I'm pretty sure the name of the fish was "Cod-P", only frequently mispronounced as "Codsby"...

... I have a pristine VHS of episode one. I'd share it, but I don't know how...

Perhaps what you meant was: I was pretty sure the name of the fish was "Cod-P"; but given Jake's credentials as a researcher, I'm not about to dispute his article. I also notice that David referred to Codsby earlier in this topic, and I know that, for all his faults, he does like to get his facts right when he posts, so that's good enough for me. But then, we don't always say what we mean.

On the other hand, in the unlikely event that the character is for whatever reason credited as Cod-P in Episode 1, I take it all back. We could call it Smirkenoff Syndrome.

It would be good to see some more VI online. The possibility has been on the table for some years:

http://www.knightmare.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=256&p=14893#p14893:

'Codsby' was the fishes name.... ugh

... I'm sure I still got a few ep's kicking around somewhere (After Knightmare I taped anthing like it that I could get my hands on, however crap!), If they turn up I'll Vid Cap a few bits and send them on.

On a side note, I was at one point ready to make a fansite for Virtually Impossible - a smaller one, evidently - but at that point I realised that I'd need to buy all six episodes from Anglia, and at £99 a pop that wasn't really viable. I bought one, actually, so I have a pristine VHS of episode one. I'd share it, but I don't know how...

Read my thoughts about Virtually impossible in The Eye Shield Issue 62, coming your way March 2010!

SFX of penny in jar

Read my thoughts about Virtually impossible in The Eye Shield Issue 62, coming your way March 2010!

To be fair to it, it does not appear as bad now as I used to think. The games remind me of the SNES game (and movie) The Lawnmower Man, while the set looks a bit like the one used in Scavengers (hosted by John Leslie). Indeed, were it not for its unfortunate time of release, I am sure I would have enjoyed VI, since the games actually look quite involving (if a touch short).

Now to the problems with it:

1. It is not Knightmare (yes, the grudge is still there).

2. Codsby is extremely annoying and overuses the word "congratulations".

3. The episodes are self-contained, removing the "cliffhanger effect" that worked so well in Knightmare.

4. The main antagonist is not a patch on either Lord Fear or Mogdred.

By far the best thing about VI was the use of Series 8 sound effects. No doubt about that at all.

Finally, does anyone know if the same four games were used in every episode? If so, it is a shame; a bit of variety would work nicely.

I now appreciate why Codsby has been battered by previous posters. Under different circumstances, I might have been willing to defend him as cute; but sadly, he has the voice of Barney the Dinosaur while being only slightly less of an affront to evolution.

I wonder if he was named after Bill Cosby.

http://knightmare.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1297&p=24540#p24540:

Didn't 'Codsby' return later as a Channel4 late-nite presenter? I think the program was a 'pop-up video' type clone but can't remember the name...

That'll be 'Karaoke Fishtank'. Can't remember its name but it wasn't the same fish.

Though interestingly, it turns out that the same actor-comedian, Logan Murray, was behind both. As Debz_g said in an earlier post, they were from the same aquarium, and there is still a picture of Vince Finn on televirtual.com.

i did however enjoy Time Busters

Didn't 'Codsby' return later as a Channel4 late-nite presenter? I think the program was a 'pop-up video' type clone but can't remember the name...

That'll be 'Karaoke Fishtank'. Can't remember its name but it wasn't the same fish.

VI? Nice idea... CRAP execution!

Computer hardware at the time simply wasn't up to the rigours of what TC attempted.

If they tried something like that today.....

(What am I saying?!? THEY ARE! The VR demonstrator........)

Were any of the Knightmare actors in it?

Was there any chance of it returning the following year in place of Knightmare?

Woah thats going back ages ago!

No, it wasn't as good as Knightmare, mainly because of the lack of plots, characters, and so on. Also it was based around points rather than a real adventure - you couldn't even die (well, you could, but then you had to buy another life - I always wanted the teams to refuse!).

Thinking back, it wasn't a very good show, but I enjoyed it - not knowing that Knightmare would be cancelled at that time, I just saw it as a show to tide me over until KM series 9, which didn't happen...

...still, meh. I liked it. Kinda. At least it tried.

Oh, and Cod-P looked like a pooka, which helped.