3-2-1 Contact (1980–1992)

A children's show explaining various principles of science and their applications.

Stars:

David Quinn, Debra Shapiro, Todd A. Rolle

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 13 wins & 34 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
David Quinn	...	Himself (78 episodes, 1986-1988)
Debra Shapiro	...	Herself (36 episodes, 1986-1988)
Todd A. Rolle	...	Himself (33 episodes, 1986-1988)

Storyline

In this series, we follow the explorations of kids as they explore science in its various fields with experiments, films, cartoons and demonstrations. To highlight these principles application in an entertaining way, we also watch the cases of the Bloodhound Gang, a group of kids who are junior detectives for a private detective agency who use simple scientific knowledge, research and deduction to solve the crimes they encounter.

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Plot Keywords:

science | children | math | educational program | number in title

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Genres:

Family

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Certificate:

TV-Y7

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 January 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

3-2-1 Kompass

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Children's Television Workshop (CTW), Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (225 episodes and 8 specials)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "Bloodhound Gang" segments were discontinued in 1986 due to the death of Marcelino Sánchez.

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Connections

Referenced in South Park: Kenny Dies (2001)

User Reviews

This show was so cool KISS made a guest appearance...

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.