/54875/last-commanders-a-geeky-new-knightmare-esque-gameshow Den of Geek article]
+== See also ==
-{{notaired}}
+[[Weaver's Week 2018-02-25|Weaver's Week review]]
 [[Category:Childrens]]
 [[Category:Fictional Characters]]
 [[Category:Current]]
-[[Category:Awaiting Review]]