2009 Black History Month: Favorite Black TV Characters (#24)

By: Luke Florence

My Favorite Black TV Characters

#24 - February 5th - Phil Moore - "Nick Arcade"

Where else could you find "Mikey," "Mongo," "Merlock," "Scorchia," and "Video Challenges?" There was a small time, during 1992-93, when Nick Arcade was my all-time favorite television show. A video game show on television? Tell me where to sign up.

The staple of Nick Arcade was its' host, Phil Moore. He was boisterous, eccentric, and just seemed to love life. He had such a unique personality that it could only be described as ... well zany. But even though the games changed, Moore was the constant. He guided the contestants (who seemed to have zero skill playing the games) from "Mikey's World" to "The Video Zone." When I think of Nickelodeon shows, Phil Moore is right there at the top of the list.

Take a second and enjoy some Nick Arcade. Maybe it brings back some memories.

And anyone remember Joey Fatone making an appearance?

Nick Arcade had an all too brief run on Nickelodeon, lasting only a couple seasons. But, it is still shown daily on GAS, a channel devoted to old Nick game shows, including "Guts," and "Legends of the Hidden Temple." However, Nick Arcade typically isn't on until around 4:30 AM. One night during my college days at OU, a group of buddies all decided we were going to stay up and watch it. We were excited (still drunk from the night activities is probably more accurate) and determined. All of us made it to the start, but ... then the show started. It was awful. By the time the show ended, only myself and Devin remained awake. I sat there, wide-mouthed in disbelief by how bad the show had become. It just goes to show you that your childhood might be the most special time in a person's life, and you might not realize it until you sit in your apartment at 5:00 in the morning, drunk, and disgusted at one of your old favorite television shows.

I recently found out that Moore is currently 47 years old, which scares me more than an ex-girlfriend wanting to "have a talk." It tells me that I am not only completely removed from my childhood, but I have been for quite some time. Sure 1992 was 17 years ago, but, it never really hit me how long ago it is. At least not until I saw that Moore was pushing 50. He always looked so young on TV, and now he is a middle-aged man. It was one of those perplexing moments one can have from time to time in life.

Remember how I said the show's contestants were just pathetic. Check out this winner.

Could you imagine if Gus Johnson was on the call of that performance??

Okay, enough for today. Hope you are enjoying Black History Month as much as I am. Also, make sure you are checking out Barnes' blog (over on my sidebar) to see his take on my list and to get a daily BHM quote. He has had some good ones thus far.

Hint for #23 - This guy was the lead character of a show who arguably has the best theme song of all-time. He also had a son on the show.

Until tomorrow, "read it, roll it, hole it."