Photon (TV series) facts for kids

Photon was a cool live-action TV show from the 1980s. It was based on the popular Photon laser tag game. The show was about a group of heroes who played laser tag, but it turned out to be much more than just a game! It was produced by DIC Audiovisuel and aired in different places across the United States.

What is Photon About?

The show Photon followed the exciting adventures of Christopher Jarvis. He was a high school student who used the secret name "Bhodi Li". Chris found out that the laser tag game called Photon was actually a test. It was designed to find the bravest warriors in the whole galaxy! These warriors were then chosen to fight against evil forces.

Joining the Photon Warriors

When Chris shot his laser gun and said, "The light shines!", he was instantly taken to a space station. There, he joined other amazing Photon Warriors. His alien friends included:

• Parcival, a super smart orphan boy from Earth.
• Pike, a blob that could change its shape.
• Leon, a lizard-like creature.
• Lord Baethan, a powerful cyborg.
• Tivia, a black ninja princess from a planet called Nivia. This planet was only home to women after the males disappeared.

Their wise leader was a smart computer named MOM, which stood for Multiple Operation Matrix. The bad guys in the show had a scary motto: "Let the darkness grow!"

The Mission

Each group, both the heroes and the villains, had an important mission. They had to find a special Photon crystal on different planets. These crystals were nearly at the end of their hundred-year charge.

If the Photon warriors shot the crystal first, the planet would become a vibrant place full of life. But if the villains shot it first, the planet would turn into a dry, empty wasteland. The fate of many planets depended on these battles!

Meet the Characters

Here are some of the main characters and the actors who played them:

• Bhodi Li was played by Christopher Lockwood.
• Tivia, Princess of Nivia, was played by Loretta Haywood.
• Lord Beathan was played by Graham Ravey.
• Parcival was played by Eros Rivers.
• Leon/Sarge was played by Akiyoshi Ono.
• Uncle Pike was played by Kazuhisa Kanamaru.
• Kathy Jarvis was played by Clarissa Reid.
• Barbara Jarvis was played by Tamara Johnson.
• Richard Jarvis was played by Paul Laroque.
• Pirarr was played by Sam Taylor.
• Mandarr/Evan Kiley was played by David Anthony, also known as David Stay.
• Warriarr was played by Satoshi Ishihara.
• Dogarr was played by Deiichi Igarashi.
• Bugarr was played by Yoshito Shiraishi.
• Destructarr was played by Yoshito Nagatsuka.

Other Appearances

Segments of Photon were also shown as part of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. These parts were called Spaced Out Theater within the Club Mario segments.

Related Books

There were also several books written about Photon. Some of these books were written by the popular author Peter David. He is known for writing comic books, TV shows, and science fiction stories.

Two different series of books were planned. One series was for younger readers and had 6 books written by David under the pen name David Peters. Another series was for young adults. Only one novel from this series was published. It was written by Michael P. Kube-McDowell using the name Michael Hudson.