Deadly Games
Encyclopedia
Deadly Games was an American
sci fi
show that appeared on UPN
as part of its 1995 season. The basic plot of the show is about video game characters that come to life, re-enacting their deadly plans in the real world.
, Dr. Gus Lloyd, an engineer and video game designer who has created a game in his spare time to exert his indignant feelings about people in his life who have all made his life hell on Earth (his father, his ex-wife's mother, his ex-wife's divorce lawyer, his former employer, a high school football-Quarterback bully, his old camp counselor, etc.); the villain
s of the game are modeled after all these people. The master villain is Jackal, who is a combination of the devil
and Gus' father. The hero is "The Cold-Steel Kid," who is naturally modeled after Gus himself, and the helpless ingenue
The Kid is always trying to rescue — "The Girl" — is based on Lauren Ashborne, Gus' ex-wife. In an accident involving an experimental laboratory project, Jackal and the villains step out of the game and into the real world.
Each week, one of the villains tries to carry out an evil plot according to the rules of the video game, and Gus, Lauren, and Gus' friend Peter Rucker try to defeat and destroy said villain. Almost indestructible and superhumanly strong, each villain is programmed with specific weapons and weaknesses based on that villain's "theme"; e.g., "Killshot's" Achilles' Heel was being sprayed with water, The Boss' weak link was red ink, The Evil Shirley's was to have a house fall on her, The Motivational Speaker killed people with a device that ejected audiocassettes that bound and crushed them with audiotape, and he could only be destroyed by eating his own words. Jackal is present in every episode, commanding the other villains and vexing the heroes.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sci fi
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
show that appeared on UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
as part of its 1995 season. The basic plot of the show is about video game characters that come to life, re-enacting their deadly plans in the real world.
Story
The first episode introduces the protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, Dr. Gus Lloyd, an engineer and video game designer who has created a game in his spare time to exert his indignant feelings about people in his life who have all made his life hell on Earth (his father, his ex-wife's mother, his ex-wife's divorce lawyer, his former employer, a high school football-Quarterback bully, his old camp counselor, etc.); the villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
s of the game are modeled after all these people. The master villain is Jackal, who is a combination of the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
and Gus' father. The hero is "The Cold-Steel Kid," who is naturally modeled after Gus himself, and the helpless ingenue
Ingenue (stock character)
See also Disingenuous, which is not quite the antonym that it may seem!The ingénue is a stock character in literature, film, and a role type in the theatre; generally a girl or a young woman who is endearingly innocent and wholesome. Ingenue may also refer to a new young actress or one typecast in...
The Kid is always trying to rescue — "The Girl" — is based on Lauren Ashborne, Gus' ex-wife. In an accident involving an experimental laboratory project, Jackal and the villains step out of the game and into the real world.
Each week, one of the villains tries to carry out an evil plot according to the rules of the video game, and Gus, Lauren, and Gus' friend Peter Rucker try to defeat and destroy said villain. Almost indestructible and superhumanly strong, each villain is programmed with specific weapons and weaknesses based on that villain's "theme"; e.g., "Killshot's" Achilles' Heel was being sprayed with water, The Boss' weak link was red ink, The Evil Shirley's was to have a house fall on her, The Motivational Speaker killed people with a device that ejected audiocassettes that bound and crushed them with audiotape, and he could only be destroyed by eating his own words. Jackal is present in every episode, commanding the other villains and vexing the heroes.
Regular characters
The following characters appear in every episode:- Gus Lloyd/"The Cold-Steel Kid" (James Calvert)
- Lauren Ashborne/"The Girl" (Cynthia GibbCynthia GibbCynthia Gibb is an American actress and former model who has starred in film and on television. She is 5'-2" tall.-Biography:...
) - Jordan Kenneth Lloyd/Sebastian Jackal (Christopher LloydChristopher LloydChristopher Allen Lloyd is an American actor. He is best known for playing Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Uncle Fester in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He played Reverend Jim Ignatowski in the television series Taxi and more...
) - Peter Rucker (Stephen T. Kay)
One-time villains
Each of the following characters appears in only one episode:- "Killshot" Tom Rothman (Tom RathmanTom RathmanThomas Dean Rathman is a former American football fullback who played for the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders . He is currently the running backs coach for the 49ers.-High school:...
) - "Evil Shirley," Shirley Ashborne (Shirley JonesShirley JonesShirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known musical films, such as Oklahoma! , Carousel , and The Music Man...
) - "The Orthodontist," Dr. Kramer (Christopher NeameChristopher NeameChristopher Neame is an English actor.-Education:Neame was educated at The King's School, Canterbury, an independent school in Canterbury in Kent.-Life and career:...
) - "The Dental Hygienist," Sharon (Dr. Kramer's assistant) (Marjorie MonaghanMarjorie MonaghanMarjorie Monaghan is an American actress born in California but raised in Ohio. She is best known for her portrayal in 1997 and 1998 of 'Number One', leader of the Mars Resistance, in the television series Babylon 5....
) - "The Boss," Mr. Metcalf (LeVar BurtonLeVar BurtonLevardis Robert Martyn Burton, Jr. , professionally known as LeVar Burton, is an American actor, director, producer and author who first came to prominence portraying Kunta Kinte in the 1977 award-winning ABC television miniseries Roots, based on the novel by Alex Haley...
) - "The Divorce Lawyer," Courtney Lake (Victoria RowellVictoria RowellVictoria "Vicki" Lynn Rowell is an American actress and dancer. She is best known for her portrayal of ballerina-turned-model Drucilla Winters on the CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless, and medical examiner/pathologist Dr. Amanda Bentley on the CBS drama Diagnosis: Murder...
) - "The Garbage Man," Roy Hopkins (Mike Starr)
- "The Motivational Speaker," Nathan Abrams (Dwight SchultzDwight SchultzWilliam Dwight Schultz is an American stage, television, film actor, and voice artist. He is best known for his roles as Captain "Howling Mad" Murdock on the 1980s action show The A-Team, and as Reginald Barclay in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, and the film Star Trek: First...
) - "The Practical Joker," Danny Schlecht (Brent SpinerBrent SpinerBrent Jay Spiner is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and four subsequent films. His portrayal of Data in Star Trek: First Contact and of Dr...
) - "The Camp Counselor," Chuck Manley (Anthony Michael HallAnthony Michael HallMichael Anthony Hall , known professionally as Anthony Michael Hall, is an American actor, film producer and director who starred in several teen-oriented films of the 1980s. Hall began his career in commercials and on stage as a child, and made his screen debut in 1980...
) - "The Car Mechanic," Ross Logan (Mark PellegrinoMark PellegrinoMark Ross Pellegrino is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his work on Lost as Jacob and for playing Lucifer on Supernatural.-Career:...
) - "The Ex-Girlfriend" (Beth ToussaintBeth ToussaintElizabeth Toussaint is an American actress. She is best known for her television performances.-Biography:Toussaint appeared in the 1984 music video for Bon Jovi's song "She Don't Know Me", Bob Seger's 1986 song "Like a Rock", and in the 1987 music video for SAGA's song "Only Time Will Tell".From...
)
Episode titles
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