Time Commanders

Time Commanders was a series of programmes made by Lion TV and PlayGen for BBC Two that ran for two seasons from 2003 to 2005. The programmes, originally hosted by Eddie Mair and more recently by Richard Hammond, featured an edited version of the game engine behind the real-time strategy game Rome: Total War to recreate famous battles of the ancient world. The battles were replayed by 4-player teams from diverse backgrounds. The teams were unfamiliar with computer games, to make sure their gaming skills do not influence their success. After a brief introduction of the battle, including an overview of military units, terrain and available forces, the players had to develop a strategy and then deploy their forces. Two of the players were selected as generals, who will direct the battle and have access to a strategic map. The other two players were designated lieutenants in the first series, and captains in the second. The units were indirectly controlled by the lieutenants, who issued commands to programme assistants, who in turn used the game interface to control the units. Troop deployment and battle followed, although in the second series there was a small skirmish conducted as a separate event, to acquaint the players with the game mechanics and their units. In the second series the team also got strategic pauses where they could refine their strategies.

During each game, a pair of military specialists analysed the performance of the players and explained how the real historical battle unfolded. Dr. Aryeh Nusbacher of Sandhurst, who appeared in every episode, was joined on a rotating basis by Mike Loades, Saul David, Mark Urban or Dr. Adrian Goldsworthy, the series' historical advisor.

Notably, the series as televised contained no reference to the origin of the software powering the 3D visuals of ancient battlefields. This was due to the BBC's rules against product placement (Rome: Total War makers The Creative Assembly were named in the credits of the show with a specific mention of them providing the Game Engine). But Rome: Total War designer and writer Mike Brunton said, "Time Commanders did use Rome code pretty much 'as is', with tweaks for different troop types and camera controls."

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.

Series one

#	Episode	Airdate	Faction Played	Episode Result
1	Battle of the Trebia	4 September 2003	Carthage (vs Rome)	Carthaginian victory
2	Battle of Watling Street	11 September 2003	Rome (vs Icenii and Other Britons)	Roman defeat**
3	Battle of Bibracte	18 September 2003	Rome (vs Helvetii and Other Gauls)	Roman victory
4	Battle of Mons Graupius	25 September 2003	Caledonians (vs Rome)	Caledonian defeat
5	Battle of Tigranocerta	2 October 2003	Armenia (vs Rome)	Armenian victory**
6	Battle of Pharsalus	9 October 2003	Pompeius (vs Julius Caesar)	Pompeiian defeat
7	Battle of Cannae	16 October 2003	Carthage (vs Rome)	Carthaginian defeat**
8	Battle of Raphia	23 October 2003	Egypt (vs Seleucids)	Egyptian victory
9	Battle of Qadesh	30 October 2003	Hittites (vs Egypt)	Hittite defeat
10	Battle of Leuctra	6 November 2003	Thebes (vs Sparta)	Theban victory
11	Battle of Adrianople	13 November 2003	Rome (vs Goths)	Roman defeat
12	Battle of Telamon	20 November 2003	Gauls (vs Rome)	Gaulish defeat
13	Battle of Gaugamela	8 December 2003	Macedon (vs Persia)	Macedonian victory
14	Battle of Chalons	15 December 2003	Huns (vs Rome and Goths)	Hunnic defeat
15	Battle of Marathon	22 December 2003	Athens (vs Persia)	Athenian defeat**
16	Battle of the Silarus	29 December 2003	Slaves (vs Rome)	Slave victory**

Series two

#	Episode	Airdate	Faction Played	Episode Result
1	Battle of the Teutoburg Forest	16 January 2005	Rome (vs Germans)	Roman victory**
2	Battle of Stamford Bridge	23 January 2005	England (vs Vikings)	English victory
3	Battle of the Hydaspes River	30 January 2005	Macedonians (vs Indians)	Macedonian defeat**
4	Battle of Cynoscephalae	6 February 2005	Rome (vs Macedonians)	Roman victory
5	Battle of Dara	13 February 2005	Persia (vs Byzantines)	Persian defeat
6	Battle of Troy	20 February 2005	Greek (vs Troy)	Greek victory
7	Battle of Hastings	27 February 2005	Normans (vs England)	Norman defeat**
8	Battle of Sarmisegetusa	13 March 2005	Rome (vs Dacia)	Roman victory

** Non-historic result

See also

• Decisive Battles: Another television program that used the Rome: Total War engine