Video
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| Everyone has one game show that they want to be on more than any other game show in the entire world. And that game show is Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. But that wasn't always around, so before it came along, there was another game show that I wanted to be on more than any other game show. And that game show was Video Power.
Why yes, the show was as cheesy as its logo, thank you very much. Actually, Video Power didn't start out as a game show. When it premiered in 1989, it was simply a show about video games, hosted by this guy.
Johnny Arcade. Sure, if you look at him now, you're probably thinking he looks like he could be the result of some kind of sick breeding/drink mixing experiment. HOW TO MAKE A JOHNNY ARCADE:
But once upon a time, Johnny Arcade was the portrait of godliness. Ok, no he wasn't, but at 7:00 every morning on whatever the WB was called before it was called the WB, he was the official voice of the video gamers of America. I woke up with Johnny Arcade every weekday morning for 3 years straight. He would review bad games that nobody had & preview bad games that nobody was going to buy. Secrets & tips came in the form of the Video Power Edge, but they were usually things that everybody had figured out already, like how to steal lives in a 2 player game of Contra, or that how repeatedly pressing Select in Mega Man 1 can kill people faster. This was on either end of a 10 minute cartoon called The Power Team, starring an animated, prepubescent version of Johnny Arcade as the leader of a team of video game characters. Sort of like Captain N: the Game Master, except Captain N was fun to watch, & starred characters from games you've actually played more than once. The Power Team consisted only of characters from games made by Acclaim, who sponsored the show. There was Max Force from N.A.R.C. without his helmet, Kwirk the punk rock tomato guy from his really bad self-titled Game Boy puzzle game, Tyrone from the basketball game Arch Rivals, Kuros from Wizards & Warriors in the barbarian outfit Fabio wore on the cartridge of Ironsword instead of his metal armor with the acorn-shaped helmet, & Bigfoot. Bigfoot the monster truck. Bigfoot the TALKING monster truck! That's right, Bigfoot talked, & his voice appropriately resembled a monster truck announcer's voice. "SUNDAY!! SUNDAY!! SUNDAY!! EASTMOST PENNINSULA IS THE SUNDAY!!" One morning in 1990, however, something was different. The usual Video Power introductory theme music (which you can play at home RIGHT NOW if you pick up your bass guitar, play an open A string for 16 beats, followed by an open D string for 16 beats, & repeat... THAT'S IT) was replaced with the epitome of early 90's dance beat theme music: Watch
the Video Power opening credits. Video Power had been totally reinvented. It was now a game show in which 4 contestants went head to head to head to head in the hottest video games & battle for prizes. Right about now, most of you are probably thinking "Oh, kind of like Nick Arcade!" No, not kind of like Nick Arcade. This predated Nick Arcade by at least 2 years, & was also about 10 times better. Every show started out with Terry, the show's producer, announcer & guy with a mullet, kicking off "TV's big half hour: Video Power!" by introducing Johnny Arcade, who would in turn thank Terry as well as Steve, or "the Band," as he was the show's one man DJ band guy. After they'd trade bad puns back & forth, Johnny would sit down in his super awesome thronelike chair & press a big red power surge button to start the Video Power Edge. Yes, the Edge was back, with more bad tips. Here's your second bonus, friends. It's a clip of Johnny's less than helpful hints in Double Dragon 3 & Castlevania 2: Video
Power Edge Following a commercial break, it was time for a segment called Johnny on the Spot, in which Terry went into the audience & randomly picked out 4 predetermined contestants. Read what I just said again to unlock the magic of television. The contestants would try to stump Johnny with obscure video game trivia. Questions like "How many spokes are there on the fence in front of Maniac Mansion?" & "In what game can you find Tubular Transports?" & "Why doesn't Samus return my phone calls?" And Johnny knew them ALL! (Nine, TMNT2, & because you're a little dweeb who sits inside & plays video games all day.) It was a rare occasion to see a contestant actually stump the great Johnny Arcade, but every once in a while, it happened. Anyone lucky enough to make him shrug scored a something chosen by Terry at random. After Johnny was put on the Spot, the 4 contestants would run down to the main stage for a round called Power Play, in which they all played the same game for about two minutes. There was a station set up for each contestant to stand at & play. The contestants were even equipped with special sweat-proof Hot Gloves. Look, this guy still has his!
I did a Google search for this picture, so I forget where I found it. But whoever this arm belongs to was an actual Video Power contestant, so the least he can do is let me steal a picture of his stupid glove. I'm sorry, Hot Gloves, I take it all back. If I had a pair of these, I'd wear them every day. Like outside, I mean. After two minutes of playing some game like Mega Man 3 or Batman or Bart Simpson vs. the Space Mutants, an unseen panel of judges would determine which 2 contestants got the most points or reached the farthest point, & those 2 would go onto the next round, Power Picks. For this round, they were suited up in a vest lined with of velcro. It was a round of trivia, & the points the contestants earned were literally attached to their vests.
The setup for the Power Picks round was similar to that part in Family Feud where the two faced each other with a panel equipped with buzzers separating them, & Johnny Arcade in the middle reading aloud the questions printed on cards. Actually, the buzzer didn't buzz. It made a dinging sound, like hitting a fire drill bell with a hammer. The first two questions were usually about the game they just played, & were worth 10 Pizza Points each. That meant that Johnny stuck a little felt slice of pizza with the number 10 on it to the contestant's vest. The third question was always a Music Question, in which the contestants had to guess what game the music that followed came from. I distinctly remember one time when they played the song from the World 1 Map in Super Mario Bros. 3 & the kid rang in & said "Mega Man... NO WAIT!! I MEAN... AUGHHH!!" My brother & I never laughed so hard in our lives. Question #4 was a harder trivia question, & it was worth 20 Mushroom Points, because mushrooms taste good on pizza. Then, occasionally, there would be a 5th question, where Johnny directed the contestants' attention to a monitor on the wall, on which would appear footage from a random game. The first one to ring in & correctly guess the game would win a prize, which was usually some dumb game like Mercenary Force or Insector X. Never heard of either of them? Neither did I. But I eventually played them both, & they weren't very good. Next it was time for another Power Play round. The 2 remaining contestants would face off in another round of gaming, usually the same game. Every once in a while it'd be a different game. One week they played Tecmo Bowl & then Bases Loaded. This time, they'd only play for about a minute & a half, & then the judges would determine the day's big winner. Just to confirm that he beat the other guy, that contestant would get 50 Star Points from Johnny Arcade, which would always either meet or beat the score of the trivia round. So the loser would be awarded his consolation prizes as the winner was suited up in a helmet & pads for the final round... the elusive Prize Run. The Prize Run sent the kid into a maze of office cubicle walls lined from top to bottom with game boxes & bigger prizes on the top, like rollerblades & boomboxes. The kid had 43 seconds to grab as many boxes & other goodies as possible. That's right, 43, the most random number in the world. It's one more than 42, bet you didn't know that! So the kid stuck all the games he could grab to his velcro-lined suit, & yes, I keep using the un-P.C. pronoun "him" on purpose. It was VERY rare to see a female contestant on Video Power, & the only ones I remember were rather frightening. There was one named Destiny, & Johnny made a big huge deal about her name, singing it out & everything. Comedy was not Johnny's strong suit. One time, after a commercial break, he actually said "As Johannes Sebastian once said, We're Bach!" He also liked to end every sentence with a name that rhymed with the last word in it, as in "Sit tight, Dwight, cause we'll be back after this commercial break, Jake!" Somewhere in the Prize Run Maze was a Secret Prize that scored the kid something extra like a Nash skateboard. At the end of the maze was a tunnel slide not unlike the ones in McDonald's playplaces. The kid's parents would meet him there as Terry went through all the stuff he managed to pick up, & that wrapped up another episode of Video Power.
Contestants would play the same game all week, & the 4 winners from Monday-Thursday would come back on Friday, equipped with super rad Video Power black vinyl jackets. These 4 would be the contestants for Friday's championship game. The winner that day would receive a bigger prize, like a Neo Geo. This would go on for 12 weeks, & then Video Power would hold a big Championship week, inviting them all back, 4 at a time from Monday-Wednesday, to compete with each other. The three 2nd place winners of those days would be given a second chance on Thursday, which means that only one of them would be eliminated in the first round. On that Friday, the 3 big winners & the Wild Card winner on Thursday would return for the final showdown, including a fourth Prize Run, & a college scholarship from Tiger Electronics to the winner.
Hey, well would you look at that? My fortune cookie from the Chinese food I just ordered reads: "Your talents will be recognized & suitably rewarded." Take that, Video Power. I don't need you to make me a star. I have it right here in print. Look, even one of the lucky numbers is 43!
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1 part Michael Keaton.
You
have no idea how much I wanted to be on this show. I bragged every
day about how I could take those kids. Even the really large &
scary ones. I even sent in a letter with my accomplishments to Video
Power, just like Johnny asked me to at the end of EVERY episode,
but I never ever got a response. What more do you want from me,
Johnny Arcade? Why am I not good enough for your stupid show, huh?!
Look at me... I'm getting all emotional just thinking about it.
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