The latest in the BBC’s revived shows is a bit of an odd one, as Time Commanders never really seemed to have caught on as many other shows of the period.
The original BBC Two series featured a team of contestants playing against a computer in a simulation of a historic battle. Ite has just two series, one in 2003 hosted by Eddie Mair, and the second in 2005 starring Richard Hammond. This new series on BBC Four is presented by Gregg Wallace, and has some differences to the original. Namely, in the original version the most recent battle played was the Battle of Hastings. In this series, they go as far forward as Waterloo.
The first episode however concerns the Battle of Zama in 202 BCE, where the Romans lead by Scipio defeated the Carthaginian Hannibal and his elephants. However, the contestants are playing the Carthaginians in a change to “change” history.
Time Commanders is on BBC Four at 21.00.
