3-2-1 Contact

Synopsis "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

Sub Categories live-action
educational

Studio Children's Television Workshop (CTW)

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 Sánchez
Maggie		Unknown
Unknown		Leon W. Grant
Unknown		Liz Moses
Unknown		Ginny Ortiz
Unknown		David Quinn