LAZER TAG ACADEMY
(NBC, September 13-December 6, 1986)
Ruby-Spears Productions, Worlds of Wonder, Productions II,
Inc.
MAIN CAST:
Noelle Harling –
Jamie Jaren
Booker Bradshaw –
Draxon Drear
Christina MacGregor
– Beth Jaren
Billy Jayne – Tom
Jaren
R.J. Williams –
Nicky Jaren
Pat Fraley – Charlie
Ferguson, Skuggs
Sid McCoy –
Professor Olanga
Tress MacNeille –
Genna Jaren
Frank Welker – Andrew Jaren, Skuggs,
Ralphie, various
Don
LaFontaine – Opening narration
After the fall of Atari
in 1983, a couple of its employees—particularly Don Kingsborough
and Mark Robert Goldberg—went off to create their own toy company: Worlds of
Wonder (or WoW). Their first big hit came in 1985 when they licensed the
rights to produce and sell Teddy
Ruxpin. In 1986, they had their next big hit with Lazer Tag.
In 1977, George Carter III was
inspired by the original Star Wars to
create an arena-based scored game where players would use “lasers” to tag each
other. In 1982, Carter began the process of designing what would become his Photon
arenas. The first opened in 1984 in Dallas, Texas and quickly began to
expand around the country.
As the laser tag craze grew, WoW developed their own
version of the game in Lazer Tag so that people could play anywhere and not
just in specified arenas. It featured a futuristic-looking gun known as the “StarLyte
pistol” and a chest harness
that held a “StarSensor”
affixed with Velcro. Players would shoot their guns at each other, hoping the
laser from the gun would connect to the sensor on the harness, indicating that
their opponent was tagged. Gradually,
new accessories were introduced into the line. They created a StarCap
that allowed a player to take head-shots, a StarVest
which was a fancier version of the harness, an upgrade of the Cap called the StarHelmet, a
StarBase
to serve multiple functions during a game, StarTalk
walkie talkies, and a StarLyte Pro rifle. Several months prior, Photon released
their own home version
of laser tag.
With a new craze on the rise, it was only natural for
the concept to be somehow brought to television. Again, simultaneously, DiC Entertainment
produced a live-action show based on Carter’s business called Photon that aired in syndication. WoW
partnered with Ruby-Spears Productions
to bring Lazer Tag Academy to
Saturday mornings.
 |
| Beth and Jamie Jaren. |
In the near-utopian future of 3010, Lazer Tag had
become a national pastime with frequent competitions between the students at
the academy. Jamie Jaren (Noelle Harling) was the Lazer Tag Champion, able to
make her weapon, the StarLyte, do whatever she wanted it to with her mind due
to a special power possessed by those in her bloodline. It could be a blaster,
levitate objects, almost anything.
 |
| Drear and the Skuggs. |
Trouble came when her teacher, Professor Olanga (Sid
McCoy), and his team uncovered a sunken vessel that contained Draxon Drear
(Booker Bradshaw) and a group of defective genetically engineered humanoid
servants called Skuggs (Pat Fraley and Frank Welker) in suspended animation.
Olanga revived Drear and the Skuggs, and discovered that Drear was a distant
relative of Jamie’s. What he didn’t know was that Drear was also a criminal
from the year 2061, and upon learning how to control the StarLyte, he sent
himself and the Skuggs back in time after the creator of the StarLyte
technology: Jamie’s ancestor Beth Jaren (Christina MacGregor).
 |
| Jamie with Beth and Nicky in the 20th Century. |
Jamie followed Drear back to the late 20th
Century and befriended Beth, along with her brothers Tom (Billy Jayne) and
Nicky (R.J. Williams), and their dog Ralphie (Welker). Jamie posed as a foreign
exchange student in order to live with her relatives, leaving the elder Jarens,
Andrew (Welker) and Jenna (Tress MacNeille), fairly oblivious to their
activities. Together, they followed Drear through time to prevent his plans of
world domination from succeeding. When an emergency arose or some occasional
guidance was needed, Jamie and Olanga could contact each other through various
devices temporarily turned into holographic communicators.
The series ran on NBC
for a single season of 13 episodes beginning on September 13, 1986. Notable
announcer Don LaFontaine provided the opening narration for the series, giving
viewers a quick recap of the story, over the theme music composed by Shuki Levy
and Haim Saban. In 1993, the series returned to syndication in reruns on the Sci-Fi Channel. Likely due to licensing, the
series was renamed Laser Patrol and
given a new opening.
 |
| The Lazer Tag competitions. |
Celebrity
Home Entertainment released three VHS tapes containing several episodes of
the series. Lazer Tag
Academy: The Movie was released in 1989 and featured an abridged
version of the first episode combined with “Sir Tom of Jaren,” “Redbeard’s
Treasure,” “The Olanga Story” and “Jamie and the Spitfires.” Also released in
1989 was Lazer
Tag Academy: Champion’s Biggest Challenge which featured the complete
first episode and “Skugg Duggery.” Unlike the prior release, both episodes were
presented in their original formats instead of being made into a single story.
The final VHS in 1991 was named for the single episode it contained, The
Battle Hymn of the Jarens. Curtains
and sheets
featuring the characters were produced, as was a View-Master
set (although the Academy name
was less prominent in favor of the brand’s name).
 |
| Drear mastering the StarLyte pistol. |
Things soon took
a dark turn for Lazer Tag and WoW. In April of 1987, someone had seen a
group of college kids playing a night game of Lazer Tag around Central
Elementary School in San Bernardino County, California. They called the police
reporting suspicious activity and a deputy came to investigate. One of the
players, Leonard Falcon, mistook the deputy for one of his opponents and
“fired” upon him. The deputy, not knowing it was a toy, responded in kind—with
real ammunition.
 |
| Tiger Electronics' version of Lazer Tag. |
The negative press surrounding Falcon’s death,
coupled with lower than expected sales and the stock market crash of 1987
led to WoW to file for Chapter
11 bankruptcy protection; a contributing factor in the cartoon’s
cancellation. By 1988, the company’s assets were being liquidated and by 1990,
WoW was no more. The year prior, Photon also shut down as the fad has passed. Shortly
after their dissolution, Shoot The Moon
Products purchased the Lazer Tag name and licensed it to Tiger Electronics,
who began producing their own line from 1996-98. Hasbro soon acquired the license in 2004
and began producing Lazer Tag
under their Nerf
banner, as well as developed apps to make smart devices compatible with the
game. Similarly, there had been a resurgence of laser tag arenas and even competitions, clubs and
events around the world featuring the game.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“The Beginning” (9/13/86) – Unknowingly reviving criminal Draxon
Drear, Jamie Jaren follows him back in time to protect her ancestors from him.
“Skuggg Duggery” (9/20/86) – Drear creates a device that he intends to
use to turn the Jarens into Skuggs.
“Yamoto’s Curse” (9/27/86) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE
“Pay Dirt” (10/4/86) –
“Charles’ Science Prioject” (10/11/86) –
“The Witch Switch” (10/18/86) –
“The Olanga Story” (10/25/86) – Drear goes back in time to kidnap
Olanga’s ancestor and ensure he’ll never be born.
“The Battle Hymn of Jaren’s” (11/1/86) –
“Sir Tom of Jaren” (11/8/86) – Rejected for a date, Tom heads to the 6th
Century and ends up getting himself in trouble with King Arthur’s court.
“Redbeard’s Treasure” (11/15/86) – Jamie decides to help an old sea
captain find an ancient treasure by traveling back to the year his map was
made.
“Drear’s Doll” (11/22/86) –
“StarLyte on the Orient Express” (11/29/86) –
“Jamie and the Spitfires” (12/6/86) – Drear returns to the future and
takes over a gang of rogue academy students in order to help him infiltrate and
conquer the school.
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