The Whiz Kids TV Show was, primary the "kicker" of my computer interests. Just a few months before the first showing in October 1983, my dad and I went to Philippines, for my 1st visit. I met my cousin, Carl, whom built his first computer out of Zilog Z80 computer chips, and he gave me computer chips to bring back to USA, in August 1983, a week before the assassination of Benigno Aguino (August 21, 1983). The computer chips were from Zilog Corporation in Philippines. I place those chips onto a shelf because I was busy with the Commodore VIC-20 computer.
Shortly after the initial showing of Whiz Kids in October 1983, I began to interface my Zilog computer chips with the VIC-20. I wanted to be just like Richie; in fact, my room was almost set up the same way Richie had his in the TV show. I was only 13 years old at that time.
Though I watched Wargames in the Cinema, I could not miss an episode of Whiz Kids when it was on TV. My mother went to church on Wednesday night as I had to stay home to watch Whiz Kids.
Throughout my Junior High and High School time, I was best known as a "computer geek." In 1983, I was a power user of the TRS-80 Model III computer system. By 1985, I was a power user of the Apple Macintosh. In 1986, I was a power user of Commodore Amiga 500 and Commodore 64 computers. I didn't go to my High School Prom because of my Geek Hobby.
At my graduations, I remember having my friends over to watch my recorded shows of the Whiz Kids on Betamax. I remembered that I had every episode of Whiz Kids, recorded, but I don't know what happened to that tape, as of 1992.
I'm still waiting for CBS to release the Whiz Kids onto VHS or DVD... Now that I'm in the Philippines, I'm not sure if I can be able to receive any videos from CBS. I had been asking at the video stores, but there has been nothing on Whiz Kids even been shown in the Philippines.
