Video Power

infobox television
show_name = Video Power
format = Game show
rating = TV-G
runtime = 30 minutes
starring = Stivi Paskoski, Terry Lee Torok
country = United States
aired = 1990
num_episodes =
network = first-run syndication
imdb_id = 0165600|

"Video Power" is an American television show that had two radically different incarnations. The constants were the subject matter of video games, and host "Johnny Arcade," played by Stivi Paskoski.

Allen J. Bohbot (CEO of BKN) was the co-creator and executive producer of "Video Power" with Saban Entertainment's executive producers, Shuki Levy, Haim Saban, & Winston Richards.

First format

In the first edition of the show, episodes centered around a cartoon called "The Power Team," with live action scenes before and after. The live action scenes featured Johnny Arcade reviewing current and upcoming games from video game consoles, and giving hints and tips, usually in a comedic fashion. The cartoon was an adventure featuring a team of heroes from different NES games released by Acclaim Entertainment: Max Force, a policeman from "NARC"; Kuros, the knight from "Wizards and Warriors"; Tyrone, a basketball player from "Arch Rivals"; Kwirk, a tomato from the game of the same name; and Bigfoot, a monster truck that had its own video game. The main enemy of each episode was either Mr. Big and his thugs, Joe and Spike, from "NARC", or Malkil from "Wizards and Warriors".

Second format

Around 1991, the show underwent a major remake and was reformatted into a game show hosted by Johnny Arcade and Terry Lee Torok.

Gameplay

Round 1: "Put Johnny on the Spot"

The game show starts with the introduction of "Johnny Arcade" by Terry Lee Torok. Then Terry would go into the audience of mostly young kids and have four of them ask game-related questions. Occasionally Johnny would get a question wrong and give a prepared excuse. On this rare occasion the audience would chant "STUMP, STUMP, STUMP" and the contestant who "stumped" Johnny would get a prize from the Prize Round area.

Round 2: Video game playing

After asking questions the four contestants would go on stage and play a selected NES game for two minutes and two seconds. The winners were based on how many points a player would get or how far they reached in the game. For example, when playing Bases Loaded 3 the winners were selected based on how many runs were scored in the time given. If no runs were scored, then the winners were based on how many balls versus strikes were called against the contestant. Another example was for , in which the scoring was based on how many keys were picked up and, if that resulted in a tie, how "far" in the level the contestants reached.

Round 3: Quiz

The two highest-scoring contestants from the video game playing round would then be given a "Power Vest" and a "Power Helmet" to wear (both of which were completely covered with Velcro). Johnny would then ask the contestants some NES questions.

There were three 10-"pizza"-point questions (one of which is always "What game is this music from"), one 20-"mushroom"-point question, and (about halfway through the run) one question with a game as the prize. After the questions both contestants played a video game again for one minute and one second, and the winner would receive 50 "star" points. The winner would be the one with the most points. If there's a tie at 50-50, one final quiz question was asked to determine the winner.

Prize round

Once a contestant would be declared the winner, they would get to run through the "Prize Round". The "Prize Round" was a maze with various video game boxes on the walls. The object of the winner was to grab as many video games as possible and stick them onto their Velcro vest. Then they would go through a tube-slide on the side of the set before time runs out (41 seconds).

Any contestant that did not complete their run would have it edited out and re-run the maze.

Additionally, there would be a "secret game" somewhere in the Prize round. The winner would be told where it is and if they got it they would get an extra prize (ex. Neo Geo).

External links

*imdb title|id=0165600|title=Video Power
*imdb name|id=0664635|name=Stivi Paskoski
* [http://www.atarihq.com/tsr/special/vpower.html TSR's September Story about "Video Power"]
* [http://members.fortunecity.com/aking1/world/videopower1.html Site about the show with screen shots ]
* [http://www.lakupo.com/grblitz/vidpower.htm One former contestant's cynical look back on the Video Power game show]
* [http://www.jumptheshark.com/forum/video-power/2115 Video Power - General Comments in V in in Jump The Shark]