Starcade

Starcade
Created by	James Caruso Mavis Arthur
Developed by	James Caruso Mavis Arthur
Presented by	Mike Eruzione (1981 pilot) Alex Trebek (1982 pilots) Mark Richards (1982–1983) Geoff Edwards (1983–1984)
Narrated by	Kevin McMahan
Opening theme	Mindseed Edwin Anderson
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	133 + 4 pilots
Production
Executive producer(s)	James Caruso Mavis Arthur
Location(s)	Bridge Studios San Francisco, CA
Running time	24 minutes (approximately)
Production company(s)	JM Production Company Turner Program Services
Distributor	Turner Program Services
Release
Original network	WTBS (1982–1983) Syndicated (1983–1984)
Picture format	480i (SDTV)
Original release	December 27, 1982 – September 1984
External links
Website

Starcade was a game show where contestants competed against one another by playing arcade video games. The series originally aired on WTBS from 1982 to 1983, followed by a run in syndication for the following season.

The series was first hosted by Mark Richards. Geoff Edwards replaced Richards after the first 23 shows, and continued until the show's cancellation.

Starcade was produced by the JM Production Company for Ted Turner to air on WTBS and later syndication by Turner Program Services (TPS). Starcade was the first video arcade game show, and set the blueprint for similar game shows like Video Power, Nick Arcade, and Arena. The show was used to showcase brand new arcade games.

Shortly after the series' cancellation, a second JM-produced video arcade game show, The Video Game, was aired for a brief period from 1984 to 1985.

Starcade aired in repeats on the G4 network from its inception in 2002 to 2004, shortly before its merger with Tech TV.

Two players (or teams; age-regardless) competed. Three rounds were played.

Each round began with a video arcade-game related toss-up question. The player who buzzed in and answered correctly chose one of five free-standing arcade games in the studio and was given 40 seconds (later 60, then 50) to amass as high a score as possible. The opponent then played the same game, and whatever points the players earned were added to their overall scores. If a player's game ended before time ran out, the turn ended immediately and the player was credited with whatever points they had earned.

The second and third rounds were played identically, with 40 seconds (later 50) game playing time for the second round, and 30 seconds (later 40) for the third. Once a game was chosen for play in any round, it could not be chosen again. At the end of the second round (and third when the series began), the player in the lead played "Name the Game," attempting to identify four arcade games by screenshots. The player won a prize for correctly identifying at least three of the games.

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Wikipedia