There are apparently specialists behind the scenes that try to control the enemies in a way that the historical leader would most likely act like. That's why in, say, the battle of teutoburg forest the enemy units use tactics the AI can't use, like setting up traps, predicting where the players are moving, attempting to lead cavalry deeper into a forest where they will have less of an advantage, and using guerrilla tactics.
Its a build of Rome Total War provided by the developers. They controlled everything for the players and the enemy. Its also modded basically to the specifications of the battle. So its not just the people playing Rome Total War.
This is one of my favorite episodes: it's just a family, and they manage to work well as a team, better than most of the teams. Are they given an easy battle? Absolutely. I suspect it's because you've got kids involved. But the fact that they're working so well really makes their total wipeout of the Norwegian army pretty awesome.
Imo, it looks easy because the family is competent (unlike a lot of the other teams). They are aggressive, keep cohesion, got a strong leader (mum!), and the captains seize opportunities when they see them.
@@snikeduden2850 I think a lesser team would have still been able to win but made a mess of things and made it a lot bloodier. This team actually did better than King Harold because of their drive, communications, constant awareness, teamwork, and leadership. They were in the zone, they worked together, and mum was a great leader.
@@Tareltonlives This battle was on the easier side in terms of troop complexity. However, the teams that fail tends to fail because they are too passive/timid. I bet a lot of teams would see the bridge and think "let's defend", which easily could make the battle unwinnable. A lot of the lost battles would look easy if the team had chosen an aggressive strategy. Additionally, this team had a strong leader AND confident captains. A strong leader helps little if the captains has to ask for permission before doing anything.
Another favorite episode. Not only do we have Mike Loades again, but this suburban family manages to outclass the military men, gamers, martial artists, and all the other high and mighty teams on the show
Teacher: ok guys next couple of lessons, we will be looking at the battle of Hastings and the battle of Stamford bridge. I sent u a couple links to websites to look at for notes. Me: *watches time commanders*
People who want to watch Total War Let's plays jut use CZcams nowdays. (The show is essentialy a Total War Multiplayer Let's Play. Just take a closer look on the computers and you'll see the UI of a Total War game on the screen)
Tristan Lane I must say, I prefer the story where he was stabbed in the testicles with a spear from under the bridge. It may not be true, but I really want it to be!
@HoRsECaRtEr Actually the show didn't use Rome Total War at all; it used an early code of it, the show starting in September to December 2003, the game released in November 2004 This episode was released in January 2005. Barbarian Invasion was released in November 2005.
Nostalgia!!!! Remember watching this as a kid at the exact same time i was learning about romans! I would be like "omg, thats that shield stratergy we learnt in class!" Bought the rome total war game the other day and remembered this show!
Good to see the BBC bringing it back again, I watched mainly the 1st season in my case because it was out before the 1st Rome game came out and was hyping me to oblivion but I did watch this episode from that season, good times.
Love this episode, everyone seems to have having fun including the presenters. Richard Hammond should be on this sort of family/kids show more, he seems natural with kids.
The head at my school was contacted about this show. He wrote back and said filming was during our school holidays so we wouldn't be participating. I remember even some of the parents were quite passed off by that
you can see why they ultimately stopped making this. The second series is a massive drop in quality from the first. Richard Hammond ins't a patch on Eddie Mair and they've dumbed down all the intel gathering and battle planning which made the first series so interesting and replaced it with skirmishes and fake pauses. It's kind of like they're learning to play the game now rather than the game engine being a vehicle for simulating a battle
Ik I'm way too late, but I agree with you on most points, expect that I thought Eddie Mair was a bit of a dick, he seemed really unfriendly to me. That being said, I much prefer the old style, without the pauses and skirmishes
@@Seth9809 nearly all battles had skirmishes. The first series just focused on the main battle and had a greater focus on strategy and intelligence gathering. And there were no timeouts in the battle
I have watched the whole series and this is the best episode. In a battle you can only have one supreme tactical commander with subordinate generals and field commanders. Getting to the bridge with archers to support the crossing is essential. Rapid cohesion and deployment once across was essential. Hit them hard, fast and with local superiority. They did all that. Text Book.
Every time I watch this episode I realize Mom, Jane is a tactical genius. What I also realize is her family seems to anticipate her moves and is already positioning themselves to carry it out. Are they that good or was this rehearsed.
According to the Time Commanders wikipedia article. "A tie-in book was written by Peter Harrison and published by Virgin Books in 2004, called Time Commanders: Great Battles of the Ancient World. It covered the 16 battles of the first series, along with details of all the contestants in each of the teams, which battle and which army they each played and whether they won or lost the battle they had been given."
You’re supposed to win the skirmishes. That was an impossible battle to lose ; outnumbering the enemy 2 to 1 and with far higher quality troops. Even the battle, I mean the norse are completely split up. Really difficult to lose.
I think they might have chosen this battle to accommodate that half the team are children. They could just told the guys at the computers to march their entire army over the bridge and the Norse would have run at them in dribs and drabs and have been fought off without any orders from the team.
Another episode had an team lose while playing the Romans at the Battle of Watling street. All they had to do was stay on the defensive. So people had lose easy battles.
i loved this show when i was little, every time it was on me and my brother would have chicken burgers and go to our room and watch this but i could never remember it, until duncan!
An often forgotten yet extremely important battle from pre medievil history. King Harold won a terrific victory over the huge Norweigen King Harald. However the down side was that the battle combined with an improvement in the weather further south enabled William to cross the channel without facing any major opposition. Harold rushed his formidable housecarls and the remnants of a weary army from Northern England to Sussex. His Northern allies armies were weakened and unavailable for Hastings
Loved the Time Commanders book (can still get it on Amazon), which covers ancient battles, but as they ACTUALLY happened, but kind of using the format of the show. These re-enactments can often be a bit unrealistic.
From all the TC episodes I've watched so far, these had probably the best tactics. They knew the bridge was crucial, they didn't waste too much time, nice to watch.
I remember watching this when they had to put the little tiles on the map table for their starting formation and then had to use that formation throughout the battle and they only had minimal control over the army if I remember rightly
I love this series!!!! Im a big history nut, I love shows like this. This battle happened right before the battle of hastings. This victory was costly for the english and when they fough the battle of hastings.
This is my favourite episode. If only because of how beautifully they worked as a team. They had a stable and effective command system, the captains followed orders issued, but were empowered to fight their own battles. 10/10
I remember watching this back in 2001/2002 (I think it was then) These were the days when we only had 4 channels (couldn't get channel 5 in Exeter and no one could afford Sky) so pretty much everyone watched this and everyone talked about it the next day... I feel like an old man, i'm only 21 :P
Well we yanks did have our on TV show based around Rome:TW, it was called Decisive Battles. Unlike Time Commanders, DB focus was of a historical documentary. Time Commanders is more similar to a game show being played by random people and celebreties who don't know how to play computer games.
In response to your second point, that is true. However battles went on for several hours and generals did keep counsel with one another through messengers or by being on a high point together from which they could survey the field. The tactical pauses do not really change the dynamics of the strategic element, in fact it more accurately simulates the time that commanders had to think as different units advanced and withdrew.
Sometimes forgotten or under rated Harolds victory at Stamford Bridge was brilliant and to then turn around and march his army way down south to face William was a terrific achievement. Harold very nearly beat William as well, but for tired warriors (also many were missing) and a lack of discipline among others.
"But mum, I'm fighting beserkers!"
Best line ever.
Love that line!
Clean your room, son.
Emmett C My fav line was Mum: Kill kill kill!!
Golden Eagle he should be proud
"They're not exactly Marilyn Monroe, are they?"
This is the best thing ever. They actually put Rome Total War on TV.
yes it was great wonder if they bring it back now
@@pa5287 think they tried in 2016,got canceled I think,not entirely sure
Been playing rome total war all day and decided to put this on and look at the top comment lol.
I mean it is a great game
Jorn 9712 why’d you comment the same thing twice?
Hands up if your back here 12 years on; having woken up in the night in an adhd insomnia fit hurriedly searching for his show! 😂👌
I saw someone reference the show in a guardian article and now i'm 3 hours into a Time Commanders nostalgia-fest!
Exactly that! 😂
Thank you Lindybeige for showing me this show its hilarous
+nathaniel fernando aswell
+nathaniel fernando same
Yup. Biege!
same
nathaniel fernando
VIKINGS
Love that little kid talking to his technician.
"Run! Run across the bridge, my friend!"
The family did better than a lot of the other teams. Definitely my favorite episode
Fun fact what the Vikings had were hirdmen not huscarls in old Norse huscarls were farmers hirdmen were elites
Other way round. Hirdmen=Fyrdman, the militia. Huskarl literally means Household Servant
+Tareltonlives I think it's because there's a natural hierarchy in a family.
Every night Berserkers check under their beds for Mashy
Gotta love that hyperactive historian flailing about. Awesome series.
The time commanders dream team: Pixelated Apollo, Jackiefish, Darren Total War, and Alex the Rambler.
THATS SOUNDS AWSOME!!
that needs to be a thing. its comeing back so it could happen.
Jxames
I know right hype...
Jxames Unfortunately, I think the contestants are picked so there is no knowledge of video games
Well shit.
There are apparently specialists behind the scenes that try to control the enemies in a way that the historical leader would most likely act like. That's why in, say, the battle of teutoburg forest the enemy units use tactics the AI can't use, like setting up traps, predicting where the players are moving, attempting to lead cavalry deeper into a forest where they will have less of an advantage, and using guerrilla tactics.
Its a build of Rome Total War provided by the developers. They controlled everything for the players and the enemy. Its also modded basically to the specifications of the battle. So its not just the people playing Rome Total War.
I'd love to see regular RTW players do the planning stage.
"Hammer and Anvil?"
"Hammer and Anvil!"
corner camp and artillery/missile spam
One of the most hypercompetent teams across all three series and half its composition was pre-pubescent children
This is one of my favorite episodes: it's just a family, and they manage to work well as a team, better than most of the teams. Are they given an easy battle? Absolutely. I suspect it's because you've got kids involved. But the fact that they're working so well really makes their total wipeout of the Norwegian army pretty awesome.
Two parents and 2 kids did better than the actual Harold Godwinson
Imo, it looks easy because the family is competent (unlike a lot of the other teams). They are aggressive, keep cohesion, got a strong leader (mum!), and the captains seize opportunities when they see them.
@@snikeduden2850 I think a lesser team would have still been able to win but made a mess of things and made it a lot bloodier. This team actually did better than King Harold because of their drive, communications, constant awareness, teamwork, and leadership. They were in the zone, they worked together, and mum was a great leader.
@@sportspro2.049 They did better than a lot of other teams, including actual military officers.
@@Tareltonlives This battle was on the easier side in terms of troop complexity. However, the teams that fail tends to fail because they are too passive/timid. I bet a lot of teams would see the bridge and think "let's defend", which easily could make the battle unwinnable. A lot of the lost battles would look easy if the team had chosen an aggressive strategy.
Additionally, this team had a strong leader AND confident captains. A strong leader helps little if the captains has to ask for permission before doing anything.
That kid's gonna conquer turkey and make it byzantium again.
He is gonna make Greece great again!
Underrated
Another favorite episode. Not only do we have Mike Loades again, but this suburban family manages to outclass the military men, gamers, martial artists, and all the other high and mighty teams on the show
"They're uphill, so kill em"
Logic of a twelve year old.
actually I believe he said 'we're uphill, so kill em' which actually makes sense. Attacking downhill is far easier and better than fighting uphill
Gambrous He said "They're uphill" as far as i can decipher :P
Greatscape12 He said "They're uphill," referring to his troops
No, the family's forces had the high ground. And you know what that means, Anakin.
I also want the job of playing total war while a kid tells me what to do :P
Makrell do you ? What if he tells you to charge your cav at the pikes
@@superperroquet5841 its still paid for, right? Still beats Shoveling shit, that doesn't have much upsides
As I understand, those guys were the coders from CA that wrote Rome Total War
Teacher: ok guys next couple of lessons, we will be looking at the battle of Hastings and the battle of Stamford bridge. I sent u a couple links to websites to look at for notes.
Me: *watches time commanders*
Why can't we have TV shows like this today
Ronan Slevin Because a guy on youtube can do the same as this show very easily, just needs the random family
+Ronan Slevin Because tryhards at Total War like me would go on with my family and tell them to bring a phone or iPad each to just let me do it
+Alex Stanley this is such an easy battle, I do the same as you guy
+Alex Stanley Yea, thats what makes me cringe watching this, four people unable to manange an army half the size of the ones we manage today.
People who want to watch Total War Let's plays jut use CZcams nowdays. (The show is essentialy a Total War Multiplayer Let's Play. Just take a closer look on the computers and you'll see the UI of a Total War game on the screen)
The Viking Beserker who held the bridge by himself has got to be the biggest badass who ever lived.
Tristan Lane I must say, I prefer the story where he was stabbed in the testicles with a spear from under the bridge. It may not be true, but I really want it to be!
"You can win the battle of Hastings as well." We all know what happened there XD
Yeah William the Conquer is knocking on the door
+Neil Badger Well, you go around calling yourself the Conqueror before conquering anywhere and people look at you funny...
haha :-)
Like most things,it is easy to claim something but takes more effort to go out and prove it.
@HoRsECaRtEr Actually the show didn't use Rome Total War at all; it used an early code of it, the show starting in September to December 2003, the game released in November 2004
This episode was released in January 2005. Barbarian Invasion was released in November 2005.
Mike Loades is a very animated person. Just saw him on "The Story of Mankind" pretty good, I'd recomend.
Pootisman2112 I want him as my history teacher.
Nostalgia!!!! Remember watching this as a kid at the exact same time i was learning about romans! I would be like "omg, thats that shield stratergy we learnt in class!" Bought the rome total war game the other day and remembered this show!
Good to see the BBC bringing it back again, I watched mainly the 1st season in my case because it was out before the 1st Rome game came out and was hyping me to oblivion but I did watch this episode from that season, good times.
A different concept though, it's going to be two groups of people facing off against each other.
Depraved84 is the new one going to be called the same thing and when is it expected to start?
Same name, starting December 12th on BBC4, seems to be focused on more Napoleonic era conflicts but time will tell
Depraved84
I saw the advert, but I think ancient conflicts are a better premise because few people know what actually happened.
Depraved84 Wait they brought it back?
People remotely playing total war is a TV-show?
apparently
used to be one.
Was ahead of its time if you consider this predates Twitch.tv by about 12 years.
Actually; it's coming back.
Ebakthecat Exactly, it's over a decade old, was a great show ahead of its time.
"But mom! I'm fighting berserkers!" -I'm going to use that phrase. :D
That expert looks and talks a lot like Dr. Lynette Nusbacher.... Ooh...
As far as I can see, this team was the best ... excellent command structure, clear plan, flawless execution and superb general (Mom!).
The nostalgia is overpowering me
That kid probably runs his own Total War CZcams Channel now. What a legend.
This was an innovative programme back in the day and the reason I bought Rome Total War in 2005.
Oh the memories! I loved this show.
Love this episode, everyone seems to have having fun including the presenters. Richard Hammond should be on this sort of family/kids show more, he seems natural with kids.
Well unlike clarkson and may his trademark attribute isnt being an alcoholic thats gonna have an opinion about everything
Love the guy going mad with the axe at 14:16
You can just tell that this guy loves his history so much
The head at my school was contacted about this show. He wrote back and said filming was during our school holidays so we wouldn't be participating.
I remember even some of the parents were quite passed off by that
you can see why they ultimately stopped making this. The second series is a massive drop in quality from the first. Richard Hammond ins't a patch on Eddie Mair and they've dumbed down all the intel gathering and battle planning which made the first series so interesting and replaced it with skirmishes and fake pauses. It's kind of like they're learning to play the game now rather than the game engine being a vehicle for simulating a battle
Ik I'm way too late, but I agree with you on most points, expect that I thought Eddie Mair was a bit of a dick, he seemed really unfriendly to me. That being said, I much prefer the old style, without the pauses and skirmishes
This battle actually had skirmishes.
@@Seth9809 nearly all battles had skirmishes. The first series just focused on the main battle and had a greater focus on strategy and intelligence gathering. And there were no timeouts in the battle
I have watched the whole series and this is the best episode. In a battle you can only have one supreme tactical commander with subordinate generals and field commanders. Getting to the bridge with archers to support the crossing is essential. Rapid cohesion and deployment once across was essential. Hit them hard, fast and with local superiority. They did all that. Text Book.
Been looking for this show all night i remember watching these on TV i loved em :')
Every time I watch this episode I realize Mom, Jane is a tactical genius. What I also realize is her family seems to anticipate her moves and is already positioning themselves to carry it out. Are they that good or was this rehearsed.
Maybe what needs to be done is obvious.
20 years ago... Used to love watching this. Damn memories..
Why dont they put all the winners and play against each other for all star series. That will be good
Loved watching this when it was on the tv it was brilliant
This woman's style of generalship is distinctly Patton-like. With a bit of training I bet she could give POM a kicking!
+Gerard M Jagroo Haha so true! POM is amazing though!
I want this show back NOW!!!
According to the Time Commanders wikipedia article.
"A tie-in book was written by Peter Harrison and published by Virgin Books in 2004, called Time Commanders: Great Battles of the Ancient World. It covered the 16 battles of the first series, along with details of all the contestants in each of the teams, which battle and which army they each played and whether they won or lost the battle they had been given."
I used to watch this all the time when I was like 6.
You’re supposed to win the skirmishes. That was an impossible battle to lose ; outnumbering the enemy 2 to 1 and with far higher quality troops.
Even the battle, I mean the norse are completely split up. Really difficult to lose.
agreed dude. they were nothing special.
I think they might have chosen this battle to accommodate that half the team are children. They could just told the guys at the computers to march their entire army over the bridge and the Norse would have run at them in dribs and drabs and have been fought off without any orders from the team.
Another episode had an team lose while playing the Romans at the Battle of Watling street. All they had to do was stay on the defensive. So people had lose easy battles.
It was for the kids I think. Although the English won Stamford bridge historically.
I USED TO LOVE THIS SHOW
Loved this
i loved this show when i was little, every time it was on me and my brother would have chicken burgers and go to our room and watch this but i could never remember it, until duncan!
i feel sorry for the two guys controlling the men
Joshua Hayden Then you would have been asked to leave silly boy.
@Hugh Jenas And that's why you're not one of them ;D
An often forgotten yet extremely important battle from pre medievil history. King Harold won a terrific victory over the huge Norweigen King Harald. However the down side was that the battle combined with an improvement in the weather further south enabled William to cross the channel without facing any major opposition. Harold rushed his formidable housecarls and the remnants of a weary army from Northern England to Sussex. His Northern allies armies were weakened and unavailable for Hastings
Awww, what a feel-good episode.
this show was the best
i started playing this game yesterday after a 3 year gap.....still awsome as it was when i first got it!
I remember watching this when i was younger.
Loved the Time Commanders book (can still get it on Amazon), which covers ancient battles, but as they ACTUALLY happened, but kind of using the format of the show. These re-enactments can often be a bit unrealistic.
Holy shit.
I only now realize that's Richard Hammond. From Top Gear.
Oh, that's Hammond? I thought he was one of the kids.
From all the TC episodes I've watched so far, these had probably the best tactics. They knew the bridge was crucial, they didn't waste too much time, nice to watch.
This was my childhood!
these kids are the best commanders i've seen on this show so far
this programme used to be fucking great i couldnt remember the name of it until today :D
I remember watching this when they had to put the little tiles on the map table for their starting formation and then had to use that formation throughout the battle and they only had minimal control over the army if I remember rightly
I want this show back!
Battle of Stamford Bridge Chelsea vs Arsenal.
With Millwall coming in for some extra havoc...
how on earth have I not heard of this show
i remember watching this when i was young good days
I love this series!!!! Im a big history nut, I love shows like this. This battle happened right before the battle of hastings. This victory was costly for the english and when they fough the battle of hastings.
This is my favourite episode. If only because of how beautifully they worked as a team. They had a stable and effective command system, the captains followed orders issued, but were empowered to fight their own battles. 10/10
I say we start a petition to get this back on the air!!!
Bring back this show
Jeez. This is great.
the best team so far in this whole show
They should bring this programme back when Rome 2 comes out.
They did!
@@jackholloway1 its been 8 years mate i think you were a bit late to the reply party
They should bring this program back when Rome Remastered comes out.
prophetic
I wonder where this family is today lol. All grown up now, must be nice to be looking back at this I'd hope.
He brought all his wonderful toys with him!
Love this series, though I don't remember watching this series presented by Richard Hammond...
Would be great to organise a battle between this familly and the group who won the battle of river Trebia, if this show will come again on TV.
Mum: "You kicked some major butt there!" Haha :')
Yes, they are. That was one of the points of the show.
I still play this game and many other Total Wars
Its pretty telling when a family of four are one of the best teams on this whole show.
Brilliant play...
This was so good. They don't make things like this any more.
I want to go on this show so badly
I remember watching this back in 2001/2002 (I think it was then)
These were the days when we only had 4 channels (couldn't get channel 5 in Exeter and no one could afford Sky) so pretty much everyone watched this and everyone talked about it the next day... I feel like an old man, i'm only 21 :P
It would be awesoma to have this come back for RTW2
Right! He is great.
new favorite show, They play Rome TW1? FUCK YEAH
Well we yanks did have our on TV show based around Rome:TW, it was called Decisive Battles. Unlike Time Commanders, DB focus was of a historical documentary. Time Commanders is more similar to a game show being played by random people and celebreties who don't know how to play computer games.
And she's taught her six-year-old the word "havoc". Sweet Jesus, run Hardrada, run!
In response to your second point, that is true. However battles went on for several hours and generals did keep counsel with one another through messengers or by being on a high point together from which they could survey the field. The tactical pauses do not really change the dynamics of the strategic element, in fact it more accurately simulates the time that commanders had to think as different units advanced and withdrew.
Damn that mother runs a mean army.
Love the 15 year old lad saying "use your initiative, ok?" to his dad
I like how they used the Game Rome Total War to play
yes, but its never said in the show due to product placement issues. it is stated in the credits that bbc thank creative assembly for the engine
Sometimes forgotten or under rated Harolds victory at Stamford Bridge was brilliant and to then turn around and march his army way down south to face William was a terrific achievement. Harold very nearly beat William as well, but for tired warriors (also many were missing) and a lack of discipline among others.
That younger kid is adorable...
She is a good commander