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TV Powww

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TV POWWW was a syndicated game show, in which viewers via telephone control the video game featured in the program, in hopes of winning prizes. TV POWWW was a franchised game show format, hosted locally by hosts at stations that purchased the rights to the program. TV POWWW was syndicated from the late-1970s to the mid-1980s.

The actual formatting of the program may vary -- many presented TV POWWW as a series of segments that run during the commercial breaks of television programming (a la Dialing for Dollars), while some (such as KCOP in Los Angeles) presented TV POWWW as a standalone program.

TV POWWW used games from the Fairchild Channel F console early in its run. Later, they would switch to Intellivision games, after that console went on the market.

Gameplay

In the video game being featured, the at-home player would give directions over the phone, while seeing the game over the screen. When the viewer determined that the weapon was aiming at the target, they say "Pow!", in which that weapon would activate.

It is unknown what kind of technology was involved -- some say that it was by the use of special circuitry, turning voice into simple digital signals that the console would understand. Others say that a human merely listened to the given directions and moved the controller according to the directions.

One of the pitfalls of the gameplay was that, due to broadcasting technicalities, there was significant lag in the transmission of a television signal. The player would experience this lag when playing at home, which likely made playing the game somewhat more difficult.

Featured Games

Channel F

  • Shooting Gallery

Intellivision

TV POWWW variants

TV PIXX

One notable version of TV POWWW was one used by New York based television station WPIX, called TV-PIXX (playing on the station's call letters). Hosted by station staff announcer Ralph Lowenstein, it was aired during the traditional weekday afternoon slot of children's TV as an interlude. Participants would be called at home to play a videogame that appeared on their screen.

Participants interacted with the game by saying the word "PIXX" to perform game-related actions. Prizes included T-shirts and $10 U.S. Savings Bonds. They could double their prize or win a bonus prize (such as advance tickets to see upcoming films) by answering a Trivia question. For a chance at playing, children could send a postcard with their name, address, and phone number to TV PIXX. David Elliot, of Staten Island NY, was the grand all time champion of TV Pixx, having won the elusive "Keyop" award, named after the famed character from Battle of the Planets. WPIX's program lasted until 1982; for many New York viewers, TV PIXX was their first glimpse of the Intellivison home game system.[1]

Switchback

Switchback aired on CBC Television station CBRT in Calgary, Alberta in 1985, also including Intellivision games.

Other stations that carried TV POWWW

References

  1. ^ Intellivision Lives website: Newsletter, March 2002

See also

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