Rewind to 1983
The Cold War was ending and us mere civilians were finally allowed to play with GPS. And this lot
Gadget – Sony Betamovie BMC-100
The word ‘camcorder’ didn’t exist in ’83 but the first combined video recorder and camera – Sony’s Betamax BMC-100 – was shooting footage straight to the ill-fated cassette. No digital viewfinder or video playback here – you had to dash home to your Betamax player to see your handiwork.
Film – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
The final instalment of George Lucas’ original trilogy finally explained who was related to who in the massively successful sci-fi franchise. There was also Jedi training with Yoda and the introduction of Ewoks. No wonder Return of the Jedi paid off its astronomical production budget in the first weekend.
Game – Manic Miner
Miner Willy battled Poisonous Pansies, Spiders, Slime, and Manic Mining Robots in this twenty level platform classic. The ZX Spectrum’s paltry graphics allowance was just about able to keep up.
Album – Swordfishtrombones, Tom Waits
Playing pool with midgets and burning down your wife’s chihuahua – just a couple of the themes floating around in the brilliant chaos of Tom Waits’ 1983 opus. His gravelly voice bears all the hallmarks of drinking whisky on the way to the studio which – since he’d just ditched his record company – he probably did.
Comic – V for Vendetta
You may know it from the 2006 Warner Bros film adaptation, or from protestors jumping on the ‘V’ bandwagon. But It all started with Alan Moore’s 10-issue comic book series, V for Vendetta. It’s big on drama and politics, as you might expect from the author of another light-hearted caped caper – Watchmen.
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Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief 
