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Micro Men facts for kids

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Micro Men
Micro Men.png
Title card
Genre Documentary drama
Created by Andrea Cornwell
Written by Tony Saint
Directed by Saul Metzstein
Starring Alexander Armstrong
Martin Freeman
Theme music composer Vangelis
Opening theme "Pulstar"
Composer(s) Ilan Eshkeri
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
Production
Executive producer(s) Elinor Day
Jamie Laurenson
Producer(s) Andrea Cornwell
Cinematography Hubert Taczanowski
Editor(s) Ian Davies
Running time 84 mins
Release
Original network BBC Four
Original release 8 October 2009 (2009-10-08)

Micro Men is a TV show from 2009 that tells a true story about the early days of home computers. It's a drama, which means it uses actors to show real events. The story takes place in the United Kingdom during the late 1970s and early 1980s. This was a time when computers were just starting to become popular for people to use at home.

The show focuses on a big competition between two smart inventors. One is Sir Clive Sinclair, played by Alexander Armstrong. He created the famous ZX Spectrum computer. The other is Chris Curry, played by Martin Freeman. He was a key person behind the BBC Micro computer. The show explores their rivalry as they both tried to make the best home computer.

The Big Computer Race

The main part of Micro Men is about a race between two companies. They both wanted to win a special project from the BBC. The BBC wanted a home computer that schools could use for learning. This meant the winning company would get a lot of support and their computer would become very well known.

The show follows the real-life inventors and their teams. These include ZX Spectrum creator Clive Sinclair and the people behind the BBC Micro: Chris Curry, Sophie Wilson, Steve Furber, and Hermann Hauser. Some parts of the show are exactly what happened, while others are made more dramatic for TV.

Meet the Characters

Here are the main actors and the real people they play in the show:

Special Guest Appearances

Some of the real people from the computer world even appeared in the show!

  • The real Sophie Wilson played a small role as a pub landlady.
  • You can also see Chris Serle and Ian McNaught-Davis in old TV clips from a show called The Computer Programme.
  • Jim Westwood, another real person from the computer industry, appears in the background of a scene in a store.

How the Show Was Made

Micro Men was created by a company called Darlow Smithson. Tony Saint wrote the story, Saul Metzstein directed it, and Andrea Cornwell was the producer. The show was filmed in the UK, with some scenes shot in and around the colleges in Cambridge.

Old computers and other props, like the Sinclair C5 (a small electric car), were provided by The Centre for Computing History. The director of that museum, Jason Fitzpatrick, even played a small part in the show!

The opening titles of the show look like the green text you would see on old computer screens from the 1980s. This helps to make the show feel like it's really from that time.

Music in the Show

The soundtrack for Micro Men uses a lot of cool electronic music from the early 1980s. Here are some of the songs you'll hear:

When Did It Come Out?

Micro Men was first shown on BBC Four in the UK on October 8, 2009.

What People Thought

Even though Clive Sinclair was involved in making the show, he wasn't very happy with it. In an interview, he said it was "a travesty of the truth" and "had no bearing on the truth." He thought it was "terrible."

See Also

  • Micro Live
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