| Powerhouse | |
|---|---|
Title card of the Powerhouse television series. |
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| Format | Mystery, Adventure, Educational |
| Created by | Mark Johnson |
| Developed by | Educational Film Center |
| Written by | Ruth Pollak |
| Directed by | John Gray Michael Switzer |
| Presented by | Elizabeth Johnson |
| Starring | Sandra Bowie Domenica Galati Jason Kravits Michael Mack Jessica Prentice Michael Wikes |
| Voices of | Mark Gordon |
| Narrated by | Mark Johnson |
| Opening theme | The Powerhouse |
| Ending theme | The Powerhouse |
| Composer(s) | Fred Karns (score) Richard Paul Brier (theme) |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 16 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Ira H. Klugerman Martin Sonnenberg |
| Editor(s) | Terry Halle |
| Location(s) | Washington, DC |
| Cinematography | Tom Richmond |
| Running time | 28 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | PBS |
| Picture format | 1.37:1 |
| Audio format | Mono |
| Original run | December 12, 1982 – January 3, 1983 |
Powerhouse is a United States television series produced by the Educational Film Center at Northern Virginia ETV and aired on PBS for 16 episodes in 1982. It billed itself as "a 16-part series for young people and their families," with the target audience being primarily preteens and teenagers, and was widely praised by educational groups. The series was later rerun by Nickelodeon in the mid-1980s.
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Set in Washington, DC, Powerhouse focused on the adventures of a racially and ethnically diverse group of six teenagers and young adults from the inner city, based at a community center founded by a woman named Brenda Gaines, who inherited the location from her family. The basic theme of the series is that every person is a source of creativity and power. "We all have a power house deep down inside," as one line said in the show's theme song. Episodes dealt with significant personal issues that affect teenagers such as alcoholism, peer pressure, physical fitness, and more, but they were combined with fast-paced action-adventure stories in which the group often had to solve a mystery or prevent a crime. For instance, in one episode they had to uncover the head of a racketeering operation that threatened to put Brenda and Powerhouse out of business. In another episode, they tried to track down the source of a potentially lethal food-poisoning epidemic, a task that took on even greater urgency when one of the group became infected.
One of Powerhouse's innovations was the use of what the show called Uncommercials. Since the show ran on PBS, which is commercial-free, the producers created 30- to 90-second commercial-like breaks that would air during the broadcast. Instead of selling products, uncommercials would sell a theme, often in entertaining or humorous ways.
One uncommercial, for example, featured a 12-year-old boy who asked, "How do I get a girl to like me?" Several boys and girls of around the same age then offered suggestions.
Another uncommercial featured Henry Winkler as a Celebrity Organ, giving advice on how to take care of your lungs.
Another popular uncommercial theme was Don't Just Sit There—Do Something, which encouraged viewers to do something active or constructive.
Another Powerhouse feature was a salute to a particular youth organization, such as the Boy Scouts of America; these salutes preceded at least one of the uncommercials.
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