Powerhouse (1982– ) User Reviews

love it

[argendorf1 · 10/10 · 2 January 2007]

The Powerhouse Series shown on both PBS and Nickeloden was ahead of its time conquering important issues.

I wish they had made more episodes I miss it very much.

Jason Kravits (LOLO) was such a cute guy. I had such a crush on him.

And the episode where the gang dealt with a disabled teenager was one of the best shows I've seen about differences and tolerance.

Todays kids need to see this show.

They should make a remake for todays youth.

Kids need a show like this on TV because it handled the important issues brilliantly

And I like to see a bunch of inner city youth deal with drugs, AIDS, School violence. racial discrimination

I'd love to see this show again

[ktsmith04 · 8/10 · 25 August 2007]

I guess this show was originally aired when I was 7-8 years old, and that's the only time I saw it, but I never forgot it. I didn't get Nickelodeon until the mid 90's so I missed it then. I remember most of the episodes you all recanted. They definitely had a freaky feel to them, especially to a 7-8 year old. I remember Pepper getting drunk and the gang with the stockings over their heads. That was suspenseful. I was pretty sheltered from scary movies growing up, so Powerhouse filled the void after the I grew out of being scared of the Wicked Witch in Wizard of Oz. I looked for some clips on You Tube but no dice. Does anyone know where any clips might be on the internet? I did find some cool clips of 321 Contact and the Bloodhound gang.

Oh My God!

[christopherburdick · 10/10 · 31 January 2009]

I just suddenly remembered the name of this show when I saw that a new version of The Electric Company was on (which, IMHO, is not nearly as good as the original). I immediately came here to look up the show. Anyway, great PBS shows when I was a kid were, 3-2-1 Contact, Electric Company, Sesame Street, Degrassi, and POWERHOUSE. I loved this program. I had a huge crush on Lolo too! LOL I was so upset, when he was dead in the last episode, I think I may have started tearing up. I would have never imagined that Jason Kravits was Lolo, the grownup version of my crush. Of course I was also bummed our that there were to be no more episodes at all. I kept looking for the next season, but nothing ever came out. Without the internet, you could never really get much additional information about those sorts of things. I would seriously buy this on DVD. I looked for POWERHOUSE on YouTube but there is nothing available. If some one made tapes of the show, please post something...

I LOVED this show!

[Rachel770 · 23 March 2004]

I remember this show. I LOVED it. All shows back then had a "low budget feel" So what? All those "retro" shows were SUPERIOR to the shows kids and teens have to grow up with now. (Few exceptions) I wish there was a way I could watch these old shows again.

Powerhouse was really good!! I remember they had some exciting themes for that day and age. I remember one time their "boss(?)', Brenda, got deathly ill and they had to solve the mystery. It turns out some lady with an infectious and deadly disease made her food. It's funny, I can't remember what I did last week, but I can remember a show I saw over 20 years ago! (I'm 30 BTW) I can even remember the theme song!!

I MISS shows like this one. It is so sad.

This was the best show!!!

[cblaiserun · 10/10 · 13 October 2006]

I am so happy that other people remember this show as well! I loved this show! I remember the one where they had to outsmart the alarm in the museum (I think to save someone their job?). This show had such an impact on me - from the Jewish episode to the one about drinking. Plus, it was empowering to see young kids solve mysteries - Encyclopedia Brown anyone?

I read in someone's comments that they only had 16 episodes? Wow! I do remember watching reruns of this - it was too much fun.

I recognized the woman who ran Powerhouse as a jury foreman on "Law and Order" from years ago, but she had no lines. Did any of the cast go on to act in other TV or movies?

Bring this show to DVD!!!

It DID Exist!

[Budruss · 7/10 · 27 November 2023]

For years I thought I had imagined this show, including the theme song, because everyone I mentioned it to had no idea what I was talking about. Sure, they remembered the Bloodhound Gang, but when I asked about Powerhouse their face would go completely blank and they would invariably begin to put distance and heavy furniture between us as I tried to jog their memory.

It was based in a community or youth center, I think. (Bit fuzzy on that one) A group of youths run around solving mysteries, like if The Bloodhound Gang had been fleshed out to a stand-alone show. (If you don't know who they were you're probably not reading this)

One day, out of curiosity, I looked it up and was amazed to find that not only did it exist, but there were other people who had heard of it too! From there the memories came flooding back, although still a little vague and fragmented.

I remember one where someone plants a bomb in Powerhouse not expecting anyone to be there, but the younger kid (Can't remember his name, there's been a lot of good whiskey between then and now) comes back for some reason and gets caught up in the blast. The guy who planted the bomb ends up attending his funeral and confessing everything over the open casket after everyone had supposedly left, and is quite surprised when the kid sit up and says "Exactly" while hitting the stop button on the tape recorder he was holding the whole time.

In its time it was a good kids show featuring moral life lessons like "You can't get something for nothing." or "In twenty years your haircut is going to look ridiculous.". I wish it had gotten a longer run.

WOW, what a flashback!

[thunderchief90 · 4/10 · 16 January 2007]

I can't believe it, IMDb really does have every TV show known to man! I have not seen this show in over 20 years. I only remember two episodes, and I barely remember those. I remember that Tony may not been on from the start, because one of the episodes I remember is the one in which everybody trying to get Tony to join, but he rejects them, but typically at the end of the show he becomes a member of Power House, with everybody cheering.

The other one I remember is the one where Lolo for some reason pretends to be dead,(complete with funeral and mourners). I don't remember why he plays dead, or how the show ends.

This is one of those shows that I convinced myself that I must have dreamed up since no one else had ever heard of it.

I liked that show, it was intense, and it was neat-o!

[elliot-26 · 9 April 2004]

I can still remember how the theme song went, and what happened in a couple of the episodes. Not many people that I know, seen or remember Powerhouse, but I do.

If you don't want to know some of what happened in 2 episodes of Powerhouse, please stop reading now, and press the BACK button immediately!

I do not remember the full details of these 2 episodes, however I have revealed what I do remember. Since I haven't seen the show since 1982, but wish that I did, I would not consider this to be a spoiler; however, I still think that you deserve a warning... ......

I do remember the episode where the girl got sick from the food from the restaurant. I also remember that a cat died from eating the same food. The lady that made the food wore sunglasses, because her eyelids were all red from being sick with whatever she had. Her boss finally made her take off her sunglasses, and they looked pretty bad.

I also remember Lolo's Bar mitzvah, and the Cobra gang spray painting junk against them. At least one of the Cobra gang wore a nylon stocking over his face. I remember a horn that Lolo didn't know how to make it work, but then toward the end the Cobra gang broke into their religious building when Lolo was in there and they were closing in on Lolo. Then Lolo blew the horn and made it work, and it sent out a warning signal to the people outside. Then the Cobra gang was stopped. They were menacing, especially with that stocking over the face.

That was a good show, dealing with some pretty intense stuff. If I find out that it is coming on again, I would definitely tape it. No other educational show (I have seen) matches the intensity of Powerhouse.

If I had to rate it, I would say it deserves 5 stars.

Episodes I remember

[brizip · 16 March 2005]

Spoilers for those who don't want to know (about episodes that aired over 20 years ago!): I too, am 30, and remember this show well. Did it really have only 16 episodes? I also remember the one about the lady at the sandwich place with the red eyelids--it was kind of scary to me! There was also an episode (it might be the same one with the gangs) that Lolo had to pretend that he was dead-- he had a "funeral", and then he taped one of the gang members confessing to his "murder" while standing over his coffin.

There was another one where some of the kids were locked in a sauna. Pepper and Lolo were outside waiting, and didn't realize their friends were stuck. Pepper was watching the smoke go "puff puff puff (quickly), bore bore bore (slowly), puff puff puff!" As she was saying this, Lolo realized that it was an SOS from inside, and they went to save them.

I also remember that there was an epilogue at the end of each episode (it's where I learned the word). Great show!

Mysteries with a Message

[konky2000 · 12 August 2003]

This series only lasted one season, but since I was exactly the target age for it when it came out, I remember it very fondly. It was not at all related to 3-2-1 Contact or the Bloodhound gang, but was instead produced by another independent film company for PBS.

It was a little ahead of its time, for at the time there really weren't any half-hour educational drama shows for tweens. This later became quite a big genre for PBS with Ghost Writer and Degrassi Junior High.

Anyways, the story centered on a group of teens who hung out at a small community rec center that was a converted Powerhouse. In each episode some topical problem came up and it was up to the gang to solve the 'mystery.'

In one episode, Lolo, the Jewish kid, has some anti-semitic graffiti sprayed on his locker prior to his Bar Mitzvah. In the process of tracking down the perps, he also learns how to feel more proud about his culture.

In another episode, Pepper, the blonde tomboy of the show (who I remember being madly in love with), gets drunk at a party and again lessons are learned all around.

In one of the best episodes, a friend of the gang who is a museum security guard gets replaced by an automated alarm system. The gang teams together and breaks into the museum to prove the deficiency of the system and get their friend's job back.

Another hallmark of the show was the inclusion of un-commercials. Though, it aired on commercial free PBS, it nevertheless had commercial breaks in which there were short educational messages given.

Though I haven't seen the show since the late 80's, when it aired in re-runs, people lucky enough to be teachers might find the title deep in the recesses of their school district's educational film collection. Otherwise, this is virtually impossible to find.

From The Folks That Brought You The Bloodhound Gang...

[nycovom1 · 2 May 2003]

Was this show maybe a spinoff of 3-2-1 Contact's The Bloodhound Gang? I watched this show when it was on PBS back in the day. A bunch of kids, ranging in age from about 18 down to 13, would go around and solve mysteries of sorts, traveling around in a spiffy orange Volkswagen bus. I remember the show had a really low-budget look, like it was shot in 16-millimeter. Man, does anybody else remember this program?

My Favorite Episode

[ThumbtackElvis · 22 September 2006]

I have thought for years that this was a figment of my imagination. It's nice to know that other folks remember this show as well.I still catch myself singing the title song now and again. I also remember the candy bar. It came in a blue wrapper and used to be my favorite. The episode that I remember was the one about a former professional boxer named Diamonds O'Toole(I have remembered this name for 24 yrs!) From what I remember, he was kidnapped or roughed up, and the gang had to solve the crime. Diamonds O'Toole had a bagful of diamonds hidden in the bottom of his furnace/woodburning stove. The gang found the loot and saved the day. What a show.

Powerhouse was great!

[SHagins_17551 · 23 May 2008]

Spoilers ahead! I remember that show! Actually, when someone here said that the gang broke into a museum, I remember how Pepper (yeah, I had a crush on her too) was hanging from a tightrope (?) and looking at a statue and saying that she couldn't move. I remember the ep with the sick woman, and the one where Lolo had to play dead. I also remember one where they were filmed and a disreputable film agent twisted what they said around to make them look like hooligans and close down Powerhouse. I am 31, and I was only 6 when Powerhouse came out, but I remember! It really was a really good show. I videotaped High Feather and a few other shows from yesteryear-I wish I had the sense to tape that one too!