https://youtu.be/4liCMVq50UU
Released in 1987, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future was a television show from Landmark Entertainment and a toy line from Mattel that could interact with the show for about 3-5 minutes per episode. The television show was not a cartoon and although it was meant for kids, themes of the show were sometimes adult in nature as the setting was that of a post-nuclear future, characters had romances, and there was plenty of violence. Although the setting is post-apocalyptic, it is a distant future with advanced weapons and the toys feature technology that resembles that of a video game light gun. Captain Power VHS tapes were also sold so that kids could play when the show was not currently airing. The tapes are not episodes but training games and they do feature animation rather than live action for most of the video. A player's actions cannot actually impact the show, they simply shoot at marked targets to earn points and the show could shoot back.
Each light gun toy could also be used to target another toy, and when one of the ships is hit enough times to deplete all of the PowerPoints the pilot will be ejected. The star of the show is, of course, Captain Power who pilots the PowerJet XT-7 while his nemesis Lord Dread flies the Phantom Striker. There are also action figures for the supporting characters, a Power Base playset (interacts with show), and a variety of accessories and a toy gun that can interact with the show as well. A Captain Power comic book and computer game were released too, and in 2011 all 22 episodes were made available in a DVD set. To actually use the toys with the TV show today you'd need an older cathode ray tube (CRT) television since modern TVs cannot be used with light gun toys or video games.
I only own the XT-7, action figures of the two main characters, and a VHS tape which is rather brief at just over 15 minutes in length. The PowerJet is powered by one 9-volt and two AA batteries, and despite my leaving the AA batteries in it for 30 years it actually still works. Price tags are on the packaging for the action figures indicating that they cost $4.37 each at Kmart.
Captain Power & Lord Dread
Battle Guide Rules Booklet
Bio Dread Strike Mission VHS Tape & Interactive Videotape Rules Booklet
No comments:
Post a Comment