Uploaded September 2013 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Footage from January 2001. A portion of week 10 & the Grand Finals. VHS tape.
Blam!!! was a TV show produced by GamePlay & aired on satellite channel Sky One. It consisted of various topics surrounding the videogames industry, but it's focal point relied heavily on advertising. The central theme was showcasing European gamers battling it out over a 13 week period, playing different games on various platforms to be crowned Blam Grand Champion. However it only ran for one series; the show came across as a thinly veiled advert for GamePlay's online store, with some competitions, reviews, interviews and lifestyle features throw into the mix. In fact, the end credits actually included a brief message confirming that "Blam!!!" has indeed been classified as an advert rather than a TV show - never a good sign! Overall it looked like something of a mix of old-school Channel 4 series "GamesMaster" and the shopping channel, with almost constant messages across the top and bottom of the screen prompting viewers to buy the featured games over the telephone, (Game Network 2002 anyone? - youtube.com/watch?v=yvBMKZAU16A ) or through GamePlay's online and interactive TV stores. While it was nice to see computer games getting more coverage on the television in Europe, not everyone was entirely convinced that this was the step forward, and the whole thing looked rather tacky. The fact that the people who produce the show are trying to sell you the games that they are reviewing doesn't make its content particularly credible either.
Pro-gaming this was not, but it was certainly enjoyable enough to watch at the time. Sadly things just kept sinking into advertorial territory every few minutes though, which is a real shame because the series did have potential. Oh well...roll on Gamezville! (Sky One 2003)
Footage from January 2001. A portion of week 10 & the Grand Finals. VHS tape.
Blam!!! was a TV show produced by GamePlay & aired on satellite channel Sky One. It consisted of various topics surrounding the videogames industry, but it's focal point relied heavily on advertising. The central theme was showcasing European gamers battling it out over a 13 week period, playing different games on various platforms to be crowned Blam Grand Champion. However it only ran for one series; the show came across as a thinly veiled advert for GamePlay's online store, with some competitions, reviews, interviews and lifestyle features throw into the mix. In fact, the end credits actually included a brief message confirming that "Blam!!!" has indeed been classified as an advert rather than a TV show - never a good sign! Overall it looked like something of a mix of old-school Channel 4 series "GamesMaster" and the shopping channel, with almost constant messages across the top and bottom of the screen prompting viewers to buy the featured games over the telephone, (Game Network 2002 anyone? - youtube.com/watch?v=yvBMKZAU16A ) or through GamePlay's online and interactive TV stores. While it was nice to see computer games getting more coverage on the television in Europe, not everyone was entirely convinced that this was the step forward, and the whole thing looked rather tacky. The fact that the people who produce the show are trying to sell you the games that they are reviewing doesn't make its content particularly credible either.
Pro-gaming this was not, but it was certainly enjoyable enough to watch at the time. Sadly things just kept sinking into advertorial territory every few minutes though, which is a real shame because the series did have potential. Oh well...roll on Gamezville! (Sky One 2003)
