Photon (TV series)
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''Photon'' was a live action television show in the mid-1980s, which was tied into the
Photon A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless, so they always ...
lasertag Laser tag is a recreational shooting sport where participants use infrared-emitting light guns to tag designated targets. Infrared-sensitive signaling devices are commonly worn by each player to register hits and are sometimes integrated with ...
arenas and home game. It was produced by DIC Enterprises as a first run syndicated kids series which shown in various syndicated markets through most of the mid eighties.
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
-Volume 139, Issues 10-14-Page 59
Animator
Shinji Aramaki is a Japanese anime director and mechanical designer from Fukuoka Prefecture. He graduated from Fukuoka Prefectural Fukuoka High School and Okayama University. He was a member of Artmic and is currently the Chief Creative Officer (CCO) at SOLA ...
served as miniature model maker/designer on the special effects team for the series.


Premise

''Photon'' followed the adventures of a young high school student, Christopher Jarvis with the alias of "Bhodi Li". Chris discovers that the
lasertag Laser tag is a recreational shooting sport where participants use infrared-emitting light guns to tag designated targets. Infrared-sensitive signaling devices are commonly worn by each player to register hits and are sometimes integrated with ...
game
Photon A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless, so they always ...
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 station to join his fellow Photon Warriors. His alien compatriots include an orphan earthling boy genius named Parcival, a shape-changing blob named Pike, a lizard-like creature named Leon, a cyborg named Lord Baethan, and Tivia, a black ninja princess from Nivia populated by women after the males became extinct. Their mentor is a sentient computer named MOM (Multiple Operation Matrix). The villains' motto is "Let the darkness grow!" The mission of each faction is to find the Photon crystal on each planet just as it nears the end of its hundred-year charge. If the Photon warriors are the first to shoot the crystal, the planet will be changed into a vital place full of life. If the villains do so, it will become a barren wasteland.


Cast and characters

* Bhodi Li (played by Christopher Lockwood) * Tivia, Princess of Nivia (played by Loretta Haywood) * Lord Beathan (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 Jarvis (played by Tamara Johnson) * Richard Jarvis (played by Paul Laroque) * Pirarr (played by Sam Taylor) * Mandarr/Evan Kiley (played by David Anthony) * Warriarr (played by Satoshi Ishihara) * Dogarr (played by Deiichi Igarashi) * Bugarr (played by Yoshito Shiraishi) * Destructarr (played by Yoshito Nagatsuka)


Production

The show was filmed in both the U.S. and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Many of the costumes were designed and worn by people who worked on
Super Sentai is a Japanese superhero team metaseries and media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company, and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi ("Sentai" is the Japanese word for "task force" or "fighting squadron"). The sho ...
and other
tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...
programs in Japan. Production values were rather low, and a majority of the sets were chroma-keyed in. The show only lasted one season, but it did have a series finale. Directors: Yasuhiro Horiuchi and Koichi Nakajima. Writers: Ray Dryden, Tsunehisa Itô, Satoshi Namiki, Sukehiro Tomita.


Rebroadcast

The Club Mario segments of ''
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' is an American live-action/animated television series airing from September 4 to November 30, 1989, on syndication. The series is based on the video games ''Super Mario Bros.'' and '' Super Mario Bros. 2'' by ...
'' included segments of ''Photon'' under the title ''Spaced Out Theater''.


Episodes


Related books

There were a number of book tie-ins, some of them written by popular comic book, TV and sci-fi author
Peter David Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Greatest Hits" Co ...
. Two series of books were planned and started. The series aimed at a younger audience was by 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 Michael Paul Kube-McDowell (born August 29, 1954), also known as Michael McDowell or Michael P. McDowell, is an American science fiction and non-fiction author. Background Born Michael Paul McDowell on August 29, 1954 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...
under the house name Michael Hudson.


References


External links

* {{IMDb title, 0366068, Photon
Series production, game and merchandise
article at the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''
Photon Forever
- Fan Site 1986 American television series debuts 1987 American television series endings 1980s American children's television series 1980s American science fiction television series 1980s Japanese television series Television series by DIC Entertainment Television series by DHX Media First-run syndicated television programs in the United States English-language television shows American children's science fiction television series American television shows featuring puppetry Television series about teenagers