Smash TV

Smash TV
Promotional arcade flyer
Developer(s)	Williams
Publisher(s)	Williams
Designer(s)	Eugene Jarvis
Programmer(s)	Mark Turmell
Artist(s)	John Tobias Tim Coman
Composer(s)	Jon Hey
Platform(s)	Arcade (original) Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Amiga, C64, Genesis, Master System, NES, SNES, ZX Spectrum
Release date(s)	NA: April 1990
Genre(s)	Multidirectional shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player Two player co-op
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	Midway Y Unit Software
Sound	M6809 @ 2 MHz Yamaha YM2151 @ 3.57958 MHz HC55516 2 x DAC
Display	Raster resolution 410×256 (vertical)

Smash TV is a 1990 arcade game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams. It is a dual-stick shooter in the same vein as its predecessor, Robotron: 2084 (also produced by Jarvis). As in the previous game, players battle waves of enemies by using guns. The plot of Smash TV revolves around a futuristic game show in which players compete for various prizes as well as their lives.

The Super NES, Genesis, Master System, and Game Gear versions were titled Super Smash TV.

The 1992 Williams arcade game Total Carnage shares many elements with Smash TV, and was also programmed by Turmell, but isn't a sequel.

The play mechanic is similar to that of Eugene Jarvis' earlier Robotron: 2084, with dual-joystick controls and series of single-screen areas. The theme of the game, borrowed from The Running Man, involves players competing in a violent game show, set in the then-future year of 1999. Moving from one room to the next within the studio/arena, players have to shoot down hordes of enemies who advance from all sides while at the same time collecting weapons, power-up items, and assorted bonus prizes, until a final showdown with the show's host where players are finally granted their prizes, life and freedom. Among the game's items are keys – if enough keys are collected, players can access a bonus level called the Pleasure Dome.

The game features verbal interjections from the gameshow host such as "Total Carnage! I love it!", "dude!" and "I'd buy that for a dollar!". The former quote gives itself to the title of the 1991 follow-up, Total Carnage, which, while not a direct sequel, features similar gameplay. The quote "I'd buy that for a dollar!" is a reference to the catchphrase of Bixby Snyder, a fictional television comic in the 1987 film RoboCop.