Micro Men


Micro Men, working title Syntax Era is a one-off BBC drama television programme set in the late 1970s and the early-mid 1980s, about the rise of the British home computer market. It focuses on the rivalry between Sir Clive Sinclair, who developed the ZX Spectrum, and Chris Curry, the man behind the BBC Micro.

Plot

The drama is centred on two of the leading players and their respective companies in the home computer market of the late 1970s and early 1980s focusing on the race to win a grant from the BBC to become the provider of a home computer for the BBC's programming for schools. Certain parts of the drama are based on historical fact while others are dramatisation and a version of events at the time.
The main characters are ZX Spectrum creator Clive Sinclair and BBC Micro creators Chris Curry, Sophie Wilson, Steve Furber and Hermann Hauser.

Cast

Development

The programme was created by independent production company Darlow Smithson and was written by Tony Saint, directed by Saul Metzstein and produced by Andrea Cornwell. It was produced as a BBC Drama, shot in the UK, with some scenes shot in and around the colleges of Cambridge on 15 July 2009. Computers were supplied by The Centre for Computing History, then in Haverhill. They also supplied other technical props, including the, and Jason Fitzpatrick, director of the museum, played the part of David Johnson-Davies.
The programme's working title was Syntax Era. The titles use green 'computer' lettering similar to the real 1980s monitors to which BBC Microcomputers would have typically been connected.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack is notable for its use of early 1980s electronica, which was considered futuristic-sounding at the time:
It was first shown on BBC Four on 8 October 2009.

Reaction

When asked about the programme in an interview for The Independent Clive Sinclair himself replied "It was a travesty of the truth. It just had no bearing on the truth. It was terrible."