Over the past year I took some time to cover every episode of the 1983 Canadian TV series “Bits and Bytes.” This was a television program designed to give its viewers some insight into the then-new home computer scene, covering basic principles of computing, showing some things you can do with various computers of the time as well as differences between various brands and models, and sometimes explaining in simple terms just how computers work.
Of course, this is a TV series from 1983. It’s nothing too special, and with the animations has an almost late 70’s feel at times. That adds to the charm to me. The future predictions spliced into the episodes prove to be quite interesting in their own right, given it being 35 years since the show was made – in hindsight it’s interesting to see how much came true, and how much went completely wrong.
It helps the show that the cast, Luba Goy and Billy Van, are as enjoyable as they are. They play well off each other, Goy providing a very proper teacher personality contrasting well with the somewhat childlike approach Van has when it comes to the computers in the show, he, of course, representing the viewer in learning just what these new machines can do.
Of course, the computers steal the show. It’s great to see these classic computers being demonstrated properly in their time, with some “practical” (depending on who you ask) applications and real world usage scenarios.
It really was a treat to watch the show, and share my thoughts on each episode. It’s a snapshot of what the world of home computing was like, and puts well in perspective all these machines we have heard about (or in some cases own) and what they were like to use back in the day.
It’s just nice. Quite different, if basic at times.
As I mentioned, of course, I covered every episode of the series in detail over the past year, which I will cross link here because, why not?
Bits And Bytes – Program 1: Getting Started
Bits And Bytes – Program 2: Ready-Made Programs
Bits And Bytes – Program 3: How Programs Work
Bits And Bytes – Program 4: The Computer As A Filing System
Bits And Bytes – Program 5: Communication Between Computers
Bits And Bytes – Program 6: Computer Languages
Bits And Bytes – Program 7: Computer-Assisted Instruction
Bits And Bytes – Program 8: Games & Simulations
Bits And Bytes – Program 9: Computer Graphics
Bits And Bytes – Program 10: Computer Music