Benny Hill's Madcap Chase hounds the ZX Spectrum on March 1, 1986


Benny Hill was one of many British cultural phenomenons to cross the Atlantic during the 1980s. But while TV viewers on this side of the pond were limited to wondering if Mr. Hill and Ozzy Osbourne had ever been seen together in the same room, Brits were busy becoming the ribald scamp via their home computers. On March 1, 1986, Benny Hill's Madcap Chase began to play out on the ZX Spectrum. 

While the game begins with a photo-realistic scanned image of the comedian, the surprisingly large sprite of Mr. Hill players controlled looked more like Austin Powers when scrolling sideways - a remarkable feat, given that the swinging spy character wouldn't even be conceived of for another five years. Only when he turns to face the camera is he somewhat recognizable, chiefly on the basis of his desperate grin and granny glasses, and the aura of impending disaster that surrounds him like cheap aftershave. Benny lopes along with a gait that suggests both unholy enthusiasm and imminent cardiac arrest.

The graphics are remarkably colorful for the Speccy, avoiding the usual "clash" by making everything look like a seaside postcard that’s been put through a blender. It’s chaotic, it’s loud (in spirit, if not in actual 1-bit beeper sound), and it captures the essential Britishness of chasing someone through a hedge for no apparent reason.

Hill is inexplicably stealing feminine apparel from a clothesline in the opening level, pursued relentlessly by a heavyset woman with the strength of a WWE wrestler. Then he's stealing produce from a farm as the beleagured farmer aimlessly tools around his fields on an overcaffeinated tractor. Finally, the petty thief stoops to pilfering property from a meager garage sale. This time Hill has gone too far, and the police are now involved. 

Nobody quite knows why this happened. Some blame a momentary lapse in DK'Tronics' boardroom, where the words "Benny Hill" and "video game" were allowed to share the same sentence without immediate intervention by men in white coats. Others point to the well-documented 1980s habit of licensing anything that moved (or, in Benny's case, chased while wearing very small trousers). Whatever the cause, the result was a piece of software that arrived in the shops looking suspiciously like a cry for help encoded in 48K of garish color clash.

Younger players sometimes load it up, watch Benny career across the screen for thirty seconds, and then quietly close the window with the expression of someone who has just witnessed an embarrassing family incident. Older players, however, tend to smile in recognition. They remember 1986: the year when computers were still magic, when anything could happen, and when even Benny Hill could be persuaded to chase himself around a pixelated London for £6.95.

Location: United Kingdom

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