Photon (TV show)
Encyclopedia
Photon was a live action television show in the mid 1980s, which was tied in to the Photon
lasertag arenas and home game.
is actually a way to detect the strongest warriors in the galaxy, who will then be recruited to fight the forces of darkness. After shooting his laser gun and saying "The light shines!", he would be transported to a space ship to join his fellow Photon Warriors. His alien compatriots include an orphan earthling boy genius named Parcival, a shape-changing blob named Pike, a dinosaur named Leon, a cyborg named Lord Baethan, and Tivia, a black ninja princess from another world populated by women after the males became extinct. Their mentor is a sort of computer named MOM. The villains' motto is "Let the darkness grow!"
. Many of the costumes were designed and manned by people who worked on Super Sentai
and other tokusatsu
programs in Japan. Production values were rather low, and a majority of the sets were chroma-keyed in.
The show only lasted one season. However, it did have a series finale.
Directors: Yasuhiro Horiuchi and Koichi Nakajima.
Writers: Ray Dryden, Tsunehisa Itô, Satoshi Namiki, Sukehiro Tomita.
under the pseudonym of David Peters.
Two series of books were planned and started. The series aimed at a younger audience was by Peter David
, under the pseudonym of David Peters, and 6 books were written. The only published novel of the series aimed at the Young Adult market was written by Michael P. Kube-McDowell
under the house name Michael Hudson.
included segments of Photon under the title Space Scout Theater.
Photon: The Ultimate Game on Planet Earth
Photon was the name of the first commercial lasertag arenas. The company also came out with a home lasertag game, and there were various media tie-ins: a TV show also called Photon and a series of novels by Peter David.- History :...
lasertag arenas and home game.
Hook
Photon followed the adventures of a young high school student, Christopher Jarvis with the alias of "Bhodi Li". Chris discovers that the lasertag game PhotonPhoton: The Ultimate Game on Planet Earth
Photon was the name of the first commercial lasertag arenas. The company also came out with a home lasertag game, and there were various media tie-ins: a TV show also called Photon and a series of novels by Peter David.- History :...
is actually a way to detect the strongest warriors in the galaxy, who will then be recruited to fight the forces of darkness. After shooting his laser gun and saying "The light shines!", he would be transported to a space ship to join his fellow Photon Warriors. His alien compatriots include an orphan earthling boy genius named Parcival, a shape-changing blob named Pike, a dinosaur named Leon, a cyborg named Lord Baethan, and Tivia, a black ninja princess from another world populated by women after the males became extinct. Their mentor is a sort of computer named MOM. The villains' motto is "Let the darkness grow!"
Quirks
- Most of the action was about recharging "Photon Crystals". Either the good side or bad side could shoot the crystal and thus make the associated planet good or evil for the next hundred years.
- At some point during the show, a music-video-like sequence, featuring a recent hit song, would be played.
- The monsters notably had the letters "-arr" at the end of their names. For example, Pirarr (a pirate themed monster), Bugaar (a giant British bug), Dogarr (a doglike monster), Destructarr (an indescribable alien) and Warriarr (a four-armed monster). Bhodi Li's nemesis is Mandarr/Evan, a fallen Photon warrior under mind controlMind controlMind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...
. Their master is an evil overlord known as the Warlord of Arr (although the planet itself is never seen). - The villains would project holograms of themselves onto the battlefield and leave their bodies behind so that when they were shot they would survive to appear later.
- This was one of the first kids shows to show the main character, Bhodi Li, get defeated (appeared to have been killed by getting Laser tagged) and having the episode end. He came back soon after.
- Before and after every commercial break, one of the heroes would say "The Light Shines" to the viewer.
Production and airtime
The show was filmed in both the U.S. and JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Many of the costumes were designed and manned by people who worked on Super Sentai
Super Sentai
The is the name given to the long-running Japanese superhero team genre of shows produced by Toei Co., Ltd., Toei Agency and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi...
and other tokusatsu
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
programs in Japan. Production values were rather low, and a majority of the sets were chroma-keyed in.
The show only lasted one season. However, it did have a series finale.
Directors: Yasuhiro Horiuchi and Koichi Nakajima.
Writers: Ray Dryden, Tsunehisa Itô, Satoshi Namiki, Sukehiro Tomita.
Cast and characters
- Bhodi Li (played by Christopher Lockwood)
- Tivia, Princess of Nivia (played by Loretta Haywood)
- Lord Beatham (played by Graham Ravey)
- Parcival (played by Eros Rivers)
- Leon/Sarge (played by Akiyoshi Ono)
- Uncle Pike (played by Kazuhisa Kanamaru)
- Kathy Jarvis (played by Clarissa Reid)
- Barbara Johnson (played by Tamara Johnson)
- Richard Jarvis (played by Paul Laroque)
- Pirarr (played by Sam Taylor)
- Mandarr/Evan (played by David Anthony, aka David Stay)
- Warriarr (played by Satoshi Ishihara)
- Dogarr (played by Deiichi Igarashi)
- Bugarr (played by Yoshito Shiraishi)
- Destructarr (played by Yoshito Nagatsuka)
Related books
There were a number of book tie-ins, some of them written by popular comic book and TV author Peter DavidPeter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
under the pseudonym of David Peters.
Two series of books were planned and started. The series aimed at a younger audience was by Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
, under the pseudonym of David Peters, and 6 books were written. The only published novel of the series aimed at the Young Adult market was written by Michael P. Kube-McDowell
Michael P. Kube-McDowell
Michael Paul Kube-McDowell is a science fiction novelist. He has also dabbled in music, written for television, been a stringer for a daily newspaper, and published short fiction, reviews, assorted nonfiction and erotica. He was honored for teaching excellence by the 1985 White House Commission on...
under the house name Michael Hudson.
Reruns
The Club Mario segments of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! is an American television series based upon Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2 video games. It was originally broadcast via first-run syndication to mostly independent or Fox television stations from September 4, 1989, to December 1, 1989, with...
included segments of Photon under the title Space Scout Theater.