3-2-1 Contact

Watching this show was an after school ritual for me. I still remember the episode where the kids were stranded in the middle of Death Valley and spelled out HELP in rocks, hoping for a plane to fly past them. Do you remember the bizzare episodes of the Bloodhound Gang? The science they taught everyone who watched it still haunts me to this day. Do you remember the pinhole camera in the back of the van when they got kidnapped by the art thieves, or the ladder the fat lady broke going up to the attic to get her mothball infested dress?? Am I the only one who remembers this stuff??

A cult serial treasure of the 80s that connects education with fun in a very charming way and thus tackles the important task of showing young people that the acquisition of knowledge is a great good that can be very fulfilling and enjoyable. Iconic backdrops, likeable characters and actors, funny ideas and well-chosen knowledge transfer make this series a little treasure. It's just sad and not a good sign of the times that such productions have no place on TV today.

In one very memorable episode of the 1980 season, one of the girls (I think it was Trini) went to a KISS concert to get a little behind the scenes introduction in how all the sound equipment was put together. They then played part of the concert. I was watching this episode with my friend and just as they were playing the concert, his dad walked in and got all upset that we were watching junk on TV. He didn't listen when we tried to explain that it was an educational program on PBS, and he forced us to turn it off!!!

The main difference between the first season and later seasons is that the original 321 Contact gang was composed of 2 girls and 1 guy, while later seasons saw the inclusion of a wise-crack prone kid. Thus, while the first season had a Three's Company vibe to it, later episodes had more of a Scrappy Doo vibe that got a little annoying.

I don't know that they ever made new Bloodhound Gang episodes. I kind of remember seeing the same ones over and over again even during the newer episodes.

Like the rest of the users, I watched the entire first season (probably while killing time, waiting for "Battlestar Galactica '80" to start) and then more or less lost interest. Even at 7 I remember thinking it was cool that Marc had this cool apartment/clubhouse that he got to share with two chicks. The fact that they mostly just hung out, doing strange science experiments, didn't phase me a bit. I guess that's just what a guy does with two chicks in their clubhouse. Unlike some of the other users, I really liked the Bloodhound Gang. I remember one episode in particular where they investigate a ghost at some old lady's house. Turns out her creepy son was doing it in order to get her to sell the place so he could pay off his gambling debts - not bad for a kids show. Plus, the ghost itself was really friggin' scary - it cackled and wiggled and, to be honest, scared the crap out of me. Turns out the son created the ghost by - and here comes the sciency aspect of the mystery - catching moths using pheromones and then illuminating the wriggling moths with a spotlight, creating the illusion of this amoeba-like squirming ghost. He also played creepy cackling music on his tape player for added effect. All in all the whole process seemed a little laborious, but then I guess it wouldn't have fit the show if they didn't get a chance to discuss moth pheramones. I also remember another bloodhound episode where this guy claimed someone had stolen his priceless grandfather clock. In reality, he wrapped it in plastic and dumped it in his well with the intention of using bags of salt to float it to the top so he could retrieve it after he collected the insurance money. Like one person said, very Encyclopedia Brown. Anyhow, great show and don't kid, that theme song rocked. Although the frog and baby were, admittedly, a bit gross.

Back in 1980, when I was in 3rd grade, I remember a brand new show premiering on PBS called 3-2-1 Contact. At that time, I had just started getting interested in science. Since I didn't have cable, and Mr. Wizard I had never heard of at the time, I found this show to be very interesting. It became an after school routine for me to watch, looking forward to what they had planned to teach that week. For those of you who've never watched it, they would to devote an entire week on a particular subject, which really kept you watching if it was something that interested you (or kept you changing the channel if you were bored by it, something that never happened to me on this show).

3-2-1 Contact really inspired me to maintain an interest in science ever since then. It was 3-2-1 Contact that got my interest in computers back then, which turned out to be a lucrative career for me. I also used to subscribe to the magazine they had by the same name (also published by Children's Television Workshop who created Sesame Street and The Electric Company).

All in all, I'd have to say that this was a very wonderful series to learn from, and now that it's on Noggin a new generation of kids can learn from it. My young son and I watch it together now, and he's learning a lot from it.