8.6/10
290
6 user 1 critic

BBS: The Documentary (2005)

Through eight episodes, director Jason Scott covers the 25 year history of the Dial-Up Bulletin Board System... See full synopsis »
Reviews

Photos

Add Image Add an image

Do you have any images for this title?

Edit

Cast

Credited cast:
Kerri Adams ...
Herself
Christopher Allen ...
Himself
Jay Andrews ...
Himself
Alan Aspuru-Guzik ...
Himself
Ben Baker ...
Himself
Cliff Barber ...
Himself
Ted Beatie ...
Himself
Phil Becker ...
Himself
B.W. Behling ...
Himself
Wayne Bell ...
Himself
Brian J. Bernstein ...
Himself
Loyd Blankenship ...
Leif Bloomquist ...
Himself
Bootleg ...
Himself
John Brandt ...
Himself
Edit

Storyline

Through eight episodes, director Jason Scott covers the 25 year history of the Dial-Up Bulletin Board System... See full synopsis »

Add Full Plot | Plot Synopsis

Genres:

Documentary

Edit

Details

Official Sites:

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

21 May 2005 (USA)  »

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Over 250 hours of interviews were recorded. See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
If you believe The Internet is the beginning and end of data communication - you're wrong.
8 June 2005 | by (United Kingdom) – See all my reviews

BUSY...

Redialing...

Connected:

I chanced upon this documentary very early in 2005, and thankfully Jason was taking pre-orders. I had barely read a few words of the description before I knew "I want this!! I have to have this!" - I was not really an old-school BBS user, my entrance was around the mid-90's and more of a witness to this communication phenomenon. For the first few months I admit I was something of a leecher but eventually came around to the rules of the game.

Phone line cut off and revived twice, massive debt to British Telecom paid off , I continued to log into to numerous boards, even calling international to try and find some specific doors for my own BBS. Eventually I fell into decent work, which not only paid me a healthy wage but killed some of the time I usually used to be online - an addiction finally under some control.

This box-set represents some of the finest points of the BBS scene - the interviews flow so smoothly as if everyone was bred to be in front of a camera, you feel like you're being talked too, not talked at. Ten minutes into first DVD you simply believe this is some high-level company production, the sheer technical achievement is astonishing - from the layout, to the transition effects, subtitles, addition of music, blending it all together - incredible, it's hard to believe that one man pieced all this information together. Granted, everyone involved deserves credit - and rightly so takes bold-text status on screen. You will appreciate every one of them...for their existence in your life.

If anyone has chanced upon this IMDb entry and believes a BBS is nothing more than a forum on a web-host, I urge you to study more of this subject, you will be pleasantly surprised.


20 of 23 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Contribute to This Page