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Lazer Tag Academy

Field	Value
genre	Animation
runtime	30 minutes
developer	Dan DiStefano
director	John Kimball
Rudy Larriva
executive_producer	{{Plainlist
voices	{{Plainlist
narrator	Don LaFontaine (Opening narration)
company	{{Plainlist
country	United States
language	English
network	NBC
first_aired
last_aired
num_episodes	13

Rudy Larriva

Joe Ruby
Ken Spears
Booker Bradshaw
Pat Fraley
Noelle Harling
Billy Jayne
Christina MacGregor
Tress MacNeille
Sid McCoy
Frank Welker
R.J. Williams
Ruby-Spears Productions
Worlds of Wonder
Saban Productions Lazer Tag Academy is an animated television series inspired by Worlds of Wonder's Lazer Tag (their branded version of the pursuit game referred to generically as "laser tag") that was created by Ruby-Spears Productions. Original episodes aired on NBC from September 13 to December 6, 1986 with reruns lasting until August 22, 1987.

It was later shown in reruns under the new title Lazer Patrol on the Sci Fi Channel as part of Sci Fi Cartoon Quest.

Another laser tag related series, DIC Entertainment's live-action Photon series aired the same year in syndication.

The show contains numerous popular culture references, from the Man in the Iron Mask to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Synopsis

Jamie Jaren, the Lazer Tag Champion of 3010, travels back in time to the year 1987 to help her ancestors, teenagers Tom and Beth and toddler Nicky. Jamie protects the kids from Draxon Drear, a master criminal from the year 2061 who was unwittingly revived from suspended animation by Jamie's teacher Professor Olanga after he ended up in that state following a spaceship hijacking accident. Draxon's spaceship crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and was kept in suspended animation until he was revived. Professor Olanga's analysis reveals that Draxon is a relative of Jamie.

Draxon has traveled back in time to destroy Beth because she would eventually create the Starlyte gun and Starsensor (two real-life Lazer Tag products) worn by Jamie. These machines enabled Jamie to compete in the Lazer Tag tournaments of her time period. In the hands of certain individuals, a Starlyte is capable of producing effects that enable the wielder to manipulate matter and energy on a molecular scale and with the aid of the Starsensor, travel through time.

Draxon leads a group of genetically-enhanced humanoids called Skuggs who were originally created to serve humanity before they ended up in Draxon's thrall. One of the Skuggs accidentally sets off the suspended animation gas on Draxon's spaceship, which reawakens Draxon and the Skuggs several centuries in the future.

Beth and Tom's parents Andrew and Genna Jaren were mostly ignorant to the battles with Draxon Drear and the Skuggs and believed Jamie was a foreign exchange student. In addition, Tom and Beth's schoolmate Charles Ferguson is suspicious of Jamie, and repeatedly tries to learn her secret.

Episodes

Cast

Booker Bradshaw - Draxon Drear
Pat Fraley - Charlie Ferguson, Skuggs
Noelle Harling - Jamie Jaren
Billy Jayne - Tom Jaren
Don LaFontaine - Opening Narration
Christina MacGregor - Beth Jaren
Tress MacNeille - Genna Jaren
Sid McCoy - Professor Olanga
Frank Welker - Andrew Jaren, Skuggs, Ralphie
R.J. Williams - Nicky Jaren

Additional voices

Susan Blu
Phillip Clark
Michael Horton
Harvey Jason
Rodney Kageyama
Maurice LaMarche
Mel Wells

Crew

Michael Hack - Voice Director
Dan DiStefano - Story Editor
Ted Field - Assistant Story Editor
John Kimball and Rudy Larriva - Series Directors

UK VHS release

VHS title	Release date	Episodes
	Lazer Tag Academy (VC1088)		1987		"The Beginning", "Skugg Duggery"

Home video and syndication

Three VHS tapes were released by Celebrity Home Entertainment:

Lazer Tag Academy: The Movie was released in 1989 (95 minutes)
Lazer Tag Academy: Champion's Biggest Challenge was released March 21, 1989 (110 minutes)
The third tape was released on June 19, 1991, with a single episode, The Battle Hymn of the Jarens.

Lazer Tag Academy was later rerun in syndication under the name Laser Patrol. This version was also shown briefly on the Sci-Fi Channel.

References

"Saturday Morning: Good And Bad". [[Los Angeles Times]].
(1997). "The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television". Watson-Guptill Publications.
(2018). "The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows". Rowman & Littlefield.
(2005). "Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003". McFarland & Co.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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