Synopsis of Saturday Morning Show

"3-2-1 Contact is the secret,
It's the moment when everything happens..."

By showing the crassness and buffoonery that afflicted much of the mature world, 321 Contact proved that kids, in fact, were smarter than adults. The show cleverly combined fantasy and adventure with demonstrations of scientific deduction.

Original stars Trini, Mark, and Mary were three equally tubular and smart kids whose curiosity led them to solve unique daily problems through science and logic. Each show had a single theme that was played out through demonstrations, films, and cartoons.

"Whenever there's trouble, we're there on the double. We're the Bloodhound Gang."

The most popular segment on 321 Contact was the quasi-film noir show within the show, the ever clever Bloodhound Gang. Ricardo, Vikki, and Skip were teen private eyes often placed in precarious situations, from which only science and cool reasoning could free them. For example, when the Bloodhound Gang was kidnapped by nefarious art thieves, the kids escaped from the thieves' van by making a pinhole camera to create evidence of their disappearance.

The Bloodhound Gang episodes were clever and bizarre and seemed to pose a real threat to the young sleuths. The dark tone of the segments, which involved real childhood threats like kidnapping and abandonment, drove the superb scientific inquiry home.

A smart and sophisticated educational program, 321 Contact proved that it was cool to be smart, scientific, and especially a kid.

Release History

1980 - 1992 PBS

TV Sub Categories

live-action
educational

TV Studio

Children's Television Workshop (CTW)

Television Cast

Mary  Tannis Vallely
Marc Z. Wright
Trini Stephanie Wu
Trini Ginny Ortiz
Lisa Kelly Pino
Introduction Arte Johnson
3-2-1 Contact Theme Singer Al Dana
3-2-1 Contact Theme Singer Hank Martin
3-2-1 Contact Theme Singer Tish Rabe
3-2-1 Contact Theme Singer Ruth Sherman
The Bloodhound Gang Theme Singer Damaris Carbaugh
Vikki Allen Nan-Lyn Nelson
Skip Seth Greenspan
Ricardo James Marcelino Sanchez
Maggie Unknown
Unknown Leon W. Grant
Unknown Liz Moses
Unknown Ginny Ortiz
Unknown David Quinn

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