yes, we did start the channel after the game, although we are
all guilty of not playing it as "often" as we used to..
anyway.. here are some helps..
although we don't play as often, we are pretty well-verse in the
arts of playing god.
if you can't get the game working...
*chances are you are not holding an original copy of
black&white, unlike what we have..
*black&white is a game that need good hardware.. your rag
tagged pc is not up to it. (although i've heard of higher end pc
can't get the game to run. :p) oh ya, reports thaat voodoo video
cards cannot run the game properly. try installing latest drivers..
if they made any new ones. :p
if all else fails, not to fear.. you might not have the game patch
yet goto
http://www.bwgame.com
sign up, and download the patch that lionhead written and see if it
helps. it cuts down on the number of bugs came shipping with the
game.
hope you enjoy the game as much as i did. 
p.s: take your time to explore and rule.. rushing makes the fun die
faster. :p