RollerGames
Encyclopedia
Roller derby
Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...
for a national audience, and featured a number of skaters who had been in the Roller Games
Roller Games
Roller Games was the name of a sports entertainment spectacle created in the early 1960s in Los Angeles, California as a rival to the Jerry Seltzer-owned Roller Derby league, which had enjoyed a monopoly on the sport of roller derby — and its name — since its inception in 1935. Roller Games...
league (1961–1975), as well as younger participants. It was broadcast for one season (1989–1990).
About the show
In 1989, television producers David Sams and Mike Miller teamed with Roller Games owner Bill Griffiths, Sr. to create a modern version of the sport marketed as Rock and RollerGames. Sams provided color commentary while Chuck Underwood provided the main play-by-play.The show took place in the Super Roller Dome, where all matches were broadcast.
Instead of a banked oval track, a figure eight track was used where one side heavily banked. It included obstacles such as the "Wall of Death" (which was located on the heavily banked side) and the "Jet Jump". The only ones who could score during each 45-second scoring cycle
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
were the "jetters," who wore helmets and got six points if they got above the top line for three steps on the Wall of Death without going over, and two points if they got between the two lines for three steps. The "Jet Jump" had a 12-foot marker that allowed six points if the jetter got past it, and two if the jetter landed in front of it. In either case, the jetter had to land safely. The jetters also got one point each time they passed a skater in their opponent's "penalty pod," used like the penalty box
Penalty box
The penalty box is the area in ice hockey, rugby league, rugby union and some other sports where a player sits to serve the time of a given penalty, for an offense not severe enough to merit outright expulsion from the contest...
in hockey.
The rest of the cycle involved traditional roller derby elements of scoring one point for every opponent lapped. The players got as many 45-second cycles as possible within four six-minute periods (cut down from eight 12-minute periods in traditional roller derby). The team with the most points won.
As a tiebreaker
Tiebreaker
In games and sports, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is used to determine a winner from among players or teams that are tied at the end of a contest, or a set of contests.-In matches:In some situations, the tiebreaker may consist of another round of play...
, two skaters would skate around a pit full of alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
s. The first skater to skate around the pit five times or to throw his or her opponent into the alligator pit was declared the winner. The debut episode was the only time live alligators were ever used, as no ties ever happened after that.
The show also included halftime entertainment by musical performers like Lita Ford
Lita Ford
Lita Ford is a British-born, American rock musician and singer who was the lead guitarist for The Runaways and achieved popularity for her solo career between the 1980s and late 2000s.-Early life:...
, Warrant
Warrant (American band)
Warrant is an American heavy metal band from Hollywood, California, that experienced success from 1989-1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. The band first came into the national spotlight with their debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, and one of its...
, Exposé
Exposé (band)
Exposé is an American vocal group. Primarily consisting of lead vocalists Ann Curless, Jeanette Jurado, and Gioia Bruno, the group achieved much of their success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, becoming the first group to have four top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from their debut...
, and had halftime commentary by Wally George
Wally George
Wally George, born George Walter Pearch , was an American conservative radio and television commentator...
. Former Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
news reporter Shelly Jamison (who also appeared nude in Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
) served as sideline reporter. RollerGames premiered in 95% of the country, and, though generally panned by critics, was well-received among teenagers and college students.{fact}
The "world famous" Los Angeles T-Birds were one of the teams used for the show. Other teams were the Rockers, Hot Flash, Violators, Bad Attitude and Maniacs. Many of the athletes that skated for Griffiths in the past were used for RollerGames. (The Hot Flash team was referred as "Hollywood Hot Flash" on a couple of occasions.) Some of the most visible skaters included twin sisters Jennifer & Kristine Van Galder, the "T-Bird Twins" (two blonde waitresses that Sams recruited while dining at a trendy LA area eatery), "The IceBox" Robert Smith, brothers "Mr. Mean" Harold Jackson & "Monster Man" Bernie Jackson, Michael Flaningam "The California Kid", "Electric" Randi Whitman (who got her nickname because of her hair), "Stars and Stripes" Matt Bickham, "Dar The Star" Darlene Langlois, "Latin Spitfire" Patsy Delgado and Rocker Speed Skater and Guitarist on the Roller Games TV Theme Song Michael "Fish" Fischer who was forced to leave the team before the first telecast because he broke his hand in practice, and the late great Ralphie Valladares, whose daughter, Gina, skated for Hot Flash. Other past Roller Derby personalities to appear on RollerGames included "Mizz" Georgia Hase
Georgia Hase
Georgia Hase is best known as a heel manager of two prominent roller derby teams, the Detroit Devils of the original Roller Games league and Bad Attitude of the syndicated TV series RollerGames and was recognized as the most controversial figure in the history of the game. She had a longtime...
, the cantankerous heel manager of the Detroit Devils and Bad Attitude, and "Little" Richard Brown, the Maniacs' top skater who got to manage and coach several skaters on RollerJam
RollerJam
RollerJam was an American television series featuring roller derby that aired on The Nashville Network from 1999 to 2001. It was the first attempt to bring roller derby to TV since RollerGames....
.
Director Chet Forte
Chet Forte
Fulvio Chester "Chet" Forte, Jr. was an American television director and sports radio talk show host.-Early life:...
was recruited to direct the show. Many of the graphics and camera techniques were unique for the day, like the cameras on the skaters. Some of the storylines were off-the-wall, but tame by today's standards — the main storyline was a controversy involving the T-Bird Twins being drafted as one person (more on that below), rather than two. Hair-pulling and catfights were crowd favorites.
In many cities, RollerGames aired late at night, against Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, while in others it aired mid-day on Saturdays. Although the show's ratings were quite good, even beating out American Gladiators
American Gladiators
American Gladiators is an American competition television program that aired in syndication from September 1989 to May 1996. The series matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own gladiators, in contests of strength and agility.The concept was created by...
, it only lasted one season before getting cancelled due to some of the producers going bankrupt (War Productions, Sans-Miller Productions). However, co-producers Motown Productions, Quintex Productions (who also co-produced the Disney Channel's version of Kids Incorporated
Kids Incorporated
Kids Incorporated, is an American children's television program that was produced from 1984 to 1993. It was largely a youth-oriented program with musical performances as an integral part of each and every storyline....
for two seasons), and the distributor, LBS Communications
Lexington Broadcast Services Company
Lexington Broadcast Services Company was a television production and syndication company founded in 1976 by advertising pioneer Henry Siegel...
did not go bankrupt due to RollerGames. RollerGames delivered a 4.7 national rating vs. the American Gladiators 2.5 rating. Its debut in New York scored a 9.3 overnight rating.
Rule "Controveries"
The show became noted for its "big controversy": according to a report from Sams, Georgia Hase claimed the T-Bird Twins were improperly drafted as one entity. Thus, Jennifer went to the Maniacs, and Kristine went to the Violators. At the same time, the league office informed Ralphie Valladares that he was to be the first inductee into the Hall of Fame. This led Hase to object that, according to the rule book, Ralphie could not enter unless he hung up his skates for good. The league office did not intend for that to happen.After two rule violations by John "Guru" Drew (manager for the Maniacs) and Chuck Skull (manager of the Violators) of physically abusing each of the T-Bird twins, Sams and on-the-track commentator Shelley Jamison brought up how each twin's contract was null and void, thus returning them to the T-Birds. This led Griffiths, Sr., as commissioner, to let the public decide on how this situation was to go. The American public overwhelmingly elected that Ralphie continue to skate while being inducted into the Hall of Fame, and that the twins return to the T-Birds for good.
Although the show was cancelled after one season, the show also featured an episode where Ralphie challenged the "unholy 3" ("Mizz" Georgia Hase, Guru Drew, Skull) to a 3-on-1 match race. Griffiths, Sr. pointed out that 3-on-1 wasn't legal according to league laws, but 2-on-1 was, so Skull had to drop out. While Ralphie dealt with Georgia and Drew, "Stars and Stripes" Matt Bickham reported to Shelley Jamison that he'd keep an eye on Skull. Due to the producers' bankrupcy and show's subsequent cancellation, that match race never took place.
Revivals
The show paved the way for a revival ten years later with the 1999 premiere of The New TNNSpike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
's WSL RollerJam, where former RollerGames skaters Richard Brown, Patsy Delgado and Ray Robles skated.
In January 2008, RollerGames coproducer David Sams announced that he "intends to put banked-track Roller Sports back on Television and the Internet in 2008."He later announced that The David Sams Organization was recruiting skaters, coaches, trainers, and cheerleaders for a series that "will be taped in the Los Angeles area, as early as this summer and fall." He also said "A tour is being planned for the winter/spring of 2009."
Following the cancellation of RollerGames, Griffiths continued promoting an untelevised league under the name Roller Games International, which continues the sport of RollerGames to this day.
Promotional tie-ins
- KonamiKonamiis a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
released two different video game versions of RollerGames in for different platforms: a coin-operated versionArcade gameAn arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
and a console version for the Nintendo Entertainment SystemNintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. The arcade version adapts the format of the original TV series, while the NES version is a side-scrolling action game. - In 1989 the World Alliance of Rollersports released a CD Soundtrack album featuring the show's theme song "Rock & RollerGames", as well as team theme songs "Made In The USA" (T-Birds, sung by Rockers skater Darlene Langlois), "Hit And Run" (Hot Flash, sung by skater Tammy Hansen (Grady)), "Rock It" (Rockers, sung by Langlois, Hansen and Holly Fields), "Bad Attitude" (Bad Attitude, also sung by Hansen), "Kick Butt" (Violators) and "No Brakes" (Maniacs). The album was produced by Douglas Cooper Getschal, who sang "Rock & RollerGames" and a few others.
- In 1990, WilliamsWilliams (gaming company)WMS Industries, Inc. is an American electronic gaming and amusement company based in Waukegan, Illinois. The company's main operating subsidiaries are WMS Gaming and Orion Gaming. WMS traces its roots as far back as 1943, the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded by Harry E. Williams...
released a pinballPinballPinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
game, RollerGames, designed by notable pinball designer Steve RitchieSteve RitchieSteven Scott Ritchie is an acclaimed pinball and video game designer. He has been called "The Master of Flow" by pinball aficionados due to the emphasis in his designs on ball speed, loops, and the like....
, with features the main theme song recomposed by Dan FordenDan FordenDaniel "Dan" Warner "Toasty" Forden is an American sound programmer and music composer, and was the lead programmer on several high-profile arcade and pinball games...
. - G.C. London Publishing, the original publisher of Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
magazine, put out its first and only issue of RollerGames Magazine.
Famous RG quotes
- Georgia HaseGeorgia HaseGeorgia Hase is best known as a heel manager of two prominent roller derby teams, the Detroit Devils of the original Roller Games league and Bad Attitude of the syndicated TV series RollerGames and was recognized as the most controversial figure in the history of the game. She had a longtime...
: "First of all, again, it is 'Miss' Georgia Hase!" - Georgia HaseGeorgia HaseGeorgia Hase is best known as a heel manager of two prominent roller derby teams, the Detroit Devils of the original Roller Games league and Bad Attitude of the syndicated TV series RollerGames and was recognized as the most controversial figure in the history of the game. She had a longtime...
: (to Shelly Jamison) "You know, I am pleased that Valladeres has committed himself to this Hall of Fame because he will not be skating on the T-Birds, and those tweety bird twins will be separated! One will be on the Maniacs, and the other on the Violators! You got that, lady? Take it to the bank!" - David Sams: "That was absolutely DE-VAST-AT-ING!"
- Shelly JamisonShelly JamisonShelly Jamison is a former television news reporter from Phoenix, Arizona, who appeared as a Playboy magazine cover model, and the sideline reporter on the 1989 souped-up roller derby TV series RollerGames. Jamison majored in broadcast journalism at Arizona State University.Jamison appeared...
: "Back to you, Chuck 'n Dave." - Shelly JamisonShelly JamisonShelly Jamison is a former television news reporter from Phoenix, Arizona, who appeared as a Playboy magazine cover model, and the sideline reporter on the 1989 souped-up roller derby TV series RollerGames. Jamison majored in broadcast journalism at Arizona State University.Jamison appeared...
: (during Guru Drew's abuse of Kristine) "Sexual harassment?! This means the twins are back together again! Her contract is null and void!" - Bill Griffiths, Sr.: (during an interview on the controversy) "So what I've said is I will abide by the public decision, but let the public decide!"